Art of the Meal.

Half a step in, twice the steps out.

Austin, TX – Choppy fences stand, half-cocked, framing misshapen food trucks, food shacks and food trailers. With strong food and art scenes, Austin appears, at first blush, to be a city focused on both palate and palette.

The sun gleams off a large spray-can mural and a silver Gulfstream – a bullet filled with tasty treats. Fresh wood smoke, meanwhile, does olfactory battle with jasmine seeping from the trees that remain unburning. The humidity and vegetal scents remind me of being in a greenhouse on a cooler day.

Neon soon begins to seep into the encroaching dusk.

A homeless man with a tufted purple wig hikes his oversized jeans and rumbles across the road in front of us like a troll keeping Austin weird.

We have ended up at Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden. With 106 taps of craft beer to peruse as I tuck into a fragrant south Texas antelope merguez sausage, jalapeño mac and cheese and a jar of spicy pickles, how could we not?

We haven't, however, taken them up on their offer of a free tattoo of their beer stein and sausage logo.