Discover the Best Things to Do in Austin, Food & Drink deals and more!
Austin Food and Wine Festival at Butler Park
A foodie and wine lovers paradise, the Austin Food and Wine Festival gathers the top chefs in the country to participate in food competitions and cooking demonstrations.
Combine this with live music, countless food samples that make you melt, and the most exquisite wines and spirits and you have one hell of a party. [Read more…]
Rogness Brewing Company celebrated its one-year anniversary on May 12, 2013.
The brewery kicked off this intro to a new year in the traditional Austin way: with a party.
Vendors and artisans from across the Austin area showed up to congratulate the once-tiny brewery…and it wasn’t just any party. [Read more…]
An earlier prototype of Mug Muscles
This guest blog post is by George Hillhouse.
Growing up in Alabama, one of my favorite sayings was, “Hold my beer and watch this.” In fact, if that’s not the State Motto, it ought to be. Beer, or the consumption thereof, has inspired many otherwise rational people to do things they would never have thought possible. Sometimes subsequent hospital trips confirm they were right in the first place.
But do we demonize beer after one of these episodes? Hardly. Beer gets a pass, a get out of jail free card, even when we know we won’t get out of jail free for things we did on a beer binge. Beer may be unique in this regard. No one says, “Hold my meth pipe and watch this!” thinking that subsequent events will be explained away and forgiven. It takes a beer, or two, to get that kind of a pass. [Read more…]
Raising a glass to Groovy Sunday at South Austin Brewing Company
This guest blog post is by Edgar Barguiarena.
Sometimes Friday and Saturday don’t give you enough time to take full advantage of the weekend. You’re left wanting more for your Sunday, but you want to try something different. After you go to brunch and get started with a few mimosas, you want to enjoy the last few hours of freedom you have left. If you’re still jonesing for live music and great beer, South Austin Brewing Company has your solution.
South Austin Brewing Company got their start in late 2010 with two signature brews that are still selling strong today: the Belgian Style Golden Ale and their Saison D’Austin. Each brew is featured in a hand-corked 750-ml bottle that looks almost as good as it tastes. Sound familiar? You may have seen these beers at your local grocery store or liquor shop.
South Austin Brewing has done an impressive [Read more…]
Unassuming exterior at Apothecary Cafe & Wine Bar
Editor’s Note: Apothecary closed in May 2017.
Not every evening in Austin calls for beer and BBQ. We at the Austinot aim to find some of the town’s great wine bars too, where one can go after a rough day at work and just sit for a quiet glass of vino.
Which led me to Apothecary Cafe & Wine Bar one evening after work. Located in the Rosedale Village Center at 4800 Burnet, close to 45th Street, Apothecary is a bit difficult to find. The signage along Burnet are blink-and-you-miss-it. It was, in fact, my failure to find Apothecary that originally led me to Gusto. [Read more…]
Firehouse Hostel and Lounge in the West Sixth District of Austin
This guest post is by Cris Mueller.
Firehouse Hostel and Lounge is a morsel of Austin history sitting quietly amongst the hustle of our fondly regarded West Sixth district and the bustle of our downtown office high-rises.
Business partners Kent Roth and Collin Ballard have tastefully occupied the legendary Washington Fire Engine Co. No. 1 with a boutique style hostel that offers seasoned backpackers and first time hostel goers a unique Austin experience.
Already have a place to sleep tonight? Even locals love Firehouse Lounge
Halcyon by night
We categorize most coffee shops as appropriate for a specific purpose, at a specific time of day: late night chill hangout with friends, outlets-galore study spot.
But I long ago discovered a local staple that is all things to all people. Located in the Warehouse District of downtown Austin, Halcyon manages to wear a typically chaotic persona with magnetic flair. [Read more…]
The Buzz Mill recently opened on the eastside, off of Riverside
Beavers coming out of the woodwork (literally), subdued mason jar lighting hanging from the rafters, a huge outdoor yard, BBQ from one of the most famous pits in history, fruit-infused liquor, all-you-can-eat flapjack breakfast for $5, free Wi-Fi, full bar, coffee, open 24/7…should I go on?
Anyone who keeps up with the Austin scene has already heard the clamoring about this new joint on East Riverside. But the chatter shouldn’t surprise anyone. When the owner of Bootleg Coffee gets together with the manager of Emo’s and the marketing director at Antone’s for a project, you know something special is on tap.
And they’re just getting started.
Since the grand opening of The Buzz Mill on January 19, 2013, we’ve had numerous Austinot readers ask us to pay them a visit. And so we did. [Read more…]
Good crowd even on a weeknight
Our guest blogger Rob Moshein has written about relaxing Austin wine bars downtown, but there also happen to be some great wine spots in North Austin that should be shared as well!
I first discovered Gusto Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar when I was on Burnet Road looking for another wine bar in the same neighborhood. Considering how I wandered in, lost and confused, it turned out to be a wonderful treat and surprise, boasting an impressive list and variety of wines.
And while Gusto is a great place to have some appetizers and a glass or two of wine, it also has delicious, fresh-tasting food and excellent happy hour specials. When we get just a LITTLE bit more warmth in Austin, we’ll really appreciate their fantastic outdoor patio space! [Read more…]
This guest blog post is by Chris Lloyd.
It can be really hard to find a good Austin happy hour. In the age of Google, it’s hard to believe that some information isn’t just a few keystrokes away.
Granted, there are lots of happy hour lists. But none of them have all the information you need. For example, very few are searchable beyond the ability to filter for what day you’re looking to have a drink. And every one of them is either missing local happy hours or has outdated information.
After years of looking and waiting, I finally decided to just build the happy hour site I wanted: Austin Happy Hour Search. [Read more…]