Some holiday rental owners leave guests little more than teabags and milk, but when we checked into Rusty Irons’ impressive home in Austin, Texas we opened the fridge to find an array of goodies to get us started and a pantry that is a museum to local produce.
Most of the delectables come from Austin, or if not Austin, from the state of Texas. If that weren’t enough, everything there for the guests’ use is also complimentary.
Most properties supply guests with the very basics to get them started the next morning – milk, tea, a loaf of bread, some butter, jam, and half a dozen eggs if you’re lucky.
Generous owners might also throw in a bottle of local wine or beer.
Many properties don’t provide anything at all – we hear that in some places in France, you even have to take your own sheets!
We think it’s the little things that make a real difference to a holiday rental stay and nothing is more impressive than a home with a good kitchen and a fridge and cupboard filled with local produce and homegrown ingredients.
While Rusty’s pantry is completely over the top with local produce, even a small selection of condiments go a long way in impressing guests. If you impress them enough, they’ll be back, or at the very least they’ll rave about your property to their friends and family.
Here’s a list of the ‘little things’ in our pantry that made a big difference to our Austin stay:
Alberto’s Sweet Zucchini Relish, Agasweet: Mint, Tangerine Ginger, Ancho Mamas: Grilling Glaze, Annie’s Naturals: Cowgirl Ranch Dressing, Goddess Dressing, Austin Java: Fog Cutter, Austin Nuts: LoneStar Mix, South of the Border, Pumpkin Kernals, Wasabi Peanuts, South Congress Mix (only at Cici’s), Praline Pecans, Austin Slow Burn: Habanero Jelly, Salsa Verde, Southwest Pasta Sauce, Hot Apple Pic Jam, Austin’s Own: BBQ Sauce, Baraka Bar: Spirulina, Cacao, Boscoli: Spicy Pickled Beans, Breed & Co.: Pecan-Apple Butter, Café Jose: Jamaican Jerk Sauce, Eclipse Grill Sauce, Celestial Seasoning Tea: Honey Vanilla Chamomie, Central Market Salsa, Cherith Valley: Jalapeno Stuffed Olives and Mixed Vegetables, China Bowl Plum Sauce, Chipotle Del Sol Smokin’ Mustard, Cowpoke Artichoke Salsa, Crown Royal, D.L. Jardine’s: Peach Salsa, Texas Chili, Pomegranate Margarita Mix, Texas Martini Olives, Texarita Margarita Mix, Texas Champagne, Queso Loco, Cowpoke Artichoke Salsa, Peach Salsa, Salsa Bobos, Don Jose: Ground Coffee, Dublin: Dublin Dr. Peppers, Durango Smoked Meat Co. Serious Sauces, Cherry Chipotle, and Bar-B-Que, Pineapple and Jalapeno, Eastside Café Salasa, El Milagro: Totopos Chips, Fischer Wieser: Salsa Verde Ranchera, Blueberry Chipotle Sauce,, Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, Fourstar Provisions Escabecha De La Calle Salsa, Strawberry Lavender Jam, Fredericksburg Farms: Wild Mustang Grape Jelly, Big Yellow Mopin Sauce, Amaretto Peach Pecan, Good Flow Texas Wildflower Raw Honey, Great San SabaRiver Pecan Company Pecan Pie in a Jar, Hairston Creek Farm: Bread & Butter Pickles, Cucumber Lime Marmalade, Mustang Grape Jelly, Strawberry Jam, Harriet’s All Natural: Texas Ranch Dressing & Dip, Hoover’s Cooking Texas Hot Wing Sauce, Hudson’s on the Bend: Orange-Ginger BBQ Sauce, Inglehoffer: Horseradish, Jake’s Granola, Jardines 7J Ranch Prairie Peach Medium Salsa, Joy Peppers, Kakawa Cocoa Puro: Cocoa Beans, Kap’s Pepper Co. Very Berry Habanero Jelly, Katz Coffee: Black Diamond, Enchanted Rock Blend, Sunset Valley, Bat City Blend, Kerbey Lane Gingerbread Pancake Mix, King Arthur Flour, Kokita: Sambal Bajak, Little City Coffee Beans, Loca Maria Chimichuri, Longhorns Chocolate Pecans and Caramel, Mangogh: Sizzle Sauce, Mary Louise Butter Brownies: Crystallized Ginger, Chipotle Chiles, Marye’s Balsamic Vinaigrette, Meier Ranch Foods: Texas Bar B Que Sauce, Mom’s: Special Marinara Sauce, Native Nectar: Guajillo Honey, New Canaan Farms: The Cherry Preserve, Peach Jezebel Sauce, Strawberry Almond Jam, Fire Roasted Cantina Salsa, Oaxacan Tamaleo: Mole Rojo, Pace Picante Sauce (Medium), Penny’s Pastries Sugar Cookie Mix, Peppadew Whole Sweet Piquante Peppers, Pepper Creek Farm: Jalapeno, 100% Pure Agave Syrups – Agasweet, Lavender, Mexican Vanilla, Round Rock Honey, Roxtar Gourmen: Hellish Relish, Ruta Maya: Medium Roast Coffee, Rudy’s BBQ Sauce/Sisy bbq sauce, Salsa Bobos, Salt Lick Dry Rub, San Saba River Pecan Co.: Pie in a Jar, Serious Sauce: BBQ, Silver Palate: Oatmeal, Sister’s Classic Ceaser Sass, Sisters and Brothers Inc, Sgt. Pepper’s Hot Sauce: Ancho Mama’s Grilling Glaze, Tomatillo Chipotle Sauce, Tejas Tears Habanero Chile Sauce, Tropical Tears, Balsamic Blackberry Chipotle Sauce, Spava: Organic coffee, Spiceburst Gourmet Spices: Pomegranate Glaze, Orange Saltburst, Garlic Saltburst, Chile Lime Saltburst, Rocket Sauce, Za’Atar, Stonewall Kitchen: Mango Chutney, Stubbs BBQ Sauce: Smokey Mesquite, SXUL Chocolates, Tears of Joy: August in Austin Hot Sauce, 6th Street Salsa, Tequila Lime Hot Sauce, Texacante, Texamati: white rice, Texas Beerbecue Rub, Texas Best Barbeque Sauce, Texas Champagne Cayenne Pepper Sauce, Texas Seasons: All Purpose Seasoning, Texas Steak Sauce, Texas Wild BBQ Sauce, Texas Wildflower Pure Honey, Texas Tres Chiles Hot Sauce, Three Hundred Sixty Five (365 Organic): Apple Cider Vinegar, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, and Wild Texas Guajillo Honey by Native Nectar. Seriously.
How FUN is that? Very cool–and I’ve never thought of a pantry as a place to express oneself. Makes me want to stay there.
It’s very cool, isn’t it?! Rusty Irons is one creative and very generous woman.
Property 1573.
Startlingly generous but how do you keep a check on the sell by dates & open the lids each time for crusty bits?
Hi Yvonne
It’s amazing, isn’t it? I’m not sure how she keeps track of everything, but I’ll ask her to share her secret! Thanks for dropping by!
It’s very easy to keep track of the items in our pantry because we treasure each Austin original product as though it deserves to be in a museum! Anything opened and not finished by one of our guests goes bye bye. No crusty bits here. We are constantly replacing items and searching for new ones to share. When we started this benefit 5 years ago we weren’t sure how our clientele would respond. Would they take items like one often does with hotel sundries? Would they open everything because all is complimentary? No and no. They love looking at the collection and are very respectful in making choices that they know they will enjoy to eat as a snack or meal or to use in a recipe. They photograph the pantry, read the homemade wallpaper of Austin scenes and often ask for our pantry list (see Lara’s post of items on our list). It’s an Austin cultural experience!
Thanks for your response Rusty.
Staying at your place and experiencing your hospitality is still one of our fondest memories this year. Wish we could have stayed long enough to try everything in the pantry!
Next time?
T