NANCY CHEN

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Austin restaurant + workout guide

Nancy Chen

Updated January 2019; originally posted August 2018.

When you think Texas, you don’t automatically think of a health and fitness-centered city. Well, at least I didn’t.

My first trip to Austin was for Christina Rice’s wellness retreat — I got to meet so many awesome people, dive a little deeper into myself, and to experience a taste of what Austin has to offer.

That would set the scene for a couple of months later, when I traveled to Austin again for Perfect Keto (my new company)’s Q4 holiday party and for some onboarding; that gave me more time to explore ATX and all its glory.

If you’re heading to Austin anytime soon and are wondering where to eat, where to workout, and what to pack, keep reading. I gotchu. Enjoy!

Packing List

Clothes + Other

  • 2 pairs of Lululemon Align leggings

  • 1 pair Booty by Brabants leggings

  • 3 pairs of socks

  • 2 Lululemon sports bras

  • 1 pair denim shorts

  • 2 flowy tank (mine are from American Eagle and Urban Outfitters)

  • 1 graphic tank (mine is from Spiritual Gangster)

  • 1 sundress (mine is from Aritizia)

  • 1 workout tank, doubles as going out tank (mine is from Free People)

  • 2 bralettes (1 from Urban Outfitters, one from Lively — use AMB-nancylinchen for $10 off your 1st order!)

  • 5 pairs of underwear (mix of Aerie, Happy Socks, Calvin Klein — better be safe than sorry!)

  • 1 pair of lounge/sleep shorts (mine are from Soffe)

  • 1 lounge/sleep tank (mine is from H&M)

  • 1 pair sunglasses (mine are from Ray Ban)

  • Laptop + charger, phone charger

  • Bose headphones

  • Books, journal + pens

Beauty Products

Workouts

Onnit Academy

The Onnit Academy Gym is huge. It has workout classes, a full gym, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mats, gorilla ketllebells, and most notably, a huge poster of Joe Rogan.

We got to test out full use of their facilities — my workout is below. I refueled afterward with this FAB iced cold brew latte from their cafe (cold brew, almond milk, WAC [walnut almond cashew] butter, super shroom blend, MCT oil). The latte was perfect for holding me over until we made our Whole Foods pit stop to make breakfast.

Corepower Yoga

I was feeling SUPER tight from all the sitting/traveling I've been doing, and just craved some yoga in my life (literally me always). So glad that Austin has a Corepower that's right next to Whole Foods downtown (I popped in for some extra watermelon and local kombucha afterward to rehydrate).

If you have a Corepower Black Tag Membership, you can hop into this (or any of the other ATX Corepowers) for free; if you’ve never tried Corepower, you can also do a free week — just walk in and sign up!

They have 4 different main styles of classes: C1 (vinyasa, same sequence every time, lower heat), C2 (vinyasa flow, different sequence depending on the teacher, faster paced, higher heat + humidity), HPF (Bikram-esque, same sequence every time, slower moving, very high heat + humidity), Yoga Sculpt (like yoga bootcamp — you use weights, moderately high heat, no humidity).

SoulCycle

Yes, the #basicbeyatch in me loves a good Soul class. I didn't go when I was in Austin, but I've been to the ones in Boston and I'd imagine these are just as good.

Black Swan Yoga

Black Swan Yoga is donation-based yoga, meaning you choose how much you pay. It's not your standard yoga class — each instructor is encouraged to make their class their own, which is awesome because yoga is interpreted differently by everyone.

Wanderlust Yoga

This downtown studio seeks to “bring the everyday aspects of the Wanderlust Festival” into peoples’ everyday lives. In case you haven’t heard of the Wanderlust Festival, think a music festival with yoga as the main attraction instead of bands.

They also have a super cute smoothie bowl place attached… more to come on that later.

Austin Bouldering Project

This was really close to our co-working space and a lot of my co-workers love it here, but I stuck to Corepower (mostly because it was free and my body was craving some heated yoga) so I didn’t get the chance to try it.

It does sound super cool though — it’s a space for bouldering (climbing), yoga, and fitness. They offer classes as well as just an open gym; day passes are $18 for adults. Read their first time guide here.

Restaurants

Picnik

Picnik, also known as the creators of the bottled butter coffee, is Paleo peoples' heaven.

We were a group, so we got to try some apps (the more, the merrier!). We got Brussels + bacon to start, plus creamy queso, almond flour chips, and pulled duck (yes!). Trust me when I tell you the queso was actually life-changing — I’m not a queso person but that was fab (and dairy free, of course).

I knew what I wanted for my main dish as soon as I looked at the menu. I got the harvest hash — it was full of roasted veggies and a perfect Vital Farms poached egg. A lot of the people in our group got salmon and chicken, which was meh from the sounds of it, but Kelly loved her pulled duck chile relleno and I was thrilled with my breakfast-for-lunch dish as well.

Sweet Ritual

Vegan ice cream? Heck yeah. Sweet Ritual had a ton of toppings and a ton of flavors. I got the chocolate olive oil and salted caramel with toasted coconut and lavender syrup.

Nadamoo

On the topic of vegan ice cream, Nadamoo! has a shop here too. You may have seen their cartons in Whole Foods, but trust me when I say the shop has a ton more flavors, including seasonal flavors like golden milk and peppermint.

They have a good amount of gluten free toppings too — I got gluten free graham crackers and chocolate chips on mine.

24 Diner

We stopped here for lunch after our last day — it's a classic "diner-style" restaurant, but upgraded. They have a gluten-free menu, and their burgers sounded awesome. I opted for a salad with some pulled chicken, though, and it was light but filling.

Flower Child

This chain is in SoCal, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and more. I’d wanted to try the one in Santa Monica, so I was happily surprised when I found out that there was one right in Austin.

It’s a “build your own plate” concept, where you choose a protein and some sides. There’s also wraps and bowls that you can choose from. Most options are gluten free, and there are plenty of vegan/vegetarian options as well. I got the salmon with roasted butternut squash, Indian spiced cauliflower, sautéed spinach, and a side of avocado, and it was the perfect post-yoga dinner. I also got their daily fresh juice since I was trying to kick a cold, which was some turmeric-orange-lemon blend.

Counter Cafe

You can’t go to Austin without eating some breakfast tacos! My co-worker found this adorable place downtown — they serve breakfast all day. The inside is just like any other diner (holla for cozy vibes), but the food is fresh and local. They have a ton of gluten free options; I got the breakfast tacos on corn tortillas without the cheese.

Curcuma

This was an adorable food truck that my co-worker and I went to early in the AM to pre-game brunch (because I am that person). It’s full of healthy food, and I honestly wished I could’ve eaten everything on the menu.

I got some sweet potato avocado toast (yep, I can 10/10 make this at home, I know), stuffed dates, and a collagen coffee. Totally wishing I could bring the food truck with me back to Boston.

Blenders and Bowls

Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with smoothie bowls. Blenders and Bowls is attached to the Wanderlust yoga studio downtown, and I hopped in for a post-yoga bowl. I got the Bowl of Paradise, which is actually a pitaya bowl, and topped it with almond butter instead of granola. If you ask for the bowl “for here,” you’ll get it in a cute coconut bowl instead of their to-go bowls, which is a plus for the IG aesthetic but also for being environmentally-friendly.

They also have collagen/bulletproof-style coffee and avocado toast (I got this toast to go because I was still hungry…lol).

Houndstooth Coffee

Houndstooth is downtown, right next to Blenders and Bowls, so if you want to chill in a coffee shop during the afternoon, this is a great spot. Quality coffee and strong wifi, albeit a little pricey.

Greater Goods Coffee

Greater Goods has such a cool aesthetic. It’s modern and airy, with tons of wood and white space. Their coffee is really strong, the people are super nice, and they have awesome unique choices like Tiger Lattes and a Kali Mocha.

The Peached Tortilla

We got brunch catered to the office (bless), complete with a bacon bar (yes!). I loaded up on veggies, bacon, guac, and the brisket hash (I think they asked for no sweet potatoes and just a sh*tton of meat with cauliflower to make it keto-friendly?). The food was great though, so I’d imagine the restaurant is just as good. Menus here.

Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile

This is a cozy sit-down restaurant with an outdoor patio (it’s covered/has heat lamps in the winter). I got a salad with a burger, but a ton of people got burgers that looked frickin’ LIT, so I’d recommend that. A lot of gluten free, dairy free, vegan/vegetarian options too!

La Barbecue

We were lucky enough to get La Barbecue catered to the office when I was there, so I never had to wait in line (bless), but trust me when I tell you there’s nothing that made me happier that day than seeing piles of glorious meat. You can check out their menu here.

FYI they’re closed Monday and Tuesday!

Snap Kitchen

I've heard great things about Snap Kitchen for grab-and-go food; I was going to grab dinner here the night before I headed to the airport but did a "picnic-style" dinner in my hotel room instead (aka Simple Mills crackers, avocado, prosciutto, blueberries while drinking boxed wine in my bathrobe and watching Fixer Upper #noshame).

Shopping & Nightlife

Lululemon, Anthropologie, Free People, Outdoor Voices

The great thing about the 24 Diner/Whole Foods area is that there's a ton of shopping nearby. So if you’re feeling energized, fed, and ready to spend some money, these are all within close proximity.

Nightlife

I was 10/10 just following my co-workers when we went out. Def went bar hopping on Rainey St — the Container Bar has some cool dancing and vibes, though it can get REAL crowded.

And there it is; I hope you enjoyed. If you have any other places to add, comment below!

For more workout places, check out Fitt City's Best Gyms in Austin.

For more Austin food recs, check out Christina's Healthy Eats in Austin,  Eater's Best Paleo Restaurants in Austin, or Grazed and Enthused's Paleo Austin Guide.