Both Joe and I are officially moved to Austin! So far we’ve had fun exploring the city and trying lots and lots of food. I mean really…lots of food. Some Paleo…some not so Paleo. But I need to experience it all right? I’ll get into some of the awesome places we’ve tried so far but first let’s talk about road tripping on the Paleo diet.
My sister and I drove the 13+ hours down to Austin from Omaha with our two pups in one shot. Honestly it wasn’t that bad (minus a super fun experience in Oklahoma…). Ahead of the trip I was a little worried about what food I would be able to eat. Kind of hard to eat a salad from Panera while driving. So I loaded up on lots of Paleo-friendly and car-friendly foods to fuel me for the trip.
The night before I made some hard-boiled eggs to take. Best idea ever…it was the perfect breakfast with my banana and Americano from Starbucks (I definitely needed the caffeine). Then for snacks/lunch throughout the trip I packed sweet potato chips, turkey jerky, almonds, homemade banana muffins (made with coconut flour), an apple, an orange, some dried pineapple and dried bananas. I didn’t end up eating everything but it was good to have options and made sure I had enough food in case I got hungry. All of these would work well for a plane trip too.
Joe got welcomed by two crabby, tired and starving girls (actually four if you counts the pups). He bought us a delicious dinner from Cherrywood Coffeehouse within walking distance of where we are living for the summer. My sis and Joe had the burgers (which they said were awesome) and I had a salad with chicken, avocados and some other veggies. It was delicious. I know we will be visiting that place a lot this summer (especially during their all-day Sunday happy hour!).
Here are a few highlights from restaurants we’ve tried over the past week:
Freedmen’s – for brunch. We all had mimosas (awesome!). My sis and I tried the hash with smoked sausage, potatoes, peppers and a poached egg. Joe had breakfast tacos and a side of bacon. The bacon was so delicious. Super thick and smoked with lots of flavor. I would go back for the bacon alone.
Takoba – for dinner. Very unique Mexican food. I had the pulled pork tacos (just didn’t eat the shells), a salad with spinach, oranges, jicama, pecans and goat cheese, and nopales (cactus). I have never had cactus before and it was really good. Kind of tasted like green beans but cooked in a tomato sauce until tender. Yum! Joe had the pineapple pork tacos and my sis tried the fish tacos. Everyone gave it a thumbs up.
South Congress Cafe – for brunch. I honestly think I’m addicted to brunch now. There are so many good brunch choices in this city, it’s crazy. I had the omelet special with wild boar sausage, Italian-marinated peppers and onions, a spicy cheese blend, tomato reduction and gorgonzola cheese. Came with a side of potatoes with roasted garlic. It was beyond good. Joe had the special blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. He said they were the best blueberry pancakes he’s ever had (I see a challenge now). I think we will be going back here quite frequently.
Some other places we tried included Lick Ice Cream (I had coconut milk ice cream with avocado swirl, soooo good), Home Slice Pizza (I had a salad), Gourmands (awesome salads at lunch), Opal’s Divine (yummy bratwurst, sweet potato fries and happy hour) and Bangers (comedy night was fun, pork skins were a little too spicy but sausage is good).
I promise Sweet Paleo is not turning into a blog only about Austin restaurants. I have some great recipes coming at ya this week so check back!