I am not sure if you are like us, but in my family we plan all of our trips around food.  That is probably why I have not seen the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park yet.  When I told Beau that my mom, sister, niece and I were going on a road trip through Texas to see our family it was only half the truth.  Really it is an adventure focused on food with a side of extended family.

Austin, Texas is close to the hearts of my family.  My mom has lived off and on in Austin and my sister was born there.  So when we decided to start our road trip in Austin, the names of restaurants and favorite dishes started flying.  We stayed in Austin for 1.5 days and managed to eat at 4 restaurants and 3 mobile food trucks…plus a little shopping on the side.

Our plan of attack was to start with the classics.  There are a few food items that my mom has always made for us when she is homesick for Texas. So it was time for us to show my niece the roots.  Our first stop right off the plane was The Original Hoffbrau.  They only serve steak and side salad with a green olive dressing.  It is perfect!  My mom has been making Hoffbrau’s dressing all my life and you can also buy a bottle to take home.  If you’re fancy you can get onion rings and poppers too. Another classic and a must have for any sport party is Frito pie.  In my opinion, Shady Grove does the Frito pie justice.  They serve it up right in the Frito bag… the way it should be!  The Shady Grove is right by Zilker park.  It is a perfect place to stop by before or after events in the park or a visit to Barton Springs.Our last classic stop was at Threadgill’s Home Cookin’.  We couldn’t miss a chance to have chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and mac-n-cheese.  We also indulged in dessert.  You can’t leave without having some peach cobbler and banana pudding with vanilla wafers… can you?
<.jpg.jpgimg class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54fa8abf78833013485b5e3b4970c image-full " style="border: 3px solid black;" title="Austin, Texas Threadgill's Chicken fried Steak" src="https:///www.theworldeffect.com/images/6a00e54fa8abf78833013485b5e3b4970c-800wi.jpg" border="0" alt="Austin, Texas Threadgill's Chicken fried Steak" />
<.jpg.jpgimg class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54fa8abf78833013485b5e415970c image-full " style="border: 3px solid black;" title="Austin, Texas Threadgill's" src="https:///www.theworldeffect.com/images/6a00e54fa8abf78833013485b5e415970c-800wi.jpg" border="0" alt="Austin, Texas Threadgill's" />
<.jpg.jpgimg class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54fa8abf78833013485b5e463970c image-full " style="border: 3px solid black;" title="Austin, Texas Threadgill's" src="https:///www.theworldeffect.com/images/6a00e54fa8abf78833013485b5e463970c-800wi.jpg" border="0" alt="Austin, Texas Threadgill's" />
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In the next post: Tex-Mex, mobile food carts, and my cholesterol report!  More food from Austin….