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MINI GUIDE

Food & drink in Austin

COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MARIELLA KRAUSE. PHOTOGRAPH: KAV DADFAR/4CORNERS

Austin essentials The know-how

FURTHER READING

Lonely Planet’s

Texas (US$24.99)

has a chapter on

Austin; the

individual

chapter can be

downloaded from lonely

planet.com (US$4.95), or try

San Antonio, Austin & Texas

Backcountry Road Trips

(US$12.99) if you’re

interested in regional touring.

Vintage is a lifestyle in Austin;

for the lowdown on the best

spots, use the site vintage

around townguide.com.

Under the Same Stars (US$10;

Simon & Schuster) by Tim

Lott is a road-tripping novel

about two brothers, starting

in New Orleans and taking in

Austin along the way.

MEALS ON WHEELS

Food trailers are a permanent

fixture in Austin – even if they can

move around at whim. Clusters of

these can often be found in these

spots:

O South Austin Trailer Park &

Eatery This seems to be a rather

settled trailer community, with a

fence, a sign and picnic tables. Look

for Torchy’s Tacos, which whips up

some of Austin’s best (1311 S 1st St).

O 1503 S 1st St You’ll find a cluster

of food trailers, such as Gourdough’s,

which serves gourmet doughtnut

combos, including a doughnut

burger.

O South Congress Ave Between

Elizabeth and Monroe, there are

lots of food options, including the

decadent Hey Cupcake!

O East Austin There’s a little

enclave, conveniently located

among the bars on the corner of E

6th and Waller Sts. Five blocks east

is East Side King, serving

excellent Thai (dinner

only).

(firehousehostel.com; 605 Brazos

Street; from US$130).

Inn at Pearl Street is a lovingly

restored property, decorated in a

plush European style. Rooms are

across two buildings, Victoria

House and Burton House (innpearl.

com; 809 W Martin Luther King Jr

Blvd; from US$220).

Hotel San José is the vision of

local hotelier Liz Lambert, who

revamped a ’30s-vintage motel

into a chic retreat with minimalist

rooms, a bamboo-fringe pool and

a courtyard bar that’s known for its

celebrity-spotting potential

(sanjosehotel.com; 1316

S Congress Ave; from US$230).

WHERE TO STAY

Former fire station, Firehouse

Hostel, has the perfect

downtown location and private

rooms as well as bunks. The stylish

lounge is all red walls, flickering

candles and bespoke cocktails.

The entrance is quirkily concealed

behind a sliding bookshelf

TRANSPORT

Fly on American Airlines from

Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

Both will require two stopovers,

with one in Dallas (from

US$950; aa.com); note that it is

marginally cheaper if you fly to

Houston, rent a car at the

airport and drive the three hours

to Austin. The Airport Flyer bus

runs from Austin-Bergstrom

airport to downtown every 40

minutes (bus 100; US$1.70). In

town, the public metro system

costs US$1.25 per ride, and

there’s a handy new app with

schedules and a journey planner

function; visit the website

(capmetro.org) to download it.

Firehouse Hostel’s lounge is

hidden behind a bookshelf

Eat Drink Sleeping

ng Austi