The Vitals: the spot: Provision 4200 B W. Braker Lane Austin TX 78759 the eats: A special tasting menu paired with Old Forester Bourbon the bucks: $0 – sorry kids, perks of the life. This was a complimentary dinner. Typical avg entree price is $30 at the restaurant the full nelson: a lesson that when you drink heavy hitting bourbon, you deserve heavy hitting proteins Recently I had the pleasure of attending a bourbon tasting menu prepared at a new ...

Austin isn’t exactly a two horse town when it comes to food. Sure, there are plenty of farm to table special occasion meals, some ridiculously good burgers, and some of the best soup dumplings I have ever had but if you came here and just stuck to barbecue and tacos, you would cover a lot of delicious ground. So imagine then what happens if tacos and barbecue get into a tussle? When the dust settles, what emerges is a hand ...

The Vitals: the spot: Texas French Bread 2900 Rio Grande Austin TX 78705 the eats: TFB Burger: 90/10 Wagyu patty, cheddar, pickles, red onion and a tangy mustard slaw + fries the bucks: $17  w/ fries the full nelson:  Luxe burger that skips shock value toppings for classic complimentary flavors There have been multiple renditions of the TFB Burger at Texas French Bread. I have had two in as many years and both times I have been more than happy ...

The Vitals: the spot: Carnitas El Momo 2411 Fairmount St, Los Angeles, CA 90033 the eats: Carnitas tacos the bucks: $2.50 a taco the full nelson: Carnitas so juicy and full of pure porcine flavor that you don’t need salsa . . . When it comes to great tacos, you can reinvent the wheel but you sure don’t have to. Case in point: Carnitas El Momo in the historic Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Masters of simmering pork in ...

The Vitals: the spot: Dai Due 2406 Manor Rd. Austin TX 78722 the eats: Dry Aged Double Wagyu Burger the bucks: $20 (comes with sweet potato fries) the full nelson: the best bacon cheeseburger you never saw coming Back when I started Bang for your Burger Buck, I was protesting the rise of $10+ burgers that didn’t satisfy without a side of fries, or really, just weren’t all that. I made it a point to find burgers with all the ...

The Vitals: the spot: Dave’s Hot Chicken 970 N. Western Ave Los Angeles CA + locations throughout the city  the eats: Chicken Tenders and Chicken Sliders + fries the bucks: $11-$13 for a combo the full nelson: A delicious gut buster on multiple levels Nashville Hot Chicken ain’t just a Nashville thing anymore. Take it from a guy who has been to Nashville and done the deed, you can now find spicy as Hell fried chicken in Austin, Chicago, NYC ...

The Vitals: the spot: Ippudo 65 4th Ave New York NY 10003 the eats: Ramen the bucks: $16  the full nelson: a ramen that comes with a ton of hype and some seriously good pork belly buns How much should you pay for a bowl of ramen? That answer has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, in the US at least. In college, I never touched the stuff. And by “the stuff” I mean the ramen packets my pals ...

The Vitals: the spot: Casita Nicole Antojitos Mexicanos 9618 Manchaca Road Austin TX (parked at the Texaco) the eats: Machete, Huitlacoche quesadillas, and everything else on the menu the bucks: $10 a person will set you up nicely the full nelson: the taco place Danny Trejo should have opened and Austin’s answer to a Mexico City delicacy Just when I think I have seen it all when it comes to tacos, I come across machete tacos, tacos shaped like a ...