"A history of Austin told through its restaurants"--

Austin has staked its claim as the seat of innovative culinary movements, and its food culture mirrors the transformations taking place across the city. The evolution of the east side is reflected in joints like Franklin Barbecue, while landmarks like Scholz Garten, the oldest restaurant in the capital, testify to the contributions of the town's college presence and a healthy German influence. Joe's Bakery isn't just one of the town's most beloved Tex-Mex spots; it's the place where the real wheeling and dealing in Texas politics happens. Food writer Melanie Haupt samples Austin's iconic restaurants and the rich heritage that produced them.

There are hundreds of restaurants in our state that have been around for more than twenty years. Some boast lots of atmosphere and a few gimmicks, like the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. Others are more refined and elegant, like the Green Pastures Restaurant in Austin. Many double as a community watering hole, where locals gather to drink coffee and discuss what’s happening around town. The Blue Bonnet in Marble Falls fits that bill. Large or small, fancy or plain, these restaurants share three things in common: long histories, established reputations, and loyal customers. Author Sheryl Smith-Rodgers scoured the state to find the best of these old-time restaurants and cafes, and then collected some of their tried-and-true Texas recipes, making this an excellent gift book, recipe source, and weekend travel guide.

Sip and taste your way through Austin. Austin Food Crawls is an exciting culinary tour through this trendy Texas city. Discover hidden gems and long-standing institutions with this newly revised and updated guide. Each crawl is the complete recipe for a great night out, the perfect tourist day, a new way to experience your own city, or simply food porn to enjoy from home. Head to Cesar Chavez for some of the best tacos, get weird in East Austin, and bring the whole family to Allendale. Put on your walking shoes and your stretchy pants, and dig into the Capitol City one dish at a time.

Discover the savory culture and traditions that have made Austin, Texas, the self-proclaimed Breakfast Taco Capital of the World. Fresh tortillas, fluffy huevos con bacon and spicy salsa—good morning, Austin. Or good afternoon, evening, night—whenever. From taco tailgates to taquerias, there is a taco for every occasion and persuasion. Some say that it was born in the days of cowboys and vaqueros, and others say it was a creation of the Tex-Mex culture, but one thing is certain: The breakfast taco has taken over the Capital City. From South Congress to North Austin, neon and chalkboard signs tempt hungry passersby with their best morning-time handheld bites. With over forty breakfast taco recipes, Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece investigate (and masticate) the history, culture, and traditions of that indelible and delectable Austin treat: the breakfast taco. Includes photos! “Casual, fun, and approachable . . . I’m betting Austin Breakfast Tacos becomes one of Austin’s favorite culinary mementos during the coming year.” —The Austin Chronicle

Tired of the boring chain restaurant scene? Recipes from Historic Texas will please your palate and nourish your mind. Enjoy a unique bit of Texas history by visiting a wide variety of restaurants located in unusual historic settings-a gritsmill, a Dr. Pepper bottling plant, a church, and a funeral home, to name a few. Two recipes from each establishment are offered to form a well balanced selection of Texas cuisine. A brief history of each of the 70 restaurants is included, followed by basic information such as hours of operation, location, and other important details. The recipes themselves are an eclectic mix of the simple and the exotic, from the Cowboy Omelet at Beaumont's The Pig Stand to the Jicama Salad at Dallas's famous Mansion on Turtle Creek. Two indexes, one to restaurants and the other to recipes, make the book equally useful as both a travel guide and a cook book.

Whet Your Appetites for A Fascinating History of American Food "Terrific food journalism. Page uncovers the untold backstories of American food. A great read." —George Stephanopoulos, Good Morning America, This Week and ABC News’ Chief Anchor #1 New Release in History Humor David Page changed the world of food television by creating, developing, and executive-producing the groundbreaking show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Now from the two-time Emmy winner David Page comes the book Food Americana, an entertaining mix of food culture, pop culture, nostalgia, and everything new on the American plate. The remarkable history of American food. What is American cuisine? What national menu do we share? What dishes have we chosen, how did they become “American,” and how are they likely to evolve from here? David Page answers all these questions and more. Food Americana is engaging, insightful, and often humorous. The inside story of how Americans have formed a national cuisine from a world of flavors. Sushi, pizza, tacos, bagels, barbecue, dim sum―even fried chicken, burgers, ice cream, and many more―were born elsewhere and transformed into a unique American cuisine. Food Americana is a riveting ride into every aspect of what we eat and why. From a lobster boat off the coast of Maine to the Memphis in May barbecue competition. From the century-old Russ & Daughters lox and bagels shop in lower Manhattan to the Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival. From a thousand-dollar Chinese meal in San Francisco to birria tacos from a food truck in South Philly. Meet incredibly engaging characters and legends including: • The owner of a great sushi bar in an Oklahoma gas station • The New Englander introducing Utah to lobster rolls • Alice Waters • Daniel Boulud • Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s • Mel Brooks If you enjoyed captivating food history books like A History of the World in 6 Glasses, On Food and Cooking, or the classic Salt by Mark Kurlansky, you’ll love Food Americana.

French-inspired Vietnamese cooking from the cultural hub of Austin, Texas – recommended by everyone from locals to Bon Appetit to The New York Times to goop. "A Vietnamese café plus French bakery, Elizabeth Street Café combines the best of two worlds." —goop Elizabeth Street Café – a celebrated eatery with a devoted following – features French-inspired Vietnamese cooking. Chefs Tom Moorman and Larry McGuire share 100 recipes of beautiful and delicious Vietnamese fare and French baked goods – from Spicy Breakfast Fried Rice and Eggs to Green Jungle Curry Noodles, and Palm Sugar Ice Cream to Toasted Coconut Cream Puffs. The café is always bustling, day and night, inside and outdoors, and it is one of the most photographed restaurants in Austin, Texas.

“Walking through the old wooden doors at Fonda San Miguel is like a journey back to colonial Mexico. . . . World-class Mexican art and antiques decorate the interior, and famed Mexican chefs have taught and cooked here. Acclaimed as one of the best Mexican restaurants in the country serving authentic interior food . . .” —USA Today “The stately yet bright and colorful hacienda decor and standout Mexican-interior cooking . . . will transport you straight to Guanajuato.” —Vogue “It anchors the city as its premier Mexican restaurant institution.” —The Daily Meal, which named Fonda San Miguel one of “America’s 50 Best Mexican Restaurants” Updated and reissued to celebrate the restaurant’s four decades of success, Fonda San Miguel presents more than one hundred recipes. The selections include many of Fonda’s signature dishes—Ceviche Veracruzano, Enchiladas Suizas, Cochinita Pibil, Pescado Tikin Xik, and Carne Asada—as well as a delicious assortment of dishes from Mexico’s diverse regional cuisines. Supplementary sections contain tips on buying and cooking with the various chiles and other ingredients, along with information on basic preparation techniques, equipment, and mail-order sources. Full-color photographs illustrate special dishes, and representative works from the impressive Fonda San Miguel art collection are also featured, along with notes on the artists.

The epic story of the rise, fall, and redemption of an iconic American restaurant, one of only five in the Fortune 500. Scarred by the deaths of his mother and sisters and the failure of his father’s business, a young man dreamed of making enough money to retire early and retreat into the secure world that his childhood tragedies had torn from him. But Harry Luby refused to be a robber baron. Turning totally against the tide of avaricious capitalism, he determined to make a fortune by doing good. Starting with that unlikely, even naive, ambition in 1911, Harry Luby founded a cafeteria empire that by the 1980s had revenues second only to McDonald’s. So successfully did Luby and his heirs satisfy the tastes of America that Luby’s became the country’s largest cafeteria chain, creating more millionaires per capita among its employees than any other corporation of its size. Even more surprising, the company stayed true to Harry Luby’s vision for eight decades, making money by treating its customers and employees exceptionally well. Written with the sweep and drama of a novel, House of Plenty tells the engrossing story of Luby’s founding and phenomenal growth, its long run as America's favorite family restaurant during the post-World War II decades, its financial failure during the greed-driven 1990s when non-family leadership jettisoned the company’s proven business model, and its recent struggle back to solvency. Carol Dawson and Carol Johnston draw on insider stories and company records to recapture the forces that propelled the company to its greatest heights, including its unprecedented practices of allowing store managers to keep 40 percent of net profits and issuing stock to all employees, which allowed thousands of Luby’s workers to achieve the American dream of honestly earned prosperity. The authors also plumb the depths of the Luby’s drama, including a hushed-up theft that split the family for decades; the 1991 mass shooting at the Killeen Luby’s, which splattered the company’s good name across headlines nationwide; and the rapacious over-expansion that more than doubled the company’s size in nine years (1987-1996), pushed it into bankruptcy, and drove president and CEO John Edward Curtis Jr. to violent suicide. Disproving F. Scott Fitzgerald’s adage that “there are no second acts in American lives,” House of Plenty tells the epic story of an iconic American institution that has risen, fallen, and found redemption—with no curtain call in sight. “Intrigue, mystery, and strategy—all in a historical profile of Luby’s Cafeterias. This is a book about an institution we all knew as home—never thinking that the foundation was a business plan destined to work for fifty years. What went wrong? Read on! A “must” for business schools everywhere, and a fun read for everyone.”—Jon Brumley, Forbes Entrepreneur of the Year, cofounder and chairman of the Board of Encore Acquisitions Company