About Foxtrot

Remember when I wrote an ode to bodegas? The arrival of Foxtrot in Austin strengthens my love of cool grocery stores. For areas of town where walking to shops is an option, Foxtrot is a great option. Stop in for a quick snack. Grab a coffee drink in the morning or stay to meet up with friends. Foxtrot seems to be a hip place to do all this while also stocking hip brands. Brands like Jeni’s Ice Cream and Katy Perry’s non-alcoholic drink De Soi are on the shelves along with local Austin brands like Steamies Dumplings and Fika Table. Foxtrot also has its own products, from chips and popcorn to its popular gummy candies.

While Foxtrot is Chicago-based, the two co-founders – Mike LaVitola and Taylor Bloom – actually met and came up with the idea in Austin. They wanted to modernize the convenience store and bring up-and-coming products to the people, which reminds me of Pop Up Grocer. One modernization is focusing on pick-up and delivery. They opened their first store in 2014 and are now in seven cities – Chicago, Dallas, Austin, D.C., Arlington, and Alexandria. That’s 29 stores and counting!

Why Foxtrot

The most important reason to go to Foxtrot is to support local brands on the shelves. Some brands haven’t made it to more mainstream grocery stores yet, so buying their products here can help. Sometimes Foxtrot has a “local” sticker by the product or read the packaging to find “Austin.”

Visiting a new grocery store, especially one hyper-focused on curating its vendors, is fun! I love discovering new products, even Austin brands I haven’t heard about, and indulging in a treat. During the summer, cold drinks have been so welcome!

Austin Products to Buy

Here are some of my favorites you can pick up at Foxtrot:

• Babka ATX – mini babka loaves
• Bakery Cloud Nine – fresh baked goods like cookies and pop tarts
• Bawi – sparkling agua fresca
• Fika Table – frozen cardamom buns
• Kellie’s Baking Co – edible cookie dough
• Kinship – milk tea
• Kosmic Kombucha – kombucha
• Lick Ice Cream – ice cream
• Steamies Dumplings – frozen dumplings
• Teddy V Cookies – giant cookies

Foxtrot Austin Locations

We currently have three Foxtrot locations in Austin:

• Burnet Road: 4818 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78756
• Downtown 2nd Street: 306 W 2nd St, Austin, TX 78701
• South 1st: S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704

My favorite location is the South 1st store, the most spacious store of the three. It has the biggest drink cooler and slightly more indoor seating. Both the South 1st and Burnet locations have free, easy parking.

Stop by a Foxtrot and let me know what you think! I hope you find a new product you love.

Foxtrot
https://foxtrotco.com/

The post The New Grocery Store on the Block is Foxtrot Austin appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

As I walked into Royal Blue Grocery on East 6th, I felt like I was walking into Kim’s Convenience, a show I breezed through the past few months. This store has multiple locations in Austin, all set up to be a corner store or bodega. It’s part grocery store, part convenience store, and part coffee shop. It has a little bit of everything, from grocery items like bananas to prepared foods. As I browsed, the cashiers were talking to customers, catching up as if the conversation was a regular thing.

I know this makes me sound like a kid in a candy shop or a rookie who has never been into a convenience store before. As someone who loads up a shopping cart for nearly an hour at HEB, a huge grocery store, every week, the concept of a bodega is a bit foreign to me. Perhaps the experience is a little different than what I imagine in New York City since in Texas, it’s hard to get by without a car. (Remember my experience at Pop Up Grocer?)

But here are my questions for regular bodega shoppers:

• How often do you shop at a bodega?
• Do bodega shoppers tend to eat out more often, so “full” grocery trips are unnecessary?
• Are things more expensive at a bodega?
• Do you frequently buy the same things, i.e. are your favorites always in stock?
• Do you frequently buy different things just for the fun of it?

As I sit and ponder these questions, I know I’m probably glorifying the experience a little too much, but have you been in a Royal Blue Grocery?

What I Bought at Royal Blue Grocery

What brought me to Royal Blue Grocery was a local chai brand I found on Instagram. Kimbala bottles chai and coffee and offers chai concentrate to make your own beverages. The chai assamica was great straight from the bottle.

I also tried a few new-to-me products: carnitas seasoning from Siete Foods, Parm Crisps, and a mini Nutella Tahini babka by Babka ATX. This is a good example of the mix of local and national brands you can find at Royal Blue Grocery.

The Siete Foods carnitas seasoning was easy and tasty (slow cook your meat and then add the seasoning). The mini-size babka is great as a snack and I loved the flavor.

Do I recommend you do your weekly grocery trip here instead of HEB? Probably not. But if you need something on the go or if you simply need some inspiration, pop into one of the six Royal Blue Grocery locations downtown or one of the convenience stores in your neighborhood. Chances are, there’s a unique one not too far from you.

If you want to learn more about bodegas, check out this NPR article.

What’s your regular grocery store? Have you ever fallen in love with a grocery store while traveling?

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The post Ode to the Neighborhood Bodega + Shopping Austin’s Royal Blue Grocery appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Non-alcoholic hopped drinks or non-alcoholic beers have been a growing trend in the last few years. With the popularity of sparkling waters, it makes sense the next beverage would be a sparkling water and beer hybrid! These drinks have the refreshing taste of a cold beer yet the alcohol content of sparkling water.

There are several variations of non-alcoholic hopped drinks, including sparkling water, tea, and soda. As you can guess, tea has added caffeine and soda has added sugar. The goal with these drinks is to provide the delicious hoppy flavor without the booze. I love this idea because the effects of alcohol can be an inconvenience. Now, hoppy flavors can be enjoyed anytime. 

Where to Find Non-Alcoholic Hopped Drinks

While non-alcoholic hopped drinks are growing in popularity, grocery stores are not sure where to put them. Someone recommended looking in the sparkling water section of the grocery store, but I usually found these drinks in the alcoholic section. Some stores had separate coolers for non-alcoholic beer or a labeled non-alcoholic section, while one mixed it in with the alcoholic beers.

There are many brands out there and many of them are not widely distributed. Be sure to look at a brand’s website for their distribution list or to buy directly from them.

5 Non-Alcoholic Hopped Drinks to Try

As I was tasting these hopped beverages, I was looking for a full but not overwhelming hops flavor and I discovered I have favorites depending on what type of drink I want to enjoy. 

• If I want a drink that tastes like an IPA (aka heavier hops), I’ll reach for Run Wild IPA. 
• For some caffeine, I’ll pick a HopTea. 
• If I’m needing something light and refreshing, Hop Refresher is my go-to.

Here’s more about each of the five drinks I tried.

Run Wild IPA by Athletic Brewing Company

Athletic Brewing Company was my first taste of non-alcoholic beer more than a year ago when I visited Pop Up Grocer in Austin. The brewery, headquartered in Stratford, CT, is a leading non-alcoholic beer company with a few types of beer. In addition to their award-winning Run Wild IPA, they have beers that are similar to a Mexican lager, a stout, a hazy IPA, and a blonde ale.

Run Wild IPA is for the ultimate hops lover. It packs the pucker with a smooth finish. You’ll be amazed at how they get so much hops flavor in.

Free & Easy NA IPA by Karbach Brewing Company

Karbach Brewing Company is headquartered in Houston, and they joined the Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016. Love Street and Hopadillo are two of their popular beers, and Free & Easy is their non-alcoholic option.

This drink tastes much like an alcoholic IPA. It’s smooth and has citrus flavors. I didn’t love the strong bitterness at the end but it doesn’t linger.

Hop Refresher by Lagunitas Brewing Company

One of the easiest of these hopped beverages to find, Hop Refresher is a popular choice among non-alcoholic beverage choices. Lagunitas Brewing Company was founded in Northern California and became a part of Heineken in 2015.

Hop Refresher is one of my favorites on this list. It’s bubbly with lots of light, citrus notes, and a refreshing, crisp flavor. I think it’s a crowd-pleaser for anyone.

HopTea by Hoplark

For a caffeinated drink with a hop flavor, HopTea is a great option! Brewed in Boulder, Colorado, HopTea varieties are made with white tea, green tea, black tea, or chamomile. Hoplark now also makes hopped sparkling water with its three main flavors featuring one type of hops – sabro, mosaic, and citra.

I’ve tried a few of the tea varieties and I love that you can taste the tea flavor along with the hops. You’ll notice that there are also varying levels of hops for their tea. The Calm One is chamomile with a little bit of hops while on the other end of the spectrum is The Citra Bomb One with white tea and as much hops as they can pack in.

Whitestone HopWater by Whitestone Brewery

Here’s a local Austin option! Whitestone Brewery in Cedar Park brews sparkling water with a light hop flavor. This is a great alternative for people who love sparkling water. Whitestone HopWater can also be used as a mixer.

This sparkling water is a good way to hop into trying hopped drinks. It’s light and refreshing with a hint of hops.

Have you ever tried a non-alcoholic hopped drink? What’s your favorite?

P.S. Prefer alcoholic drinks? See my Austin brewery guide here.

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The post I Tried 5 Non-Alcoholic Hopped Drinks – Here’s My Favorite appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Keep reading to see what we ate and what I bought!

Los Olivos Market

The history of the Los Olivos name starts with Rebecca’s grandfather. A family gift of two olive trees inspired the name of the family ranch and later, the business. The market’s first location in Wimberley opened in 2018 and now they’ve opened a new location in Buda in the very cute Buda Mill & Grain Co complex where Sweet Cakes 4 U is also located.

Los Olivos Market hopes to connect visitors with unique and quality Texas ingredients in their food and products on their shelves. It’s a great shop if you’re looking for a gift for a foodie!

While both have dine-in menus, the Los Olivos Market Buda location has expanded dining space and an expanded menu.

Dining at Los Olivos Market

The menu at Los Olivos Market is what will draw you in! The menu was created by Los Olivos’ Director of Operations John and Chef Jose, both of whom used to be part of the culinary team where I work. They’ve done a great job infusing a variety of Texas flavors, traditional and modern.

I started with a Strawberry Passionfruit Wine-a-Rita, a wine slushie, and it was delicious! They also do a wine-a-rita flight if you want to try four of their rotating flavors.

Ok, now the food! Be warned – the portions are big! We over-ordered with three shareables, two sides, and one entree. The menu looked so good though. To be able to try more items, I would forego an entree and share a bunch of dishes. Here’s more about each dish.

Pimento Cheese Hurache – The fried masa is a perfect accompaniment with the pimento cheese. Pimento cheese fans, you’ll love this!

Chicken Karaage – This is one of the most popular dishes and it’s easy to see why. The crispy chicken bites with a sweet chili sauce are a hit!

Barbacoa Doughnuts – This magical creation has amazing sweet corn-jalapeño doughnuts that are topped with barbacoa, chipotle glaze, and cotija. If you love spicy food, you will love this one.

Caesar “Street Corn” – As a fan of Caesar, I loved the flavors of this dish.

Truffle Mac & Cheese with Jamon and Kale – This one was my favorite dish because it was rich and cheesy. Since it has kale, this dish is healthy, right?

Grilled Red Fish Throats – We’re a sucker for fish throats/collars. The meat is tender, thick, and plentiful! These are topped with cilantro glaze. It’s in the family-style entree, so it’s a big dish with six throats.

Looks delicious, right?! I would order any of these dishes again, but next time, I want to save room for the short rib/brisket burger and desserts.

What I Bought at Lost Olivos Market

The Buda market is beautiful! Los Olivos Market thoughtfully curates the list of products they sell and the shelves are full of marinades, jams, oils, salsas, and more.

You have to browse the wine section too! You’ll recognize Texas wines and with over 200 wines on the wall, there’s something that will be perfect for date night or a dinner party.

Los Olivos Market also has a wide variety of products under its brand name. Those are the ones I focused on and I bought three different treats: japaleño stuffed olives, apricot orange pecan honey butter, and strawberry fig preserves.

I also recommend getting a bottle of Special Leaf Tea in their drink fridge. This tea made from olive leaves is from San Antonio and is not widely distributed yet. We got the Pomberry (pomegranate and blueberry) flavor for lunch and we liked it so much, we had to get the original “Keep It Simple” flavor to try.

Details for Your Visit

Thank you for a wonderful experience, Los Olivos Market!

• Ambiance: Comfortable, bright
• Attire: Casual
• Noise Level: Average
• Groups: Yes
• Outdoor Seating: Only at Wimberley location
• Parking: Free parking lot
• Dining Options: dine-in, to-go available at Buda

Los Olivos Market
Buda: 306 S Main St Suite 104, Buda, TX 78610
Wimberley: 13904 Ranch Rd 12, Wimberley, TX 78676
https://losolivosmarkets.com/

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The post Dining and What I Bought at Los Olivos Market appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I don’t love grocery shopping but I do like grocery browsing. There are innumerable products out there. If you want to learn about a new city or country, visit a grocery store when you travel. What do people like to eat? What flavors are traditional? If you want to try something new and add a little adventure into your day, visit a grocery store you’ve never been to before. You’re bound to discover something new.

I’ve been planning this blog series about grocery store snacks for a while because there is a wealth of places in Austin to explore. This series will take me to grocery stores around Austin, some I’ve never been to, and introduce me to new-to-me snacks and things I’ll find there.

I am excited to start the series with something unique and a little unexpected. Pop Up Grocer is here for a short time, but what they offer clearly illustrates why I was excited about this series!

What is Pop Up Grocer?

Pop Up Grocer, a traveling pop-up grocery store, set up shop in Austin for the month of June. It’s known for presenting more than 100 innovative brands. The store, which has popped up in New York City and Los Angeles, is divided into sections by the product category, such as chips, beverages, and pantry.

What I love about Pop Up Grocer is founder Emily Schildt‘s same enthusiasm for grocery browsing. First, the store is thoughtfully designed and minimalistic. From its confetti-covered exterior to its shopping baskets, the store follows the same color scheme. The cohesive branding and orderly display help the products pop.

But, you’re not primarily here to admire the visual merchandising. The products speak for themselves. Looking at the shelves in the store, you can’t help but be enticed by the beautifully-designed packages. It’s a curated experience with shelves of brands that make you stop and consider them. It’s one of the reasons why shopping here was difficult! Should I get one of everything? Also, many of the brands feature alternative ingredients or a more transparent product that tries to be healthier.

The cherry on top is that five percent of Pop Up Grocer in-store profits go to charity and Austin’s profits will be donated to All Together ATX.

Now let’s get to the fun stuff!

What I Bought at Pop Up Grocer

I tried not to touch packages more than I needed to, so I picked most of the things by the package design and reading the front of the package. It was incredibly hard not to get one of everything and I could have spent a long time looking at each brand! But for the sake of my time and budget, I limited myself. Here’s what I bought and what I thought about them.

Athletic Brewing Company

This non-alcoholic beer kind of blew my mind. Imagine all the delicious tastes of beer but none of the effects. It contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. Sometimes you want the refreshing taste of beer but you’ve got things to do. The creators wanted to make a beer for people who also wanted a healthier, active lifestyle. Brilliant! The Run Wild IPA flavor was spot on! One day I want to try their Free Way Double Hop IPA.

Aura Bora

You’ll love the creative flavors of this herbal sparkling water brand. Their lineup includes Lavender Cucumber, Cactus Rose, Peppermint Watermelon, Basil Berry, and Lemongrass Coconut. I picked Cactus Rose and it was full of flavor. Plus their cans are so cute and colorful!

Cleveland Kitchen

Some say the culinary future is in fermented foods. Well, Cleveland Kitchen has you covered. They carry sauerkrauts and dressings. I picked up the Beet Red Kraut, which has red cabbage, beets, and carrots. We added it to salads and they’ve got this hummus recipe I want to try on their website.

Kibo

These chickpea chips are packed with flavor! I got the Mediterranean Herbs flavor and it was an explosion of flavor in every bite. They also have Himalayan Salt and Pico de Gallo flavors.

Pan’s Mushroom Jerky

As it describes in the name, this jerky is made of mushrooms! I love mushrooms, so I was excited to try this. For those who are wary, I had two people try this without telling them the ingredient and they couldn’t say it was mushroom. The flavor and texture are exactly what I expect from jerky and the salt and pepper flavor I got was delicious!

Poppi

Poppi is a prebiotic soda. For anyone who is trying to drink less popular soda, this is a good alternative for you. The soda is marketed as helping gut health and the sodas have better-for-you ingredients like fruit juice. They also have four to five grams of sugar each. The key ingredient in these sodas is apple cider vinegar. I tried the Lime Ginger flavor and it tasted exactly like Sprite.

Raaka Chocolate

The main reason I wanted to visit Pop Up Grocer was for some Raaka Chocolate. I’ve been passionately curious about bean-to-bar chocolate for a few years now and found out Pop Up Grocer carried this Brooklyn chocolate maker. All their chocolate is vegan and free of gluten, soy, and dairy. They’ve got some interesting flavors too. The one with strawberry and coconut is my current favorite.

RIND Snacks

Dried fruit is one of my favorite snacks, so I picked out RIND Snacks. As their name suggests, their snacks include the rind because they want to prevent unnecessary waste and it’s good for you. I tried the Straw-Peary Blend with apples, pears, and strawberries. Yum! They also have blends with not-so-common dried fruits like kiwis and persimmons. Did I mention all fruit is grown and dried in the U.S.?

Wildway

When you’re on the go, these Wildway snack packs are a good boost. They’ve got dried fruits, nuts, and herbs. I got the Pineapple Mojito with dried pineapples, walnuts, dates, cashews, dried mint, dried lime, sea salt, and vanilla bean. It really did remind me of a mojito. Wildway also produces grain-free granola and instant hot oatmeal.

This was a very small sample of the many brands at Pop Up Grocer. You can see all of them here. While Pop Up Grocer is a great way to discover new brands, it’s not the only way you can buy them. Check out a brand’s website to find out how.

Austin Brands to Check Out

We’re pretty lucky in Austin because several of the brands at Pop Up Grocer were born and are more easily accessed here. Knowing this, I didn’t purchase any of the Austin brands, but here’s a list of them if you’re curious.

• Afia – Frozen Mediterranean foods like falafel and kibbeh
• Bearded Brothers – Organic energy bars
• Big Swig – Sparkling water; I love the Ruby Red Grapefruit and Prickly Pear Cucumber flavors
• CLEAN Cause – Sparkling Yerba Mate beverages
• FitJoy – Grain-free pretzels and protein bars; The cookies and cream protein bars are delicious
• GoodPop – Frozen pops with organic and locally sourced ingredients; I love the Cherry Lemonade and Strawberry flavors. Remember my GoodPops popsicle party?
• Heart Water – Artisan alkaline rainwater
• Siete – Grain-free Mexican-American food like chips and tortillas; I love the Sea Salt chips! Remember my Summer Fiesta?
• Vital Proteins – Collagen Bars
• Yellowbird Foods – Spicy condiments

Pop Up Grocer Austin Logistics

If you want to visit Pop Up Grocer, it’s here for a few more days. Here’s what you need to know:

• Open at 408 W 2nd, Austin, TX 78701 (next to La Condesa) from June 5-28, 2020
• No more than four guests allowed in the store at once
• You can reserve a private shopping time on their website

Have you tried any of these brands before? What did you think?

Follow the food adventures! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

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