Austin Eats: A Few Favorites

What would a weekly column about Austin be without at least some mention of Austin’s world-renowned food truck scene? Austinites are blessed with some of the best food trucks in the country – we may be a bit biased though. From breakfast to dessert, all of your meal problems can be solved with a simple visit to a local food truck. But there are so many options – where do you go and what do you get?

Please allow me to solve that dilemma for you.

I personally can’t think of a better wakeup food, lunchtime food, dinnertime food, or dessert food than a crepe from Flip Happy Crepes. If I could camp out front and eat all of my meals there, I probably would (embarrassingly enough). There’s just something so glorious about these sweet treats and crepe-y meals. Flip Happy is located at 400 Josephine Street (right behind Romeo’s on Barton Springs Road) and will unfortunately be closed during the months of July and August (translation: go tomorrow!).

            My favorites:

-       the three cheese crepe with caramelized onions and spinach ($6.75)

-       the spinach, feta cheese, and roasted garlic crepe ($6.75)

-       the smoked salmon crepe with herbed cream cheese, spinach, tomato, and scallions ($8.50)

-       the nutella and fruit crepe ($4.25)

-       the whipped peanut butter crepe with dark chocolate sauce, bananas, and almonds ($4.95)

Next let’s venture a little further south and visit Gourdough’s. If you’ve never been, Gourdough’s is the primo place to go in Austin for a jazzed-up doughnut. In three words or less: it’s the bomb. Gourdough’s is located at 1503 South 1^stStreet – right next to Elizabeth Street Café.

            My favorites:

-       Miss Shortcake: cream cheese icing with fresh strawberries ($4.50)

-       Funky Monkey: cream cheese icing with grilled bananas and brown sugar ($4.50)

-       The Carney: apple pie filling with cream cheese icing, caramel, and dry roasted peanuts ($4.50)

-       Dirty Berry: chocolate fudge icing with grilled strawberries ($4.50)

-       Bring the Heath: cream cheese icing with heath bar chips ($4.50)

-       Granny’s Pie: caramel, pecans, bananas, and graham crackers ($4.50)

Located next to Gourdough’s in the 1503 South 1^st Street lot is another one of my foodie favorites: Dock & Roll Diner. If you’re like me, then you probably feel like it’s not truly summertime until you’ve had a lobster roll: Dock & Roll is the solution to your conundrum. Head’s up – I’m a bit of a “lobster purist” so I’m not one to try any of Dock & Roll’s southern and spicy variations on lobster roll, but I can attest that each of the following is positively delicious:

            My favorites:

-       The Maine Event: traditional lobster roll served cold with Dock & Roll’s house mayo, old bay lemon butter, and chive ($12)

-       The Mass Roll: the Maine Event plus chopped celery for an extra crunch ($12)

-       The Long Island: the Maine Event plus diced celery and onion for the extra crunch without a change of taste ($12)

-       The Rhode Island: the Maine Event plus romaine lettuce and sliced tomatoes ($12)

This next food trailer started out as a food trailer at 1511 South Congress and grew so popular that five store locations were opened throughout the greater Austin area. World, please meet Hey Cupcake. Though I’ve never been to any of the Hey Cupcake stores, the original food trailer on South Congress has been a favorite of mine since I was in high school. Best part of all? Hey Cupcake sells miniature cupcakes as well ($9.99 for six mini-cupcakes)!

            My favorites:

-       Red Velvet: red velvet cupcake with cream cheese topping ($3)

-       Michael Jackson: chocolate cupcake with cream cheese topping ($3)

-       Double Dose: chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream topping ($3)

-       24 Carrot: carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese topping ($3)

-       Sweetberry: strawberry cupcake with strawberry cream cheese cupcake ($3)

The last food trailer to make my list of favorites is an Austin staple and the king of the sweet treats: Sno-Beach and their famous Hawaiian shaved ice. Sno-Beach is one of the original Austin food trailers and it has been in Austin literally as long as I have – since 1993! If you’ve never found yourself in line at the trailer sporting a massive snow cone with sunglasses on its face: have you truly lived? I know I might seem like I’m blowing this food trailer out of proportion… but I’m not. For some (like my sister), it is the definition of summer: opening day in March marks the beginning of the summer season, and closing day on Halloween marks the end of the summer era. Though I’m still partial to the 801 Barton Springs Road location, Sno-Beach also has a location by the University of Texas at 3402 Guadalupe Street. With dozens of flavors (and tons of flavor combinations) from which to choose, four different sizes to fill you up – and let’s not even mention the add-ins – you really can’t go wrong. Though I wouldn’t suggest getting the large or x-large – I’ve never actually seen somebody finish either.

            My favorites:

-       Small Strawberry and Watermelon with cream ($3.00)

-       Small Rainbow with cream ($3.00)

-       Medium Pink Lemonade ($3.50)

-       Medium Kiwi Strawberry ($3.50)

Honorable mentions:

-       Torchy’s Tacos: delicious tacos, locations throughout Austin

-       Kebabalicious: yummy Turkish-style wraps and kebabs, two locations on East 7^th Street, open till 3:00AM on weekends and in prime locations for post-“Dirty 6^th” snacks

-       East Side King: Pan-Asian fusion foods, several locations throughout Austin

-       Holy Cocao: cake balls and chocolatey drinks – need I say more? Located in the South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery at 1311 South 1^st Street

-       Bananarchy: mentioned in my last post, this food trailer located at 603 West Live Oak Street (at South 1^st Street) and is home to frozen bananas dipped in sugary goodness (don’t worry – there’s also vegan options!)

By Amanda Kushner