Birdie’s is a small, counter service restaurant and wine bar on the corner of 12th and Harvey in Austins east side. The building that Birdie’s occupies has long been a hub of this historic neighborhood and has gone through many restaurant and business iterations. Although Birdie’s is a smaller, simply decorated and low key space, the owners come with a serious pedigree.

Situated deep in the Holly neighborhood on Austins east side in a converted laundromat is Launderette. Chef and owner Rene Ortiz opened Launderette in 2015 after working at Austin favorites Sway and La Condesa.

Suerte is an upscale Mexican restaurant on East 6th St, and owner Sam Hellmann-Mass’(of Odd Duck and Barley Swine fame) love letter to Oaxaca. That translates to a menu heavy on the masa and an extremely impressive mezcal selection.

When chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph came to Austin in 2015 to help chef Kevin Fink open the restaurant Emmer & Rye he quickly noticed Caribbean food in Austin was vastly unrepresented. Six years later, a restaurant group with Fink (Emmer & Rye Hospitality), and with five concepts under their belt, Canje was opened in an inviting, relaxed space on the east side off E. 6th St.

The popularity of natural wine has skyrocketed over the last 5 years. You may have noticed whole sections of your favorite wine shop or grocery stores wine section dedicated to this particular kind of gem hued juice. Natural wine is a broad term for wine that is produced without the traditional additives and sulfites that you’ll find in most large scale wines. Other terms you might hear for the stuff are “biodynamic” and “low-intervention”. In 2020 Austin opened its first natural wine bar and shop, Lolo.

Housed in a former filling station at the far end of E 7th St is Kinda Tropical. Its an all day cafe and bar that has one of my favorite patios in Austin. Its the kind of place that checks a lot of boxes for situations I often find myself in, a laid back atmosphere with solid cocktails and food decent enough to come for a stand alone meal, or to act as a vehicle to soak up said drinks.

Nixta Taqueria is the quintessential Austin restaurant. Marrying the high and low has become somewhat of an Austin food scene calling card with the amount of humble food trucks pumping out restaurant quality dishes. Though not a food truck, Nixta occupies a brightly colored but otherwise unassuming building on the corner of 12th St and Cedar Ave in the Chestnut neighborhood.