As a general rule, Texas takes great pains to separate itself from “the South.” The state used to be its own country, after all, and there’s an inherent desire among its natives to hold on to that unique identity. Texas isn’t part of a region – it’s its own thing, and it never lets anyone forget it.
That said, Southern influences still work their way across our state line and impact our cuisine. Recent years have seen a rise in Southern-style restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and cocktails, with newish spots like Uptown Sports Club and Lil’ Easy Fine Cajun Food & Bar drawing particular attention to that most celebrated of Southern food cities: New Orleans. Now, residents of North Austin can access Big Easy flavors and other Southern specialties at Hissy Fit, a new Arboretum restaurant from the Fixe Southern House team.
While Fixe, a Downtown Austin brunch favorite, is a proper sit-down venue, Hissy Fit takes a more casual approach. When you enter from the parking lot – as a shopping center eatery, it doesn’t offer much in the way of curb appeal – you’ll find a couple of stray cafe tables on the concrete patio. The front door opens into the dining room, a bland but cheerful space with a mellow blue-and-white color scheme, lots of natural light, and wood floors. There’s a menu stand perched right beside the door and a sign that points you to the counter, where all ordering is meant to happen.
Yes, Hissy Fit is a counter-service operation. I wish I could tell you this makes total sense and is completely consistent with the rest of the Hissy Fit experience, but that’s not how it played out for me. For one thing, the restaurant’s menu focuses on Southern comfort food, and when I’m planning to tuck into big plates of biscuits, fried chicken and catfish, and red beans & rice, I want to settle at my table and sink fully into those cozy vibes. That’s hard to do when you have to stand in a (sometimes lengthy) line to place your order and need to return to that line if you want to add anything additional throughout the course of your meal. I get the fast-casual inspiration, and I understand the desire for a different experience than Fixe’s full-service model, but I honestly wish that Hissy Fit would just let me order at the table. I’d frankly prefer a QR-code phone ordering situation instead of queuing at the counter.
If you stop in after work and slide into a bar seat, some crawfish dip, a po’ boy, a biscuit, and/or a Hurricane can nearly transport you to the French Quarter.
Luckily, there is a way to get a more traditional style of service here, and it involves grabbing a bar stool. The Hissy Fit bar is a pleasant place to catch a game (they have several big-screen TVs hanging behind), chat up the friendly and upbeat bartenders, and enjoy a cocktail and a bite. The cocktail menu also draws heavily on Southern inspirations, and the frozen Zydeco Hurricane is very NOLA in presentation. Served in a tall glass, garnished with mint and hibiscus, and bursting with passion fruit flavor, this hurricane mostly dodges the too-sweet problem that plagues so many other frozen drinks… but the sweetness intensifies as it melts, so you’ll want to finish it in a timely fashion (watch out for the brain freeze). Whiskey cocktails also play a major role on this list. Fans of sweeter cocktails can find sophisticated versions in the Pecan Street Rush (with rye, pecan-smoked honey, lemon, and black walnut bitters) and the Lunch Box (pecan-smoked peanut butter whiskey, cherry bitters, cherry juice, and salt). A brief but well-selected international wine list is also available, as is a collection of mostly local bottled and canned beers.
In keeping with its casual energy, Hissy Fit splits its dinner menu into appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and sides. The deviled eggs should live up to even the pickiest Southerner’s expectations; the filling is bold and smoky (and abundant), the white features a solid-enough bite to contrast with the yolks’ smoothness, the hearty drizzle of chili crisp brings an engaging burst of heat, the pickled shallots add allium and tang, and a light sprinkling of chives ties all of the flavors together. Another standout appetizer is the crawfish dip, which proves cheesy and rich and satisfying. The menu lists it as “spicy,” but this dip packs very little heat on its own; for that, you’ll need to add in some of the Louisiana hot sauce that Hissy Fit helpfully provides on the side. Saltines as a dipping vessel are a charmingly nostalgic touch, but because the dip features appealing chunks of crawfish, chips with ridges or a dipped shape might be a better move.
Salads and bowls involve a wide range of greens and fresh produce, but for the most on-brand option, go with the wedge. The iceberg lettuce is clean-tasting and crisp and red onion offers a slight bite and a touch of sweetness, but the star of the show is the pimento ranch dressing. Classic ranch flavors combine with a touch of cheesy funk, and I wish the business offered this dressing for sale by the jar. A somewhat puzzling part of the salad comes in the form of crispy rice; this addition might be welcome on a spinach or kale salad, but because the crunchy iceberg doesn’t need any extra textural help, it feels a bit lily-gilding here.
As any New Orleans-influenced restaurant must, Hissy Fit offers a po’boy, and their shrimp version is a respectable rendition. The meat is juicy, the bread, imported from Louisiana, is strong enough to contain the fillings, and the remoulade is zippy and horseradish-like. But a more interesting and ambitious sandwich can be found in the duck confit melt, which lets the rich – but slightly too dry – duck mingle appealingly with pickled jalapeños, Swiss cheese, and a tangy white BBQ sauce.
Finally, we come to the biscuits. They’re good Southern biscuits if you like yours on the denser side – butter takes the spotlight, and the crispy exterior and tender interior make for a pleasant bite. Purists can order theirs with butter and jam, but they also make fine bases for egg sandwiches. Hissy Fit also lets the biscuits multitask as empanada (encasing beans and cheese) and cinnamon roll doughs. The biscuit cinnamon rolls are a triumph of sweetness, aromatic spice, and – as previously mentioned – a whole lot of butter.
Hissy Fit needs to either reevaluate its service model or tighten its menu to be less suited to lengthy sit-down meals and more to quick bites and takeout orders. But if you stop in after work and slide into a bar seat, some crawfish dip, a po’boy, a biscuit, and/or a Hurricane can nearly transport you to the French Quarter.
Hissy Fit
9761 Great Hills Trail Ste. B
This article appears in June 13 • 2025.