Community Impact covered a variety of Central Austin restaurants in 2024. Here are the six that were featured dining stories.

Austin eatery Sazan Ramen aims to shoyu the way, one spoonful at a time

Since opening in mid-2020, the Sazan Ramen team has aspired to bowl over their guests with specialty ramen dishes.

Third-generation restaurateur Taiki Wakayama and restaurant consultant Darrel Oribello helm the ramen shop, specializing in paitan—a creamy, chicken- and pork-based broth. Both Wakayama and Oribello are also behind other local spots, including Endo and Daiboku.
Pozole ($12.50) at Nissi’s VegMex is gluten free. (Courtesy Nissi's VegMex)
Pozole ($12.50) at Nissi’s VegMex is gluten-free. (Courtesy Nissi's VegMex)
Nissi VegMex serves vegan twist on Mexican food

With no prior experience, Sergio and Karen Tamez opened Nissi VegMex with three touchstones: passion for vegan eating, faith in God and love for classic Mexican food.


Nissi offers a variety of Mexican food favorites that skip the meat without skipping the authentic taste, Sergio Tamez said.

“If you are visiting for the first time, you must try the birria plate, aka the dipping tacos,” Sergio Tamez said. “I mean, you can’t go wrong with anything you choose.”
Sprouts Alive owner Nathan Wade produces nourishing food such as sunflower, broccoli and radish sprouts, pea shoots, and more from his urban garden on East 53rd Street. (Zara Flores/Community Impact)
Sprouts Alive owner Nathan Wade produces nourishing food, such as sunflower, broccoli and radish sprouts, pea shoots, and more from his urban garden on East 53rd Street. (Community Impact staff)
Sprouts Alive brings living food to Austin bellies

Local Nathan Wade began sprouting healthy living options for Austinites in 2023 when he opened Sprouts Alive on East 53rd Street. A year later, he has expanded the concept to offer housemade salads, cold-pressed juices and snacks from his harvests, with plans to add catering.

Sprouts Alive starts its harvests with U.S. Department of Agriculture organic seeds that are soaked in filtered spring water before germinating in organic soil until the seeds begin to sprout.


“We are the only place in Austin where you can get these types of prepared items made with ingredients grown in-house,” Wade said. “By sprouting, we activate the living plant, delivering the highest quality nutrition available.”
The CM classic cheeseburger at Bouldin Acres has two quarter pound patties, American cheese, pickles and dijonnaise for $17. (Dacia Garcia/Community Impact)
The CM classic cheeseburger at Bouldin Acres has two quarter-pound patties, American cheese, pickles and dijonnaise for $17. (Dacia Garcia/Community Impact)
Bouldin Acres aims to bring people together on the court and at the table

Longtime friends Matt Carter and Matt Davis were interested in partnering up to start a new restaurant business on Lamar Boulevard. They agreed they wanted something unique to fill the large land they were working with—pickleball courts.

In addition to their courts, both Bouldin Acres locations feature a full menu of burgers, wings, tacos and more. The restaurant collaborates with CM Smokehouse, a Texas BBQ-style food truck with innovative barbecue dishes.
Otherside Deli's reuben sandwich ($14-$17) is pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
Otherside Deli's Reuben sandwich ($14-$17) is pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
Otherside Deli offers northeast-style subs in Central Austin

As the owner of Otherside Deli, Derrick Smith is committed to “keeping it simple” and offering a no-frills sandwich shop to the business’s Central Austin neighborhood.


Smith spent five years working at Herschel’s East Side Deli, a New York-style Jewish deli in Philadelphia, and said he wanted to bring a taste of the shop's food to Austin.

Otherside Deli offers classic subs served on toasted marble rye or sourdough upon request. The pastrami Reuben is the shop’s bestseller. Smith said they brine, cook and hand carve the brisket, and the bread is fresh from New World Bakery in Kyle.
The JapaJam Burger ($15) is a 6-ounce all-beef patty with tomato jam, pepper jack cheese, tempura onion strings, a fried egg and Chinese barbecue sauce. (Courtesy The Peached Tortilla)
The JapaJam Burger ($15) is a 6-ounce all-beef patty with tomato jam, pepper jack cheese, tempura onion strings, a fried egg and Chinese barbecue sauce. (Courtesy The Peached Tortilla)
Asian-Southern fusion restaurant The Peached Tortilla marking 10 years at Austin flagship

What began as a mobile food truck in Austin in 2010 has grown into a multilocation restaurant and catering business combining Asian and Southern comfort food and drinks.

The opening of The Peached Tortilla restaurant on Burnet Road in December 2014 allowed owner Eric Silverstein to experiment more and offer more menu items inspired by meals he grew up with.


“Asian comfort food, to me, is kind of the food I grew up eating,” Silverstein said. “I wouldn't say it's represented heavily on the truck. I would say it's more represented in the restaurants. Items like our Mom's Toast, which is a version of shrimp toast, which is a traditional Chinese dish, or Southern Fun, which is a version of chow fun.”