Editor's note: It's that time again — time to check in with our top stories of the week. From a new Los Angeles-style taqueria to an unbelievable underground house in South Austin, these are the stories that captured our attention over the past seven days.
1. Netflix star opens new Los Angeles-style taco restaurant in East Austin. Four Los Angeles chefs — including Esdras Ochoa, who appeared on Netflix's The Final Table — are opening a restaurant in East Austin. Reunión 19 "focuses on West Coast-inspired adaptations of classic Mexican food and tacos."
2. Oldest barbecue joint in Texas heats up Austin suburb with new restaurant. Southside Market & Barbeque has begun construction on its newest restaurant in Hutto's Co-op District. Our content partners at KVUE have the full scoop.
3. Barton Creek bunker digs up new life as modern architecture marvel. Learn the surreal, slightly strange history of one of Austin's most unique homes.
4. Journey to this magnificent medieval-style castle just 100 miles away from Austin. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live like royalty? Turns out, there’s a man in Belville, a small city located about 100 miles east of Austin, doing just that — and you can visit him.
5. Downtown Austin courthouse draws ugly criticism in new Trump executive order. Architecture has always been polarizing, but we didn't really expect the Trump administration to get so involved. A draft of a new executive order dubbed “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again” is seeking to eliminate modern architecture from federal buildings, and Austin's downtown courthouse was called out among the offenders.
