Off the Plate's Damian Mandola heads east for a look at a new restaurant called Braise.

• Open: Conscious Cravings, a vegetarian trailer with wraps and smoothies at the Longhorn Food Court, 1901 Rio Grande St. www.consciouscravingsaustin.com. Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. • Open: Tacos La Güera, the brick-and-mortar incarnation of the little orange taco trailer run by ...

Check Forklore’s taco tracker map (below) every day in September. DAY 7: TORCHY’S TACOS (2809 S. First St. 444-0300. More locations at www.torchystacos.com.) The taco: The Trailer Park ($3.25). Down-south fusion: fried chicken from the South, green chiles and pico de gallo from even farther ...

Check Forklore’s taco tracker every day in September. DAY 6: ZUZU (6317 Bee Cave Road, No. 200. 732-2117, www.zuzuaustin.com.) The taco: Mahi mahi ($2.75). My intent was positive taco reinforcement, but it’s challenging with fish so aggressively fishy and overcooked. Decent flavor and textu ...

Check Forklore’s taco tracker every day in September. DAY 5: TWO HOT MAMAS GRILL (2418 RM 620 S., Lakeway. 992-2136, site.twohotmamasgrill.com) The taco: Barbacoa ($5.50 for three). Once a weekend-only indulgence, barbacoa is yours during breakfast hours weekdays from 7 to 11 a.m. and weekend ...

Check Forklore’s taco tracker every day in September. DAY 4: LA FAMILIA (3601 West William Cannon Drive, Suite 900. 892-1311, www.lafamiliaaustin.com.) The taco: Carne guisada ($2.29). A blue-plate special’s worth of fork-tender roast beef barely held back by the tortilla, stewed in thick r ...

The countdown is over and Texas Football is finally upon us! Unfortunately, the season opener is not a home game, so I must venture to one of my favorite places to watch the game — The Tavern. On game days, The Tavern is a sea of burnt orange, beer, and burgers. Beer drinkers, they have a great ...

If you’ve been out to the Salt Lick BBQ in the past few years, you’ve probably noticed rows of grapes growing near the longtime Driftwood restaurant. Operations manager Jay Knepp says it’ll still be a few years before you can buy wine made entirely from the fruit grown on the 35 acre-and- ...

Check Forklore’s taco tracker every day in September.. DAY 3: ONE TACO (a van next to Little Woodrow’s at 520 W. Sixth St. 539-7561, www.one-taco.com.) The taco: The Gowalla ($3.50). Grilled steak, guacamole, chunks of queso fresco, a sprinkle of bacon. Your protein quotient for the day on ...

Elevation Burger, in short, tries to make enjoying a good burger as guilt-free as it possibly can. Yes, you are noshing on a good-sized burger, and no, burgers in general aren’t “healthy,” but that shouldn’t stop anyone from indulging here and again. So, with Austin’s propensity to go gre ...

Every day in September, I’ll have a taco somewhere in Austin. Check Forklore’s daily taco tracker. DAY 2: LA GÜERA (2510 S. Congress Ave. 326-8226.) The taco: Migas ($1.50). Corn tortilla strips add crunch and flavor to a mix of eggs, tomatoes, jalapenos and onions — every taco pan-fried ...

Another day, another taco. Every day in September, I’ll have a taco somewhere in Austin. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, after midnight. Check Forklore’s daily taco tracker. DAY 1: PAPALOTE (2803 S. Lamar Blvd. 804-2474.) The taco: Tortas de coliflor ($3.25). Blessed are they who fry cauliflower, ...

• Open: The Surfing Hookah, a retail smoke shop and hookah lounge with dozens of shisha flavors, plus stations for Xbox and PlayStation games. Open noon to midnight daily, with BYOB allowed on weekends. 5501 N. Lamar Blvd, Suite A-101. 866-686-7873, www.thesurfinghookah.com. • Open: Papalote, a ...

Image courtesy Terry MartinezEditor's note: Dish Of The Week is a new feature highlighting some of Austin's best dishes - from sushi to okra to curry. If you have a suggestion for future entries in the series, drop us a line at food (at) austinist.com. What: Verde Chile Fries Where: Casino El C ...

The Omelettry is not fancy. It’s not modern. It doesn’t even accept credit cards, though there’s an ATM machine inside in case you forget cash. It’s pure Austin, comfortable, laid-back, just little off–beat, the reason people like me left the uptight world of elsewhere Texas and relocated ...

Pete’s Tantalizing Tacos: $3.50 (add $1 after 4 p.m.) Hear the steady tattoo of a spatula on a flat-top grill coming from the kitchen? They’re making your breakfast tacos, folding in eggs, sausage, potatoes, cheese, serrano chiles and onions. At this price, you get two overflowing tacos in w ...

The Shed BBQIt’s 1:15 in the morning. You’re at The Mohawk and you’re partying. You’re hip, Texan, and a carnivore. What’s the one thing on your mind? What do you need more than a sober car ride home? A slightly sticky smell wafts down from the upstairs terrace that can only be one ...

Sure, the spectacular $34 cheeseburger gets a lot of attention in my review of Jeffrey’s. (Read the review here) Here are four more dishes from that review: TOP LEFT: People who’ve been coming to Jeffrey’s for decades will appreciate the crispy oysters, now in two varieties. In the foregr ...

Everyone loves the Bachelor Bars (an article I wrote in 2007!): Molotov, The Marq, Chuggin’ Monkey, Dizzy Rooster, and Thirsty Nickel. In the old Mother Egan’s spot next door to Molotov, the brothers bachelor (Brad, Chad, & Wes Womack) and partner Jason Carrier have reinvented the pub with ...

Over on East Cesar Chavez Street, Josh Frank is building an eccentric mosaic of food, art and now cinema with his East Austin Trailer Park and Eatery and Starving Art gallery. This week, Frank is opening a miniature drive-in movie theater in the back of the space at 2326 E Cesar Chavez St., whi ...