Off Track in Austin
Shops, sights and F&B during F1 USGP weekend.
Last week I was in Austin to watch Formula 1 as a guest of Velocity Black, a membership based digital concierge app that promises extraordinary experiences in the palm of your hand. Given that within a few hours of landing in Austin I found myself sitting next to rising talent Jak Crawford in the passenger seat of a 2025 Aston Martin Vantage S, doing 155mph on the back straight at Circuit of The Americas, I’d say VB delivers on that promise and then some.
As exciting as all the access I had at the track was, not to mention the race itself, being back in Austin had its own appeal. I’d always enjoyed my time when visiting, but that was before I moved to Nashville. People have been comparing the two towns at their respective ends of “The Music Highway” since the mid-20th century, but in the past decade they’ve each experienced massive transformations. The question rattling around my head going into this trip was “Will I still enjoy Austin now that I live in Nashville?”. The short answer is, Yes. The long answer is best left for another more robust piece.
With so much going on over the weekend the trip itinerary was packed. Given that I travel much less than I used to, I was intent on making the most of what free time I did have in Austin. Although I generally consider them a plague on American streets and sidewalks(more a fault of users, not the product) electric scooters and glider bikes are major time savers in a city that’s perpetually under construction and poorly planned for the amount of people now living there. I also used the city of Austin’s e-bike offering a few times so I could enjoy the wonderful paths where scooters can’t go. I would have used it more, but the app is quite buggy and you’re really rolling the dice on getting a bike whose maintenance has been kept up with. Again, worth it specifically to gain access to the 10 mile Ann and Roy Butler Trail that runs along both sides of the Colorado River, unless you feel like walking or running of course. Doing even a small section of the trail or crossing over one of the pedestrian bridges gives you a great sense of place and offers some nice views as well.
Enjoy Selections From The Archive
If you’re not doing some sort lakeside activity or actually on the water either rowing, paddle-boarding or swimming, you’re probably eating, drinking, shopping or listening to live music. I’m not saying that’s all there is to do in Austin, there are in fact many golf courses and gun ranges too.
Jokes aside, Austin’s food and beverage scene is robust. It’s not all BBQ and tacos, although if that’s what you’re looking for there a few better cities to indulge those cravings in. Franklin Barbecue and la Barbecue live up to the hype. Getting to meet Aaron Franklin and checkout the smoker room on this visit was quite special. Again, hat-tip to Velocity Black for making that possible. On the taco front I’m a creature of habit and usually end up at Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress. It doesn’t hurt that it’s across the street from one of my all-time favorite clothing stores, STAG(who just celebrated 16 years in Austin while I was there) and a few doors down there’s the Austin outpost of Imogene + Willie.
Apart from those go-to’s everywhere I ate in Austin this trip was new to me. I had a fantastic dinner at Mexican seafood restaurant Este after enjoying a few cocktails at their more casual Spanish influenced spot next door Bar ToTi. The Cachetada Taco(flattened and seared wagyu ribeye) and Tuna Tiradito were my personal favorites, but absolutely everything we were served hit all the right flavor notes. Our waiter also recommended one of the best small batch mezcal’s I’ve ever tried simply by me telling him I like “vegetal” mezcal more than smoky.
The other outstanding dinner was at this trendy Caribbean spot Canje that infuses flavors and dishes from Guyana into the equation. The result is a restaurant that truly takes you on a flavor journey without veering off into a world of pretense. I look forward to going back specifically for the Guyanese style roti, fried plantains, curry wagyu beef and jerk chicken. It’s the kind of spot where the energy matches the food. It’s easy to linger for another cocktail or dessert.
As you can imagine, Austin has no shortage of third wave coffee shops. Given how packed my mornings were I didn’t delve too deep into researching what’s what as far as the coffee scene goes. I did manage to make it to a few spots recommended by trustworthy sources though. Flat Track Coffee is a little slice of Portland(OR or ME to be honest) while Texas mini-chain Merit Coffee is big on quality, lighter on individuality. I didn’t make it to Idlewild Coffee, but since it’s attached to a skate shop, I’m going to assume I’d dig it. One spot I was hell bent on making it to was Bird Bird Biscuit. With three locations around town I figured they must be doing something right and I was pleased to find that’s the case. I opted for a Little Bird(egg over medium/cheddar) and plain biscuit with housemade strawberry jam on the side. I then added one of their fried chicken breasts and a sampling of their various sauces so I could slice up the plain biscuit and try as many flavors as possible without utterly overeating. Next time I’ll have to bring backup so I can try more items.
The same goes for the last spot I have to mention here, Swedish Hill. Located an easy 20 minute walk from downtown in the Old West Austin, this spot left me wanting more of everything they had to offer. Baked goods(buckwheat & jam scone) bright salads(Swedish Caesar) and sides(chicken salad) in a deli case, plus good coffee, I’d be a regular if I lived in the neighborhood. I suspect that a number of the places nearby are well liked by locals too judging by how many people were pulling up at lunch hour on a Monday. Definitely checking out Clark’s Oyster Bar, Better Half and Bar Peached next time I’m in town.
Cheers-AM
