Austin 2016 Photo Diary

Two years ago, I went to Austin, TX for the first time to attend my first BlogHer Food Conference. It would be my first of three BlogHer conferences. The experience was my first exposure to the business of blogging and seeing how people can make money doing what they love. I came back daydreaming about an alternative career where I call the shots in my daily life. Since then I've decided not to blog full time but now I know what the pros and cons of this lifestyle would be. I highly respect professional bloggers.

A few weeks ago, I returned to Austin just to have a good time with some girlfriends. The city is still great and especially more so when I come without a schedule of events. Here are a few shots.

From the Westin Hotel downtown

The Capitol Building at night. It's a yuge Pokestop.

Chicken and fried okra from Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

On one of our strolls through the city, we discovered this art installation made from lobster rope and paint by Orly Genger at Waller Creek Trail.

The following are from the uber cool Hotel Van Zandt

We loved hanging out at the pool side bar of this hotel so much that we came back the next night. This hotel is absolutely gorgeous and has such a unique decor.

And now for all the food we ate. First we had to try authentic Austin style barbecue at Terry Black's Barbecue. The ribs and brisket were especially tender and juicy.

Before our hike the next day, we ate brunch at South Congress Cafe. 

This beautiful caprese salad tasted only just ok. Everything else was great.

More barbecue ensued at the fancy Lambert's Downtown Barbecue. It was all good yet not as authentic as Terry's because this seemed to be a more fancy place.

Great iced latte at Irie Bean Coffee Bar on Lamar.

After a late night out, we had cravings for burgers and P. Terry's was the only place open. It happens to be an Austin original. It was alright. Not as good as In N' Out.

Before going out on one of the nights, we had a happy hour dinner at Hightower on 7th Street. It's actually not up high at all so I'm not sure where this name comes from. The food was just ok. 

After dinner, we stopped by Prohibition Creamery for dessert where they served boozy ice cream flavors or ice cream in a boozy float. Yums. Here we chatted up the waitress and her friends who eventually recommended us to Hotel Van Zandt.

Blogher Food 2013 - Food Highlights

 Austin, TX is a really amazing city. I have traveled to many large metro areas in the US and Austin is now one of my favorite places. I think it has alot to do with really good food and young beautiful people walking around downtown. Also, it's hot. I like hot. I do well with hot weather.

 One of the highlights of my time in Austin was a blogger event at Malverde.

 This drink had so many things in it, most of which I have forgotten but I do remember dehydrated cactus and watermelon. So pretty, so refreshing.

Customized taco from the taco station. Yeah Mexican food is really good here.

Watermelon cubes with a slice of cheese and a bite of jalapeno. It sounds weird but its actually really good. Who would ever think that watermelon and cheese in one bite would be tasty.

 Look at this tray of chocolate mousse

 Whole Foods hosted a Bites for Bloggers event. I cannot remember everything here so enjoy these bite sized pictures.

This is a cube of cheese wrapped in a leaf and in a pool of tomatoey sauce...yes, it tastes exactly as it sounds and I had exactly the same thoughts you have right now. Why does there need to be so much sauce for one cube of cheese?

Heirloom tomatoes and watermelon salad. My favorite dish of the whole event.

Our closing event was at Stubb's Barbeque which I really liked. I know it's not Franklin's or Salt Lick but hey, all the taste buds care about is whether they enjoy the taste. And I liked what I ate.

This mac and cheese was goOoOod. So good. Also, I used to really hate brisket but now I am a converted fan. Everything on this plate was really good except the vegetarian egg plant roll. Because why would you eat vegetarian at a bbq? I don't know, I was trying to sample everything.

The Local Belle and I were among the last to leave Austin after the conference so we had a really disappointing breakfast at Hi Hat Public House. The portions were really small and the food was not good. The ambience was nice and the service wasn't so bad but it can only do so much for bad food.

($8) Hi Hat Plate - these are basically breakfast nachos. First, I found a hair tangled up and wound around some mushrooms in my plate so I sent it back. The second portion came back without hairs (yay) but in the rush to get the order out the cheese was not melted. So I ate chips with cubes of half melted cheese. Pickled poblanos were good and that was it.

Annabelle had the $12 eggs benedict which obviously was not enough food. Poor girl. She's also a vegetarian so I ate that tiny cup of chorizo. This is like a $12 snack.

Despite the disappointing ending meal, I still had a great time. Austin, TX go visit!

Reflections from BlogHer Food in Austin

(all photos were taken by me)

This picture and the seven images below are shots from my weekend trip to Austin, TX for the BlogHer Food 2013 Conference. It was fantastic and inspiring. I met so many people from different walks of life who blog about a variety of things and have all arrived at the conference for different reasons. Some people blog full time for a living and have always held some form of employment, whether for themselves or others, in a writing/photography capacity. Others were brand marketing wizards and navigated the brand networking circuit like pros. And then there was the category I belonged to, the corporate cog looking for an artistic release.

Austin has a great scene. People are young and friendly. There is plenty to do if you love music, art, food, and pop culture. How can I improve San Jose after seeing this? How can I be surrounded by the entrepreneurial spirit and go home to my very routine job? The Silicon Valley can be a harsh place for the liberal arts minded female. Let's face it, if you can't code software, develop an app, design hardware, or invest in the next big software/app/hardware thing, then you're not going to be somebody here.

One of the biggest things I take away from the conference is that I still like what I do. I like that I blog about San Jose and the South Bay. I live the quintessential Silicon Valley lifestyle. I work for a tech company and I always want more. We are an eager and ambitious lot here in the "Valley." I want to be more and do more. What will this translate into? When I decide, you will see. But the Silicon Valley will just have to make room for me because I can't code a single line of software and I'm still here!

In the meantime, enjoy these scenic shots of downtown Austin.

 

 View from my hotel window.

 

 Lit trees lined 6th Street

 

 The lobby of the grand Hilton Austin Hotel

 

 Foodies drink alot

 It's all about Tex-Mex in this town

A city needs an identity like a blog needs a purpose.