High End Restaurants at ACL: Join ‘Em If You Can’t Beat ‘Em.

The pedigree of the food at the upcoming ACL festival got ratcheted up quite a bit this year. Lots of higher end restaurants like Hudson’s on the Bend have joined in. And there’s a good reason.

Last year during ACL a number of upscale places were deader than a doornail for three days. So the prevailing theme this year is apparently: if you can’t beat ‘em, than join ‘em.

Who would have thought that Roy’s, Aquarelle, Hudson’s on the Bend, Saba Blue Water Café, and Vespaio’s Enoteca not to mention the Salt Lick or Jezebel would have graced the trampled grass of Zilker park?

Well, I think it’s a great idea. Nothing will cost more than $8 and these fine restaurants will get to show off their wares to an entirely new and upscale audience. Besides, it beats sitting around and folding napkins all night.

Here’s a complete list of the restaurants:

Amy’s Ice Cream
Aquarelle Restaurant (steak and frites sandwich, caprese sandwich)
Austin’s Best Burger
Austin’s Pizza
Ben & Jerry’s
Best Lemonade
Boomerang’s Pies (Guinness steak-and-potato pie, spinach and mushroom pie)
Children of the Kettle Corn
Doc Green’s Gourmet Salads & Grill
Jezebel (falafel pita sandwich, cold pasta, curried potato, cabbage and pea burrito)
El Chilito (braised beef, spicy chicken and bean tacos)
Flipnotics (iced coffee and smoothies)
The Original Hoffbrau Steaks
Hudson’s on the Bend (chicken cone, avocado cone, fish cone)
Maine Root (organic beverages)
Nice Conez (snow cones)
P. Terry’s (burgers)
Pureheart (lamb and beef gyro, ham and brie panini)
Roy’s (Asian barbecue wings, pulled Kahlua pork nachos)
Saba Blue Water Cafe (fish tacos, pulled pork tacos)
Salt Lick
Amazon Berry Smoothies
Snowie (shaved ice)
Solar Natural Foods (wraps)
Stubb’s Bar B-Que
Sweet Leaf Tea
The Best Wurst
Thistle Café (wraps, turkey melt)
Vespaio/Enoteca (mozzarella, tomato and pesto sandwich, calamari sandwich, meatball hoagie)
Wahoo’s Fish Tacos