Clara Wang

Jan 22, 2025 | joysauce.com | Clara Wang

Stir Fried: The story of any immigrant diaspora is the story of how outsiders became insiders, and nothing tells this story better than food. Names may get scrambled, languages forgotten, neighborhoods gentrified—but no matter how muddled histories become, the truth is served on a plate. Stir Fried breaks down the weird, messy, bastardized fusion cuisines that tell the story of Asian diaspora communities around the world.

Jan 10, 2025 | theinfatuation.com | Clara Wang |Nicolai McCrary

Both the bourbon and the patio at this downtown Round Rock gastropub are hard to beat. Finley’s vast outdoor area, which faces the main tourist strip, fills to the brim on sunny weekends when football matches draw crowds to the restaurant's extensive craft-beer and whiskey selection. It’s solid drinking food—brisket hash, burgers cooked well-done, fried pickles, and the like—that pairs well with people-watching and friendly sports rivalries.

Jan 10, 2025 | theinfatuation.com | Clara Wang

On a dusty lot off U.S. 79, La Patrona is a Mexican trailer serving remarkably fresh seafood under covered outdoor seating. You pick your raw protein—fish, shrimp, or squid—and build a ceviche or aguachile with housemade sauces of varying spice levels (we recommend mango habanero). While waiting for your order, take a gander at the rest of the little businesses on the lot. Need work uniforms and western wear? There's a casita next door with boots hanging outside.

Jan 10, 2025 | theinfatuation.com | Clara Wang

When you walk into Little Mama’s—one of the few Filipino spots in the Austin area—many Filipino customers will tell you that the food is made exactly how their mom used to do it. Filipino food tends to value function over form. If you think stir-fried ham and shrimp, dark-sauced pork stews, and unusually colored jelly desserts don't look appetizing, know that appearances can be deceiving.

Jan 10, 2025 | theinfatuation.com | Clara Wang

Paige’s is an adorable downtown Round Rock haven for sugar, spice, and everything nice. The bakery, which was featured on Food Network’s Cake Hunter, specializes in exquisitely crafted cakes of all kinds. There’s plenty of cafe-style seating in the brightly colored space that's painted in various patterns like a wrapping-paper sampler. Sip on an iced coffee from the counter and ooo and ahh over the incredible attention to detail in each of Paige’s pastries.