Picnik: Healthy Food That Actually Tastes Good.

Whether you are on a paleo diet, ketogenic diet, gluten free diet, or just someone who wants to make sure they aren't eating kangaroo meat, Picnik has something for you. All of the items on Picnik's menu are gluten, corn, peanut, and soy free. That's right kids...if you're allergic to peanuts you can leave that EpiPen in your car because you won't find a trace of this legume in any of their dishes. This place is so in tune with the health community that each time their register rings, a fitness guru somewhere goes into ketosis. For the non-health nerds, ketosis is when your body burns fat instead of glucose for fuel so you can do stuff like breath and laugh uncontrollably at cat videos. The fast and dirty breakdown of Ketosis is it occurs when the body's regular hook up for energy, carbohydrates, is running low on supply, so the body reaches out to its backup hook up, fat, for a hit of energy. The less carbs you slang at your body, the more your body will turn to fat to get'er done. I hope this Breaking Bad inspired analogy has provided some insight. Mad props to AMC channel for making my Sundays even better with their BB marathons.

It was in 2013 that Picnik founder and sassy blonde, Naomi Seifter, began her endeavor of opening a spot that could cater to all types of food sensitivities. Like most places in Austin, it all started with a food trailer. It wasn't long before Austinites realized how legit this place was. It became known for its butter coffee, which is now sold by the bottle at the brick and mortar location on Burnet Road.

Picnik's restaurant location, which opened in 2016, has a carefully curated menu of dishes that are thoughtfully prepared just for you. They ensure high quality fresh ingredients by working with local vendors. They only use grass-fed meats and butter along with avocado oil for cooking. Avocado oil is the Cristal of cooking oils. It's like, let's-just-send-the-kids-to-community-college-so-we-can-buy-avocado-oil-for-cooking expensive. This is a testament to how they, as the kids say these days, keep it 100%.

What will you eat? The answer is everything.

Their menu features superfoods like bone broth. It has tons of minerals that kick your body's immune system into gear like that training scene in Rocky 4. No Drago...you will not break us today. And you can't forget about their butter coffee, which is made with grass-fed butter and MCT oil. This wining combo can help your body from falling into a sloth-like state, help you burn fat, and make your brain feel like it's just downloaded an update. Yep, its pretty snazzy. I just wish they offered a decaf version for the peeps like me who avoid caffeine.

Now that's what I'm taco'ing about.
(L) Chorizo, (R) Sausage

One of my favorite things to get here are the breakfast tacos. I really enjoy the chorizo and sausage selections. The chorizo is made with pastured pork, potatoes, and red bell peppers. They garnish these handheld babies with fresh serrano, so it has a bit of a fiery finish. The sausage tacos have an interesting savory and sweet thing going on due to the sweet potatoes in them. They both come served with chipotle aioli, which tastes like an ultra light and creamy maple sauce. It is super unexpected and pleasantly surprising.

And of course, they use grain-free cassava flour tortillas, which are mega soft and pliable.

Banana love child

If you are looking to splurge, then I highly recommend the Salted Caramel Banana pancakes. They taste like if bananas foster and banana bread had a love child. They are sinfully delicious. 

To the right you can see this glorious combination of cassava and banana batter, candied pecans, caramelized bananas, mascarpone drizzle, and salted caramel. Pancake perfection.




I'm also a fan of the french toast which comes with fresh berries, cherry-berry pomegranate jam, and mascarpone drizzle. Its almost too pretty to eat. But you will. You'll devour every single bite because you won't want to get off this roller coaster ride of decadent flavors.

French toast artwork

Extreme close-up!

If you skip the sweet stuff for breakfast, then you must make room for dessert. The Blondie ice cream sandwich will make you feel naughty and nice because there is actual good stuff in it. I swallowed it whole before I could snap a snazzy photo of it. I guess that is a good indication of how damn delicious it is. 

So if you're looking for a place that won't make you feel like you just made a huge mistake (we're talking to you donut burger) then this is your spot.
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