Foodie Kind of Weekend in Austin

I decided to stay a few extra days in Austin after the SWE conference. A few of our significant others, including my husband flew in for the weekend to join us. 

Overall, Austin seems to have a big food truck culture where the food is tasty and prices reasonable. We tried a place called Gourdough's, which we found highly rated on Yelp. True to its name, they make "Big. Fat. Donuts." and as we learned, not a donut to eat by yourself. When we received our order through the food truck window, I had the hardest time trying to keep a straight face, thinking - "Oh my god. We're done for." 

We tried the The Puddin', which is a cream-filled donut topped with cream cheese icing and bananas. The other one we tried, Blue Balls, was highly recommended by one of my husband's cousins. It's literally donut balls with blueberry filling and blue icing. Both were very tasty, but definitely too big for two of us!

We met up with the other couples for dinner the first night. We tried some Spanish cuisine at a place called El Chipirón where they serve dishes tapas-style. We shared some vegetarian and non-vegetarian cheese plates as well as some squid and octopus (or pulpo). 

For those interested in larger plates, they also had Lomo de Vaca with 44 Farms strip steak that looked pretty amazing too. We finished off dinner with Chocolate con Churros (yes, with sugar!) which made a perfect end to the dinner. 

There are several hipster coffee shops in Austin. We swung by the Brew & Brew for hot tea outside and another morning for a quick cup of coffee. It was conveniently located close to where we stayed. Along with coffee, they also serve beer (and tea if you check the menu). There is outdoor seating bar-style along the railing with a view of downtown Austin, just a few blocks away.  If you're looking for a place to work or unwind, they have plenty of space inside and outside.

While the Brew & Brew did serve some tasty looking pastries, we had to go try Granny's Tacos a few streets down. If you haven't heard of it, it's on the top 15 list of tacos to try in Austin.

With all the hype, we also tried Torchy's Tacos which did not disappoint. They have an eclectic menu with meat options as well as equally attractive vegetarian options. Even at 2/3pm, the place was packed and the parking lot beyond capacity. Definitely some of the best tacos I've had. Here's our taco spread below:

The street corn they had was incredible. We loved it so much, I think we'll try to recreate it at home!

Before heading back directly to the hotel, we often snuck around the corner to Gemelli for some gelato. My husband loves gelato. I loved that they had an Earl Grey flavor. It's honestly one of the best I've had. 

Here's my husband on the roof of our hotel, rather content with his ice cream <3.

We didn't get to try everything, but we loved the food in Austin. We'll have to wait and try the rest next time!