Week 6: Austin to Las Cruces
Our KOA is just outside of downtown Austin, and while it would’ve been fun to be right in the thick of things, it is nice to be in a spot that’s a little quieter. And, how would we have ever navigated through the city with our behemoth trailer? We are just outside Austin City Limits—ha. (Don’t you love my early morning wit? And yeah, I just rolled my eyes at myself.) The East Austin KOA is only 20 minutes from the center of the city, there is space to walk the dogs and we can leave them here on our in-town excursions, and the people are nice. It is just fine. But we didn’t come here for the accommodations. We came for the food, for a bit of Austin’s colorful culture, and to see an old friend of mine.
Best buddies
We pulled into town in the late afternoon on a Friday, and while there wasn’t time to sightsee, there was plenty of time to go out for a good meal. We didn’t have to venture far. Just a few miles away, we found Patrizi’s, a semi-permanent food truck dishing up homemade pasta. Patrizi’s is located inside the Vortex, an outdoor patios/theater/music lounge/bar with a very cool vibe, super hip and youthful customers, and easy-going friendliness, even for us slightly road-crusty mountain people. Walking through the entrance, we hit the end of the line for Patrizi’s, which snaked back and forth a good distance before reaching the food trucks order-up windows. We figured a place this popular must be good and we were not disappointed.
To se the scene a bit, the Vortex centers around a large patio packed with tables of every size. Several large trees frame the patio and those, along with viny greenery break up the large space and make it feel cozy. Patrizi’s food truck has its spot in one corner and up some stairs diagonally across from it, is the Vortex bar. It’s got a speakeasy kind of feel, and the gals behind the bar were masters at mixing delicious drinks to satisfy the request for something “juicy, citrusy, and refreshing.” Also, that night, they were having a French-themed evening and there was a music duo singing upbeat, lounge-y French songs that wafted out from the bar into the warm evening and onto the patio, where we sat at a table waiting for our dinner.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
I won’t likely write too many restaurant reviews here, but this is too good not to share. If you are ever in Austin, I highly recommend making the trip over to the east side to go to Patrizi’s. Neal had the Pomodoro, a classic red sauce with farm cheese that melted like butter into the sauce and noodles. I had the Leopold with basil, arugula, lemon zest, and red chilis to give it a hint of spice. And, oh my gosh. This might be the best meal we have had on the entire trip, if not the last several years. The homemade pasta was so delicious, I think you could’ve eaten it with nothing on top and still would’ve been happy. Halfway through our bowls of goodness, we swapped dishes so that we could try both. I savored each bite. I also was surprised to eat an entire bowl. Figured I’d have leftovers, but it was too good to stop.
Participating in the French-themed evening, a local pâtissier was there selling pretty desserts she had baked. We got one of each dessert to have with our coffee the next few mornings (they were amazing.). I can’t remember her name, but will keep searching around—I wrote it down someone so that I wouldn’t forget—and update when I find it.
“Where there are flowers, there is hope.”
Austin stayed wonderfully warm for our visit there. We made it downtown for a farmers’ market, saw Willie Nelson, took a long walk along the river, and met my friend Jen for fantastic tacos and an overdue catch up. She and I go back to 2000—she was my first boss out of college, and we ended up becoming great friends and were roommates a handful of times over about 10 years. We’ve got some good stories!
On our last day in Austin, Neal and I hit up the Texas Farmers’ Market at Mueller, one of the biggest, most diverse markets I’ve been to. I think there were more dogs than people there; it was awesome. And later, Jen and her kiddo gave us a superb tour of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. If you ever need information or suggestions on native plants, the center’s website is one of the best resources. And the botanical gardens are beautiful, even in winter.
As of now, we’ve made it across west Texas and to Las Cruces. This has been a long one, so I’ll wrap it up here. Until next week!
Week’s stats:
GOOD THING | Time with friends.
BAD THING | Texas is a very, very, very long state to drive across, which is tough on the ol’psyche.
CRAZY THING | We have not seen any armadillos
GRAND TOTAL | 4,415 miles (673 this week + 3,742 previously)
Made it to New Mexico!