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Listen up, new Austinites. Austin loves its food and rightly so—it certainly has its own brand of vittles. The cuisine scene is leveling-up and diversifying day-by-day, though Austin has long been a hub for excellent grub.
Whether you just moved here, are just visiting or have lived here your whole life, here are some food options that you must try to get a feel for Austin's unique gastronomy.
Breakfast tacos
As the birthplace of the breakfast taco, if you only try one food in Austin it must be the humble breakfast taco. You may have heard of similar breakfast fares, like breakfast burritos or taquitos, but the breakfast taco stole the hearts of Austin's Tex-Mex-loving populous. A cheap, easy and timeless staple, breakfast tacos are Austin's unique soul food.
By way of two brothers from Monterrey, Mexico, Vaquero Taquero, 104 E. 31st St., sells tacos of both the breakfast variety and otherwise. With the choice of in-house fresh corn or flour tortillas, topped with eggs and chorizo, bacon, machacado or nopales, Vaquero Taquero's breakfast tacos are made with love.
Tacodeli is another excellent stop on the breakfast taco front, having served them to Austinites for 22 years. Serving popular options like the sirloin, egg and cheese or the freakin' vegan, with refried black beans and avocado, Tacodeli has options for all kinds of palates.
Kolaches
If you're new to Austin, you're probably confused about the whole "kolache" thing and if you're not, believe it or not, kolaches can be found in other states as well but they just aren't as popular as they are in Central Texas. Brought over by a wave of Czechs searching for new opportunities before the Civil War, Texas became home to sizable Czech communities who brought along the popular pastry.
Flaunting kolaches of all kinds, for breakfast lunch or dinner, Lone Star Kolaches has got you covered. The locally-owned chain has six locations across Austin so you're never too far from your fix—they even sell breakfast tacos!
If you're willing to venture outside Austin City Limits, Dos Gatos in San Marcos will treat you to an enormous array of Texas, Czech and seasonal flavors. With over 30 varieties to choose from, these kolaches are well worth the drive.
Tex-Mex
Don't get a local started on Tex-Mex unless you're ready to listen—Austinites have a particular love affair with the altered cuisine, characterized by its abundance of queso and fusion influences.
When looking for Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin, there is no shortage of options. Tamale House, 1707 E 6th Street, has been serving up tamales, tacos and tortilla soup for the Austin community since 1958. The East location is situated in a cozy garden and will make you feel right at home as you chow down.
Another oldie, Matt's El Rancho, 2613 S Lamar Blvd, has been peddling Mexican comfort food since 1952. You can get their famous migas here among other places, and if you don't know what migas are—well you'll just have to try them. While it started as an unassuming family-owned homemade tamale cart, the restaurant has come full circle, still makes everything from scratch and is proudly family-run.
Food trucks
Food trucks may not be unique to Austin but the city has the fastest-growing food truck industry in the nation. In fact, even well-established restaurants, like Austin's beloved Torchy's Tacos, have broken into the food truck biz.
While Gourdough's also has a brick and mortar location, the restaurant started in an Airstream trailer, 1503 S. 1st Street, in 2008. Combining a love for southern cuisine and donuts, Gourdough's proudly serves decadent, indulgent "Big. Fat. Donuts." like the "gettin piggy with it" donut burger, which is served with pulled pork and candy jalapenos, or the sweet "baby rattler," which is topped with fudge, Oreos and a two-foot gummy snake.
Now with several locations, Veracruz All Natural also started as a trailer in 2008. Started by two sisters who were born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico, the pair were taught to cook by their grandmother and now use their culinary prowess to bring flavors of their childhood to the people of Austin. Veracruz serves a taco for everyone, homemade salsas and refreshing aguas frescas.
Vegan/vegetarian
Bouldin Creek Cafe, 1900 S. 1st Street, is more than just a locally woman-owned vegetarian restaurant, it is a community staple that supports the community it serves. When you order from the restaurant, whether it is their kool hummus sandwich or vegan blueberry cornbread, you are helping support the small businesses Bouldin Creek Cafe sources from as well.
JuiceLand has been slinging green juice right here in Austin for 20 years but the juice joint, which was the shop's former name, sells more than just vibrant drinks. Each JuiceLand store has a full plant-based vegan menu with options ranging from jackfruit carnitas to the queso roller. Plus, if you've never had a wheatgrass shot, this is the place to go.
Ice cream
You can never go wrong with Amy's Ice Cream. As a brand that is essentially synonymous with Austin, Amy's has made a name for itself by dancing the "Time Warp" with customers and doing elaborate, acrobatic tricks with the scoops. With crowd favorites like Mexican vanilla, a rotating myriad of flavors and important homages like Zilker Mint Chip, Amy's is the ice cream of Austin.
Growing up in small communities where they only ate homemade ice cream, Anthony and Chad could never eat at a big box ice cream chain. Together, they created Lick Honest Ice Creams to make a rotating menu of fresh treats from locally sourced ingredients, the way it should be. When you walk into one of Lick's three Austin locations, you can choose from a huge amount of specialty flavors like Goat Cheese, Thyme & Honey or Cilantro Lime, all made from Austin ingredients.
I'm getting hungry just thinking about all these local favorites!
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Popular
(The White House/Instagram)
President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law on Tuesday, a move that the White House says will unlock hundreds of billions more in semiconductor investment across the country.
Part of that investment could make waves in Central Texas, where semiconductor companies have laid the groundwork for more plants and jobs as a global shortage of semiconductors continues.
For example, Samsung already had a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Taylor on the way. Then in July, documents filed with the state showed that the tech giant is considering 11 chipmaking facilities in the Austin area that it’d build over the next two decades. The proposed $192.1 billion investment would bring more than 10,000 jobs.
\u201cThe CHIPS Act will supercharge our efforts to make semiconductors here in America. It will make cars, appliances, and computers cheaper and lower the costs of everyday goods. And, it will create high-paying manufacturing jobs across the country.\u201d— Joe Biden (@Joe Biden) 1659828240
Micron Technology is another giant that could make a multi-billion regional investment.
At the start of the year, Micron Technology was reportedly considering a new plant in neighboring Caldwell and Williamson counties, though California, North Carolina and Arizona were also being reviewed as potential sites for the plant.
On Tuesday, Micron announced plans to invest $40 billion between now and 2030 for chip manufacturing in the U.S.
In a public video statement, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra noted how semiconductors are essential to many tools that are a part of everyday life such as computers, smartphones and cars.
“Today is a proud moment for the global Micron team and a strong step forward for American high tech manufacturing leadership,” Mehrotra said. The company said specific plans for the investment will be made available in the coming weeks.
\u201cToday, we announced plans to invest $40 billion in the U.S. through the end of the decade to build leading-edge memory #manufacturing. Our investment will create 40k American jobs and strengthen U.S. supply chains. Watch this space! #jobs #innovation https://t.co/WPePuDVJs6\u201d— Micron Technology (@Micron Technology) 1660050842
Recently, the city has made efforts to train Austin residents for the kind of roles companies like Micron and Samsung would try to fill. A couple of months ago, the city announced a “hire local” plan with Workforce Solutions to help people in fields like manufacturing and information technology get training to move up in their careers.
The bipartisan bill includes $52 billion in semiconductor subsidies. Nationwide, these incentives could create thousands of jobs and multiple fabs, the Semiconductor Industry Association estimates. Some of that could happen in the Austin area from companies looking to expand.
NXP Semiconductors is weighing a $2.6 billion expansion and Infineon Technologies is looking at a $700 million expansion. Respectively, those two could add 800 and 100 jobs.
Central Texas has a reputation as a major hub for semiconductors, and the competition with other areas could ramp up in the coming years as others like Qualcomm and Intel consider new facilities. Dallas-based Texas Instruments also celebrated the passing of the CHIPS Act.
“TI has an exciting manufacturing investment roadmap and these provisions will be meaningful to the development of our 300-mm water fabs in Texas and Utah,” the company said in a Tuesday Twitter post.
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(Compass)
It’s slowly but surely becoming easier to buy a house in Austin.
According to the Austin Board of Realtors, the median house price in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area is $537,475 as of July. Take a look at what that price range can get you.
This two-story brick home is the biggest on the list, with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms across 2,156 square feet in Round Rock. Characterized by its sky-high ceilings, large windows and newly updated fixtures, the home has a spacious backyard with mature trees, a wooden deck, a lounge area and close proximity to a nearby greenbelt.
This listing is held by Drew Griffin with Compass.
This recently updated three-bedroom, two-bathroom home was built in 1983 but fits in perfectly with the design standards of today. On top of newly-updated floors, roof and windows, this home comes complete with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, a spacious open floor plan and plenty of natural light. The biggest gem of this house is its vaulted and covered back patio, which gives way to a large backyard on a corner lot. At 1,280 square feet, the home is just a few minutes away from The Domain and Q2 Stadium.
This listing is held by Jennifer Buterick and Nicole Marburger with Compass.
Another retro find, this 2,098-square foot home has character to go around and is looking for a caretaker who will love it as much as the last. With four bedrooms and two bathrooms, the house has plenty of room for a home office and is colorfully painted throughout, including bright blue kitchen cabinets. On a third of an acre, this home comes with 12 fruiting trees in the backyard, solar panels, rain-catching barrels and a converted garage with living space.
This listing is held by Niki Duncan with Compass.
This three-bedroom, two-bathroom South Austin home has a wide-open floor plan and sparkling white interiors. The vaulted ceiling in the living room gives height to the room while the fireplace will keep you warm. An airy master suite comes with double pedestal sinks and two walk-in closets, so you don’t have to worry about sharing space with your partner. Enjoy the Texas weather with a private yard, screened-in porch, and fire pit.
This listing is held by Michelle Hendrix and Khani Zulu with Compass.
A retro-on-the-outside, single-story home was built in 1973 but has been given a full modern update on the inside. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,676-square foot home is situated on a half acre of land, complete with an above-ground pool and covered porch to keep you shady during the oppressive heat. Inside, you’ll walk directly into an open living and dining area, which features a floor-to-ceiling tiled fireplace, that leads to the breakfast nook, and kitchen with mosaic-tiled backsplash and a built-in wine rack.
This listing is held by Derek Peterson with Compass.