Fortunately, the weather was perfect for Taste of Texas, the opening outdoor event for the Austin Food & Wine Festival. Attendees visited a fenced-in Republic Square Park from 7-9:30 PM, sampling dishes prepared by over 20 chefs (mostly from Texas) and listen to music by Whiskey Shivers and Delta Spirit.

Our first order of business for the evening was to get some of that fabulous Franklin Barbeque. Aaron Franklin himself was slicing. Wow…he had everyone—even the celebrity chefs—talking about his melt-in-your-mouth brisket for the rest of the weekend.

We then decided on a plan to sample food from every booth in the park. Portions were fairly large and everything was so delicious that I had to skip a few booths towards the end of the evening—I was just too full. Here’s some of the scrumptious food that was served…

Cajun shrimp with grits

Oysters with roasted red pepper salsa

More oysters, this time grilled

Unidentifiable dessert, with green stuff (tasted good though)

Graham cracker, pudding and chocolate ball (with instructions to mix them together)

Sweet and savory