Newflower's is a new grocery store in south Austin. They aren't as large as a typical grocery store, but they have some unique stuff & amazing deals each week. The first time we went, they had one pound containers of strawberries for 99 cents. The next time we went, they were practically giving away pineapples: 4 whole pineapples for $5. They also have some interesting bulk items and prepared foods.
We are in possession of the first edition of The Fearless Critic for Austin.. it ranks El Chile as the best Mexican in town. So of course, we had to try it. The food was quite delicious and satisfying, and the locale is cozy and cute, but the best in Austin? Really? After a little googling I found out that the Fearless Critic has updated their review, and lowered El Chile's rating. It's still great food and excellent salsa, but I'm glad to see that we still have many even better Mexican places to look forward to trying. According to the Fearless Critic, at least.
I had been dying to try this place after reading about their goat cheese ravioli. Primizie is a new Italian restaurant in east Austin. We loved the interior and feel of the place, but we were there early for dinner so don't know what it's like when packed. I ordered the House-made local goat cheese scallion filled pasta pockets with black olive butter & pecorino romano ($15). I really enjoyed it, the flavors really worked well together and the bread that came with the dish was soft and fresh. However... I think Ryan's pick beat mine. The goat cheese pizza! It was made with local fresh goat cheese, caramelized balsamic glazed onions and greens ($12). Yummm. For dessert we shared the Italian lemon cheesecake with pomegranate and lemon sauce ($8). Splitting this dessert is necessary- it is amazing, but obviously very, very rich. There were white chocolate flakes covering the outside of the cheesecake, and the drops of pomegranate & lemon sauces added flavorful tartness. I have been dreaming about this dessert ever since!
Chon Som is wayyyy up north in Austin, and you must work it into your plans next time you're up in this neck of the woods. It's a Thai place with sushi bar, and during happy hour (5-7 PM) they have great deals like $5 noodle bowls, $1 nigiri sushi and more. We took advantage of these deals with pad thai & drunken noodles for $5 each, $3 veggie spring rolls and the $1 sushi. The pad thai may be a boring pick, but I'm glad I picked it- this is some of the best pad thai I've ever had. So fresh and delicious!
This place will satisfy your craving for anything deep fried. Fried broccoli, fried cheese sticks, fried mushrooms, fried pickles, fried jalapenos. They also have a bunch of different burgers. We ordered the fried corn nuggets ($4.75) and a couple of milkshakes ($3.25). A perfectly healthy late night snack!
This place has a great mix of Asian style sandwiches, bubble teas, and delicious baked creations. Our bubble tea & sandwich combos were great. It was about $7.50 for a sandwich & bubble tea combo. We also picked out a delicious looking mini cheesecake before leaving (not pictured), and it was a slice of heaven.
So, normally we would avoid chain Asian restaurants, but A) we had a coupon for buy one get one free entree and B) we've heard that Mama Fu's is actually pretty good as far as chain Asian goes. We were not disappointed. The ingredients were fresh and tasty and the dishes were flavorful. We tried Singapore Noodles ($8.49) and Honey Glazed chicken with brown rice ($8.49). The place itself is also quite nice and everything is served in real dishes even though you order at the counter. Mama Fu's has a location at the Triangle and just recently opened another location downtown.
Sarovar is an Indian restaurant in north-central-ish Austin, which seems to be the general area many Indian places are located. We both went for veggie dishes at Sarovar, their vegetable section was very extensive. Below you see the Daal Curry with lentils ($8.99) and Aloo Mutter, which was potato and peas with red curry sauce ($9.99). We also had Poori bread, which is fried puffy wheat bread. ($1.50 each) So good!!
