Best BBQ in Austin

The food in NYC is amazing, but we just can’t do BBQ like they do in the south.

There’s lots of debate as to what is the best BBQ spot in Austin. I went to a few spots while I was there over the long week(end).

My favorite spot in Austin has to be… (drumroll please)…

la Barbecue!

la Barbecue!

However I will give some honorable mentions to a few other spots that win on other aspects. Here’s my list of BBQ spots in Austin (& Dallas) thus far, I still have so many places to try!

Best Overall - la Barbecue

What to Order: Brisket, Ribs, Shells & Cheese
Website: https://www.labarbecue.com

la Barbecue has the best overall BBQ food from the brisket to the ribs to the Mac & cheese. I stopped here on Thursday before my flight (I had to get in all the BBQ I could!) and there was a line at lunch - and no these weren’t all tourists!

Upon getting on the line, we were already greeted by a nice waitress asking us if we wanted to order drinks as we wait online. Once we made it into the store (which only fit one group at a time), they offered us some brisket to try - how nice is that!

Then it came to eating the food, we grabbed a table outside and feasted! The quality was amazing and I rolled out of there super happy! The shells & cheese had a bit of a spicy kick, which I enjoyed, the chipotle slaw was good, but just not my style - but good if you like that style! And if you have any room left over, the homemade banana pudding was a great way to end the meal!

Best Ambiance - Hard Eight (Dallas)

What to Order: Brisket, Ribs, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potato & BBQ Chicken
Website: https://www.hardeightbbq.com

Hard Eight BBQ

You can smell the BBQ as soon as you get to Hard Eight. You can see and pick what you want right off of the giant grill - there are so nanny options, it is hard to choose! They had everything from brisket to bacon wrapped chicken to sausage! In addition to that, there were sides galore, I tried sweet corn for the first time! I love everything I ordered, you can’t go wrong with anything - there are also a ton of sides to choose from and don’t forget the sweet tea!

Best Pastrami - Mum Foods Smokehouse

Mum Foods Smokehouse BBQ Pastrami

What to Order: Pastrami
Website: https://www.mumfoodsatx.com

The pastrami at Mum Foods Smokehouse just melts in your mouth, it is so tender, well seasoned and smoked (you can see the smokers in the parking lot/front of the restaurant). I had the pastrami, burnt ends and brisket with shells & cheese, slaw and a few other sides. The pastrami and burnt ends were my favorites, the pastrami is a must have if you go to Mum Foods! They also have fountain drinks made locally in Austin - I really liked the prickly pear lemonade and ginger beer. And you need a caffeinated pick me up or it’s too early for som pastrami, they have a coffee shop in the front of the smokehouse - Talisman Coffee, which was very cutely themed with sloths!

This is just the tip of the iceberg for all the BBQ spots to try in Austin & Dallas! Where should I go next, what are your favorite spots?

Foodie Day in Beacon, NY

This past weekend I went upstate to Beacon, NY for a friend’s wedding. I had heard a lot about Beacon and was excited to finally make my way upstate to check it out!

I was delayed on my way up, so really only had Saturday before the wedding to explore before heading hope early on Sunday for Mother’s Day festivities!

We decided to explore Beacon, the best way I know how - through shopping and most importantly my stomach!!

Check out the stops I made along my self guided food tour! We started our adventure on the west end of Main Street slowly making our way down to the east end, where we met our friends for lunch.

Stop 1: Bank Square Coffeehouse
We started the day at Bank Square Coffeehouse, where I had a frozen chai latte! It was a cold, but delicious way to start the day! They have a large outdoor back patio for when the weather is nice

Stop 2: Alps Sweet Shop
A chocolate factory with a large variety of chocolate, they just celebrated their 102nd anniversary! Is it bad to start the day with some chocolate?

Stop 3: Glazed Over Donuts <— this was the winner and may be the best donut spot I’ve ever been to, for those of you who know me, that’s a bold statement..
The donuts here are all fresh out of the fryer (you can watch them make the donuts front in front of you), you select what donut you want - the glaze, the topping and the drizzle. I had a strawberry donut with Oreo toppings and strawberry drizzle. It was absolutely heavenly! If I didn’t have the wedding afterward, I would have had another 1 or 3!

Stop 4: Trax Coffee Roasters
Cool coffee shop with industrial vibes with seating outside feet away from the tracks. The ambiance was nice, but the coffee was ok (or so I was told - Im not a coffee girl)

Stop 5: Håkan Chocolatier
Trendy tasty chocolates with fun exotic flavors, such as Quake and Dragons Breath to Strawberry Champagne and Sakura Japanese Whiskey! The chocolate truffles were very rich and tasty, but a bit pricy at $3.75 a piece - that won’t stop me from coming back though!

Seared Ahi Tuna Salad

Stop 6: Beacon Falls Cafe
Cute spot for brunch or lunch with good portion sizes, they had brunch foods, sandwiches burgers and salads. I’d recommend for some solid staple American dishes.

Korean Chicken Wings at Hudson Valley Food Hall

The night before: Hudson Valley Food Hall
I had some tasty Korean Chicken Wings and plantains from an asian latin fusion spot in the food hall. By the time I got there around 7:45 PM, most of the stores were closing up, but I managed to get my order in just in time. There was also a Mexican spot and Ice Cream spot that may be worth checking out!

Lavender Matcha Latte

Sunday Morning Fix: Elixxr
Lots of varieties of ceremonial matcha - I had a lavender matcha on my way running to catch the train home this morning. The latte refreshing, but was a bit pricy, but on par with NYC matcha prices.

 

I couldn’t just eat my entire way throughout Main Street, so took some shopping breaks along the way, here were some of my favorites!

  • Hudson Beach Glass - They blow the glass here and you can even take a glass blowing class!! Definitely on my list for my next trip

  • Zakka Joy - Give me all the pens!
    Throwback to my middle school days when milky pens and jelly roll pens were all the craze, I left the store with 5 pens, they weren’t all for me… just 4 of the 5! This store would be trouble if I lived nearby.

  • Little King - Home goods bliss, there were so many amazing home good pieces, I wanted to buy all of them! Sadly I ended up leaving empty handed, but did see some amazing pieces bowls from a studio out of Copenhagen Denmark that really caught my eye!

That’s it for my self-guided food tour, shopping finds and recommendations! Let me know your favorites or if you have any recommendations in the comments!