Food

Thinking I would beat the crowds, I showed up to the Texas Farmer’s Market at Mueller at 9:45am on a Sunday in preparation for their 10am opening. To my surprise, the streets were already lined with people meandering and pondering where they would go first. Naturally, they were especially gravitating towards the coffee stands, but the smell of the homemade local food was already drawing crowds in. 

In 2012, Carla Jenkins opened the Texas Farmer’s Market in the newly developing Mueller neighborhood. On opening day alone, there were 40 vendors and more than 6,000 shoppers. The market sells all types of local fruits, vegetables, baked goods, handiwork, and homemade goods in tents outside, and Jenkins makes a point to try every product that is a possible vendor. She takes pride in her market’s ability to uplift local businesses. “I call it graduation when they get into one of the retail stores. I look at it as my children graduating from high school or college,” she told the Austin Women magazine. Now going on 14 years, the market is open from 10am-2pm every Sunday year-round and continues to rotate new stands in to boost small businesses.

First, I took some time to get a lay of the land. The market is centered in an inside pavilion that spills out onto a lawn and down Philomena Street. Conveniently, stands were mostly grouped by type or similarity. The fruits and vegetables were all housed inside the pavilion, next to the baked goods and breakfast foods. Being a bit too early for carrots, I stopped by a couple of the breakfast-y stands. Oatmeal & Company displayed their four artisanal oat bags: Strawberry Basil, Bananas Foster, Blueberry Cardamom, and Smoked Peach Bourbon. Insisting on giving us samples, the owner told us to “take them like shots” and soak in the flavors. Her homemade recipe of only her oats, oat milk, and maple syrup convinced my friend to walk away with a bag of Strawberry Basil oats that she never intended to get. 

Next, we hit the baked goods. Cookies, croissants, cupcakes and more piled on the two tables of the Julie Myrtille Stand. Without second thought, I secured the homemade chocolate almond croissant. We made our way through the pavilion, sampling and wandering through piles of thick cut cookies from Teddy V Pâtisserie, sourdoughs from Texas French Bread, and even pet friendly goods from Poochie Trends. We skipped past the varieties of fruits and vegetables, but many customers appeared to be regulars fulfilling their produce grocery shopping for the week. To round out the inside pavilion, a man behind the Lost Pines Yaupon Tea stand called out for us to try samples of his tea. While we were sipping the Apple Spice flavor, he explained how yaupon is the only caffeinated plant from North America. The rich spices from the sample were enough to convince me to buy the tea concentrate that you mix with water, and a complementary free tea that came with the purchase. 

The meal stands all sat outside, hitting me with whiffs of empanadas and steaming tamales. The smell pulled us to Steamies Dumplings, scratch-prepared dumplings with a recipe straight from Hong Kong. Founded in Austin in 2018 by Cindy and Leslie Chau, Steamies first started selling at the Mueller farmers market to boost themselves towards their official building on Airport Blvd. Their promise of every dumpling being handmade was true, evidenced in the ten minute wait for our pork and cabbage dumplings. But the wait was truly worth it. If I could rebuy anything from my day, it would be Steamies. I even went back for a bag of their frozen dumplings to have for later.

Everyone needs a refreshment while they shop, and the two most popular drinks were Central Matcha and CTRUS. We stopped by Central Matcha and picked up their seasonal flavor, which featured a honey syrup from Round Rock Honey, another stand at the market. I appreciated the cross-stand collaboration and it definitely lived up to my expectations. But the star of the market seemed to be CTRUS, handing out fresh-smashed citrus drinks in 32 oz deli containers with a line running down the lawn. Owned by Hector and Yarmin Serrano from Puerto Rico, CTRUS has been selling at Mueller since 2017 and has expanded to four different locations in markets around Austin. CTRUS worker Ximena especially loves the environment at Mueller. “There is a guy playing the accordion, people sitting on the grass, and families walking around together,” she said.

As if great food wasn’t enough, local jewelry and apothecary stands were also all over the market. There was a diverse selection of jewelry from Crystal Nova Creations, wallets from Espacio Handmade, and candles from Kimberlalei Co. The stand that got us, though, was Goatilicious, founded in 1999 and offering a variety of cheeses and body products made entirely from goat milk. Their speciality is cajeta, a Mexican caramel sauce made from goat’s milk, which we of course had to buy.

As the sun started to show a little more, the market grew lively and showed a hint of summer. A live band played outside the pavilion and offered a nice place to stop and enjoy the food. The lawn was full of stations for kids to draw and play next to local artists selling their work. The magic of the farmers market may have taken a lot of our money and left us with more goods than we could carry, but at least all of our purchases boosted local businesses – and luckily they were selling tote bags for exactly that reason. With new stands every week and open all year round, rain or shine, the Mueller farmer’s market is a great way to spend a relaxing weekend morning and enjoy the Austin community. 

The familiar scent of berbere and simmering lentils wafted through the air as Chef Woinee Miraim ran towards my family and me with open arms. At Taste of Ethiopia, customers are treated with the same love and hospitality they would receive at a grandparent's house. “It’s like going home,” Chef Woinee said, summing up the feeling perfectly.

The delicious, comforting cuisine hails from Ethiopia, an east African country. It features a unique blend of spices, flavorful vegetables, and rich meats. The delectable sides are portioned onto a large piece of injera, a spongy pancake-like bread. The bread is laid out flat on a metal plate called the gebeta. Ethiopian food is eaten by tearing off pieces of injera and using them as makeshift utensils to scoop up the vegetables or meat with your hands. In Ethiopian culture, you never eat alone. Chef Woinee reminds us, “in our culture, nobody eats by themselves… if you have a family, you wait for that person to come.” As a huge fan of Ethiopian food, I can confirm that for my family, gathering around a gebeta for a shared meal has become a cherished tradition. I’ve loved this unique dining experience since I was a child, when my brother and I would use the bread to stick “injera beards” on our faces. 

If you are looking to try an Ethiopian meal, Taste of Ethiopia is the place to be. Its restaurants, two of only a few Ethiopian restaurants in Austin, are located in Pflugerville and South Congress, respectively. However, Chef Woinee does not see these establishments as simply “restaurants.” Chef Woinee, who has become an honorary member of my family, told me that she doesn’t feel like customers are coming to her business, but rather, to her home. She added, “I don’t call them customers, they’re like my family.” She opened the first location in Pflugerville almost 18 years ago, after working in food service for decades. Although the restaurant has had to overcome much adversity, notably the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago, Chef Woinee has always kept going. “It’s my passion, you don’t give up on your passion. You can hide it, but you don’t give up.” Over the years, she and Taste of Ethiopia have been a second home and family to many. She said, “I had people who came here on a first date, in the Pflugerville location. They come for first date, they get married, they have kids, now their kids are teenagers.” 

Taste of Ethiopia provides a diverse menu with a variety of delicious offerings. My family always splits a large vegetable sampler. My favorite vegetables are the yellow split peas, red lentils, and green beans. We also love adding kitfo, which is essentially ground beef marinated in mouthwatering spices. Another signature dish is doro wat, a spicy chicken stew simmered with onion, garlic, ginger, berbere, and other spices. It usually features chicken wings or drumsticks and is served with hard boiled eggs. To all the picky eaters out there, do not fret. Taste of Ethiopia’s kids’ menu provides tasty options that might be more familiar to your taste buds, including chicken tenders and elbow macaroni. However, I strongly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try this amazing food. Although they may seem intimidating, Ethiopian dishes are simply leveled-up blends of vegetables, meat, and bread.

“I want people to come and try the food, see what they are missing,” Chef Woinee insisted. I strongly suggest that everyone have an open mind, even if it seems unfamiliar or strange. Chances are, after your first Ethiopian meal, you will be addicted.