Texas Round-Up: 3 Austin Restaurants You'll Love

by Kate Mulcrone
September 30, 2011
A Stop in Hill Country
Considering how often you hear about Austin’s “Weird” campaign, I was expecting something truly “out-there” when I visited for the first time in May. Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I didn’t find Austin weird at all—it’s definitely cool, offbeat, and very much worth a visit. It’s also home to some of the best food and most genuine hospitality I’ve come across in a long time.

I stayed at the sprawling Barton Creek Resort and Spa, set on 4,000 acres yet incredibly convenient to the city center. The property offers spacious and comfortable rooms, a spa, retail shops, tennis facilities, a pool, and a nature trail. But by far the highlight of my visit was dinner in the Hill Country Dining Room, where my Black Angus steak ranked as one of the best I’ve ever had. Other winning entrees included a pasture-raised veal chop, a coffee-crusted bison sirloin, and pecan and bacon-crusted scallops. I rounded out my meal with spectacular triple cream scalloped potatoes and a glass of wine before rolling myself back to my room.

Among other spaces, groups can take advantage of 27 traditional meeting rooms as well as a state-of-the-art amphitheater with space for 150 attendees, the 6,000-square-foot pavilion event space with room for 450, and a sun-drenched, 2,600-square-foot atrium. Just make sure you build in plenty of time for golf while on property or you will have cranky attendees on your hands. Barton Creek is home to four remarkable golf courses—two Tom Fazio courses, a Ben Crenshaw course, and an Arnold Palmer course. 

—Kinley Welly 

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The Salt Lick serves up traditional BBQ

The slogan “Keep Austin Weird” bedecks many a bumper in the capital of Lone Star State, but weird isn’t always a bad thing—sometimes it’s delicious. Austin’s restaurant scene ranges from down-home Texas barbecue to the latest fusion cuisine. Here are some unique venues where your attendees can enjoy all that Austin has to offer.

Just outside Austin proper in Driftwood, TX, The Salt Lick serves up brisket, ribs, smoked turkey, and sausage. 

On the trip by wagon train to Driftwood in 1867, Bettie Howard, the great-grandmother of the restaurant’s current owner, barbecued meat by searing it and then slow-cooking it over coals. This is the same method The   Salt Lick uses today—right down to the original limestone barbecue pit Bettie’s family dug when they settled in the Texas Hill Country. 

The Salt Lick has two private rooms for events, one accommodating 66 guests and 80 in the other. There is also a banquet room with a capacity of 150, and the “cellar,” which seats 75. For larger groups, outdoor events for up to 200 attendees can be held in a pavilion on the property or at the elegant 7,000-square-foot Thurman’s Mansion. 
(512) 894-3117.

Looking to add a little spice to the agenda? Austin’s Casa Chapala Mexican Grill & Cantina is renowned for its salsa —it’s made right at the table—and the restaurant’s red hot sauce recently took first place at the Austin Chronicle’s 2011 Hot Sauce Festival. 

House specialties include mole ranchero (pork and cactus simmered in a mole, corn masa, and pepper sauce) and carne tampiquena (skirt steak simmered in a guajillo pepper salsa with strips of jalapeno pepper). Just a tip: the carne tampiquena pack some serious heat.

Casa Chapala is also home to the Austin Tequila Society and regularly hosts tastings. Both the original downtown restaurant and the newer northern Austin location can host group dinners or cater off-site events. (512) 459-4242.

Austin’s Eastside Cafe got in the farm-to-table game long before it was trendy. The restaurant shares its shady acre with the organic garden where many of the vegetables, herbs, and flowers used in its soups, sauces, and vegetable side dishes are grown. 

Owners Elaine Martin and Dorsey Barger dreamed up a menu that holds plenty of surprises for carnivores and herbivores alike, and there are gluten-free and vegan dishes on order as well. Specialties include strawberry soup and beef tenderloin with a gorgonzola mint vinaigrette. Eastside Cafe features wines from around the world, with an emphasis on those made from organically and sustainably grown grapes. The cafe has several private dining rooms that can accommodate groups of up to 32 guests. (512) 476-5858.