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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to deduce which eateries have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are extra hot, right now.
Ike's Love & Sandwiches
Open since May, this sandwich spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Ike's Love & Sandwiches saw a 21.3% increase, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Ike's Love & Sandwiches's review count increased by more than 170%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the sandwich category: Gourmands Neighborhood Pub has seen a 0.4% increase in reviews.
Located at 5207 Brodie Lane, Suite 210, Ike's Love & Sandwiches' menu features more than 30 meat-filled and vegetarian options. Many are named after films, sports figures and more like the Wonder Woman with fried chicken, honey mustard and pepper jack and Steve Jobs with breaded eggplant, pesto, ranch and provolone.
Ike's Love & Sandwhiches is open from 10:30 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.
Kerbey Lane Cafe
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about RMMA's Kerbey Lane Cafe, the popular bar and traditional American and Tex-Mex spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Kerbey Lane Cafe - Mueller bagged a 9.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed three-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Austin's traditional American scene: Twin Peaks has seen an 8.6% increase in reviews.
Open at 2200 Aldrich St., Suite 100, since April, Kerbey Lane Cafe offers hand-crafted appetizers and main dishes with locally sourced ingredients. Fan favorites on the menu include the bacon-wrapped meatloaf, the lemon poppyseed French toast and the fried chicken with cinnamon-beignet pancakes.
Kerbey Lane Cafe is open from 6:30 a.m.–midnight on weekdays and Sunday and 6:30 a.m.–1 a.m. on Saturday.
Full English
West Gate's Full English is also making waves. Open at 2000 Southern Oaks Drive, the popular tea room, British and all-day breakfast spot has seen a 1.6% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp — but visits to Full English increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Full English offers afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones and sweets. Other menu offerings include lemon and sugar pancakes, the full breakfast with British-style pork sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomato and fried bread, as well as gluten-free items. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.
Full English is open from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday and Tuesday.) According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy on Saturdays and Sundays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days, with a slowdown on Wednesdays.
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.
