el naranjo

Food trailers are the best invention ever.  Thank you Austin for constantly surrounding us with food trucks, trailers and carts.  El naranjo is a fairly new food trailer in a neighborhood downtown.

 The gazpacho had an extremely strong flavor, in a good way.

 Cochinita pibil tacos- great mix of flavors. (two for $4.50)

 Molotes Veracruzanos.. i can't hold back from ordering whatever is crispy on the menu.  These were stuffed with black beans and cheese.

 For a few wonderful seconds we thought we'd found $2 sangria.  Unfortunately, this is non-alcoholic sangria.  Sorry! Still interesting though.

Website

Location

Buenos Aires Cafe

After reading several rave reviews about this place, we had to try it for ourselves.  Warning:  The south Austin location is really, really tiny, the wait is long, and they don't take reservations.  However they will call you when your table is ready if you arrive and leave your name and number.

The empanadas are a must try.. the fillings are flavorful and the crust is so fresh and flaky. ($2.49 each)

The Canelones Caseros (handmade herb crepes) were covered in a delicious sauce. ($12.99)

The Gnocchi Quartet included gnocchis in pumpkin-cinnamon, sweet potato-chipotle, cilantro-jalapeno, and potato herb flavors.  The decision to mix various veggies in with the gnocchi was great- usually gnocchi starts feeling very heavy very fast, and the veggies counterbalanced it well.  ($12.99)

So sad that we had no room left for dessert.. the dessert menu looked amazing!

Website

Location

Mirabelle

Mirabelle is a French restaurant in north Austin with a very nice but laid back atmosphere.  

This gumbo had a really nice, dark roux -- definitely Ryan's favorite of the night.  (cup- $4.95)

Ryan also had this linguini with clams dish, which doesn't seem to be on the menu anymore (a shame, because it was also quite good).  

The Chilean sea bass was excellent, and the pearl couscous had a wonderful texture.  ($24.95)

Is it actually possible to see a dessert menu with a dark chocolate torte and then inexplicably order something else? Unfortunately, this one didn't impress us much.  The torte was ok, but something was odd about the berries & sauce.   ($5.95)

Website

Location

Paggi House

The Paggi House happy hour is truly perfect for those with champagne taste on a beer budget.  All of their amazing specialty drinks are half off, which means you can be paying $3.50-$4.50 for some fancy and delicious concoctions.

Selected appetizers are also half off, the seafood potstickers in chile-citrus soy sauce were $6 at happy hour.

Goat cheese bruchetta, probably my favorite.  $4.50 at happy hour.

Warm olives with grilled bread were just $2.50 at happy hour. Overall everything was tasty and was well presented.  What an affordable way to enjoy one of the most expensive restaurants in Austin!

Website

Location