We’ve just returned from a trip to Austin. I plan to write a fuller trip report,  but here’s a brief rundown of places we visited close to Austin:
 
At Kerbey Lane Cafe, we really liked the Kerbey queso, the bacon pesto chicken breast, the pancakes, and the migas tacos.
 
Frank is a fancy hot dog place; we most liked the basic hot dog and the corn cup.
 
Lick Ice Cream had very good ice cream – the caramelized carrots and tarragon ice cream was particularly interesting.
 
I liked the breakfast tacos we got from El Primo food truck.
 
Micklethwait Craft Meats is a food truck with some excellent barbecue.
 
I wasn’t wild about the gospel brunch at Threadgill’s. We didn’t have either a great brunch or great gospel.
 
John Mueller’s Meat Company is another outstanding barbecue place. Mind the time; though they open at 11am, they were out of brisket by 12:30pm.
 
We really loved the banana pudding at the 1886 Bakery attached to the Driskill Hotel.
 
At the food trucks on South Congress, we found the artisan grilled cheese at Burro good but not outstanding. The shaved ice at Frigid Frog was a welcome relief on a hot afternoon, but also not must-visit.
 
Hoover’s served a lot of good Southern food, but I wasn’t really delighted by anything.
 
Amy’s Ice Cream gets a lot of recommendations, but the blackberry ice cream we ate had some significant ice chips.
 
The No. 4 breakfast taco at Mellizoz Tacos was really good.
 
The massive diet-crushing donuts at Gordough’s were really excellent.
 
In Lockhart, both Kreuz Market and Smitty’s had great barbecue.
 
We got some very good Tex-Mex food at Vivo.
 
I did not personally consider the donuts at Round Rock Donuts to be noteworthy.
 
The barbecue at Franklin Barbecue really was excellent, but I’m not sure I’d consider it worth the 2.5 hour wait.
 
I loved my chicken fried chicken and peach cobbler at Shady Grove. I think that eating there after dark is a splendid way to experience the place.