Tales for Scout: A night in Austin, TX

I spent the last week in Houston with my family, and Cam was nice enough to meet me in Texas for the weekend. I was feeling a little cooped up after six days of a 9pm bedtime and countless hours of Fox News, so I suggested a little road trip to Austin. We arrived in Austin at 6:30 Saturday evening, and were gone by 10am Sunday, but we absolutely loved our 15 hour adventure.

I had my heart set on eating at Qui, a restaurant owned by Top Chef Austin winner Paul Qui (as an avid Top Chef fan, this was a must-do). We were told there would be a 2.5 hour wait, and even though Cam was starving, he agreed to adding our name to the list as long as we could grab a quick snack. We grabbed tacos from a food truck across the street, and it might have been the best taco I've ever eaten. Things were off to a good start when we headed a block over to the White Horse, a cowboy bar with live music and dance floor filled with two-steppers. After a few beers, we headed back to Qui and had one of the best meals of my life (I know I'm going crazy with the superlatives here but seriously, the food was so, so excellent). The menu was exotic but every small dish they brought to our table was delicious....from a more basic yet elevated ceviche, to the cheddar cheese ice cream sandwich we had for dessert. If you go to Austin, you MUST, MUST, MUST eat at Qui.

After dinner we met up with Colby, a friend we both met while studying abroad in Barcelona. We had already been to "trendy" (or "ghetto," depending on who you talk to) 6th Street, the up-and-coming neighborhood that's home to Qui and White Horse. Colby told us about the difference between East, or "dirty" 6th, and West 6th, which is more classy and less fratty. We went to a bar on each and had a great time listening to bands and catching up with an old friend.

My parents are retiring to Austin in 13 months and I can't wait to explore more of the city and surrounding area. Cam and I have already decided that we need to start doing Youtube two-step lessons in our living room.