Shady Grove

Trailer park chic without the domestic battery
Noteworthy for: When the weather is nice, the sprawling tree-shaded patio is one of the best places in town to hear live music and linger over frozen drinks.

Only in Austin would you find a restaurant built around a trailer park theme. It made more sense when there were several mobile home parks nearby, but most of them have now been replaced by condos. The clientele is typically a mix of families, young live music fans, and people in need of refueling after a swim at nearby Barton Springs.
Shady Grove excels at the three major food groups required of any Austin institution: burgers, Tex-Mex, and vegetarian. The hippie sandwich is an ingenious combination of grilled eggplant, mushrooms, and pesto mayonnaise, while the veggie kabobs have a surprising kick thanks to a bed of green chile rice. Green chiles are also responsible for the slowly building burn produced by the green chile black bean burrito.