clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Eater’s Best Texas Restaurant Guide Features Seven Austin Spots

From barbecue to tacos to Japanese

Tacos and agua fresca from Veracruz All Natural
Tacos and agua fresca from Veracruz All Natural
Nadia Chaudhury/EATX
Nadia Chaudhury is the editor of Eater Austin covering food and pop culture, as well as a photographer, writer, and frequent panel moderator and podcast guest.

Eater turned its attention to Texas for its next regional guide, and it’s out right now. Eater’s roving restaurant critic Bill Addison put together the list of 38 essential restaurants found in the Lone Star state, which includes seven Austin places.

Austin’s picks include patio haven Contigo, grain-obsessed Emmer & Rye, award-winning Franklin Barbecue, Japanese Texas izakaya Kemuri Tatsu-ya, New American Odd Duck, legendary Tex-Mex spot Tamale House East, and taco queens of Veracruz All Natural. Also included was pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz’s barbecue spot Snow’s BBQ out in Lexington.

“With our choices, we tried to represent as man aspects of Austin dining as we could,” Addison told Eater. “I devoted the least amount of writing to Austin because it’s the most media-adored place in Texas (America?) and I wanted to make sure other cities got their due.” Houston is represented with ten restaurants, Dallas with five, Fort Worth with two, and San Antonio with five.

Addison appreciates Austin’s role in Texas: “Austin knows the singular space it occupies in the country’s dining ecology: deeply devoted to its Texan roots but also wondrously supportive of wacky, wonderful ideas that work, Kemuri Tatsu-ya being Example A.”

The rest of the Texas guide includes Addison’s take on the state of dining, a deep-dive into Tex-Mex, as well as hotel and activity suggestions throughout the region, including Austin.

Odd Duck

939 South 2nd Street, , WI 53204 (414) 763-5881 Visit Website

Franklin Barbecue

900 East 11th Street, , TX 78702 (512) 653-1187 Visit Website

Tamale House East

1707 East 6th Street, , TX 78702 (512) 495-9504 Visit Website

Contigo

2027 Anchor Lane, , TX 78723 (512) 614-2260 Visit Website

Veracruz All Natural [North Shoal Creek]

9003 Waterford Centre Boulevard, , TX 78758 (512) 363-5917 Visit Website

Snow's BBQ

516 Main Street, , TX 78947 (979) 773-4640 Visit Website