Kreuz Market

About an hour drive outside of Austin, and known for the famous sign (above) that states "No Barbecue Sauce, No Forks, No Kidding" is Kreuz Market, in Lockhart, TX. Locals will debate who has the best barbecue in the area: Kreuz or the Salt Lick, and everyone has their favorite.

We ordered a regular sausage, a cheese filled sausage and the highly recommended brisket. Everything is served with your choice of white bread (straight out of the bag) or crackers. We chose bread.

In a separate room, you can order your sides, including mac and cheese, cole slaw, mashed potatoes and more (oh, and where you can grab some forks!).

Honestly, I found the brisket to be juicy, but very fatty, and the sausage tasty, but the casing very tough. The sides weren't very good, either. It was disappointing.

Also, we were there about a hour before the restaurant was supposed to close and as we were leaving, the employees were turning off the lights behind us.

Casa Chalupa

At the corner of San Jacinto Blvd. and Cesar Chavez St. sits Casa Chalupa. We were looking for Tex-Mex while in Texas, however, while the food was very good, found that this restaurant was more generic mexican than what we were looking for.

Again, the food was good, we had nothing to complain about. The service was, on the other hand, an atrocity. The hostess spent more time with us than our waitress. And, had our waitress just disappeared we would have not had real issues, but we witnessed her spending much more time with other tables.

The Salt Lick

About 30 minutes outside downtown Austin, in Driftwood, TX, (and worth every minute of the drive) is The Salt Lick, some of the best barbecue in Texas. We ordered a platter (The Rancher) to sample a number of the offerings and split it between the two of us (it was A LOT of food!).

Our platter came with turkey, brisket, pulled pork and sausage and ordered a rib on the side.

The ribs are double cut, so there is meat on both sides, and they are huge and full of meat. Of the platter meats, everything was delicious, we couldn't choose our favorite - although the sausage and the brisket was definitely a highlight.

For dessert, we ordered a slice (again, huge slices) of pecan pie. Best pecan pie - ever. Don't argue with me on this, just order it.

The Salt Lick offers wine at the winery next door, however, the restaurant is BYOB, so bring your own wine and beer.

Expect a little bit of a wait here. They do offer popcorn outside while you are waiting for your table, as well as live music on the weekends.  Also, be prepared with cash...they do not take credit cards.

Grape Creek Vineyards

One of the Texas Hill Country vineyards that grows their own grapes right in the state of Texas is Grape Creek Vineyards, in Fredericksburg. Of the two wineries we chose to sample, this was definitely our favorite, both in the quality of the wines and the quality of the tasting room.

When you purchase your tasting, you get to keep the very large wine glass and are assigned a space at one of the tasting tables. There is space for three to four groups at each table, which is served by one host bartender. Each taster can choose six wines to taste - we chose 12 and split the tastings so each of us had a chance to try all the wines available on the list.

Of the wineries open for tastings, we definitely recommend stopping here.

Fredericksburg Brewing Co.

Serving up German style food and German style beer, in the heart of the historical downtown of Fredericksburg, TX is the Fredericksburg Brewing Co. While the restaurant serves some Americana foods, like sandwiches, burgers, flatbreads and more, we opted to go for the German dishes on the menu (when in Rome!).

We ordered the sausage sampler, which is served with knackwurst, bratwurst and pepperwurst. While all three sausages were good, our waitress was unsure which link was which, so we were eating blind (although, you could definitely tell which was the pepper sausage - wowza!)

We also ordered the Schinken Schnitzel, a thin and lightly breaded pork cutlet (like a wiener schnitzel) which is then topped with ham and swiss cheese. Definitely a winner!

Trio

We were looking for a good steakhouse for our first trip to Texas and came across Trio, located in the Four Seasons on San Jacinto Blvd. in downtown Austin. This much more refined steak house (think Morton's, not Longhorns) also serves seafood and has a very impressive wine list.

We both ordered the 10 oz. filet, which was moist and flavorful, and cooked perfectly. Sides, which are separate from your entree, are large enough for two to three people to share. We ordered the truffled mac and 5 cheese and the olive oil mashed potatoes. Both were delicious, the potatoes the star of the show.

The steaks were also served with three accoutrements, seasoned sea salt, Chimmichurri sauce and one other, a brown sauce that was my favorite, but I have no idea what it was (other than delicious).

Make reservations, for sure, as Trio can get full for dinner.

Wholly Cow Burgers

With so many dining options in downtown Austin, may we recommend Wholly Cow Burgers, on Congress Street. Using locally sourced, grass fed beef, the burgers are then topped with fresh tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce, ketchup and mayo.

The burgers were fantastic, and just the right size that we were able to finish them and our fries, without feeling stuffed.

Austin State Capitol

The Texas State Capitol building in Austin is quite an impressive building on both the inside, as well as the outside.  For visitors, upon entering the grounds, you'll see it is well-maintained and has a separate visitor's center to start your visit.  Here, there are some interesting exhibits about the capitol, as well as helpful personnel to give you tips on your visit to the Capitol complex as well as to Austin and Texas as a whole.

In the building, you have the option of walking through on your own to explore, along with a pamphlet giving you information about the building as you go.  You can also take a tour that leaves every 20 minutes or so.  When visiting Austin, this is definitely a recommended activity that will take about 1 hour of your time.

Bullock Texas State History Museum

Located just off of the University of Texas's campus in Austin, the Bullock Texas State History Museum gives visitors a view into the history of the state.  You'll learn about the inception of Texas becoming an independent republic, about it being admitted into the United States, as well as life since then including the oil boom.  If you have any interest in Texas's history, this is definitely a good place to visit.  In addition, there are various IMAX movies you can watch.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park actually has 2 locations.  The first is in Johnson City, TX that features the boyhood home of LBJ.  Tours are available every 30 minutes, led by a Park Ranger. On this tour, you'll what it was like growing up here for LBJ and how it led him to a political career.

There is also a walking trail around the Johnson family settlement just off the boyhood home. Stop into the visitors center to pick up a map of the trail.

About 15 miles west, in Stonewall, TX, is the LBJ ranch.  Here, you can take a tour of the "Texas White House" and learn about LBJ's life here during his presidency, as well as the years afterwards.  You'll learn about his family and see some unique items such as his "Air Force One" plane.

At the visitor's center as you enter the ranch, pick up a CD for the driving tour portion of the ranch to learn more about the LBJ ranch and life on the ranch.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin - University Area

On the cusp of where downtown Austin meets the University of Texas campus, right over Interstate 35, is the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin - University Area.  While not ideal for walking to either downtown or the university, it is only a 3 to 5 minute drive to each one, and parking is not much of an issue no matter where you want to go in Austin.  This location made it easy for us to get to wherever we wanted in Austin, but also allowed us to avoid the expensive hotels that are in the central downtown area.

The staff here was quite friendly during our 4 nights and were more than willing to give us as many of their famous cookies as we wanted.  The public areas were always clean.  The bed was quite comfortable and the room was pretty spacious.  Parking was plentiful and free.  The wi-fi was pretty fast for a hotel.  While the wi-fi was given to us complimentary, they do advertise on their site that there is usually a cost associated, so be sure to check this out before you go if wi-fi is important to you.