I stopped by Austin, Texas on my way to China to give a talk at SXSW 2011 (my talk notes/slides)! At times the conference size and noise was so overwhelming that I had to step into my ethnographer shoes and look at everyone from afar. And then I would get too lost in my own observations that I would have to snap myself out of it was some yummy local food.
I did end up with a food baby because these three places I’m recommending below all ended up in my belly within a 24 hour period - in addition when I landed in SD I went straight to the best place for fish tacos and TJ tacos with Adriene Hughes in Hillcrest - El Cuervo!.
Boiling Pot - just imagine what a cajun style dinner would like if you had no utensil other than a mallet and there were no such thing as plates! Now add crabs, yummy corn, and shrimp to the picture. You get the Boiling Pot! This was an unforgettable place. I loved the moments when the entire restaurant would quiet down and all you could hear were mallets coming down on crabs.
the tools required for crab eating - mallets! 
Brady and Morgan fight it out with their crabs
watching Zadi getting angry with her crab.
brady’s boiling pot sculpture 
our table ended up looking like: 
at some point I made a bib and keely took this picture - eating crabs and drinking! 
the best seafood tough-ass bitches posse with Manami Kano and Elisha Miranda
Lucky Puccia’s - this is seriously the best sandwich I have ever had. They operate out of a food truck and share the space with a bar. So you can get a sandwich and a cold beer. Get the Lucky’s Puccia special - it has their proscuitto - just amazing. It’s worth the 15 walk away from the conference center. You’ll thank yourself for taking a reprieve from the conference craziness. The owners are all so sweet!
Grab one for the airport! It wasn’t soggy by the time I ate mine after a 4 hour flight. 
as for extra arugula in your sandwich! 
Salt Lick - this is known as one of the best places for BBQ. I didn’t go to Iron Works so I have nothing else to compare it to. But this was amazing. When I first stepped off of the plane, the entire city smelled like BBQ. I knew that I had acclimated once the BBQ smell went away. I went to the Salt Lick outpost at Austin airport and it was sooooo good! If you just want the meat, you can request meat only - it’s not on the menu! And ask for the fattier cuts if want the most yummy part. Stand next to the person cutting to make sure they give you the best cuts. Next time I’m gonna take some BBQ home with me on the plane. 
