Here’s an alert for urban food lovers and foodie tourists: check out the Food Lovers’ Guides to many cities in the United States. Suzen and I love the guide for Brooklyn, and the latest book, for Austin, is very impressive.
Local food experts are used to produce these books. Each city is divided up into regions with a chapter devoted to each region. At the start of each chapter, a map provides an overview with all the chapter entries shown, so you can organize your driving or walking.
The bulk of each chapter is Foodie Faves, an alphabetical listing of very good restaurants. Some famous, some not. Some pricey, many not. It’s an eclectic collection that has one common denominator: excellence. Then come the Landmarks, dining spots that have both history and a special place in the hearts of the city’s foodies.
Next comes a list of Specialty Stores, Markets and Producers. This is the list for a rainy weekend day, and these are the places you definitely want to shop at. Finally Learn to Cook gives you some local options for cooking classes and education.
Best of all, the book concludes with multiple indices, so you can locate eateries by cuisine or by dishes [like Chicken Fried Steak in Austin!]. Or by recipes: there are a handful of recipes from the very best restaurants scattered though the book.
The Austin book, by Crystal Esquivel, is just a great new guide to this city that has become a culinary “must-stop” destination. I am visiting my family here and I want my son and daughter-in-law to have date night while I watch my twin grandsons. If you know about twins, you know a date night is always due. Crystals lists a wonderful choice: Foreign & Domestic Food & Drink. The husband and wife team of Ned and Jodi Elliot that started this restaurant have a pedigree to beexceptionally envious about: stints at both Bouley and Grammercy Tavern in New York City. Dessert can include blueberry fried pie with candied pistachio ice cream.
My son can have his date night. I may take the boys out and get the adjoining table!
Look for the Food Lovers’ Guide for your city or for you next vacation stop. There are no better assets for a foodie.