One of the things I recommend to friends or acquaintances who visit a new city is a food tour. Since I am a self-proclaimed foodie, it’s what I personally love to do when I go somewhere myself.  I’ve now been on about a half-dozen of them, and my latest is Austin, which was part of my weekend visit while staying at the downtown Marriott.

I went with a company called Secret Food Tours, which offers different journeys in dozens of cities around the world. This was the first one I’ve been with them, and since I paid for it all out of pocket, I can be objective about the positives and negatives. But on this tour, there weren’t many things to criticize, other than the scorching temperatures as we trekked around the downtown area, making a rough six-block loop.

What made the tour bearable and even enjoyable was Zachary, our charismatic guide.  He possessed an extensive knowledge about Austin’s music, culture and (of course) food scene, and he gave us a list by text of the places to go around town. We stopped in a few of these places, like Sixth Street and the Driskill Hotel, for the history (and to escape the heat). To keep things moving, he also couldn’t resist telling a few dad jokes along the way, which we all laughed at despite ourselves. But as much as I enjoyed his and my fellow group’s company, I came for the food, so here’s a rundown of where we went.

Veracruz All-Natural

Many of Austin’s eateries first started as food trucks or carts. It aligns with the common entrepreneurial spirit of the town that made it grow into one of the leading tech centers in the country. But in this case, two sisters from the namesake Mexican city took their humble vehicle and grew it to seven locations around the area. While all of their tacos looked and sounded incredible, we started with their migas, a breakfast taco with scrambled eggs, tortilla chips, cheese, tomato, onion, cilantro and avocado. This was probably one of the best I’ve had, simply because the freshness of the ingredients showed through.

Cooper’s Old Time Pit BBQ

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the brisket I tried at Pinkerton’s in San Antonio was adequate – tasty but slightly dry. By contrast, this establishment’s barbecue was tender and mouthwatering – so much so that I started wolfing it down and nearly finished it before taking a photo of it. The Cooper's BBQ in Austin has been in its original location for 60+ years. With its two-level venue and homey décor, it’s no wonder people love it – especially with dozens of other barbecue legends around

JuiceLand

What started as a modest juice store near the Barton Springs pool in the early 2000s has grown into dozens of locations around the state. It’s been cooling off Texans with innovative smoothies and juices, as well as serving smoothie bowls, cleansing tonics and plant-based meals. Our group tried a sample of the Honey Beary smoothie, with almond milk, banana, strawberry, blueberry, peanut butter and local wildflower honey. Zachary made us guess the ingredients, even though the menu was listed right above us.

One Taco

Like Veracruz All-Natural and JuiceLand, this taqueria began small and has since expanded to multiple locations around Austin. In 2009, the founders drew on their Mexican culinary upbringing, purchased a food truck, and created authentic tacos that were previously lacking in the local market.  We tried their Gringa al Pastor, where marinated pork is slow-roasted on a spit, making it juicy and flavorful. It’s topped with chopped onions, cilantro, pineapple and salsa verde, just the right sweet and savory accompaniments.

Faregound

You would never know this food hall exists, because it’s in a sunken area of an office building. It offers ten establishments, most of which are eateries with two bars and a coffee place. We started and ended our tour here, but at the conclusion, we tried a picadillo empanada from Taco Pegaso and a mini cheesecake from Austin Rotisserie. As with any food tour, once I get to the end, I’m about ready to burst. Both of these items were wonderful and tempting, but I had to take them back to the hotel and then give them to RAS.