What I Will Miss About Austin

10 Food Places I Wish I Could Take With Me + My Favorite Secret Spot in Austin

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There is still time to order your last Burnt Basque Cheesecake before we leave.

If you are coming to Austin, make sure to add these 10 spots to your itinerary.

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This whole moving thing is starting to feel real. So far, I have packed 22 boxes of books. I think, I hope, I will be done with the remaining in just a couple more boxes.

Yes, I’m well aware that I have a lot of books. I did go through all of them and donated several boxes to our neighborhood’s book sharing boxes, but the majority are coming with me, wherever we end up. Did I mention that my partner’s library is just as bad.

Since I can’t seem to think about anything else but the move. It seems like a good idea to write about the things I will miss the most. The things my heart (and stomach) will long for once I'm no longer here.

Packing brings up a lot of emotions, the good, the bad, and the ugly, to borrow the title of my dad’s favorite western movie. A part of me is excited for my next chapter, while the other part of me is grieving. Grieving the loss of a life that I have or I guess it’s more appropriate to say had in Austin with my partner Tom, and my sister, Sveta.

It’s going to be quite an adjustment to no longer live in my neighborhood of Hyde Park, a place that has been my home since 2013. Previously, I lived in West Campus. This was in 2011 when I first arrived, while the following year we moved into a garage studio apartment in Cherrywood, within minutes of the University of Texas campus. Central Austin has been my home-base for 14 years.

One of the strangest things for me personally is the fact that Austin is the longest place I have ever lived in. It’s scary to leave after you have been somewhere for close to 15 years, (I honestly have no idea how that much time has even passed).

What I do know is that there will be no more long walks in Hyde Park or in our neighboring neighborhoods of North Loop, Cherrywood and Mueller in East Austin. No more bike rides along our various favorite bike trails such as the Shoal Creek Greenbelt, the Boggy Creek Urban Trail, or the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail.

Tom and I like to wake up early on the weekends, before the beaming sun rays find us, grab a coffee at Fleet Coffee on Webberville Rd. and bike down to the river.

No more sitting on the porch with a book while enjoying one of my favorite beers of all time, Live Oak Hefe, our favorite HefeWeizen in the world. Seriously, if you love beer and live or visit Austin, make sure to try this beer. It’s arguably the best HefeWeizen in the world, yes, even better than the ones made in Germany.

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To start, the thing I’m going to miss the most about Austin is, of course, the people. My friends. My customers. My community.

Feels like low hanging fruit and the obvious answer, but I guess it kinda should be. Right? You all have been here and are there every day and I always try to never take that for granted.

I started my tiny cottage bakery in 2019 and have been baking for many of you since then. I’m doing my best to keep up with orders and make sure I can bake one last cheesecake for each and every one of you.

I have already started getting messages that make me tear up as I read them. It’s funny how when things seemingly come to end we give ourselves permission to share how important someone or something is to us. Leaving gives us an opportunity to be vulnerable and kind. And it’s a really great excuse to say off the cuff, what we’ve been wanting to say but haven’t yet had the opportunity to blurt out.

So, I’ll say it: I’m going to miss baking for my Austin community more than I can express in my silly words. Baking for you has brought me so much fulfillment and joy. It has given me a sense of purpose. It nearly broke me at times and I’ve had tantrums and triumphs, but this is something that has helped me become stronger while healing.

Your support during the outbreak of Russia’s war in Ukraine kept me sane. It still is to be honest. Your generosity allowed me to support and continue to support my people in Ukraine. Baking is my way of fighting for equity and justice. It is my way of resisting the oppressive forces of an empire refusing to let go of its colonizing and imperialistic ambitions.

Bread has always been at the heart of revolutions and it’s not surprising that my radical spirit connected with the craft of baking, baking for people, and their human rights.

I always wanted to help people. Helping people gives my life purpose. Baking has allowed me to do it in a way that I never knew was even possible.

There is no one way we can help people. For me, baking for others is a way to bring a little bit of joy into their lives. It is my way of helping someone smile or feel an ounce of pleasure.

To be honest, I’m not sure when the next time I will get a chance to bake for others, but I will cherish these memories of baking for my Austin friends and community for the rest of my life.

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I’m going to miss running our little bakery especially with my little sister. A lot of you know her face since she does all the orders for me so that I can stay in the kitchen and bake.

None of this would have been possible without her help. Thank you, Sve! These memories will be with me for the rest of my life.

Especially the super chaotic moments, for example the time we decided to make 100 freshly fried sourdough Ukrainian doughnuts or bake 100+ cheesecakes during Thanksgiving week. I love you!

Tom and I dream of one day running a bookstore, with a tiny bakery, and food tours! We already sell books online through Pango Books—all of this is valuable experience we can take with us into our future.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

In addition to my amazing clients, I’m going to miss my friends. In today’s post, I want to say a special thank you to all of my food industry friends. I have found so much support, positive reinforcement, and mentorship in the kind and generous people who make up the Austin food, restaurant, and service industry.

I would like to thank some of them here personally.

Thank you to my dear friend Luis “Beto” Robledo, from Cuantos Tacos, you helped me set up, scale up, and figure out how to manage my cottage bakery.

Thank you to my friend and one of the most talented bakers I have ever met, Sandeep Gyawali, from Miche Bread, without you I wouldn’t have been able to buy my first 50 lb bag of flour. Thank you for helping me understand baking from a production and industry point of view when I thought I could bake 200 loaves of bread a day.

Thank you to Page, a talented chef and kind human being, you gave me so much positive feedback in the beginning of my baking journey. It gave me the courage to put myself out there in ways I never knew I had the courage to.

Mackenzie Smith Kelley and Jessica Attie, two of the most talented food photographers I have ever met and had an opportunity to work with. Thank you for offering your help (and labor) when I needed it the most. Thank you for helping me document and celebrate the dishes, traditions, and food stories that make up the culinary culture of Ukraine.

Amanda, better known as @austinfoodadventures. Thank you for supporting me since day one. Your support allowed me to bake for so many more people here in Austin and I will forever be grateful. Thank you for believing in me and my work especially when no one else cared about my baking.

Along with everyone else who I did not mention by name in the post. Thank you!

10 Food Places I Will Miss Tremendously

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I’m going to miss these dishes and the people that make them so freaking much. I can already picture my future self craving and longing for a bowl of Beef Noodle Soup from Chef Hong or a Bánh mì from NG Cafe.

Here is a list of 10 places I will miss the most in no particular order with my regular order.

1. Chef Hong

   1. Address: 907 W 24th St, Austin, TX 78705

   2. Order: Beef Noodle Soup and Pork and Cabbage Dumplings with extra black vinegar sauce and one side of chili oil.

      

2. NG Cafe

   1. Address: 3000 N Interstate Hwy 35 Building 12, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78753

   2. Order: Fried Chicken Wings, Classic Combo Banh Mi, Bun Cha Ha Noi, and one Sesame Hollow Bread.

      

3. P Thai's Khao Man Gai & Noodles

   1. Address: 4807 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78751

   2. Order: Khao Man Gai and Khao Man Gai Tod

4. Julio’s Cafe

   1. Address: 4230 Duval St, Austin, TX 78751

   2. Order: House Margaritas on the rocks, Chicken enchiladas with green sauce, chips and salsa, and homemade Chicken & Vegetable Soup.

      

5. Gimme Burger

   1. Address: 201 Lee Barton Dr, Austin, TX 78704

   2. Order: Double Wagu Double Cheese with Fries.

6. Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery

   1. Address: 411 E 43rd St, Austin, TX 78751

   2. Order: Jalapeño Cheddar Sausage Kolache, Ham & Cheese Croissant, and a black coffee.

      

7. Hana World Market

   1. Address: 1700 W Parmer Ln Suite 100, Austin, TX 78727

   2. Order: x2 Kim Bab.

8. Epoch Coffee

   1. Address: 221 W N Loop Blvd, Austin, TX 78751

   2. Order: Iced Mojo

   

9. Mam Mam

   1. Address: 1023 Springdale Rd BLDG 1 STE I, Austin, TX 78721

   2. Order: Fish Sauce Wings, Chicken & Rice, and Hat Yai Friend Chicken.

10. Comadre Panadería

    1. Address: 1204 Cedar Ave, Austin, TX 78702

    2. Order: Pink Cake

I was very lucky to live in close proximity to some great supermarkets—my neighborhood HEB, Fresh Plus, Central Market, and my beloved Phoenicia Bakery and Deli.

I will especially miss all of my favorite Asian grocery stores such as Asahi Imports, Hana World Market, Han Yang Market, and MT Market.

SECRET AUSTIN SPOT:

Taqueria La Casita del Pastor

Address: 4721 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78745

Order: One plate of three al pastor tacos on corn tortillas.

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No one is going to tell you to visit this spot when you visit Austin. You won’t find it on any trendy list of places to visit, but if you want something special and memorable. I highly recommend visiting Taqueria La Casita del Pastor on South Congress.

It’s the best al pastor I have had outside of Mexico. The only reason I found this place is because it’s right next to my vet. The meat is cut off the trombo in front of your eyes. It’s perfectly seasoned and not at all greasy, something that is too often the case when ordering al pastor tacos in most places here in Austin. Did I mention the corn tortillas were homemade and perfectly made.

Seriously, you can thank me later!