The Vitals:
the spot: Julie’s Noodles 8557 Research Blvd #110 Austin TX 75758
the eats: Xiao Long Bao(crab and soup dumpling), Pork Chopped Noodle Soup
the bucks: $10 a person will set you up nicely
the full nelson: a divey Chinese joint that satisfies the itch for affordable & authentic dough driven cravings
The Vitals:
the spot: Uroko 1023 Springdale road bldg 1 ste C Austin TX 78721
the eats: handrolls all day!
the bucks: $4.50 – $7 per roll, factor about $20-$25 per person for a reasonable meal
the full nelson: Quality sushi hand rolls at an almost hand roll only sushi spot
Uroko is a fascinating sushi concept: a high quality hand roll only joint that moonlights as a sushi school on Thursdays and a Omakase(Chef’s tasting menu) restaurant by reservation only, on weekends. What this means is if you want to go hard and drop major coin, you have to really mean it. Sushi ain’t cheap and if it is . . . that’s not a good thing. Don’t take short cuts on raw fish a wise ER doctor once said. TBH I didn’t actually hear a doctor say that but I’m sure it has been said before. Back to Uroko and Bang for your Sushi Buck: you can waltz into this little “food hall esque” restaurant and for as little as $20 you can walk out full with about 4 hand rolls in your belly, maybe more if you go for the beef tenderloin or the salmon belly, but not by much.
But is Uroko as good as a premium sushi spot? Well the answer lies in the chef’s pedigree . . .
The Vitals:
the spot: 40 North 900 W. 10th St. Austin TX 78703
the eats: 40 North Burger
the bucks: $13.40
the full nelson: a double cheeseburger for grown ups and with a grown up price tag
It might surprise you to learn that Austin TX has a respectable pizza scene, including the likes of Neapolitan, NY style, New Jersey Bar pizzas and Detroit style pies. Within that flurry of pizza know how, 40 North stands out with some very tempting sandwich options like a Porchetta(roasted pork belly) on baguette, a fried chicken sandwich and one damn good and good looking burger. The 40 North burger also commands a somewhat hefty price tag of $13.40. Does it deliver some Bang for your Burger Buck? Read on to find out!
The Vitals:
the spot: Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum 1203 W. 6th Street Austin TX
the eats: Xiao Long Bao, Chao Shou, really all the dumplings + anything else on the menu you can afford
the bucks: $20 a person and you will be stuffed with premium dumplings
the full nelson: Top shelf Dim Sum in the heart of Austin TX
The Vitals:
the spot: Otherside Deli 1104 W. 34th St Austin TX 78705
the eats: The Roddy
the bucks: $11
the full nelson: The first pastrami sandwich that has made me miss LA a little less
In the weeks leading up to my imminent departure from Los Angeles in the summer of 2015, I made sure to eat at as many of my favorite haunts as I could. Knowing that I couldn’t get to them all, I made a special emphasis on foods that I knew would be in short supply in the Lone Star State. Falafels, Baja style fish tacos and delicatessen fare topped the list. Sure, one can find a respectable falafel in a city like Austin, but just not in the same frequency as one can find them in the city of Angels, or with the same variety; Israeli, Lebanese and Armenian options abound when it comes to scoring a Middle Eastern hush puppy.
As far as deli fare as concerned, I knew I would be in dire straits. So I made sure to hit up Langer’s delicatessen: home to the best pastrami sandwich in the universe. Yes, it’s better than Katz in NYC. Langer’s magnificently crafted pastrami sandwich, whose rye bread is just as perfect as the hand carved slices of pepper smoked beef, was worth a flight back to LA in my opinion. And I held to that opinion for years now, right up till about last week.
The Vitals:
the spot: Little Big Burger 1630 East 6th St. Austin TX 78702
the eats: Little Big Burger with double patty, cheddar and bacon
the bucks: $7.50, $4.50 respectively
the full nelson: a burger chain that’s pretty keen on Bang for your Burger Buck
One of my first jobs out of college would occasionally take the staff out for lunch. I naturally liked to steer the ship on where would we go, and fought relentlessly from dining at a chain. That was almost 20 years ago and in the two decades that have since passed, the words “restaurant chain” conjure up a more complex dining scene. Yes, there are some respectable chains out there, especially in the world of burgers. In the case of Little Big Burger, you just might have the best Bang for your Burger Buck chain there is . . .