Greetings from Austin, Texas y’all!
I flew in early Thursday evening to meet one of my childhood best friends for a girl’s weekend, and we’ve been having the absolute best time here. Between walking an average of 5 miles a day, eating all the wonderful food this city has to offer, and enjoying some killer cocktails, I’d say this vacation has been a success! Here’s a little recap of our first 24 or so hours in the south…
Thursday night Happy Hour at Eastside Showroom:
Those two French 75’s were the perfect pick-me up after a mile long walk in the heat and humidity. We sat at the bar, and ambiance in there was super cute and trendy, I’d love to go back later at night someday for the live music!
Post-drinks dinner was at Lambert’s BBQ in Downtown Austin (super famous and did not disappoint!). My brisket was out of control delicious and had a coffee and brown sugar rub. The mac and cheese was almost too cheesy, but still good, and the brussel sprouts were awesome. What you don’t see in this picture are the two cornbread muffins we promptly devoured – also delicious…clearly.
The next morning, we woke up early (we’re both on different time zones but early birds nonetheless). After coffee, we started the day with green protein smoothies from Juiceland – peanut butter, hemp protein, banana, almond milk and spinach. So easy to recreate when I get home!
We then ventured out for a 4.5 mile walk around Lady Bird Lake on the trail. It was so gorgeous by the water and getting to see so much of the city from afar was perfect for our first full day. The trail is also well-maintained and easy to follow, which we appreciated since we had absolutely no idea where we were going…
We finally made it to Barton Springs, an Austin must-see, by around 11:30am. We were drenched and beyond ready for a dip in the 68 degree water. In all honesty, I only lasted about 10 minutes with just my legs in, and then the fastest full-body dip ever, but it was very much needed. We spent the rest of our morning laying in the shade and relaxing.
After some more Vitamin D, we ventured back out to South Congress Street where there are a ton of famous restaurants, food trucks, and shops. We made sure to hit Guerrero’s for tacos and it was well worth the wait! My friend ordered Fish Tacos and I got the Tacos Al Pastor (with pineapple!). They were so good, I’d recommend them in a heartbeat.
We walked along the street for quite awhile, and when it was too hot to handle anymore, we headed home for an afternoon in the air conditioning. Still full from the tacos but in need of a little snack, we went to Easy Tiger on 6th street. I forgot to snap a picture (shocking, I know), but we ordered a couple cocktails, a little sandwich to split, and two homemade pretzels. Our real destination for the night though was The White Horse.
Because we’re both from New York, and we definitely don’t have these in LA, we wanted to go to a Honky Tonk with live music and two-stepping. The White Horse fit the bill with a live country band, good beer, and dancing. It was so fun seeing all the couples out on the dance floor and we definitely tried to pick up a few dance moves. Had I gotten a few more drinks in me, I probably would’ve found my way onto the dance floor, but alas, I only had 2. I did, however, wear my cowboy boots, so I fit right in 😉
I’ll be back with more food porn and fun photos from LA, but for now I sadly have to head to the airport…have a great rest of your weekend!!
xo Jordan