Originally, our trip to Austin revolved around the Tecolote Farm tour, through Slow Food Austin. It’s an organic farm and the oldest CSA in Texas. Then the tour was cancelled, but the momentum had already started, so we went to Austin anyway.
I know this will come as a shock, but the first stop of the trip was a restaurant in Round Rock, Jack Allen’s Kitchen. This is the second Jack Allen’s location. The original location is in south Austin. Most everything is locally sourced, and everything is fresh. Interestingly enough, Tecolote Farm supplies a lot of their product. When we were seated, they brought a sample of their herbed flatbread with pimento cheese. I had a cup of Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, and then Baja Fish Tacos. Don had a Chicken Fried Pork Chop. Everything was delicious, and if you’re a chicken fried fan, this is definitely the place. There’s a whole section of the menu called “Chicken Fried Anything.” That’s right, Don was in restaurant heaven.
Saturday night we went to Shangri La, an East Side Kings location. It’s a trailer behind and upstairs from the bar, with picnic tables, so I have no pictures because it was dark. We had fried pork belly and avocado buns. It was awesome, and now we have 2 more locations to try. Well, someone has to do it! Each location has a different menu.
Sunday morning we went to one of my favorite breakfast spots, Kerbey Lane (on Kerbey Lane). We had to wait 25 minutes for a table, but it was so worth it. They locally source most everything, and what I order is consistently good. This trip I had a portobello mushroom omelet with black beans and rice.