As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?
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 are worth exploring, right now.
Ike's Sandwiches
Open since June, this sandwich spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Ike's Sandwiches saw a 68% increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 5207 Brodie Lane, Suite 210, Ike's Sandwiches specializes in sub sandwiches named after athletes, celebrities, superheroes and more. The popular Michael Jordan comes with beef meatballs, marinara and pepper jack cheese.
Ike's Sandwiches is open from 10:30 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North Burnett's Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille , the steakhouse and New American spot, which offers seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 2.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille - Northside bagged a 40.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Austin's New American scene: BurgerFi has seen a 3.7% increase in reviews, and Gotham and The Brewer's Table have seen 18.8 and 4.9% increases, respectively.
Open at 11801 Domain Blvd. since January, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille offers appetizers like cherry pepper calamari and its famous pork chop bites as well as seafood, steaks and flaming desserts.
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille is open from 4–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and 4–9 p.m. on Sunday.
Comedor
Downtown Austin's Comedor is also making waves. Open at 501 Colorado St., the Mexican spot has seen a 17.5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.9% for all businesses tagged "Mexican" on Yelp.
Comedor offers hand-crafted appetizers, dinner entrees and cocktails with a New Mexican flair. Menu highlights include bone marrow tacos and Spanish octopus with black garlic mole. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Comedor is open from 5–10 p.m. on MondayThursday and Sunday and 5–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Micklethwait Craft Meats
Central East Austin's Micklethwait Craft Meats is the city's buzziest barbecue spot by the numbers.
The well-established food truck, which offers barbecue and more and opened at 1309 Rosewood Ave. in March 2018, increased its new review count by 1.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.5% for the Yelp category "Barbeque."
Micklethwait Craft Meats offers meaty sandwiches, large meat plates with sausage, pork ribs and brisket and a variety of sides like beans and jalapeño cheese grits.
Micklethwait Craft Meats is open from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Tuesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.–3 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Pluckers
St. Johns's Pluckers 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% increase in new reviews over the past month, this sports bar and traditional American spot increased its new reviews by 7.9% — with its Yelp rating declining slightly from three stars to 2.5 stars.
Open for business at 6406 N. Interstate Highway 35 Frontage Road, Suite 2949, since July 2017, itspecializes in boneless wings that come with sauces like maple chipotle, ginger peach Sriracha and spicy garlic Parmesan. Other offerings include starters like fried pickles, stuffed jalapeños, burgers and fried Twinkies.
Pluckers is open from 11 a.m.–midnight daily.
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.
