Discover the Best Things to Do in Austin, Food & Drink deals and more!
Austinites loved the stuffed hamburgers at Your Mom’s Burger Bar, so the news hit hard when the owners announced the closing of their only location on Airport Boulevard in May 2014. After a year and a half hiatus, Ryan and Gina Blackmore are back with a fresh concept under a familiar name. [Read more…]
Combozola Black with Sweet Onion Jam and Saba at Driskill Grill. (Credit: Susannah Haddad)
Roll up to The Driskill Hotel and try not to feel giddy. I dare you.
Located smack in the heart of downtown, this stately, behemoth of a hotel woos even the most cynical hipsters among us. The Driskill is the luxe southern darling here in the Capitol City, and the Driskill Grill is its culinary heartbeat. [Read more…]
Discussion before dinner in the dark during The Blind Cafe (Credit: The Blind Cafe)
Standing outside the American Legion, watching the sun set against a showy peach sky, I am equal parts hungry and excited. I have arrived with fifty other Austinites for a multi-sensory pop-up dinner at The Blind Cafe.
I have to admit I’m just a bit nervous, though. I eye my plus one, Lisa, secretly praying she’s excited and not about to bail before we head in. Our chef-prepared vegetarian feast, complete with an after-dinner concert and discussion is going to be amazing, but it will be enjoyed in utter, complete darkness.
The Blind Cafe facilitates unique, pop-up dinner events across the United States that promote positive social change and host legally blind keynote speakers. What that means is that dinner guests are guided by blind waitstaff into a pitch dark dining room where tables of six to eight people sit together. There they enjoy dinner, listen to gorgeously curated live music, ask questions about what it’s like to be blind and listen to the experiences of the blind facilitators hosting the event. All of this in the dark without a single glimmer of light or distraction. [Read more…]
You can find almost any food or drink you want, crafted right here in the Austin area. As far as adult beverages go, we have locally-made beers, vodkas, gins and wines. But until recently, we didn’t have a distillery dedicated exclusively to producing a proud Texas rye whiskey.
Kooper Family Whiskey Co. is changing that.
For the first time ever, Austinites can enjoy a locally-aged rye whiskey for their shooting, slurping, sipping and cocktailing pleasure. This 100% rye combines the two essential ingredients you need to stand out in a market crowded with great spirit selections: a great story, backed by a great product. [Read more…]
The Tasty app allows you to pick the food category that fits your mood (Credit: Tasty)
It’s safe to say I’m a foodie. When I’m not trying a new restaurant, I’m drooling over online menus of restaurants I wish I could go to. We can’t have too much of a good thing, but at the rate new restaurants are opening in Austin, it’s challenging for this humble foodie to keep up!
Thankfully, an inspiring group of young engineers has created an app called Tasty. It puts my foodie problems to rest and has the potential to change the way we all experience dining in Austin.
As coworkers and housemates, Mokshika Sharma, Federico Galarraga and Dimitar Dimitrov spend a great deal of time together. They have two things in common: passion for food and interest in technology.
“We are all from cultures immersed in food,” notes Sharma. “I’m Indian, Fede is Spanish and Dimitar is Bulgarian.” Their culinary [Read more…]
Wall of beer barrels at Adelbert’s Brewery
Walking into the taproom at Adelbert’s Brewery is like stumbling upon a country chic party. Hip music fills the air. Dart boards, foosball and ping pong tables stand ready to be played. Racks full of barrels containing sleeping beer, some resting for weeks, others for years, serves as the back wall. An inviting combination of warm and cool.
In the ever-changing ocean of Texas beer, Adelbert’s has been brewing Belgian styles for years. And with a heart towards charity, innovation and quality, it remains a flagship brand in the expanding craft beer scene.
Founded in 2011, the Adelbert’s mission has never wavered: create authentic Belgian beer in Austin, Texas. Thanks to this focus, they became one of the first “widely [Read more…]
Entering Texas Keeper’s cidery in south Austin (Credit: Victor Parra)
Fall is the time for apple harvesting, and cideries are hard at work preparing batches of freshly-pressed apple juice for aging and fermenting. Nothing makes me crave a glass of cider quite like dropping temperatures, crackling fires and turning leaves. Luckily, Austin has a few locally-made ciders to oblige my craving.
There’s no doubt that a craft cider movement is brewing in Austin, and Texas Keeper is at the forefront with a new (and amazing) tasting room due to open its doors on Dec. 5, 2015. [Read more…]
Credit: Lisa Taylor
Ah, dive bars. Places with lights so dim, you can barely see the dirt on your pint glass. Where the beer-soaked wood creeks under your boot, between skips from the jukebox. Where you can’t tell whether the wall is holding up the dusted rows of decades-deep décor, or vice-versa. Where the hangover comes in smell-form. Where the only good Tinder dates ever happen.
I could go on, but you get the point. Roll up your sleeves, my fellow patrons. We’re about to go diving. But before I list a few of my local favorites, let’s clear something up. If a dive bar says it’s a dive bar, it isn’t a dive bar. Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of quality, local watering holes around town. But not all dives are created equal, and that’s my point. A good bar is like a good guitar. The more history it has, the more authentic it becomes. [Read more…]
What do Michael Caine, Clint Eastwood and Leatherface have in common? They’ve all wandered into an old general store 23 miles outside of Austin, called Cele Store.
This location has been the backdrop for several movies, including Secondhand Lions, A Perfect World and Texas Chainsaw Massacre I, II and III.
So if you’re into Hollywood, horror and/or smoking hot BBQ, you might want to buckle up and drive east to Manor, TX. [Read more…]
Editor’s Note: Chameleon was purchased by Nestle in November 2017.
Cold brew coffee is growing in popularity around the U.S. and in Austin specifically. But I’ll be the first to admit I used to have no clue what cold brew really meant.
As it turns out, cold brew is not taking hot coffee and pouring it over ice. So what is it? I decided to go to locally-crafted and consciously-brewed Chameleon Cold-Brew for the answer. After all, they proclaim to be “The very best coffee you will ever taste. Period.” [Read more…]