New (sorta) Asian Spots in South Austin -- Ramen Tatsu-ya and LuLu B's

** Editor's note: LuLu B's closed in 2016

As a fan of all kinds of Asian food, it's often hard to live in South Austin as most of the quality Asian places are up north. Fortunately, things are changing, and we now have Ramen Tatsu-ya's new location on South Lamar, and Vietnamese trailer LuLu B's has expanded, going brick and mortar on South Congress.

Ramen Tatsu-ya's southward march has been highly anticipated and well-documented in social media. Located at 1234 S. Lamar, they are just south of the Alamo Drafthouse complex. The remodeled exterior of their spot is certainly more pleasing to the eye than the strip center that houses the original, and they've done visually stimulating things to the interior without breaking the bank with their extensive use of plywood. I really love the huge dragon mural along the back wall, and overall, there is much more seating than at the other locale.

And as for the food. Still excellent. RT is known for their hearty pork broth-based ramen, or tonkotsu. The broth takes on a cloudiness from the bones simmering for hours on end to make the broth. A bowl of this stuff will fill you up. Fortunately, for lunch, they offer the chicken broth, which is definitely lighter but still hearty and delicious. This is what they call "ol' skool" which comes with chasu (pork belly), ajitama (soft boiled egg), nori (seaweed), bamboo shoots and green onions; extra toppings can be added if desired. The ramen noodles are tender, but have some springiness to them, definitely toothsome.

Take note, they only do the chicken broth at lunch and the pork broth at dinner; a vegetarian ramen is offered during Sunday dinner. They don't to do "to go" orders as they don't want the integrity of their product to suffer while waiting for you to consume it, but containers are available if you can't finish everything on site.

LuLu B's has always been my go-to banh mi in South Austin, and I think for a long time, they were the only banh mi in South Austin. Their trailer under the huge oak at South Lamar and Oltorf has always been popular for lunches, churning out spring rolls and bun (vermicelli) bowls along with the banh mi. But their hours were always limited, and I can't count the number of times I would have stopped there to pick up dinner on my way home from work had they been open past 4 pm. It's all changed now, as they moved into an old Mexican restaurant at 3632 South Congress. From their Facebook page, their hours appear to be 11 am - 3 pm, and 5:30 - 9 pm.

The decor in the new spot is fairly sparse, and when I was there the menu board was hard to read (purple on black isn't a high contrast to see the writing) but the food still delicious. I met a friend there for lunch and we split the Chinese sausage summer rolls, which were the recommendation of the person taking orders. Don't think I'd had sausage in a roll before, but I'd totally eat it again! And their Chinese BBQ pork banh mi is so dang good -- lightly sweet with great char-grilled flavor. Usually I'll eat half and save the rest for later, but on this day, I ate the entire thing.

Now that they are open for dinner, I can't wait to go check out some of their specials they've been posting about. Oh, and they're cash only right now. So don't go to north Austin, stay right here, down south for some awesome Asian food!

South Austin Food Trailers -- 2013 City Guide

Welcome to my post on South Austin food trailers, as part of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance 2013 City Guide. Remember that trailers can be very transient, and they can move to other spots or (unfortunately) go out of business very quickly. Some of them are REALLY good about keeping their status updated on social media, and please remember, many of these are just operated by one or two people so if they're sick or have an emergency to tend to, they may not be able to open. In my trailer travels, I've met some fabulous people who are passionate about their food and it shows in their cooking. Hats off to them for working in such small spaces with less than ideal conditions at times. Here are my favorites.

The "park" at 504 W. Oltorf, half a block east of South First Street (look for the blue house next to Church's Fried Chicken)
-- If you've been reading my blog, you may know that the owners of The Flying Carpet: Moroccan Souk Food, have become friends of mine (here's my last post on TFC). So yeah, I am a little biased, but whenever I've brought people who haven't previously been, they fall in love too. Maria and Abdu have the biggest hearts, and it shines in their food. From L'afrique sauce to the Big Abdu wrap (in the picture below) to Moroccan kisses for dessert, it's downright delicious food. There is nothing else like it in Austin!

-- From my visits to TFC, I've been introduced to Zach of Regal Ravioli who is making killer pasta dishes. I've had the spinach and gorgonzola ravioli with a fontina veloute sauce, and the sweet potato gnocchi with bolognese sauce. Both rival anything you'd find in an Italian restaurant in town, and all made from scratch.

 -- Also back there is La Fantabulous Tacos, which I haven't tried personally, but I hear good things from Maria and Abdu.

 Barton Springs Neighborhood Food Court, at 415 Jessie Street (formerly Jessie Street Eats)
-- The park is under new management from Scott Angle, also the owner of Honky Tonk Hot Dog (formerly located on South Lamar, next to Red's Porch). Scott, a musician, has built a nice stage, as well as a covered patio, complete with a TV and a fire pit. His hot dog trailer has great beef dogs (nice "snap" to them), which you can get a variety of ways. This is his take on a Chicago Dog, and who doesn't like tater tots? 

 -- Tommy Want Wingy is a creative chicken wing truck of the highest quality! Even if you're not the biggest wing fan, you will like these, because owner Neal, who has extensive food service background, makes them into "lollipops" so you get a drummette with a lot of meat on it! And, he's got several sauces to go with them, from the more tropical to the hot and spicy, and he makes all of them from scratch; I particularly loved the spicy pineapple and sweet chile. So take some beer and have a dog and wings, and listen to some music at the Barton Springs food court!

 -- I was there in early February, and a couple trucks had JUST moved in and should be up and running by now: Pagoda Pizza, Way South Philly, Momo's Southern Goodness, and Mister FruitCup which actually has been open there for quite some time. Wholly Kabob  is coming soon (I have had their Persian-style kabobs before, and they are amazing!). It's going to be nice and rockin' over there! Just north of them on Jessie is Flip Happy Crepes, one of the original food trucks in town; they always have fabulous sweet and savory crepes, but are generally just open for lunch.
 -- An update since I originally posted -- Wholly Kabob just opened! I had a delicious grilled beef wrap, called the Dude, with lots of Middle Eastern flavors in it. It was so flavorful and fresh! I also had a bite of one of their bowls with crispy basmati rice and pieces of grilled beef, which I will have to try one of my own next time.

 
South Congress and Gibson Streets (west side of Congress, across Gibson from Perla's)
-- The Fat Cactus is where it's at! Navajo-style fry bread! REALLY! Sweet or savory, and either way, darn delicious! I met owner Courtney over there one chilly Friday night in February; she and her husband both have years of experience in food and wine, and both still work their restaurant jobs while operating the trailer Thursdays thru Sundays. All the frybread is made to order, and they have pizzas, tacos, and desserts, as well as vegetarian options. We started with some queso, which I believe is from real cheese, not the fake stuff! Great flavor, especially with some green chiles in there, giving it a nice New Mexican touch. We had the Foghorn pizza, with chicken, cilantro-pumpkin seed pesto, with goat cheese. I will say, fry bread makes a perfect pizza crust! And while you can't tell there's meat under there from my picture, the OG Taco, with seasoned ground beef was also incredible -- the meat has a ton of flavor! And finally, the PB, Banana and Honey for dessert. It would only be better with a little drizzle of chocolate! There were a few other customers, but we were the only ones sitting and eating, so Courtney came out and chatted with us. They have perfected the art of the frybread, and like many trailers, also offering catering for events. Definitely worth the effort of parking in and around South Congress!

 -- Other trailers here include Crepes de Mille, Little Big Mike's Pizza (which I think I had at one of the Long Center Trailer Food Tuesdays, and it was great!), and Hey You Gonna Eat or What?

South Congress and Milton (east side of Congress)
-- For a couple of years, this has been the "iconic" Austin trailer park, with such notables as Hey Cupcake and the Mighty Cone (and literally a dozen in between). The word on the street is this lot will close down after SXSW this year (so in late March) to make way for the development that has threatened it for years. Not sure if it's slated for a boutique hotel or upscale apartments, but this trailer location has contributed to the South Austin funk scene, I mean where else could you get an Indian dosa, Cajun po-boys or the best wurst within feet of one another? Hopefully these trailers will live to see another day in new locations.

South First Food Court at South First and Live Oak Streets
-- This charming little spot has gone through some transformations over the past year; I don't think any of the trailers there now were present when I wrote this post for last year's City Guide. 
-- Lard Have Mercy, while the service was a touch snarky, the fried mac and cheese with bacon was really quite good, and a decent-sized portion. Pretty much everything on the menu has bacon; this might not be the spot for vegetarians!

 -- I've only been for the corn fritters, but I absolutely fell in love with them at Nettie's Place, a Cajun trailer. I think they use corn flour instead of corn meal, so they were really light (for fried dough) with whole corn kernels in them. Have heard the po-boys are excellent too, and I need to get back over to try. 

 -- Other trailers over there include Blue Dog Pizza, Bufalo Bob's Chalupa Wagon, Bananarchy, Oh My Taco; they often have live music at the park, including a number of day shows for SXSW.

South First Street at Elizabeth Street
-- On the west side, you have the revamped La Barbeque, which I tried recently. Other than the fact they forgot my coleslaw with my to-go order, I found the people working there to be incredibly friendly. And when I Tweeted them about my missing item, they wrote back within an hour and apologized. Nice to have some BBQ in the area! In the picture below, from the top, sausage, brisket, and pork ribs.

 -- On the east side of S. 1st, you have Gourdough's, Mellizzoz Tacos (formerly Izzoz, I have really liked them in the past, and thought they were overshadowed by places like Torchy's), and Dock 'n Roll. 

LuLu B's, 2113 S. Lamar (bordering the southern edge of the Office Depot parking lot, under the big tree)
-- They have withstood the tests of time and also being a singleton; they are the only trailer at this location, and they are only open 11a - 4p, Tuesdays thru Saturdays, but they've been here forever. And they rock. They are a Vietnamese trailer, and their char-grilled pork banh mi's are killer. Yeah, they may be a touch more expensive than what you get at a place like Tam Deli up north, but to me it's worth it. I can get an order of spring rolls and a banh mi, and have lunch and dinner. This picture is from 2008, but they are still delicious! One of the owners went to Vietnam in December and brought back some new street food ideas, and they're now regularly posting them on Facebook.

 Torchy's Trailer Park, 1311 S. 1st
-- Another iconic one, the Torchy's trailer launched the franchise of stand-alone restaurants. Creative combos. Also there is Holy Cacao cake balls.

Bouldin Creek Food Park, at 1209 S. 1st
-- Several trailers, Wasota (west African; I haven't been since my post last year, but the owner was SO friendly!), Ruta Maya Coffee, Phatso's (cheese steaks), Little Thai Food.

Other trailers I have heard great things about, but haven't been:
-- Ah La Cart, on Packsaddle Pass and Ben White
-- Via 313 Pizza, on South Congress and Ralph Ablanedo, just north of Slaughter
-- Trai Mai Thai just relocated to South Lamar and West Mary, in the parking lot of the Corner Bar. I had tried their food last summer at a media tasting when they were by Red's Porch, and it was great!

Other trailer resources:
-- Austin Food Carts
-- Food Trailers Austin
-- Trailer Food Diaries
-- Other AFBA 2013 City Guide posts:
Vegetarian Trailers, by Coseppi Kitchen
North Austin, by Midnite Chef
New Food Trailers, by A Mike's Life
East Austin, by My Well Fed Life
Downtown/Central, by Austin Food Trailers

Happy eating!!!

Tell me what YOUR favorite South Austin food trailers are! 

Recent Repeats

A lovely dinner at FINO Tuesday night. Apps: fried anchovy olives (one of my favorite things all night!), haloumi & sherried figs, fried goat cheese w/ red onion jam, filo cigars (w/chicken, almonds, raisins & a touch of chile). Soups: acorda de mariscos (garlic & prawn bisque) & gazpacho. Entrees: (me) lamb chops (cooked to a perfect medium rare) w/ green beans in a Romesco sauce w/ black olive tapanade & feta, (companions) Wagyu beef w/ oyster mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, onion confit & blue cheese. Dessert: a chocolate torte w/ golden raisin ice cream (and our waitress said that was its last night on the menu). One note: a pitcher of sangria should have yielded more than 3.5 glasses. Oh, another note: service was great, however, there was a UT MBA group (so said the waitress) seated in the bar area and there was a guy giving a presentation. His voice carried over so loudly, that it made the end of the meal rather unpleasant.

Dinner at Hyde Park Bar & Grill (Westgate location) with a friend and her two kids on Wed. night. I guess I've never "actually" reviewed it. It's a good 'ol standby though. We split the Asian Chicken Salad, which is rather large, and one of their nightly specials, a fried chicken done in a honeyed-cornflake crust, came with 2 sides, so mashed potatoes and creamed corn. Really nice crust on it. The kids didn't complain with their cheeseburger and grilled cheese sandwich, and we got to eat their well-known fries that the kids didn't. Quick, efficient & kid-friendly.

A quick stop for a Chinese BBQ pork bahn mi at the Lulu B's trailer for today's lunch. I really had only intended on eating half the sandwich, and saving the rest, but it was too darn tasty not to eat all at once!

Lulu B's

** Editor's note: closed in 2016

Finally. Finally!!!!

1) I went to Lulu B's.
2) It rained!!!

More on #1 in a sec. After the promise of rain by the local weather forecasters during the passage of 4 hurricanes this summer & fall (Dolly, Felix, Gustav & Ike), and how they were wrong EACH time, we finally got measurable rain today! I think I may have close to an inch at the house. Now, if only the humidity would go away, and we could really have a "fall."

Back to LuLu B's. I basically pass it twice a day on my way to & from work. It is a trailer, serving a limited Vietnamese menu, that is literally sandwiched between Austin Quality Tires and Office Depot, just south of the Lamar & Oltorf intersection. The trailer sits under a giant live oak tree, which provided me coverage as the drizzle started up again just after 2 pm today. Their menu consists of bahn mi -- the legendary (and elusive in South Austin) sandwich of French influence; bun, or vermicelli bowls, and summer rolls. I had the Chinese BBQ pork sandwich, and after asking the guy at the counter for his recommendation, he suggested the chicken lemongrass vermicelli bowl.　 They've got several gently used tables and chairs out under the live oak, each with bottles of sriracha and sambal oelek for the heat-seekers. I got my food, and headed home, getting a bit of a free carwash in the process.

The bahn mi was simply fantastic. Tasty pieces of beautifully char grilled (but not burnt) pork, which have a nice subtle sweetness to them. I could eat that pork every day! The relatively tender (as in, not too crusty) French bread is stuffed with the pork, thin strips of carrots, daikon radish, cuke, cilantro and either a jalapeno or serrano (it was fairly hot!). Absolutely stunning in looks and taste, and at $4.50, extremely worth it! The picture you see here is the other half of the sandwich, which I am about to eat for dinner!




The bun was good, though not as outstanding as the bahn mi. The lemongrass chicken has nice flavor (props to the guy at the counter); often you order a lemongrass dish, but it barely has a lemony flavor, much less lemongrass. This hits it. The chicken is on a bed of romaine and vermicelli noodles, with cilantro, maybe some basil (?), chopped peanuts, and a fish sauce dressing on the side. Overall, it's missing a pop though.... I think it needs lime juice. But it's very fresh, quite healthy, and I will happily return!