Best of 2023 - Food

Last year I ate out about 450 times, this year...about 400. So I cut back a little bit. I tried out 26 new places this year, 7 of which landed on my favorites list.

New Places:

1. Aster's Ethiopian
2. BBQ Ramen Tatsu-Ya
3. Budare's
4. Buddha Burger
5. Gangnam Korean BBQ
6. Jade
7. Jai Chi Korean
8. Kanji Ramen
9. KG BBQ
10. La Popular
11. Marufuku Ramen
12. Mum Foods
13. Odaku Sushi
14. Revelry on the Boulevard
15. San Francisco Bakery & Cafe
16. Sangnam
17. Soupleaf
18. Southside Market
19. Spicy Boys Fried Chicken
20. T'Loc's
21. Taste of Home Dumplings
22. Thai Lada
23. Thai Lotus
24. Uptown Sports Club
25. Walnut Creek Pub
26. Whiskey Cake

These are my top 20 favorites, the ones that are accessible, not crazy expensive, *and* delicious enough that I went there numerous times during the year. Ziggy's Kielbasa dropped off the list because I just don't go up to Cedar Park enough, Torchy's has kinda lost it for me, and Smokin Beauty closed, which is really sad.

Favorites:

1. KG BBQ (My new favorite place, the combo rice bowl with lamb and brisket is my go-to)
2. Jewboy Burgers (This is the place I ate most in the year, 16 times. Still my favorite burger place.)
3. Jewboy Subs (I ate here almost as many times as Jewboy Burgers, it's just as good with a completely different menu.)
4. Hopdoddy (I had four of their burgers of the month, and ate there about five more times beyond that)
5. Jack Allen's Kitchen (My go-to lunch place for a chicken fried steak, Liberty BBQ has gotten a little pricey for me)
6. Texas Roadhouse (Still my favorite affordable steak place)
7. Deckhand Oyster Bar (Like to go here for crawfish etoufee and cowboy boudin)
8. T'Loc's (New to me this year, delicious Sonoran hot dogs)
9. Buddha Burger (Also new to me this year, just a really solid burger)
10. Julie's Noodles (I didn't go as often this year, but still the best soup dumplings in town)
11. Pinthouse Pizza (my go-to pizza place for lunch)
12. Chuy's (Still my basic tex-mex option, close to my house and to the store)
13. Brotherton Black (I don't go often, but their brisket reuben and grilled cheese are both great)
14. El Dorado (I don't get here as often as I'd like, but it's really good tex-mex. Their mexican remix of a shepherd's pie is amazing)
15. Kenny Fort Pub (Great fish and chips, at some point I'll try some of their other stuff)
16. Sushi Nini (My semi-regular lunch outing for sushi near the store)
17. Tropicana (I mostly order in, but this Cuban place has really good sandwiches and other cuban food)
18. Tso Chinese Delivery (My go-to Chinese delivery place)
19. Taste of Home Dumplings (Near the house, really delicious dumplings, the fried crawfish dumplings are especially great)
20. La Popular (I've only been once, because it's so far south, but this is a great Mexican food place)

I also kept track of where I ate lunch this year, and these are my favorites, based on how often I ate there. It's not just quality of food, here, but also closeness to work, where I'm usually eating lunch. I doubled my options this year.

Lunch Favorites:

1. Popeye's (My favorite fast food chicken, and I ate here almost as often Jewboy Burgers)
2. Golden Chick (This one climbed onto the list because of their zesty wings)
3. P. Terry's (Still my favorite quick burger place)
4. Whataburger (It's right next to the store, and they offered up a ton of free food for using the app)
5. Arby's (All about those curly fries)
6. KFC (Pretty much only for chicken pot pie, but I got that eight times. Why don't more people do pot pies?)
7. Smoky Mos (Near the store, I tend to go for their brisket-topped potato)
8. Tumble 22 (Not as special anymore, but it's now near the store and I eat pretty often)
9. Culver's (Aaron's favorite place, and there's one near the store and the house)
10. Jersey Mike's (This jumped onto my list mostly for cheesesteaks)
11. Vera Cruz (Really good tacos)
12. Firehouse Subs (This is where I go when I'm craving a meatball sub)
13. Shake Shack (A little pricey, but always tasty and now near the store)
14. ModPizza (They added one near the store, and it was already close to the house)
15. Raising Cane's (If this were closer to the store or my house, I'd go here more often)

Other places I like but only went to a couple times: Via 313, Hoody's Subs, Velvet Taco, Cotton Patch Cafe, Panda Express, Tarka, Waffle Love, Wendy's, Wingstop, Wiseguys, and Rodeo Goat (delicious burgers in Dallas).

Then there were the places that I ate at once or twice, due to either it's location (downtown especially) or price, or because it's too new to have tried many times. This list is purely down to my favorites, where I'd eat if location and price were no object. 

On my list last year that I never made time for this year were Franklin BBQ, Cork & Barrel, Valentina's Tex-Mex, Tiki Tatsu-Ya, and Culinary Dropout.

Rare Treats:

1. Kemuri Tatsu-Ya (quite possibly my favorite restaurant in Austin, I usually manage it once a year)
2. Interstellar BBQ (This has become my favorite BBQ, in particular the duck and frito pie sausage they have on Fridays)
3. Gus's Fried Chicken (If it wasn't so hard to park, I'd go here at least every month)
4. Perry's Steakhouse (Really delicious but expensive steak, I manage it every few years, and this was one of them)
5. Salty Sow (great happy hour)
6. Soupleaf (all you can eat hot pot, this place is great)
7. Gangnam Korean BBQ (all you can eat Korean BBQ, really delicious but super far south)
8. Estancia (Didn't go last year, but this was my birthday dinner this year)
9. Thai Lada (fantastic crab fried rice)
10. Jade (a little pricey but good dim sum)

I also liked Salt Traders, Uptown Sports Club, and Whiskey Cake, but they're all extra pricey and not quite good enough for the price.