What Micky Eats...: Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden

Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden in Austin features artisan bread (including baguettes, croissants, pretzels), locally roasted coffee, housemade meats (sausages, corned beef, pastrami), a full bar and more than 30 local and boutique draft beers. Bake shop is open from 7 am to 2 am with a fun beer garden out back that is open from 11 am to 2 am.

Keith and I needed a break from full throttle sight seeing. We pretty much walked the entire city of Austin the past couple of days and saw everything there is to see within downtown proper. We had late night plans for this Saturday, so decided to sleep in and have a leisurely day. We passed by Easy Tiger the other day and decided to check it out for lunch. The weather was still warm in the 80s, so we sat outside in the beer garden area.

Being October, I also thought it was appropriate to drink a few beers and snack on pretzels and sausages. What's a better way to spend your Saturday afternoon? I tried a couple of beers: North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner and the Avery White Rascal. The first was a regular light beer, while the second was very lemony and reminded me of a Summer Shandy. I enjoyed it very much and it was perfect for me. Keith tried the Austin Beerworks Peacemaker and a seasonal Maibok among others.

For food, I of course ordered a large pretzel with Homemade Beer Cheese made with lager, sharp cheddar, garlic, and a side of Smoked Gouda. I absolutely love smoked gouda cheese, but it is not Keith's favorite. More for me! Pretzel, cheese, and beer is a meal in itself, but to make it somewhat of a "German experience" I also ordered the Hatch Green Chile Chicken Sausage. This was not really German though and more Mexican in flavor with chicken, pork, and Hatch chiles. It was served with a nice cilantro pepita salsa and pickled sweet onions with Fresno chiles. The chicken sausage had incredible flavor and the cilantro salsa was delicious. You can also order the sausages in a pretzel bun, but since we had a pretzel already I opted for just the link. I was really happy with my simple meal.

Keith ordered a half sandwich of Corned Beef that came standard on fresh rye bread with grainy mustard. The sandwich was pretty filling for being a half size, and the ingredients were prime. He also ordered a link of Knackwurst made with veal, pork, beef with sauerkraut and curry ketchup. The sausage was different than other knackwursts he's had before and he was not crazy about the curry ketchup, but overall it was tasty.

Our server was very patient, allowing us to squat for a few hours, eating and drinking. She often came by to check on us and recommend other beers to try. I did not feel rushed at all, which was great to aid in the relaxing afternoon. The back garden crowded up quickly, but as the sun grew hotter, many parties moved inside. We ordered another round of beers and then eventually I got hungry again. So I asked for a recommendation from the bakery and decided to go with a Danish Snail. This little pastry was a croissant-like dough spiraled with cinnamon and raisins. It was not overly sweet and gave me that little extra oomph to hold me over until dinner.

Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden is a laid back establishment great for groups. There are a couple ping pong tables along the side, and would make for a fun evening stop as well. Check it out if you are ever in Austin and need a break from sightseeing.

Total Rating: 4.38
Food: 4.5, Price: 4, Service: 4.5, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 5

What I ate:

Pretzel (large) with Homemade Beer Cheese (small), and Smoked Gouda