Why I want to be Little Big Mike when I grow up…

Austin, you’re so cool. Seriously though..

Hotels are inexpensive, the bars are fabulously unique, and the food is amazing. Beyond that, the people make this city. Imagine coy-hipster-culture meets Texas hospitality. It’s a town full of people who are passionate about music, art, and living simply and fully. This quintessential Austin philosophy of life may be very best expressed on the personal business card of our pedicab driver, Bradley:

“Composer, Engineer, Producer, perpetually curious human being.”

The locals referred us to Rainey Street for drinks and dinner Saturday night. During the day, Rainey Street looks like little more than a residential street with some randomly-scattered food trailers. This is misleading. Rainey St is actually a unique group of restaurants and bars cleverly disguised as mere and unremarkable residences. Of course, as this is Texas and as this is Austin, large back patios and outdoor stages for music are also a staple for Rainey.

Upon recommendation of Bradley, we visited Blackheart, a semi-rustic scene with a fantastic cocktail menu. The bartender crafted 2 delicious Manhattans with a muddled-black cherry base. We sat outside on this 65-degree December evening and sipped to contentment.

Second discovery of the weekend: I ❤ food trailers. In Pittsburgh, I would strongly discourage any friend against buying food off a trailer. Austin is much of a different story. Pizza, Thai, tacos, or snow cones–the suns always shining and it’s warm for 10 months of the year. Why bother going inside to eat, right?

Little Big Mike’s.

We found Little Big Mike amidst art vendors and street musicians (later to find it acclaimed for the “best deep dish” in Austin). As Austin newbies, the advertisement for Southern Mac and Cheese Pizza was simply enough to get us there. The crust, sauce, and mac and cheese are all made in-house (or in-trailer?..). And the man running the trailer was really really excited about making pizzas. Little Big Mike’s enthusiasm alone would have been enough earn points. The food, however, was actually amazing. I left promising myself that I’d email the owner thanking him for such a fantastic dining experience.