Restaurants in Texas: The Best Place to Spend Your Time
One of my favorite things about Austin is quite literally the food. This city is not only known as the Capitol of the great state of Texas but also a melting pot of different cultures. If you step foot into this vast food scene, you’ll see an array of BBQ, Breakfast Tacos, Tex-Mex, Donuts, Pizzas, Kolaches, or fusion of those and many more. In this blog post, you’ll find some starter guide to delicious places to jumpstart your exploration of your Austin food palette – the best restaurants in Texas!
Morning Coffee Runs
Summer Moon is one of my new favorite coffee shops in town. It was founded by a group of family and friends right in the Texas Hill Country. All their coffee goes through an in-house wood-fired roasting process that gives the brew their signature taste. They are known for their “Moon Milk” which is their in-house sweet cream that provides a unique mellow undertone to their coffees.
Some of my favorite drinks include:
- 20 oz. Half Winter Moon – Iced version of their Signature Latte at Half the sweetness
- 20 oz. Quarter Matcha Moon
Late Night Coffee Runs
101 By TeaHaus – This is my go-to casual study spot for 2020-2022. 101 By TeaHaus started off as a small boba shop in Austin where they handcraft all their boba teas and menu items. They brew their teas fresh every day and source directly from Taiwan. They’ve grown significantly in the past few years and have expanded their menu to provide authentic Asian Cuisine.
Some of my favorite drinks include:
- Sea Salt Crème Coffee
- Mint Mojito Coffee
- Jasmine Green Milk Tea with Boba
If you like the blend of milk and tea, then you should explore Austin’s best boba tea spots to satisfy your taste buds.
Breakfast
Snooze, A.M Eatery – Austin is definitely not lacking in the breakfast scene and Snooze A.M Eatery is a great place to get a taste. Snooze’s restaurant model emphasizes its effort to flip traditional classic breakfast food into its own variations. Their sole purpose is to deliver the most pleasantly cohesive breakfast meal to you between the hours of 6:30 am – 2:00 pm every day of the week.
Some of my personal favorites include:
- Smashed Avocado Benny: English Muffin topped with fresh, smashed avocado, Parmesan cheese, ripened tomatoes, poached cage-free eggs, and smoked cheddar hollandaise with their Everything Spice.
- OMG! French Toast: Fresh brioche stuffed with mascarpone and topped with vanilla crème, caramel, fresh strawberries, and toasted coconut.
Lunch
Don Japanese Kitchen is a local Austin food truck that all Longhorns swear by. This is literally a cult classic with probably THE strongest customer base in Downtown Austin. It was first opened by a UT Alumni back in 2015 with the sole purpose of providing authentic Japanese food for the Austin community at a price point that doesn’t sacrifice quality and service. In the past 6 years, they’ve really created an enormous presence on UT Campus. Their lines are never shorter than 30 minutes to 1 hour, so if you ever want to get a taste of Don – make sure to come early! It’s more than worthy of the wait.
Some of my personal favorites include:
- Don Pork and Don Chicken: You can choose between the two protein Katsu that is set on a bed of rice next to some fresh lettuce. Then the whole thing is topped with their house special sauce.
- Don Fries: Deep-fried waffle fries that are topped with their special house sauce. I like to add some scatter parsley on top whenever I get home.
Dinner
Soursop, formerly known as Spicy Boys, is one of the highest-rated Pan Asian specialty food trucks since 2016. They provide traditional American food such as burgers, wings, or hot dogs fused with a mixture of Chinese and Thai flavor profiles. It’s currently located right by 6th street next to a super cute outdoor picnic area. Also, if you are still looking for more restaurants that are known for their corn dog dishes, then you should plan your next visit to Oh K-Dog to taste their Korean Street Style Corn Dogs.
Some of my personal favorites include:
- Fried Chicken Sandwich: You have the choice between Thai Basil Ranch and Papaya Relish, Sweet Chili Honey, and Scallion and Crispy shallots with pickles, mayonnaise, Thai basil, and cheese.
- Fried Chicken: 5-piece drum & thigh chicken, signature spicy seasoning, sweet chili-honey sauce, fried shallots, scallions, and lime.
Dessert
Frost Gelato was inspired by a gelateria in Rome when the owners were traveling around the world. After their first encounter with Gelato, they couldn’t stop eating it. During this time, they would shop hop around all the finest gelateria in different towns in Italy. It was through these seasoned travels that they were inspired to recreate and bring these flavors back to the states which became the birth of Frost Gelato.
Some of my personal favorites include:
- Cappuccino
- Bourbon Butter Pecan
** Each Frost Gelato location carries different flavors with different monthly specialties. You can ask for testers before your purchase!
These are just a few of the starter recommendations for you to start your food journey around Austin! Let us know what you think!