As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which eateries have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Austin businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are riding a trend, right now.
Revue
Open since March 2018, this Italian, brunch and Asian fusion spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 2.2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but REVUE saw a 25 percent increase, maintaining a healthy four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis REVUE's review count increased by more than 250 percent.
Located at 101 Red River St. in downtown Austin, REVUE offers brunch on weekends from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Offerings include warm cinnamon buns, smoked brisket hash, blueberry pancakes, breakfast tacos and coffee drinks.
Carpenters Hall
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Zilker's Carpenters Hall, the New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 2.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Carpenters Hall bagged a 22.4 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a superior four-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Austin's New American scene: Colleen's Kitchen has seen a 7.3 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 400 Josephine St. since November 2018, Carpenters Hall offers comfort foods with a nod to Central Texas, German and Czech cooking; there's french fries with Louisiana seasoning, chicken schnitzel and a fried seafood platter, as well as pies, kolaches and other pastries.
Sway
Sway is also making waves. Open since November 2018 at 3437 Bee Cave Road, the cocktail bar and Thai spot, which offers noodles and more, has seen a 21.7 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 4.9 percent for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Sway's review count increased by more than 170 percent.
Sway offers beer, wine, specialty cocktails and teas as well as starters like a green papaya salad, chicken wings and blue crab fried rice. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Via 313 Pizza
East Cesar Chavez's Via 313 Pizza is the city's buzziest pizza spot by the numbers.
The pizza spot, which opened at 1802 E. Sixth St. in March of 2018, increased its new review count by 8.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Pizza."
It's not the only trending outlier in the pizza category: Bufalina has seen a 2.7 percent increase in reviews.
Via 313 Pizza offers appetizers, salads and Detroit-style pizza. Its signature pie, The Detroiter, has smoked pepperoni under the cheese and natural casing pepperoni on top, and the 500 has pepperoni, jalapeño and pineapple rings.
Bombshells Restaurant & Bar
The popular Bombshells Restaurant & Bar is currently on the upswing in the traditional American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this traditional American spot, which offers salads and more, increased its new reviews by 5.2 percent—with its Yelp rating declining slightly from three stars to 2.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 370 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 15119 35th since 2014, the restaurant offers with names like the Pearl Harbor burger or Aviators wings that are in keeping with the military theme.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
