Nestled inside the ZEN Food Mart Convenience Store, Wholly Cow Burgers is a purveyor of food that uses local, organic, and hormone & chemical free grass-fed beef. It's a high quality ingredient that, along with the local, organic produce used here, makes for some really wonderful food. The menu consists of several burger combinations as well as some classic beef and chicken sandwiches like the reuben and club. There are vegetarian options, too! Wholly Cow is also open for breakfast, where you'll find a nice selection of breakfast tacos in addition to french toast and some great breakfast sandwiches. A great thing about the location is that the store where it's located also has other great items like fresh fruit and produce, and a wide selection of wine and beer. That's quality and convenience!

Wholly Cow
3010 S. Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 394-8156
http://www.yelp.com/biz/wholly-cow-austin

Austin’s culinary scene has been booming in recent years, with a number of focused, motivated chefs bringing new perspectives in fine dining to grateful eaters. Chef Josh Watkins’ tenure at The Carillon began in 2008, after he returned to Texas and worked alongside famed chef David Bull at the Driskill Grill. Watkins appeared alongside Bull on TV show Iron Chef America, where he showed off his impressive skills, and not long after he was recruited to open the Carillon. Every aspect of this restaurant is top-notch. The staff is attentive without being intrusive, the décor is classy and comfortable, and the food is some of the best you’ll find in town. Frequent diners rave about the incredible spinach salad with house bacon and poached egg yolk, as well as the duck leg confit with root vegetables and white bean cassoulet. They also offer both three-course and six-course tasting menus, which come highly recommended.

The Carillon
1900 University Avenue
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 404-3655
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-carillon-austin-2

Austin, Texas, has a very different environment than much of the rest of the state—it’s moist and verdant, with heavy forests covering much of the city. For a wonderful immersion in the botanical glory of the area, head into the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Located in the center of Zilker Park, which was deeded to the city of Austin in 1917, the Botanical Garden is a spectacular collection of themed gardens. One of the most notable is the Hartman Prehistoric Garden—in 1992, a group of paleontologists discovered more than 100 dinosaur tracks in Zilker Park, and the area was then transformed into a garden populated with plants that would have grown there during the Cretaceous era. If you’re looking for some peace and serenity, head over to the Isamu Taniguchi Oriental Garden, a wonderful location to sit and commune with nature in front of a burbling koi pond. It’s a fantastic oasis in the middle of the city.

Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 477-8672