A few weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, I ran into a lady that is moving to Austin, TX. Since that is where I am from, I told her that I could email her all of my favorite restaurants, places to shop, my doctors -- stuff like that.
After I sent her a page long email about Austin, it occurred to me that I have never talked about my favorite place in the whole world on my blog, but that's about to change. Living almost 800 miles away from home now makes me realize how lucky I was to grow up in the place that I did. For me, it doesn't get much more magical than Austin, TX.
Since Austin is
Eat
Hopdoddy Burger Bar
You guys know how much I love burgers, so much so that out of the 5 places I am going to tell you to eat at, 2 out of the 5 are burger places. Hopdoddy is located on South Congress, which is my favorite street of Austin because I feel like it reflects the personality so well.
At Hopdoddy, get there right at 11 am (when it opens) or else you will be waiting 2 hours, literally. Order the primetime burger and the fries with green chile queso. If you're really feeling yourself, get the cookies and cream milkshake too!
Torchy's Tacos or Chuys
I was born in Texas, moved away for a bit and then came back when I was 12, so I would definitely consider myself a true Texas girl. However, most Texas girls eat and breathe either Mexican food or BBQ. I however am not a huge fan of either. It wasn't until I moved to Alabama that I realized how insanely lucky I was to have the best Tex-Mex right at my fingertips.
However, if any of my friends ever wanted Mexican food I would always want to go to either Torchy's or Chuys because they were my favorite.
Torchys is one of the first places I go to when I come home now because it satisfies my mexican food cravings, its pretty cheap and they have them all over Austin. I get the chicken fajita tacos, trashy style, which means they put queso on them. But be sure to also get queso on the side because theirs is the best in all of Austin.
Chuys is a place that I would definitely recommend too, but since it is a chain (we even have one in Tuscaloosa) I wouldn't say it's the #1 Mexican restaurant to try. If you do go, make sure to order their creamy jalapeño, the stuff literally changes your life.
Clarks Oyster Bar
You guys know that over the last 9 months or so, I have become utterly obsessed with oysters. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden I was hooked.
Clarks is my favorite place to get oysters in Austin because the oysters are so delicious and the atmosphere is incredible. On a nice day, my family and I would sit outside and just go to town on their oysters. We personally like the ones from the West coast since they aren't as salty.
If you're not an oyster person, they also have incredible food. My mom and I always split their lobster roll, but we've had the crab cakes too and those are delicious as well.
Mandola's
This is an Italian restaurant chain in Austin and it is amazing. Italian food is my favorite and my mom and I used to eat there all the time. If you go, get the side mista salads, spaghetti carbonara and the margarita pizza. You will not be disappointed.
P.Terry's
I have mentioned so many times in my videos that there is a burger place in my town that all of my friends knew I was obsessed with. It got to the point senior year that I would eat there 3 times a week.
This beautiful place is called P.Terry's and it is basically the Austin In-N-Out. It is literally dirt cheap (you can get a burger, fries and water for under $5) and the product itself is unlike any other. If you had to try one thing on this list, it needs to be P.Terrys.
Shop
Barton Creek. This is where you will find Nordstrom, Forever 21, Sephora etc.
The Domain. This is your little taste of designer in Austin. They have everything from Tiffany to Louis Vuitton to David Yurman to Burberry. This mall is my favorite because of how luxurious it makes you feel when you're walking through it. But they also have more affordable stores like Forever 21, Free People, Zara and H&M.
2nd St. This Street has some amazing boutiques and you will also find some great restaraunts as you shop.
The Beehive in Westlake. This is a great little boutique that is near Barton Creek mall if you decide to go there. They have such cute things!
South Congress Ave. This is the same street that has some amazing restaurants, but if look around, they have the first ever Kendra Scott store, the Impeccable Pig and of course some typical Austin stores like Uncommon Objects.
Stay
If you come to Austin, you need to stay downtown. That is where you are going to get the most out of your trip because you will be in the heart of the city.
San Jose on South Congress
J.W. Marriott on 2nd St.
Four Seasons on San Jacinto (Also, this is the best place EVER for brunch)
If you guys are ever planning a trip to the Austin area and need some more recommendations, then just shoot me a message, I'm happy to help!
xoxo,
Abbey
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