SXSW is basically a 2 week long holiday in Austin that aligns with “winter” making way for spring. So it’s only appropriate to use early March as the real start of the year. New trailers in Austin are cropping up all over the city spreading their delicious food to residents and visitors alike. In just this last year there are hundreds of new food trailers. Here are a few noteworthy trailers new to the scene in the last year. Hope you’re hungry!
click to see the full guide
EAST
The East Side is slowing taking the reigns from SoCo as the place to be, in no small part for the burgeoning trailer scene east of I-35. There are two lots a block from each other on E 6th, another lot on E 11th, more on E 12th, well you get the point. Not more than a stone’s throw from downtown you can have your pick of all kinds of trailer-y goodness.
Hill Country Pierogi on E 11th is offering up a mix of real deal pierogi based on their Polish grandmother’s original recipes and modern twists (like pizza-rogi, kielbasa sandwiches, and fajitas). (my review here)
Via 313 is going to impress you. Parked in front of Violet Crown Social Club on E 6th, they do Detroit Style Pizza that might make you forget everything you thought you knew about pizza. (my review here)
Way South Philly on E 6th (across from Violet Crown) feels like it’s been in Austin forever, but opened April 2011. Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks, made with the Whiz, and topped with all kinds of goodness.
East Side King has taken over E 6th with three locations now each serving a unique Asian menu. The brain children of Top Chef Paul Qui, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better trailer food from anywhere. In the world. (my review of The Grackle)
Regal Ravioli is making some hard-to-find food in Austin: great pasta. They’re doing handmade ravioli with a variety of fillings and sauces out on E 6th.
Arlo’s Food Truck serves vegan comfort food in a bistro style setting for the Austin nightlife scene. They support local, organic, and non-gmo products.
The Coffee Spot will give you your caffeine boost for whatever the day may hold. Not into coffee? Grab a smoothie or Italian ice to cool you down. Great for those way out east making their way to downtown.
SOUTH
South Austin is no longer confined to just South Congress. A big trailer scene is making its presence felt pretty much everywhere south of the river.
South First
Dock and Roll Diner brings New England to Austin with their lobster roll, served five different ways. Big spender? Feel free to double the lobster on the sandwich for a real treat. They have all kinds of other sandwiches too to please everyone’s tastebuds.
J Mueller BBQ is something of a resurrection of sorts. He’s back in Austin after a hiatus and making some mean BBQ out of a parking lot and a huge smoker. Check it out on S First across from a few other trailer lots.
South Congress
Hey! You Gonna Eat or What?? will make you rethink your favorite sandwich with their Texas twists. Plus, the potato chips are made to order.
Ms. P’s Electric Cock is more than a racy name. Ms. P cranks out delicious fried chicken by the piece or the bucket. Want a waffle with that? Just ask. And make sure to check out the big time sides.
Jessie Street Eats
Squealers is tackling one of the major food groups head on: bacon. They claim to have the best BLT in Austin, which can most certainly be considered fightin’ words in these parts.
The Ice Cream Social is brand new and just in time for the 9 months of summer here in Austin. There’s no such thing as too much ice cream in Texas, and getting it from a school bus makes your decision that much smarter.
Wasota Cuisine will change your idea of Austin food. It’s not BBQ. It’s not Tex Mex. Try some new African food from Wasota for a new perspective of what Austin has to offer.
Downtown
Trailers are holding their ground amid the skyscrapers and office buildings. Nearly every intersection has a trailer or two to feed any craving.
Don Churro brings Cuba to Tex Mex country in the heart of Texas right downtown. Authentic Cuban food is hard to come by and Don Churro is doing it right. If nothing else, at least stop by for some churros for a great sweet treat. (my review here)
Boss Hogs Kitchen is holding down West 5th for breakfast and lunch with some of the biggest flavors you can put together in a sandwich. All made-from-scratch ingredients make these non-diet food options so tempting. Be your own boss.
Fresh Off the Truck transports you half way around the world with their Vietnamese and Japanese menu, while never leaving downtown Austin. The big ticket item is the pho, served your way in a cup. Be sure to try their other street food options too.
Naan Stop makes true to form authentic Indian food for the late night crowd downtown. Find your way over after a concert to fill that hungry belly with the goodness of your childhood (if you grew up in India).
Thunder Heart Bison: Ranch to Trailer is all about supporting local family farms and making delicious food from sustainable ingredients. Find them on W 5th for some great late night food that you won’t regret the next day.
Budare’s Arepas transports you down to Venezuela with their traditional arepas on Rainey St. By the time you finish eating these you might not even remember what a taco is.
EVERYWHERE ELSE
Not everyone has a hotel room (or friend’s couch) within walking distance of the big trailer scenes. A few of the new outliers and roamers are making food good enough to thrive without relying on passersby.
Snarky’s MOO BAWK OINK is helping the North Austinites get their warm, toasty sandwiches made their way. You pick the meat (beef, chicken, pork) and they’ll take care of the rest. (my review here)
Yumé Burger is brand new but already making waves. The little sis of The Peached Tortilla is slinging Asian-inspired burgers. They’re mobile, so check their website and Twitter feed to get their next stop.
Nomad Dosa is filling the unknown niche for Indian dosas, a wrap/crepe/pancake made from a fermented rice-lentil mix. Just east of I-35 on 34th St. in the old Franklin BBQ trailer spot, try your hand at something new and be prepared to be impressed.
The Seedling Truck dishes out imple, seasonal, fresh foods for lunch and dinner all around Austin.
Lembas is a grain- and gluten-free trailer brand new to Austin but you wouldn’t know it after tasting the food. Go for breakfast, stay for seconds…
To keep track of these trailers, here’s a Twitter list and Pinterest board.
Hey! How clever are you to do that Pinterest board. Brilliant!
Thanks Maggie! I had to get a crash course from my wife. It just seemed like the perfect medium for it!
What an impressive list and many that I had not yet heard of, and certainly not tried. Which are your favorites? And Ice Cream Social sounds right up my alley!
Thanks Jodi! I’m a huge fan of Via 313, Hill Country Pierogi and Lembas. All are worth trying though!
I LOVE Hill Country Pierogi (and the Purple Bean Cafe, right next door) and Via 313! The couple who run Via 313 are also really, really cool.
Most of these I hadn’t even heard of! Great post. I might need to print this out and use it as a checklist, all old fashionedy.
I, too, will be printing this and stashing it in my glove box. Never know when the trailer craving will strike– and now we have a checklist of must-trys. 🙂
Whoa, this is an AWESOME list, and I love that you used Pinterest to organize them visually! I’m a food trailer newbie, so I haven’t been to most of these– at the top of my list to try are Lembas and the ravioli trailer, thanks to your post.
Cheers,
Kathryn
Great, thanks Kathryn! I thought Pinterest was a perfect medium for putting this together. I’m planning to create a Pinterest board for all (ok, most) trailers around Austin. Enjoy both Lembas and Regal Ravioli!
Wow, I’m blown away by all the names of places that I’ve not even HEARD of!! Will def have to try via 313 since i’m a big pizza fan. And of course I’m so excited about the Dosa trailer—was thinking about that 2 years ago! You’re right about the fact that Nomad Dosa fills an unknown niche. Glad to see a lot of ethnic choices on this list–I’ll be referring back to this post when I (finally) finish my write up on ethnic kid-friendly eats.
Thanks Shef! Via 313 is an eye-opening experience and the guys making the pizza are so nice. The Dosa trailer is good. We went on opening day and really enjoyed the new-to-me food. Very tasty flavors, and great for my recent shift to gluten free. Enjoy and thanks for the comments!
Love the geographical breakdown — very handy! I think I’m most excited about Meuller’s BBQ because I was a big fan of their brisket at the East Side location – and Wasota! I’ve had catering from Wasota’s owner a few times, and it’s amazingly good.
Also want to give a shout out to Flying Carpet which has relocated its trailer to Oltorf, between South Congress and South First. Their Moroccan food is so so so good, and they’re expanding to a sit-down location.
It’s so great to see Flying Carpet moving up like a few other trailers who have made the leap. It validates the whole trailer scene. Thanks for commenting and let me know what you think of some of the trailers after you try them!
So many tasty places to try! This is such a great list.
Thanks Mandy! And there are so many more to try. I just couldn’t get time to list them all!
OK, I try really hard to stay on top of the trailer scene here, and you’ve listed several I hadn’t even heard of! Going to have to load up my dog and go on a tour (a three hour tour, a three hour tour). And I LOVE the PInterest board idea – brilliant! Thanks for the fantastic post!
Um. I would like to tag along on this 3 hour tour.
Nothing like a topical Gilligan’s Island reference 🙂 A few are well off the beaten path, which is all the more reason to go check them out. Maybe we can organize a trailer tour for AFBA members. Looks like you, me, and Linda are in 🙂
That would be awesome! I know folks have occasionally just posted in our members-only FB group page that they plan to hit certain trailers and welcome company – if you want to do something informal like that, go for it (and I will definitely be there if it works with my schedule!)! If you were thinking of a more formal AFBA event, I can certainly float the idea at our next AFBA Board meeting. I think it would be super fun, either way.
So many new trucks to try! Thanks for the list, Mike.
Thanks Mary Helen! It can get overwhelming with new trailers putting their passion out there to try. The only solution is to continue to eat at as many trailers as possible to support them.
Since I first commented, I’ve visited Dock and Roll and Ice Cream Social and both were fabulous! Next on my list are j mueller, wasota, naan stop, nomad dosa, and flying carpet. Thanks again, Mike!
Great list Mike – looks like I’ve got a lot of trailer tastings to do!
Can’t wait to try Lemba’s! My husband and son are regulars at J Muellers and we like to visit The Seedling Truck at HOPE Farmers’ Market. Great list and I look forward to checking out some of the ones I haven’t heard of.
Love this! I have so many new places to try now! Thanks for the great info.
Great list, and certainly some places I am not familiar with! Just an FYI, Wasota is on South 1st, not over at Jessie Street (at least last I checked!).
Fantastic resource! I’ve been wanting to go to a number of these, but always forget which ones when trying to decide with a friend, and now know of even more. Thanks for the Pinterest board and Twitter list, too!
This is a beyond perfect ‘to-try’ list. Sampled Bubare’s this weekend – it was delicious. Been wanting to give via 313, Yume, and hill country pierogi. As a pintrest newbie, ie joined this week, I love the board idea!
Great list! Squealers has been on my todo list for awhile now, and I’ve heard great thinuugs about Wasota
Oops! Hit enter too quick. Love the Real BLT ( bacon, lobster, and tomato) at dock and roll. And we really need to do an AFBA tour, that would be a blast!
Thank you thank you! This is an awesome list with a ton of places I’d not heard of. Dosa?! I’m all over it.
Also, yeah, Via 313 is stupendous.
I need to get me some BISON! This would remind me of home, the Great White North called Canada… Lots of Bison and Beefalo (cross breed) where I’m from 🙂
Naan also holds a soft spot for me, it’s warm and cozy food.
Are there food trailers in north Austin? I’ve only seen one in our business lot near 360/183, I think it was Boomerang meat pies??? Suppose you need foot-traffic for a trailer to work or a serious Twitter following.
Depends how you define “North”. At 183/Lamar you can check out Snarky’s and several others that will be joining them soon. Another one closed recently, which doesn’t help you… A few will drive around for lunch, like Evil Wiener, Yume Burger, Peached Tortilla, Short Bus Subs and Chi’Lantro going to places like the Domain, Riata, the Google Building (9606 Mopac), and Pearson Education.
Not much for dinner though…
I’m opening up a new barbecue food trailer on the southwest side of Austin on Aug 11th for Saturday lunch only service. We serve all natural meats, homemade sides, Amy’s ice cream and Royers Round Top Cafe pies!
http://www.woodpilebbq.com/menu