Central Market often has someone making tortillas on-site. The also have a good selection of prepared food. They have Dinner for Two. Everything is already put togther in a bag and with warming instructions. Here are the July menus. I don’t know where the last 3 days are but this will give you an idea of the sorts of things they prepare.

If you are there on a day when they have Apricot Chicken Salad, try it. I love it!

In that general area, I like Fonda San Miguel (interior Mexico), Peached Tortilla (Asian fusion, great happy hour), Uchiko (Asian same owners as Uchi), Stiles Switch BBQ, Kerbey Lane (breakfast). All of these are local. There are so many great restaurants here, these are a few off the top of my head. There are tons along Burnet Road.

Central Market has lots of great prepared foods too. It‘s my favorite grocery store. I know your sister will appreciate you being there for her.

Don't underestimate the food trucks. There is a terrific pasta one called Artipasta (I think they may have opened a restaurant recently, but not certain).

My favorite Austin restaurant is Aba -I've had some truly amazing food there. You can waltz in if you go slightly late for lunch or early for dinner. Otherwise, you'll wait.

I love Swedish Hill bakery for lunch.

Love Josephine House for dinner.

For pizza: Home Slice on South Congress

If you like Chinese, Wu Chow is another favorite

Do you like macarons? I never really understood the appeal until I had them from la Patisserie. Amazing.

Also, do you like to swim? Try Barton Springs Pool or Deep Eddy. So refreshing in this heat.

Edited to add: I just looked up the population of Austin in 1988. About half a millioin then, and almost a million now!

Re the kitchen, I don’t know if you were skipping the obvious on your list, but no produce? I'd get some leafies for toppings or ”sandwiches” in tortillas, onions or scallions, tomatoes, peppers, and some Summer fruit, at the very least. You're good brothers, supporting your sister through the difficulties.

My sister took us to Uchiko the last time we were there, and it looks a bit expensive now, but it is an option. I would not have leftovers to take from there, however.

We've also been to Swedish Hill Bakery (which my sister likes) and Kerbey Lane - I found Kerbey Lane to have a pretty boring menu - I'm not big on comfort food. However, in 1988 I lived on Duval Street, across the street from Hyde Park Bar & Grill, and I did like that restaurant.

I don't underestimate food trucks. They are also popular in L.A., but in general I prefer to go to a place where we can sit down. I would make an exception for Hanh's Homemade or a Cajun truck.

It looks like there are some Lebanese and Mediterranean restaurants and food trucks in Austin that weren't there in 1988. We did go to one the last time we were there - I think it was Zaza Halal, and it was just okay and had buffet style food - no table service, but that's okay also. We might try the Phoenicia Bakery & Deli, and I think there are Lebanese food trucks near that.

For swimming, we will use the pool where we are staying. Barton Springs is too cold, and I used to go there a lot as a child. When I lived in Austin, I frequently went to Lake Travis. I'm sure that's very different now.

I did skip produce on my grocery list because it requires a bit more prep work, but I might want to buy pre-made salads. If I buy cold cuts to make sandwiches, I would also buy lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes, and then I would also need mayonnaise and/or mustard, and I do not want to stock up on condiments that we won't eat. I might be able to get some from my sister, however.

I'm not sure if we will be eating with our sister much. She doesn't like to cook and is not good at it, but she might be having some family meals at her house. That could get crowded.

Thanks for sharing about the Austin drag brunch, Lars. My DD and SIL are moving down to the Austin area soon and that sounds fun for when we visit.

I’m sorry about your BIL; safe travels to you and Kevin.

Lars, I wish you lived nearer. I have oodles of condiment packets I never asked for. If you don't want to prep vegetables, you might find that the store has a nice variety of ready to eat. And the store might even have a few condiment packets.

Can’t resist adding this to the conversation

Lars, I think I was at the bad Vietnamese strip mall restaurant in Austin. A night I will not forget. My young co-worker and I were presenting at a conference in the Convention Center. This was her first big presentation. She either got food poisoning at an airport restaurant on the flight there, or just had a nervous stomach. She vomited non stop from the moment we arrived. She was also following a crazy strict diet and could not eat any carbs. She decided the only thing that she could stomach was pho minus the noodles. She pleaded with me to go with her, which I very reluctantly did. We had an Uber driver who was blasting the most offensive music, and was driving like a nut. By the time we got to the strip mall she was green. After waiting in a very long line for our orders she ran to the ladies room and spent the rest of her time there. People waiting for tables were glaring at me because I had finished but was waiting for her to return. Sorry if this is TMI, but your post brought the whole event back!

We were in Austin in Feb for our grandson’s wedding. First visit for us so I really wish we had more time to explore the restaurants and other things. We did built some extra time in but the marathon was going on Sunday so that limited what we could do until after lunch as all the downtown streets were blocked.

Many of the meals were provided since we were part of the wedding family. My daughter, granddaughter and I ran an errand for the bride on Friday tho down on 2nd St and found a place called SweetGreens and had a nice salad lunch. We browsed a few shops there. There were a few other spots rated well in that area but several were inside hotels and we didn’t want to do that. DH was off with grandson and the guys and recall they had bbq somewhere near our hotel.

I you and your brother have a good trip. It's nice you can be there for your sister.

Plllog, I think we do live fairly close. How far are you from Westchester or LAX? I have not saved most of the condiment packets I have received, but then we rarely eat out. They mostly do not have good condiments in them.

It would be nice if Trader Joe's were closer to where we will be staying, but we might find some frozen vegetables in a small package at Central Market. I don't want to cook rice or potatoes while we are there. I'm hoping to get some good to-go bags when we eat out - typically portions in Texas are larger than what we want to eat. Central Market has a nice restaurant, and we've had lunch there in the past.

I pretty much want to avoid downtown while we are there, partly because of parking and party because of traffic. I've never spent much time in downtown Austin, but we did have lunch with our sister at the Driskill Hotel when she worked downtown and enjoyed that.

I think we will look for some breakfast pastries at Upper Crust Bakery, which is very close to where we will be staying. I've been there several times before because it is close to my sister's house as well.

Kevin likes to get breakfast tacos for breakfast, which can be found all over Austin, and they are always cheap. Last time, we went to a restaurant near 45th and Speedway that was in an old gas station that had been converted. The waitress there got to know us.

For breakfast tacos, I like Tacodeli. There’s one on Burnet. My brother lives in Austin and we were there two weeks ago. We stuck with the basics. Black’s and Franklin for BBQ. Eldorado Cafe for Tex Mex, and of course the Tacodeli tacos.

Yesterday, Kevin received a free cookbook called Breakfast in Texas from UT Austin. They gave him this gift because he named the university in his will - however, I would have to die first for them to get anything. Anyway, it is an interesting book, and it struck me that I already made a lot of recipes similar to what are in the book.

This made me realize how "Texan" my cooking really is. Half the time I make TexMex recipes, but I also make traditional German recipes that I learned in Texas, plus Cajun/Creole.

I like to get different food at restaurants from what I typically make at home, and Austin is just to similar. I was born 65 miles north of Austin, and the high school I went to in Temple was in the same district as Austin - this was before Austin had enough high schools of its own to be an entire district. Anyway, we went to Austin frequently - it was only an hour away, but we also frequently went to San Antonio - for vacations.

I won't be looking for TexMex food in Austin (beyond breakfast tacos), since that is what I primarily make at home. I will look for Cajun/Creole, however. I'll check out the Tacodeli at N Lamar and 42nd Street, as that will be close to our BnB.

I have watched the bats flying from under the Congress Ave Bridge. We also watched bats (Samoan flying foxes) from our hotel balcony in Fiji, but there weren't as many of them.

We had a great dinner at the seriously beautiful La Tratoria Lisina in Driftwood, outside Austin. Their dining patio is lovely!

À propos Lars's mentioning of Texan cuisine, today I learned chicken fried steak came to Texas via German immigrants who decided to schnitzel some beef.

Lars, I have not really been to restaurants in Austin in some time now. However, Polvos is always a good choice for Mexican food. It is absolutely delicious!

There are so many I remember from back in the day, however, I cannot account for if they are still as good as they used to be. I was always a huge fan of Texadelphia but they are now a chain and I wonder just how great they were then as to now.

I am sure you are familiar with Hula Hut on the river. I always loved going there, however with the extreme heat, that might take the entire fun out of it!

Jeffireys is great but pricy!

Franklins BBQ is known to most, as the best BBQ out there.

Moonshine is also a great choice.

Keep us posted!

I hope you have a fabulous time in Austin. Just remember it will be super hot and we are expecting a lot of Saharan dust from Africa. It is to be pretty substantial. Hopefully it will have passed on by the time you arrive.

Amy

We will avoid any outdoor dining while we are in Austin, although we just might go to El Arroyo for nostalgia, even though the food is mediocre. The Margaritas are good, and it might be worth it for that.

I do like the chicken fried steak at Hyde Park Bar & Grill, and that is one of the reasons I go there when I visit. I get (and make) Mexican food all the time in California, and so that is not an interest.

We might end up going to a BBQ joint with some relatives. The last one we went to was in North Austin and was cafeteria style with no plates - just brown craft paper on the tables, but this is what I expect in Austin. Kevin does not eat beef or pork, but he can get turkey or chicken BBQ. I tend to prefer pork over beef, and this is something I rarely get, since I don't cook it at home because Kevin won't eat it.

We might consider a day trip to Fredericksburg - we've done that before and liked it. Driftwood might be interesting, and it's a lot closer.

I would like to go to Hamilton Pool Preserve while there, but evidently it is too late to get a reservation. It is one place that I haven't been to that I want to visit.

I'll post a review of our trip when we get back.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your brother-in-law.

DH and I were in Austin few years ago to attend a speech/rally. Had such a lovely time. I don't think I have seen anyone mention one of my faves, Launderette?

::giggle:: Just the mention of Fredericksberg gets me humming the old Austin Lounge Lizards song.

I looked at Launderette and liked what I read about it - I will try to go there. I also want to go to the Phoenicia Bakery & Deli on 45th and Burnet Rd, which is close to our BnB. They have muffuletta sandwiches on their menu! We will go to Pappadeaux's for lunch on Friday with our sister.

I talked with my sister on Sunday, and it was not a very pleasant conversation - she seemed very testy and argumentative - I think this is because she is having trouble adjusted to her husband being gone. They were married for a long time - I think since 1983 or so, which would make it 40 years. She would never come to visit me without bringing him, once they were together. Near the end, she had to retire from her work in order to take care of him, and now she is no longer working and does not have him to take care of.

One of her husband's granddaughters (from Huntington Beach, CA) will be staying at her house while we are in Austin. I don't think I've met her, but I'm sure I would get along with her, although I do not expect to be around her that much. I really want to limit the amount of time I will be around my sister - at least during the time that she will be with Jack's family, as I do not know them that well and am not close to them at all. I do hope that Kevin and I will be able to spend some time with Karen by ourselves, but I don't know how much of that will be possible. I think if there are too many people around at the same time, it could be tense, partly because Jack's family is dysfunctional - my sister's term, not mine. I know his family will still be grieving a lot - as will my sister, and this is a situation that I have very little experience with. I mostly want to stay out of the way so that I can avoid conflict.

I'm sure you will be a source of comfort rather than conflict. She may well need a break from them !