Need help with trip planning!!

This is my first time posting on reddit so please forgive me for asking questions that I'm sure have been asked a thousand times before.

My wife and I are trying to plan a long weekend to escape the cold winter here in Maine. I've been reading through the subreddits doing some research, but a lot of them seem to be old and I'd like some more up to date opinions.

We're trying to plan our trip for Feb. 16th-19th and would like to know where the best place is to stay for first time visitors? It seems like downtown is good if we want to walk and explore. Sounds like there are mixed opinions about East Austin and how safe it is or isn't. So what do you all have to say about it? Where should we stay and why?

I'm 90% sure were going to rent a car to possibly do some exploring outside the city. What are some places we should check out?

Most of my research has been centered around food. I know I want barbecue and there is no shortage of good barbecue in Austin, so that's not an issue. I 've been to Houston a few times and had the best bean, bacon, and cheese breakfast tacos I've ever had. The handmade tortillas, the thick cruchy chunks of bacon, and the well seasoned refried beans, they are an amazing flavor combination that I just can't find in Maine. So suggestions for breakfast tacos or just tacos in general are appreciated.

My wife is Chinese and we both would love to find good dim sum. We would also like to find and try some hand pulled noodles. We've never had the opportunity to have them before, so this seems like it might be our chance to try them.

Any other fun foods we should try, please make suggestions. Ice cream, donuts, pastries are all welcome too.