ACUHO-I News Blog

Have I mentioned that Austinites value supporting local businesses? That certainly extends to the local food scene. We have our share of high-end restaurants (both locally-owned and major chains) in the downtown area. We also have our share of “joints” where you can get a true taste of Austin.

Foodies should be in absolute heaven in Austin. The Austin Chronicle prints restaurant guides and has a comprehensive restaurant guide online that allows you to filter results by neighborhood and by cuisine. Some of the restaurants you’ll find within a six block radius of the hotel include:

• Carmelo’s Restaurant (Italian – $40+)
• Iron Cactus Mexican Grill (Tex-Mex, $10-$25)
• Chez Nous (French, $25-$40)
• The Old Pecan Street Café (American Cafe, $25-$40)
• Paradise (American Café, $10-$25)
• Fogo de Chao (Brazilian steakhouse, $40+)
• Finn & Porter (steak and seafood, $40+)
• Eddie V’s (seafood, $40+)
• PF Chang’s (Chinese, $10-$25)
• Mongolian Grille (Chinese, $10-$25)

We have a few 2010 James Beard Award semi-finalists in town. I’m not a foodie, but I do watch Top Chef and, as I understand it, the James Beard Award is a Big Deal. La Condesa serves interior Mexican cuisine and was a semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant. It’s about nine blocks southwest of the hotel and entrées run from $25-$40. Uchi, a sushi restaurant, was a semi-finalist in two categories: Outstanding Pastry Chef (Philip Speer) and Best Chef/Southwest (Tyson Cole). It’s about 2 miles away from the hotel on S. Lamar. Reservations are recommended for both restaurants.

Don’t worry, there are some less expensive options. The Chronicle’s restaurant guide can help you find a spot near the hotel to fit your budget.

The latest food trend in Austin is trailer eateries. Hey Cupcake! got it all started in 2007 and since then, food carts (usually an Airstream) have popped up all over town. There are two epicenters for trailer park eateries: South Congress and South 1st. Both are a few miles from the hotel. However, if you’re planning to spend some time shopping on SoCo, it’s VERY easy to grab some trailer food while you’re down there.

South Congress features: The Mighty Cone (pictured), Muck-n-Dave’s Texas BBQ, Austin Frigid Frog shaved ice, Hey Cupcake! and Cutie Pies. Personally, I recommend The Mighty Cone’s chicken cone (a popular menu item at the ACL Festival) and Hey Cupcake’s Sweetberry cupcake. I can’t wait to try Cutie Pies’ buttermilk pie (may have to make a run after work today). On South 1st, you’ll find the South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery. Grab some queso and a taco from Torchy’s (I’m fond of The Democrat), and then have a frozen hot chocolate or cake shake from Holy Cacao for dessert.

I’ve only scratched the surface of Austin’s varied dining options. The good eats start at the opening reception, which will include ice cream from Amy’s Ice Cream (complete with Amy’s signature servers).

I suggest you bring stretchy pants to ACE as you’ll need ‘em.

Tags: ACUHO-I, Annual Conference

This entry was posted on Monday, June 7th, 2010 at 5:02 pm and is filed under ACUHO-I, Conferences. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.