Austin City Limits is a yearly music festival held at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. From its beginning in 2002, it has grown into one of the most popular music events in the country. The event occurs over two weekends in early October and features hundreds of artists, attracting over 400,000 people each year. As ACL has grown, its food scene has as well: ACL Eats includes a wide variety of food from local restaurants, food trucks, and more. However, many people view its featured foods as being exclusive to the festival. Luckily, they’re not! Here’s a list of a few of the most iconic ACL foods and where to get them after the festival.
If you’d like to explore some of the foods not mentioned in this article, check out their website at ACL Eats.
1. Bananarchy
An ACL classic and Austin’s only frozen banana stand, Bananarchy offers vegan options as well as a wide variety of dips and toppings. This treat is guilt-free in more ways than one: along with being a healthy dessert, Bananarchy sources all ingredients from socially responsible companies. They operate two food stands located at 603 West Live Oak Street and 2420 Guadalupe Street. My personal favorite is a halfsie dipped in peanut butter and topped with oreo crumbs.
2. Blenders and Bowls
The açaí bowl that took Austin by storm in 2010 has recently been added to the ACL menu. This refreshing bowl is packed with delicious berries, honey, granola, and a ton of antioxidants. It’s filling, healthy, and irresistible. Blenders and Bowls currently have four locations around Austin: 206 E. 4th Street, 3736 Bee Caves Road, 1625 E. 6th Street, and 3500 Guadalupe Street.
3. Burro Cheese Kitche
This killer food truck upgrades the classic beloved grilled cheese sandwich with new sophisticated flavors. After founder Justin Burrow transformed an old shipping container into a cheese kitchen in 2012, Burro Cheese Kitchen quickly became Austin’s artisan grilled cheese destination and later on, an ACL classic. Burro has two locations at 1221 South Congress Avenue and 80 Rainey Street. I highly recommend the Waylon and Willie.
4. Chi’lantro BBQ
Chi’lantro is a beautiful fusion of Korean BBQ and classic American cuisine. Their original kimchi fries are an Austin staple and the perfect post-concert snack. Chi’lantro has expanded from a small food truck founded in 2010 to six Austin locations. These locations include 1509 S. Lamar Street, 5222 Burnet Road, 823 Congress Avenue, 11005 Burnet Road (Domain location), 1414 S. Shore District Drive, and 1111 E. 6th Street.
5. The Mighty Cone
Although many of the foods on this list are strongly associated with ACL, the Mighty Cone is the OG festival food. Back in 2002, ACL asked chef Jack Blank to create a festival food to satisfy the appetite of concert-goers and also encourage other local restaurants to join ACL Eats. As a result, the iconic hot ‘n’ crunchy taco in a cone was born. After this festival food gained immense popularity, Chef Blank opened up a storefront in 2009. The current location of The Mighty Cone food truck is at 1720 Barton Springs Road.
6. The Peached Tortilla
The Peached Tortilla serves delectable Southern comfort food with an Asian flair. They began as a single food truck in 2010 and have since grown into multiple food trucks, a storefront restaurant, and a catering company. They have a wide variety of gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options. Their restaurant is currently located at 5520 Burnet Road, Suite 100. If you’re curious about their food truck schedule, specific dates and locations are posted on their website.
7. Tino’s Greek Cafe
Tino’s has been satisfying the Mediterranean cravings of Austinites since 2003. This ACL snack is both refreshing and filling, bringing the sea breeze of the Greek Isles to the hot and humid Zilker park. Tino’s appeals to all consumers by providing a wide variety of options to both meat-eaters and vegetarians. They have six Austin locations: 10515 N. Mopac Express, 13450 Research Boulevard, 2525 W. Anderson Lane #200, 9901 Brodie Lane, and 1201 Barbara Jordan Boulevard.