Austin, TX~Touristy Activities and El Arroyo Restaurant

This concludes the posts about our foodie trip to Austin, TX.  While we were in Austin, TX we were also able to meet up with one of Mike's high school friends and saw some of the famous tourist sights. 

View from Mount Bonnell

People on Congress bridge waiting to see the bats!!!

Mike and I went on a bat cruise to see the famous bats fly out from under Congress Bridge to go hunting for food at night.  One of our friends told us that if you have a better view of the bats from the river rather than on the bridge. 
   It was a neat experience to see millions of bats fly out from under the bridge to hunt for their nightly meal. I think the string of bats lasted for almost 30 minutes. It's amazing to see so many bats, but after a few minutes I was over the bats.  I told Mike that I only need to see bats once in my life. After a few more minutes, I become a bit dopey and thought, "gee it looks like a lot of little black birds flying....or large pieces ash in the sky."  Now every time I see a large group of black birds flying in the sky, I immediately think, "Oh bats!"

A friend at work graduated from UT-Austin and sent me a list of her favorite places to visit and eat in Austin. El Arroyo was listed as one of her favorite Mexican restaurants. While Mike and I were trying to find Gourdough's we passed El Arroyo, and decided to make a detour and eat lunch at El Arroyo. 

Appetizer Sampler~Taquitos, bacon-wrapped chicken and shrimp, Mexican crab rolls, and guacamole

I ended up ordering a appetizer sampler platter for me.  Do you notice a trend in my ordering? I like the option of trying multiple dishes.  I sometimes order plates that contain food that I will not like, but I know Mike will enjoy.  Hmmm...maybe I should not do this because that means Mike will end up eating more.

Relleno De La Casa Especial (Based on my limited Spanish, I think this means "The house special stuffed")

Mike ordered this extremely rich dish composed of a poblano pepper filled with shrimps, cream cheese, and a tequila-lime sauce.  I did not care for the dish because it was too creamy and rich than I expected from a Mexican dish.  Mike seemed to like this dish, but could not finish it all because he was busy eating all the food from my plate.  

El Arroyo
1624 W. 5th St.
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 474-1222