Hey! If you’re planning on visiting Austin for ACL Fest 2019 and you want to know where to eat in Austin, I made this epic guide for you! It offers the best restaurant suggestions for you for every meal between Thursday night and Saturday morning! Check it out right here. 

Were you at ACL fest this year? I went for weekend 2, and HOLY MOLY we had so much fun, despite the crazy humidity. Here’s a recap of my weekend:

Also see: Where To Eat In Austin During ACL Festival 2019

Friday at ACL Fest

We live pretty close to the festival, so I typically take a Lyft as close as I can, then walk the final 1/2 mile or so. I was teaching lessons until about 6:00 on Friday, so I snuck just in time to see grab some dinner and see Sir Paul McCartney perform on Friday night.

This was a total bucket list moment! I’ve never seen any of the original Beatles musicians perform. I was VERY happy to be watching Paul rock out on stage at ACL.

I posted this pic on my personal instagram account (not the @somuchlifeblog one…) and Mikaela, the mom of one of my childhood friends, messaged me and said “that girl who was standing behind you is one of our friends!”

I just love how small this world can seem.

Paul McCartney is 76 years old. Can you believe he can rock out on stage for 2.5 hours??? Amazing.

To finish up Friday night, I grabbed some bites from ACL Eats, aka my favorite part of the festival! I love how this music festival doesn’t have typical “fair food” but really highlights some of the best restaurants in Austin.

I grabbed some Tamale Tater Tots, which were basically chopped up tamales that had been battered and fried with a side of queso for dipping. They were pretty tasty!

And some tacos, and I can’t for the life of me remember where I got these! I usually just order the stuff I know I love, but I decided to try some new things on Friday night. Sadly, these tacos weren’t very good!

Unpictured: the nachos from Trudy’s, which were also pretty bad! The queso was really watery and runny.

Don’t worry, though! The eats got better throughout the weekend.

Saturday at ACL fest

Nate and I went to Patika for a Saturday morning breakfast. I was considering Bouldin Creek Cafe, but they had a 90 minute que. No thanks!

Biscuits and gravy to start my Saturday.

Saturday at the festival was SO much fun! The entrance that we took was right by the wine garden, so I immediately stopped and got a glass of Campo Viejo Rosé to kick off the weekend.

I’m happy they added this wine garden to the festival a couple years ago. It adds a nice, chill place to hang out at the edge of the festival grounds.

Homeaway was so sweet to reach out and ask if I wanted some backstage passes to their stage! This was my little oasis where I’d sneak away whenever I needed clean bathrooms with a/c, a bunch of cold water and topo chico, couches, sunscreen, and shade.

Thanks, Homeaway!

Lunch on Saturday was this double cheeseburger from Lonesome Dove. It was $12, so one of the pricier items at ACL Eats, but it’s the best burger I’ve tasted at the festival.

I also grabbed the Cuban sandwich from Noble Sandwich Co., which was $8 and much smaller and less filling than the burger. It was fantastic and I finished it in about 4 bites!

Hanging out in the craft beer tent with my boo. I mostly drank Bell’s 2 Hearted Ale over the weekend.

In regards to music, one of my favorite performances of Sunday was Brandi Carlile. She is probably the artist I’ve listened to most consistently in the past decade of my life.

Her voice is unreal. This was my first time to see her perform live, but I’m going to try to see her again soon!

I also loved the CHVRCHES show! This was my second time seeing them live, and I love this band! 

I grabbed some late night Torchys Queso when that craving hit..

And this insanely delicious Brisket Mac n Cheese from Mickelthwaite Craft Meats. I mean, y’all…

Ok, so this is fun:

My old roommate Grace (we went to grad school at UT together) texted me and asked if I was at the festival, because she and her boyfriend Jon were about to go on stage and play violin and cello with a band called Disturbed.

What?

So cool! So I ran over there and caught them playing with the band! Disturbed is a heavy metal band, so I wasn’t sure how they’d incorporate a violin and cello with that sound. But about half way through Disturbed did their cover of “Sound of Silence,” which is when I saw Grace and Jon walk out on stage.

Sunday at ACL Fest

My Sunday morning started with a few hours of work, so Nate went out and got the French cruller from June’s All Day for me to enjoy with my coffee. This donut is like air + butter. It’s an exceptional donut, but I don’t think many people in Austin know about it.

Sunday at the festival was….hot. Haha! That’s just my main memory of the day! It was hot and humid and there was hardly any wind! I drank tons of water and tried to stay in the shade all day.

X Ambassadors were really sweet. I wasn’t expecting to love them as much as I did! I watched that show then ran over to ACL Eats to grab some grub!

The kimchi fries from Chi’lantro are one of my favorite eats in Austin, so it was a no-brainer to grab those at the festival. Did anyone notice that they had an extra amount of kimchi on them? Maybe it was just my serving?

Not complaining about it, I just thought it was odd that they tasted so different than they do in the restaurant!

I also tried the soy-glazed chicken waffle cone, which was so cute! A very clever idea from Chi’lantro. Festival food should be able to be held in one hand (like the original festival vendor, Mighty Cone), so it’s not surprise that this was a hit at the festival.

Boppin’ to more tunes. Can you see how sweaty I am?! My hair was sticking to my face all day and I’m pretty sure all my makeup melted off by about 5 pm.

This was my 5th year doing the festival, and every year I have a tradition of getting a Tiffs Treats on Sunday night to wrap up the festival. I usually get the brownie with ice cream, but this year I got a TiffBlitz, which is a blend of ice cream, cookies, and brownies (and I got a cookie on top).

I wasn’t a huge fan… The “cookie” they talk about is really just cookie crumbs, and they mix with the melted ice cream and created this warm, sugary melty mix. I’ll probably go back to the brownie next year!

Know why I’m smiling so big in this pic? I’m about to take a pedicab ride home and take a cold shower! NOTHING feels better at the end of a 3-day festival weekend than shower and bed!

And then I woke up this Monday morning, and it’s freaking 48 degrees?! What the what. Safe to say that autumn has arrived in Austin.

That’s a wrap on ACL Fest 2018. I’ll see you next year, ACL!