Unsure where Austin's insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover 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 have the momentum heading into back-to-school season.
Wonder Bar
Open since May, this bar is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, bars saw a median 2.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Wonder Bar saw a 34.3 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 11500 Rock Rose Ave. in North Burnett, Wonder Bar offers specialty cocktails, as well as a small food menu that features tacos, burgers, buffalo wings, mini corn dogs, fried pickles, chicken sandwiches and more.
High Note
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Zilker's High Note, the Mediterranean and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 2.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, High Note bagged a 19.7 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.
Open at 300 S. Lamar, Suite A, since April, High Note offers offers diners fresh, health-conscious food, juices and cocktails that are made in-house. Menu highlights include the yellow coconut curry, roasted Mediterranean chicken and salmon poke.
Rollin Smoke BBQ
East Cesar Chavez's Rollin Smoke BBQ is also making waves. Open at 1501 E. Sixth St., the popular food stand and food truck, which offers barbecue and more, has seen a 5.7 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.1 percent for all businesses tagged "Barbeque" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Rollin Smoke BBQ's review count increased by more than 370 percent.
Rollin Smoke BBQ, famous for its BBQ buffet, offers barbecue pulled pork, chicken, brisket, baby back ribs, smoked sausage, side dishes and six different sauces. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
True Food Kitchen
North Burnett's True Food Kitchen is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The New American, vegan and vegetarian spot, which opened at 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, Suite 100, The Domain, increased its new review count by 13.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.6 percent for the Yelp category "American (New)."
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: BurgerFi has seen a 3.7% increase in reviews.
True Food Kitchen offers salads, pizzas, bowls of grains, sandwiches and entrees. Menu standouts include the butternut squash pizza (caramelized onion, roasted garlic, organic kale, vegan almond ricotta, dried cranberry and sage) and the grilled fish tacos (Mauritius Island redfish, tomatillo avocado salsa, pickled jicama, dried sweet corn, coconut lime yogurt and anasazi beans).
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.
