Austin has so many things to see and do and we have found it a very attractive city, similar in ways to our Southern California home. In that respect we found it comforting and familiar, but with much better brisket 😉 One of our first stops was Terry Blacks BBQ, where we had eaten before. We were shown the BBQs an briskets in process by a proud pitmaster! So cool. They use post oak, (an indigenous oak in central Texas) so it was actually blazing hot, but still a really cool experience.
Part of the fun of Austin is the great variety of food options, lot’s of bbq and the Texas version of Mexican food. This isn’t like So Cal Mexican food and I find that the “queso” (that is added on lots of food there, is just melted Velveeta cheese with some salsa, probably made in New York City), is not to my liking. Oh well.
Everything we tried was really great (except for queso) and discovered Kolaches! These are a meat filled pastry introduced by early Czech settlers. Wowza. They are usually filled with a sausage, cheese and sometime brisket (so Austin, huh!). This town doesn’t seem to cater to vegans! 😉
Although the first thing that comes into my mind when thinking about Austin is all the yummy food choices, there are so many other things to do and places to see.
A visit to Texas requires new boots! So cute – the boots, too!
Austin is also famous for music, so I had to pay tribute to the best blues guitar player ever, Stevie Ray Vaughn:
While sitting in our RV, in pulls a really interesting guy, Kimball Ferrell, with the Marshall Tucker Band road crew. After sharing some of Laura’s awesome tacos for dinner and some interesting stories about the band and the road, we then were treated (really) with some of Charlie Daniels “whiskey”. I learned that you never drink moonshine from a glass – it can only be enjoyed from the jar! It sounds scary, but was quite smooth. The things we learn on the road!
A trip south to New Braunfels led us to more music at the oldest continuous music venue in the Texas, Gruene Hall, (pronounced “green”). Built in 1878, you can just feel the rich history while enjoying a beer and live music.
A lot of history in New Braunfels.
And of course, food at the Gristmill River Restaurant, overlooking the Guadalupe River in an old cotton gin. Lots of family, friends and adventures in Texas!
