Hiya, dolls! How was your week? I’ll be totally frank with you: I am draaaagging right now. Like, limping across the finish line of this week into the weekend, ha! Maybe it’s allergies from this dump of pollen that’s raining down on Austin right now?
Nevertheless, I still have my normal go-to things that help me with energy when I’m feeling low:
- Caffeine. (Duh.) I’m typically a black coffee drinker, but lately I’ve really been enjoying these Clean Cause yerba mate sparkling drinks. They have 160 mg of clean, organic energy from mate, and they’re made from a company in Austin that donates 50% of their profits to support recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. So cool.
- Barre classes. It’s always so crazy to me that working out when I’m exhausted gives me more energy, because I intuitively want to just quit all workouts when I’m tired. But the Spring It On Challenge is going on at the Barre Code, so I’m hustling to get in 15 classes in 21 days. The community of people in that little barre studio is always a huge motivation to me when I’m not feeling intrinsically to workout. If I was trying to go to a gym on my own, I would have been skipping workouts for weeks!
5 Restaurants You Need To Try in ATX
I looove writing these blog posts on the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month! It’s a super fun way for me to round up some of my favorite eats that I’ve been trying around Austin. Here are 5 restaurants that I think you should try in ATX:
1. The newest cocktail bar: Nicolaza’s. 
This is a brand new cocktail bar + food truck in South Austin, and I’m sooo excited about it for a few reasons:
- It’s from the team behind Hopfields (their French/American gastropub is fantastic!!). Hopfields has a little food truck parked in the back patio of Nicolaza’s where you can enjoy some of their most popular bites like that beautiful Pascal Burger.
- It’s located in far South Austin (SoCo and Slaughter), an area that desperately needs more craft cocktail bars! This is an underserved pocket of Austin that is so ready for more fun hangout spots.
- It’s dog friendly + kid friendly. Score.
- The inside is beautifully decorated, and the outside patio is MASSIVE. It’s going to be a really fun place to hangout in the spring/summer months.
WEBSITE | 8504 S Congress Ave
2. A Tried-and-true celebratory restaurant: Emmer & Rye
Nothing new, folks…I’m just over here raving about one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Again. Nate and I booked a dinner reservation here on Tuesday night for our 2 year anniversary. Swoon.
Emmer & Rye is one of those places that I am constantly “wowed” by. I’ve had soo many great meals here! I love how everything is locally and sustainably sourced, and the team works hard to use the entire animal or plant to produce as close to zero waste as possible.
If you haven’t been yet, and you have a special occasional coming up, I can wholeheartedly recommend Emmer & Rye as a fantastic option.
WEBSITE | 51 Rainey St
3. Farmers Market Cookies: Teddy V’s
Not a restaurant, but if you’re a regular at the Sunday Mueller farmer’s market or the Saturday Lakeline farmer’s market, do yourself a favor and pick up one of the Teddy V. Patisserie chocolate chip cookies! They’re a lot like the monster cookies at Henbit, but they’re a little bit denser (less doughy, more cooked) and don’t have pecans. Perfect for anyone who would like to avoid tree nuts!
4. Modern Mexican Food With A View: Gabriela’s Downtown
Swing by Gabriela’s for a yummy Mexican meal with a view of downtown. I’ll be honest – I don’t love the interior of this restaurant too much, but the outdoor back patio is epic! It’s the perfect place to sip on a few margaritas and enjoy some of that delicious choriqueso (pictured above) with chips.
WEBSITE | 900 E 7th St
5. A ridiculously good dive bar burger: Workhorse Bar
Here’s an oldie but a goldie! Have you tried the burger at the little North Loop bar Workhorse? I asked for mine to be seared to a nice medium rare, and the bun is grilled and nice and soft to soak up all the extra moisture.
I’ve gotta say…I wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet potato fries here. They’re coated in SO much sugar and taste too sickly sweet. (I prefer the natural sweetness from sweet potatoes.) Going to try the regular fries next time.
WEBSITE | 100 E North Loop Suite B
Peace and love! I’ll be back on Monday to share my recent READS with y’all! It’s been a while since I shared that, and I’ve been reading (and watching…and podcasting) a lot of great stuff.
