"When I first moved here from Arizona," says Bristol-Joseph, "I did an event called Taste of Black Austin. That's where I made most of my connections, including Hoover Alexander. He is one of the nicest guys you're gonna meet, and he's a mentor in the community. Anytime someone comes to town looking for the Southern classics—corn bread, pulled pork—I always recommend Hoover's."

"Brian Batch created this spot that does a crispy fried chicken biscuit: It's a really good product. The other thing they have on the menu that I think is really cool are the 'Dough-Doughs': They take the salty, buttery biscuit dough and fry it into these little doughnut holes. It's cool to use the biscuit dough in two different methods. It's all simply delicious."

"I got connected with the chef here, Tiffany Derry, through the James Beard Foundation. She opened up a spot in Austin, and it's just delicious. It's got good energy and great chicken tenders. Now that I'm thinking about it, I need to get back over there!"

"When I need to get some Caribbean food, I go to Tony Scott's food truck here in Austin. When you're at the truck, you feel like you're in a little corner store in Jamaica. Every time I go, I get the oxtail or jerk chicken and peas and rice. Rice is a really important thing to make sure you cook properly, and he does a really good job with his rice."