where to — austin
where to — austin
atx is still weird-ish, kabocha persimmon cake + la’s taco boom
where to — austin:
there was a point in time when i was going to austin a lot for work — many a sxsw with manyyy a tacos + many many margs, but it had been a minute since i’ve been back. another film festival trip (b’s film *smiles and kisses you* u.s. premiere at austin film fest!). so yes, austin’s still weird (in the best way possible), buttt definitely a polished, less quirky weird, to be completely honest. every other lot is a bar/restaurant in a converted old building with a catchy name (with at least one word in spanish) in trendy branding, giant patio serving frozen drinks + tightly wrapped aluminum foil (atx’s signature!) breakfast tacos. austin hospitality powerhouses like bunkhouse, mml (formerly mmh) etc. are still running things, now more than ever. my friend becca referred to south congress as luxury row and that felt pretty fitting. the once edgy eastside feels less gritty, more mainstream. that said, most of the spots i was frequenting and crushing on were still on the eastside. per usual, i’ve got allll of my recs on the full guide (paid subscribers scroll for your complimentary one!) but here’s where you must hit up when in atx:
we stayed with friends (ty becca <3) but have also stayed at austin motel and loved. caffeinate at desnudo + mercado sin nombre. get your taco fix at trucks like granny’s + veracruz all natural. get a group together to order the whole damn menu and bottle of nat wine at nixta taqueria. keep the wine flowing at my new favorite: lolo — i went twice just so i could experience both their day and night feel. june’s all day, elizabeth street cafe + suerte are all still cute etc. kinda tropical + yellow jacket social club have the best frozen margarita / patio combo. barton springs + zilker park are nice when it’s not sweltering out. oh and don’t leave austin without a smoothie at juiceland — there’s even one at the airport so you literally have no excuse.
la happenings + openings:
modu cafe - jiyoon’s pop-up favorite korean inspired pastries finally have a brick + mortar in highland park. arrive early to avoid a sell-out (learned the hard way), expect a minimally designed space similar to laveta with cream top iced lattes (counter culture coffee beans!). order the dreamy kabocha persimmon cake, if it’s not already sold out, and the black sesame cookie + misugaru cookies for laters
bar etoile - just opened in (hot!) melrose hill by the domaine la team — really reallyyy looking forward to checking out this week
woon’s spooky noodles - my favorite la halloween tradition is ordering woon’s annual red noodle special now through halloween
picnic - not to be confused with piknik in echo park (just meh sorry), the homeboy coffee team has a nicely designed coffee shop also serving counter culture coffee
lasorted's pizza chinatown - dodgers haven / pizza in chinatown — probably crushing it with the world series right now
wildcrust - wood-fired sourdough pizza + wine next to fondry + queen st in eagle rock
a ti - kushiba in echo park didn’t last long at alllll, before a ti stepped in for mexican bar bites
tijuanazo - tijuana taqueria chain expanded to east la — got to shoot both la and sd’s locations and am a biiig fan of the tortillas + homemade salsas
taqueria frontera - new in cypress park by the tijuanazo fam — part of la’s taco boom
komal - more tacos! in mercado la paloma downtown — going as soon as i have a moment to fully digest the rest of austin’s tacos
rvr - i have got to get over to the westside asap to try gjelina / mtn’s former chef’s izakaya in venice
the four horsemen x anajak - brooklyn’s four horsemen book tour hitting up anajak’s iconic thai taco tuesday (oct 29th) only feels right
oh and if you haven’t yet, VOTE (for kamala!) — dropped my vote in the ballot box the second i got it <3
now playing:
sabrina (i am a party) by fred again..
came on while shooting at the cocktails over at good neighbor bar and haven’t stopped listening