[Austin] Food neighborhoods

[Kent Wang]

Howdy all. I apologize for my absence from this forum lately as I have been busy with other food endeavors.

With that aside, let us discuss the food neighborhoods in Austin.

I feel that the East Side is truly the best neighborhood for food. Of course the East Side is big, so let's say more specifically the area around I-35 and 11th St -- perhaps we can call it the Near East Side. I live in the little known Swede Hill neighborhood which is centered on Swede Hill Park. It is bound by I-35 to the west, MLK to the north, Comal to the east, and 12th to the south.

Within walking distance I have:

Sam's BBQ

Galloway's

Nubian Queen Lola's

Victory Grill

Gene's Poboys and Deli

All those other restaurants on 11th like Primizie, Blue Dahlia

All the restaurants on Manor like El Chile, Hoover's, Vivo

As you can see, the nearby places are all heavy on Southern cuisine, which is reflective of the character of the neighborhood.

Within biking distance I also have all the restaurants downtown and the Mexican places scattered all over the East Side such as Abarrotes Mexicanos.

The food options was a major reason why I chose to move here. It's also fairly cheap. One downside is the crime as 12th & Chicon, an open drug market, is a few blocks from here. The Swede Hill neighborhood itself is quiet nice and nearly all the houses are in good condition, but there's no question that you do see some of the shadier characters on their way to or from 12th & Chicon walking through the neighborhood.

Other areas I would consider living in:

Downtown - There's a ton of restaurants there but few are actually good. The ones I can think of are Mulberry, Lamberts, Casino El Camino, The Driskill Grill, Peche.

South Austin (78704) - You have Vespaio, Home Slice and Southside Pizza, and a bunch of middling restaurants on South Congress.

Central Market area. I go there about every other day so even if the restaurants around there are not great, Central Market alone would make it worthwhile.

Of the above, I believe the East Side is the most affordable.