SXSW: The Food I Ate

Austin is a foodie town, brimming with amazing restaurants and any type of food truck one could imagine. Being in town for the SXSW festival, I wanted to make sure that I experienced a little bit of everything in addition to eating at the actual parties. Here's a quick rundown: 

Day One: This fourteen hour day had me in a bit of a daze because of my 14 hour drive the day before. But you guessed it, BBQ! From the legendary Franklin's BBQ. Delicious and worth the wait. 

Day Two: I'm a major fan of Pinterest, so naturally I headed up to their super cool party on Rainey Street. They had life-sized monitors from which to pin your favorites. I was in heaven. Not to mention delicious tacos and free drinks. Thanks Pinterest!   

Day Three: Food Truck Day! After a few inspirational sessions on Marketing and Branding, I headed up to Rainey Street again to hit the food truck lot. It was a tough decisions, SO many choices. I settled with a Gyro from Big Fat Greek Gyros. The name says it all. Delicious! 

Day Four and Five: Cheese, Cheese and more Cheese! Thanks to the State of Wisconsin. I was walking out of a very serious and Debbie Downer session on internet fake news tactics and saw a long line outside of a conference room. Then I heard someone yelling cheese. Wisconsin had over 100 cheese with all the fixings AND WINE in one room. I can't remember feeling so happy. It was dreamlike. I felt like I was in Willa Wonka's Cheese Factory. Of course, I ate at other places that day but this was the highlight, so much so that I snuck a big plate of cheese out for my starving friend Allen, pictured here. 

Day Six: Met with an old college friend and sorority sister, Shannon and her buddy for drinks at The Ranch. After a few drinks, they insisted that we check out Tumble 22 for some seriously delicious fried chicken. You choose the heat: wimpy, hot, dang hot or fire in the hole. I went with hot, which had my mouth on fire so I cannot imagine the hotter options. I will definitely hit this spot up next time. 

Day Seven: By this day, I was running out of steam. The festival had turned mostly to music so I thought I would spend the day running around Austin. A few days before I had been standing in line for a movie - Eighth Grade, so I had a few hours to kill and the guy next to me, a film teacher from the University of Rhode Island. He was raving about Cherrywood Coffeehouse. So I thought I would check it out. The best breakfast taco I have ever eaten. The outdoor seating had a band playing and it was all around a super chill place for breakfast. Austin is super dog friendly so Bailey got to run around and chase some birds while I ate. 

That evening, I ventured down to S. Congress. My favorite Austin neighborhood. Music was playing everywhere. It was a cool vibe and was the best final night in Austin. I've always loved S. Congress cafe so I stopped in for a sangria and a fabulous duck and oyster gumbo. I walked around a little bit more and took in all the great music. I wasn't really hungry but since when has that ever stopped me. I realized that I was craving some Tex-Mex. Curra's Grill was exactly what I was craving. I had the enchiladas. 

Those are the highlights! I ate a lot of food but walking around for 12+ hours for seven days in a row I didn't feel guilty. Until the next time!