Austin: The Millennial Food Dream (especially for vegetarians and people with other dietary restrictions)
Food that tastes good, is made with real ingredients, and is available in comfortable settings is one of the greatest contributions that Millennials have given our culture. No longer is great food only found at stuffy high-end restaurants in major cities that require reservations weeks in advance and a small personal loan to afford. Great tasting food is found more places than ever, and most of it comes in the form of fun foods we Americans love.
Austin is the epicenter of Millennial life: tons of hipsters have flooded the city for the past decade and their eccentricities have blended well with the self-proclaimed “weird” Texas city. This has allowed food trucks that span the whole spectrum from donuts to Detroit Style (?) pizza to be found in the yard of every bar and corner of many parking lots throughout the city. I’m sure not all of them are great, but I was not disappointed by a single one that I ate at over my four day visit. Here is a quick list of the food truck servings that I saw:
- Tacos and Tamales
- Detroit Style Pizza
- Donuts
- Gourmet Grilled Cheese
- Sweet or Savory Crepes
- Philly Cheese Steak
- Burgers
- Cupcakes
- Sausage
- BBQ
And a quick Google Search showed a list that included Churros, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Creole, Indian, and about wherever else your imagination can take you.
The restaurants follow a similar business plan, but stick to more Texas-centric foods like Mexican, Southern Comfort Food, and BBQ. They keep things casual, reasonably priced, and focus on quality ingredients for delicious foods. Most of these places also double as fun bars with great live music and a wide variety of local beers.
BBQ, Tacos, Burgers, Southern Comfort Food, and Mexican is not exactly the most vegetarian friendly menu, but in a liberal city like Austin my dietary needs were always considered. Each menu offered plenty of vegetarian versions of their meat counterparts (gluten free, vegan, and lactose free options were also readily available). Often when there are vegetarian options at restaurants, I choose from the one or two items available and often don’t get to be super creative because the toppings are meat based, but not in Austin. I had my pick of lots of different adventurous versions of the foods available.
What I Ate!
- The Mac N’ Cheese Burger (with a veggie patty) at the Jackalope
- Classic Cheese Detroit Style Pizza from the Via313 truck in the Craft Pride garden out back
- Bean Tamales at Guero’s outdoor Oak Garden Bar
- Independent Taco at Torchy’s (ate this 3 separate times)
- Veggie Philly Cheese steak from 1776 Cheesesteaks Co. in the yard at Buzz Mill
This is surely not the end of the great options, but these are the meals I got to enjoy in my four days there. And now I’m sitting here hungry without any of these options nearby.
