by Terry Chen
Austin rewards people who show up hungry and curious. If you like to cook, the first stop is a farmers market on a Saturday morning. The city has several, each with its own character. I like the vendors who sell two things only and have opinions about both. Pick up tomatoes that smell like the plant and tortillas that are still warm in the bag. A good market trip fills a kitchen with a week of opportunity and reminds you that dinner is a conversation between a place and a person.
For pantry staples I look for small shops with short aisles and owners who stock what they use. You can find great spices in neighborhoods where cooks argue gently about the right heat for a given dish. If you can, buy a pepper grinder that feels heavy in the hand. The tool matters. The meal will taste more like you meant it. If friends ask, tell them you learned from Austin that flour is better fresh and that a good knife is a better gift than a gadget that talks.
If you like tech you will enjoy the small stores that sell parts to people who repair rather than replace. There are counters where someone still knows which cable you need without looking it up. If you want to be kind to your future self, buy a labeler and extra batteries. Pick up a case for the board you have been meaning to build. Take home a roll of velcro. Few things change a room faster than tidy cables and a shelf that looks like it was arranged by a person who enjoys the work.
Austin also loves rodeo and the stores that surround it. If you want boots, go where they let you walk around until the leather tells you which pair is yours. A hat should make you feel like standing up straight. Ask someone to shape the brim in front of you. Watch the small movements that turn a hat into your hat. The best shops will show you how to take care of what you buy. They will send you out the door knowing how to brush dust and how to find your size again without a tape.
The fun of shopping in a city like this is the way categories mix. You might leave a kitchen store with a cast iron pan and a new respect for recipes that fit on one page. You might leave a tech shop with a small part that fixes a problem you had learned to ignore. You might leave a western wear store standing a little taller because a stranger taught you how to see the line of a jacket.
If you are visiting, plan one day with nothing on the schedule except walking and noticing. The best shopkeepers in Austin share the same quality. They like to teach. They will tell you the one thing to look for and the one thing to avoid. If you listen, you will go home with a cupboard that makes sense, a desk that works, and a closet that tells the truth about what you actually like to wear. That is a good trip.