Osmo's Kitchen (Austin, TX)

Owned and operated by Robin and Ken (correct my spelling if I'm wrong), Osmo's Kitchen probably stands out the most in this Barton Springs food trailer community with it's vibrant red and green alligator adorned decoration. You would assume at first that Osmo's is the couple's last name but it's actually an acronym of their son's name, Owen Shawn Marshall O'Keefe (I apologize for any misspellings). As promised, today is the wrap-up of my adventure in this area and I would have to say I definitely saved the best for last. This lovely couple make some of the best and freshest Southern Louisiana/Italian American food out there.

Their menu isn't super extensive but it's full of pure goodies. My stomach is only so big so I ordered as much as I could without it being to ridiculous, and I chose to come here on Saturday because they serve up hot and fresh beignets that are absolutely melt-in-your mouth delicious! They had just gotten fresh oysters in (from the West coast so don't worry) and I decided to go with the sensible thing to do and ordered the Fried Oyster Po-Boy with the spicy slaw. In addition to this, I had the beignets of course, the gumbo and dirty rice.

Beignets
These came out first and boy did they come out piping hot. There's nothing better than fresh beignets to start a Saturday brunch. Now if only I had some coffee to go with these wonderful treats. It had a little more powdered sugar than I would have preferred but this small detail was microscopic compared to the awesomeness of the taste. Yes, awesomeness.

Fried Oyster Po-Boy with Spicy Slaw
The rest of the order came out shortly and each were fresh and hot. When I unwrapped the po-boy I had a feeling of excitement running through me similar to that of a child unwrapping a present on Christmas. I cut into a small section to give you guys a closer look of what's on the inside of this sandwich and yes, that white part is part of an oyster, not chicken. The oysters were large, fresh, perfectly fried, and laid on a   crisp bed of slaw. A nice piece of French bread held all the crunchy and juicy goodness together. I threw some hot sauce on top of the sandwich just because it seemed fitting. The po-boy was a good size and is great for lunch any day of the week. I have yet to try their catfish or shrimp po-boys but I'm sure they're just as good.

Gumbo
This gumbo has chicken, andouille sausage, peppers, and other great ingredients stewed together in creole/cajun spices. The gumbo is served over a layer of wild rice and, as expected, the gumbo was also good. After eating the po-boy, I couldn't completely finish the gumbo and wild rice but the containers they come in make it very easy for you to pack it up and take home so that's what I did

Dirty Rice
I took a bite of the dirty rice and it tasted far from anything dirty could be. If you wanted to try dirty rice anywhere, I would highly suggest coming here to try it. For those of you that don't know what it is, dirty rice is usually comprised of white or wild rice cooked with specks of chicken liver or giblets (hence its "dirty" color). Celery, bell peppers, and onions are also commonly found in the making of this dish. With the combination of everything, it makes for some rice that I could probably eat every day and not get tired of it.




Verdict? I will most definitely be coming back to this place. If it's your first time in this trailer area, Osmo's would be my first recommendation for a place to try. Of course, the best way to go would be to get a group of friends together and order stuff from all the vendors and just share them so you guys can have a taste of everything. The owners of Osmo's, along with the other vendors in this area, are the friendliest people you'll meet. They're passionate about the food they create and always have time for some small talk so get to know some of them and hear their stories.

It's unfortunate that I'm leaving for Asia really soon and won't be back until November, but when I do come back, I'm going to try and make this my first Saturday lunch!


Osmo's Kitchen
801 Barton Springs Rd
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 514-1727
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Hours:
Tues-Fri: 8am - 4pm
Sat: 11am - 4pm