Street Food Near Zilker Park

Giovanni Pizza Stand

Giovanni serves authentic pizza and pasta at bargain prices: A large cheese pizza is only $8, and a huge order of pasta is the same. Owner Julio Rangel learned to cook Italian cuisine at Mezzaluna, and he takes great pride in his handmade soups, ravioli, pasta, and pizzas.

lulu b’s Vietnamese Sandwiches

Ever since the word got out about lulu b’s marvelous Vietnamese sandwiches (bánh mì thit), this trailer has become wildly popular. Your choice of marinated pork, chicken, avocado, or firm tofu fills a sandwich baguette, dressed with a marinated relish of daikon, carrot, cucumber, cilantro, and chile. Sand­wiches are $4.50, smoothies are $4, noodle bowls are $6, and Vietnamese coffee is $2.50. One of the best trailers for vegetarians.

Little Sub Trailer

During Austin City Limits Music Festival week, Little Sub Trailer will stay open late on the weekdays, as well as opening on Saturday and Sunday. Specializing in custom subs, custom chef salads, innovative homemade soups, and dressed baked potatoes, it’s recently added homemade “snow” ice milk in 15 different flavors. Extremely economical; there’s nothing on the menu more than $5.25 and many items less than $4.

Chris’ Little Chicago

Hot dogs are the quintessential street food of Northern cities, and Chris’ Little Chicago makes it clear why: These hot dogs are a revelation. Chris uses only premium Chicago-made Vienna-brand beef hot dogs, polish sausages, Italian sausage links, and roast beef; he makes his own beef chili; and everything served here is gourmet quality. You can get your dog served Chicago-style (tomato wedges, pickle spear, relish, chopped onion, sport peppers, and celery salt, $3.75) or the Texas way (homemade beef chili, chopped onion, and cheese, $3.75), as well as New York-style, Austin-style, coleslaw-style, or plain. Not to be missed are the Italian beef sandwiches ($6), piles of tender roast beef topped with sweet or hot peppers and au jus.

Torchy’s Tacos

Torchy’s is a winner, repeatedly recognized for its innovative, high-quality tacos. Varieties include green-chile pork ($3), Baja shrimp ($4), fried avocado ($3), fried chicken and green chile ($3), and many, many more. During the ACL Festival, the taco special will be Mr. Pink: seared Ahi tuna, served rare, with guajillo slaw, chipotle sauce, cheese, lime juice, and cilantro ($4).

Shuggie’s

Shuggie’s is sharing the new, comfortable, and breezy South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery with Torchy’s. The new compound has ample parking and covered picnic tables and a wonderful, laid-back ambience. Shuggie’s serves flat-grilled hamburgers and cheeseburgers ($6.50-7.50), battered fries and onion rings ($3-5), milkshakes made with Blue Bell Ice Cream ($3.50), and deep-fried catfish and shrimp po’boys ($7-8).

Flip Happy Crepes

This awesome Airstream is very close to the festival. Flip Happy is the foodie’s choice, serving artfully prepared crepes, both savory and sweet, under the shade of enormous pecan trees. To give you an idea: Roasted chicken with caramelized onions and goat cheese ($6.75); shredded pork with cheese, pickles, and Tabasco ($6.25); and lemon curd with blueberries ($3.75) are just some of the 17 varieties. Saturday morning, breakfast is served as well.

MamboBerry

This newcomer to the scene serves healthy treats and sandwiches. The primary focus is on tart, live-culture, fat-free frozen yogurt, with fresh fruit, nut, or cereal toppings ($4) and smoothies made with frozen yogurt and fruit ($4.50). These tart frozen treats are a little unusual but extremely refreshing. Recently, MamboBerry has added both tofu salad ($4.95) and excellent chicken salad ($5.50) sandwiches.

This article appears in September 26 • 2008.