SXSW Food Highlights – Gourdough’s Doughnuts

Currently at SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, I always look forward to the bodacious food that’s always a big highlight during my visit. In my typical, type A fashion, I pre-planned a few exciting food escapades to disrupt my busy conference agenda.

To no one’s surprise, food trucks took the front seat, as Austin is known for their creative mobile eats, and the Gourdough’s Doughnuts truck made a particularly sweet (and savory) impression on me. 


About Gourdough’s:
Specializing in larger than life, sweet and savory specialty doughnuts, I got the recommendation to visit Gourdough’s from my cousins Vicky and Eric. The vivid description of their recent experience sent me on a rampage to locate their funky little Airstream trailer and experience it first-hand.

Boasting two mobile locations in Downtown Austin, as well as a brick-and-mortar locale in South Austin, Gourdough’s is known for its unapologetically gluttonous menu. With up to 23 varieties of doughnuts (both sweet and savory), it’s hard to settle on just one - but you’re guaranteed to see something that tugs at your tummy strings. For me, it was the Fat Elvis donut that had me jonesin’.


Fat Elvis Donut:
Before I get into the actual taste of this monstrosity, I must mention that each oversized donut is made fresh to order, which doesn’t go unnoticed. The Fat Elvis is a very special doughnut, as it’s part of Gourdough’s secret menu, so cool kids, please advise!

Combining four of my favorite ingredients, such as grilled bananas, peanut butter, honey and bacon, this oversized doughnut was legit. The latter ingredient sealed the deal for me, especially when I saw how generous they were with it. Loving the peanut butter base, it tasted almost mousse-like, and I adored how the slightly tender bananas stuck to it. While the bacon was positioned in a rustic fashion, it fit the bill perfectly and juxtaposed beautifully with the otherwise sweet ingredients.

The actual doughnut didn’t suck either, as the dough was vibrant, airy and surprisingly light.

Service and Cost:
Since Gourdough’s is a food truck, there’s nothing fancy about its service, except that it’s relatively fast and the people are friendly. They’re happy to go over the menu with you, give you their recommendations and build your confidence (and excitement) about their big, fat donuts. Costs are expensive for a dougnut, however a steal when compared to the Cronut.

The aforementioned Fat Elvis rendition set me back a whopping $7. One thing’s for sure – I can’t wait to try more!

3 Mmmms

Gourdough’s – 604 Driskill Street, Austin TX 78701
gourdoughs.com

My Chicken and Waffle Obsession Continues

I've been having a great time playing around with my new waffle maker, and love creating any opportunity for whipping it out.  Last night's dinner included another savory rendition with cheddar cheese waffles, grilled chicken sausage, an onion and zucchini "succotash" with a runny egg on top for good measure.

The dish came together as a loose improvisation of the waffle BLT dish I did a few weeks back.  The recipe for the waffles is identical actually, which I then topped with sauteed, chopped red onions, zucchini and a sweet Italian chicken sausage.  Careful not to overcook the egg on top, it stayed nice and runny and created a silky luxurious texture that made Dan and I swoon with excitement.

We had a few leftovers so we tried a sweet and savory combination by pouring some maple syrup on top of the waffle.  Mmmm...deeelish!