Anniversary Trip Part 1: Austin

We decided that for our anniversary trip this year we wanted to visit both Austin and Denver. Broad went to Austin for her bachelorette party and Beard went to Denver for his bachelor party. We both had such great times in those cities separately that we wanted to revisit them together!

We thought the best way to break down the trip would be in two posts by city. We’re not going to break it down by day and tell you EVERYTHING we did because we did A TON. We’re just going to tell you about our favorite things we did.

Austin Motel
We try and stay at Airbnbs when we travel but we stumbled across the most adorable and quirky motel online, called the Austin Motel. It’s also appropriately nicknamed the “Phallus Palace.” It was reasonably priced, so cute and located centrally on South Congress. We had the opportunity to witness a poolside aerobics class led by the exuberant Erica Nix (we have regrets about not joining). It was also right next to Jo’s Coffee, yes the famous Jo’s the with “I love you so much” mural (the coffee is even better than the mural). Oh and the best part about the motel? They had two motel kitties on the premises! We will definitely stay here again.

Jo’s Coffee
Yes, the first thing we did when we dropped off our bags and changed was take a pic by the famous mural at Jo’s Coffee. Second, we grabbed a cup of coffee. Broad got an iced coffee (omg SO GOOD) and Beard got an iced turbo which is their signature sweet, creamy, cold, coffee drink with hazelnut and chocolate flavors. We’re not usually fans of sweet beverages but this was kind of an exception and definitely a must-order item.

Blue Owl Brewing
This was Broad’s favorite stop when she was in Austin last year. It’s is an all sour brewery. Chang, who normally does not enjoy beer really liked this place too. We also got Stephen to drink sours and actually start to like them! We spent quite a bit of time here and it was hard to leave.

The Beer Plant
Chang requested that we make a stop at The Beer Plant which is Austin’s first all-vegan gastropub. Of course this is not a place we normally would go to but we’re down for anything. Holy. Crap. The food was amazing! We ended up sharing buffalo cauliflower wings, mac n cheese and korean spicy broccoli. The beers were also tasty. We would definitely eat more vegan foods if they were prepared like these!

la Barbecue
You can’t go to Austin without eating Texas barbecue, right? We made the decision to not go to Franklin’s and wait in that line mainly because we knew there were other great bbq places around. We both heard great things about la Barbecue so we decided we needed to go there. The plan was to get there early and hopefully wait in a small line. We got there around 10:45 am right before they opened at 11:00 and there was already a small line formed. We tried the brisket, pork ribs, jalapeno sausage, potato salad and slaw. It was amazing and truly some of the best barbecue we’ve ever had. We over ordered just a tad and Beard decided to take it upon himself to finish everything. He nearly did, then fell into a meat coma. Do yourself a favor and come with a plan.

Las Perlas Mezcal
We had a plan to drink mezcal while we were in Austin since it can be hard to find here in Cleveland. We both really love it and it’s available almost everywhere in Austin. We randomly found Las Perlas Mezcal online and decided we had to go because it’s strictly a mezcal bar! It was the most expansive mezcal menu we’ve ever seen. We walked in at the right time when there was almost no one there. We sat at the bar with our friends Chang and Stephen and the bartenders talked mezcal with us the whole night. We tried so many different kinds and they answered all of our questions. The vibe was modern, cozy and fun. We could have spent all night there. The happy hour menu is killer and the cocktail list is phenomenal.

Torchy Tacos
As much as we try to avoid chains on vacation, we had to stop at Torchy’s Tacos. It was close to our hotel and we stopped for breakfast tacos. They were really delicious but the green chile queso was absolutely amazing.

Jester King
If we had to pick only one thing to do in Austin it would be Jester King Brewery. It’s a little outside Austin so Broad didn’t get to go on her trip so no matter what, we were doing it this time. Jester King specializes in producing farmhouse ales and is located on 165 acres of farm land. It’s something out of a story book. Stephen and Chang drove us there and we got them to try farmhouse/sour beers (spoiler: they enjoyed them). What is truly awesome about the property is that the bars and beers are really spread out. There is a brewery bar, pasture bar, kitchen bar and courtyard bar. They all have different beers. It was a gorgeous (also hot) day so we tried almost every single beer at all the bars and walked around the property finding shade.

Dai Due
Since this was the day of our actual one-year wedding anniversary we wanted to have a special dinner. We picked Dai Due because the menu looked out of this world and the reviews were all so amazing. We ordered the chicken liver mousse and fried chicken meal which was the special (everyone was getting it). The restaurant has a comfy yet chic vibe and the butcher shop in the front showcases some amazing looking meats.

South Congress Cafe
The South Congress Cafe was located within walking distance from our motel and we heard it was a must for happy hour. We enjoyed some delicious mojitos and margaritas and also some very tasty ceviche.The bar area is super teeny tiny so get there as early as possible!

Juan In A Million
This was Broad’s favorite breakfast place from her bachelorette party so she had to bring Beard here. Everything is excellent and the micheladas are a must. We got the Con Queso Breakfast and Chorizo Con Huevo. Both were stellar.

Rainey Street
Rainey Street is the best street in Austin and our preferred place for night life (we’re steering clear of the “Dirty Sixth”). Rainey is an adorable street full of craftsman houses that are actually bars, each with their own individual theme and vibe. You can find the best patios, live music, craft cocktails and food trucks. Here’s a quick rundown of our favorite spots:

• Half Step: we went here twice. We had the best mezcal and gin cocktails here.
• Lucille: the patio here felt like we were in someone’s awesome backyard.
• Unbarlieveable: as much as we both hate clowns, this circus themed bar is pretty spectacular.
• Icenhauer’s: we started happy hour here and enjoyed many of their female-named cocktails in both shot form and normal size.
• Banger’s: they have over 100 beers on draft and one of the best beer gardens ever.
• Container Bar: we didn’t go here this time but it’s a cool spot that Broad thinks is worth checking out.

Stay tuned for our part two post about Denver!