While sifting through restaurant emails this afternoon, we noticed an event tonight we'd initially overlooked: a cocktail, champagne, and dessert pairing evening at one of our favorite spots, UT-area fine dining beacon The Carillon. Tickets are $32.50 per person and the event kicks off at 6pm (in about three hours.) Better late than never? more ›

Sources don't come much better than this: last night at the Paramount, Anthony Bourdain announced that his Travel Channel show "No Reservations" will film an Austin episode within the next 4-6 weeks. Speaking to a packed house along with good friend and decorated Le Bernadin chef Eric Ripert, Bourdain mentioned that the Austin segment of the "Heartland" episode from 2010 wasn't quite enough about Austin and that they'd made the decision to return this spring. One suspects that the filming will coincide with Bourdain's SXSW 2012 appearance on Tuesday, 3/13 for his "Digital Debauchery" panel (where his social media team will also appear.) So it appears that TV audiences may see Austin in the full throes of SXSW music and interactive party mayhem. more ›

February isn't traditionally a big month for Austin's food scene, but Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert aren't the only thing going this month for Austin's food nerds. In January, the culinary website StarChefs.com announced that their regional "Rising Star Awards" would be making a debut appearance in Austin in 2012 - each year, the site selects four metro areas and interviews and reviews a multitude of restaurants and chefs before making their top picks. more ›

Austin-based charity Water To Thrive raises funds to build water wells in rural Africa. In their five-year existence, they have funded over 230 water projects providing water to 100,000 people. To promote the organization and to raise funds, the group is launching "Chef's Table Austin." The project is a two week auction of large multi-course meals at some of Austin's finest restaurants. While an invite-only event at The Austonian will kick off the bidding tonight, they're not leaving out the rest of the city - foodies can head to ChefsTableAustin.org to bid on one of the many dinners available. more ›

This one will sell out fast, folks. If you and your honey love beautiful places, incredible food and wine, and romantic music as the backdrop to your evening, you're in luck: Hotel Saint Cecilia is planning a very special Valentine's Day event, and you're invited. more ›

In honor of Antonelli’s Cheese Shop’s second anniversary, various restaurants throughout Austin will be offering free cheese plates all week at the dates and times listed below. To prepare for this cheese extravaganza, we checked in with Kendall from Antonelli's to learn more about how to pair cheeses with wine or beer. more ›

2011 was a banner year for David Bull and his Congress Austin concept. Less than three months after opening, the restaurant vaulted from hot newcomer to king of the mountain status after receiving the Austin American-Stateman's first five-star review in several years. The crowds arrived, and more praise followed. Texas Monthly named it the "best place to eat right now." Celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel, Rachael Ray, and Billy Gibbons were spotted catching late-night meals. The New York Times and Wine Spectator both suggested that tourists make it a point to stop by. And so it went. Aside from a few benefit dinners and food festival events, Chef Bull and his ace team mostly spent the year with their noses to the grindstone, tweaking the Congress, Second, and Bar Congress menus and working to meet the huge number of covers that came in. more ›

East Side Show Room Chef and Owner Sonya Cote’s hotly anticipated new specialty grocery and eatery Hillside Farmacy is expected to open its doors just in time for the annual invasion. For Cote, the farm to table movement is not just the latest culinary craze; it’s at the very core of her as a chef. more ›

2011 was a banner year for David Bull and his Congress Austin concept. Less than three months after opening, the restaurant vaulted from hot newcomer to king of the mountain status after receiving the Austin American-Stateman's first five-star review in several years. The crowds arrived, and more praise followed. Texas Monthly named it the "best place to eat right now." Celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel, Rachael Ray, and Billy Gibbons were spotted catching late-night meals. The New York Times and Wine Spectator both suggested that tourists make it a point to stop by. And so it went. Aside from a few benefit dinners and food festival events, Chef Bull and his ace team mostly spent the year with their noses to the grindstone, tweaking the Congress, Second, and Bar Congress menus and working to meet the huge number of covers that came in. Earlier this month, we called Chef Bull during a rare week off to ask for his thoughts on the launch of Congress, the state of Austin dining, and what the restaurants have in store for us in 2012. more ›

Cancel those lunch plans: tickets for the first annual Austin Food & Wine Festival go on sale Tuesday, January 24 at 12:00 PM sharp. more ›

South First street has another feather to add to its restaurant-filled cap with the opening of Lenoir, a restaurant with a "hot weather food" concept brought by Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher, set to open this evening. more ›

This afternoon at Uchiko, C3 and Food & Wine announced the schedule for the inaugural edition of the Austin Food & Wine Festival, which will be held from April 27-29. The festival replaces the much-loved but often financially challenged Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival. C3 engaged chefs and restauranteurs Tyson Cole (Uchi), Tim Love (Lovesome Dove, Ft. Worth), and Jesse Herman (La Condesa) as partners in the festival, and each of those restaurants is featured prominently on the event schedule. more ›

In an announcement sure to make everyone from Circle C to Oak Hill grin, the Alamo Drafthouse finally affixed an opening date to the eight-screen Slaughter Lane location that has been in the works for over two years. Dubbed simply (and cheekily) Alamo Slaughter, the cinema will open on Thursday, March 22nd - just around the time that most of you emerge from post-SXSW hibernation. The theater will fill a longstanding movie (and bar) void in Southwest Austin, and will anchor a new shopping area at MoPac and Slaughter that looks likely to include more restaurants and shops in the future. more ›

South First Street continued its metamorphosis from bohemian enclave to foodie hotspot with December’s opening of Elizabeth Street Café. The newly opened French Vietnamese restaurant is the latest from Larry Maguire and Tommy Moorman, the duo behind Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue and Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar. more ›

This interview was contributed by new writer Arian Brumby! “He’s American, he’s Todd Rungy, fighting for freedom, fighting to eat, yeah!” It’s hard not to want to know more about someone when that’s the first thing you hear come out of his mouth. Todd Rungy is a local competitive food eater trying to make it big, and as Rungy states in our interview, he's already got the “big personality.” So it’s of little surprise that a filmmaker named Joshua Riehl decided to follow the man and film a year of his life. Riehl and Rungy recently raised $6,000 in hopes of turning all this footage into a television series about “Hungry” Todd Rungy. I sat down with our subject over an appropriate meal for a competitive food eater, the Don Juan taco--a mammoth sized breakfast taco overflowing with potatoes, eggs and cheese--created by Cesar Chavez eatery Juan in a Million. Todd talked about what it was like to be filmed constantly half a year of his life, strange rivalries, the show, training, and what’s next for him. more ›

As January continues, Austin continues to emerge from "event slumber" as news of parties and celebrations begin to flow again. For Austin's many beer lovers, this month has two great parties and one newish spot to offer that should make your month as malty or hoppy as you'd care to have it. more ›

Austin's locavore movement has led local diners to many great things, but among the best are the myriad monthly supper clubs popping up around town featuring some of our best local chefs working outside of their usual kitchens. This month, both East Side Show Room chef Sonya Coté and Barley Swine's acclaimed Bryce Gilmore are hosting dinners at East Austin's Springdale Farm that will showcase some of the best food Austin diners will see this winter. more ›

Over the holiday break, there was quite a bit of restaurant news as the year-end prompted several local and chain restaurants to shutter or revamp their concepts. We recap some of the biggest changes below: - Rosedale's La Sombra Bar & Grill has closed, and will be replaced by the Italian concept Gusto Italian Kitchen + Wine Bar on January 16th. La Sombra owners Eddie Bernal and Cameron Lockley decided to change the spot to better fit the neighborhood's needs. Chef Julio Cesar-Florez will remain with the group, and will be assisted by culinary consultant Susie Modiano on the menu transition. more ›

After serving buckets of fried chicken goodness to many a happy festival attendee at this year’s Austin City Limits Festival, Lucy’s Fried Chicken, the highly anticipated new venture from Olivia Restaurant owner and Chef James Holmes, opened Friday, December 16 in 78704. more ›

Local brewerys like Jester King Craft have triumphed over the TABC. A federal judge agreed with the lawsuit brought against the state around some unconstitutional regulations, and indicated he was 'shocked and dismayed' about the 'half-hearted' attempt on the state's part to defend their antiquated rules. Two major wins come out of the decision for breweries: they can now tell their customers where their products are sold, and they can call the products what they are (beer). Jeff Stuffings, owner of Jester King, told weareuastin.com, "We can now call beer what it actually is. Our pale ale we had to call a pale beer and our wild ale had to be called malt liquor." Next step? Fighting laws that ban breweries from directly selling their beer (skipping a distributor). Despite the fact that local wineries are able to do so, breweries haven't been able to, and the TABC is probably preparing for the next lawsuit which will bring that issue before a judge. more ›

On Friday, December 9 the W Austin is hosting a one-year anniversary event not to miss. From 3-6:30pm, patrons can partake in $1.29 congratulatory cocktails as the W Austin toasts to a year of success. more ›

The Brew Exchange, a West 6th bar with fluctuating prices based on supply and demand for 72 draft beers, will be opening this month at the former Annie's West location. This unique concept, implemented by Kung Fu Saloon owners, has already generated quite a bit of buzz and speculation. We checked in with a group of finance experts and beer connoisseurs for insight and predictions on the Wall Street-inspired pricing model. more ›

Popular bakeshop Austin Cake Ball is expanding beyond desserts with their new venture, Austin Cake Ball Kitchen & Bar, scheduled to open in mid-December 2011 in The Domain. Besides their signature cake balls, the menu will include unique cocktails and tasty small bites. more ›

When one thinks of Austin's recent culinary evolution, you can't help but point to Lou Lambert as the perfect symbol of symbiosis. Lambert is both a seventh-generation Texan and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America - a Texas chef who loves barbecue but has also cooked alongside Wolfgang Puck. Lambert's mix of classic Texas ingredients with forward-thinking techniques has endeared him to diners in Austin and Fort Worth for years - and now he's finally put all his best recipes and stories in one place. Co-authored with friend and author June Naylor, Lambert's Big Ranch, Big City was recently released to great acclaim. We caught up with Lambert as he drove on I-35 from his Fort Worth restaurant to his Austin one, and discussed everything from the outdated perceptions of Texan chefs to the evolution of South Congress Avenue. more ›

When you’re new to Austin, one of the first things you keep hearing is how YOU HAVE to check out Alamo Drafthouse, and considering the typical cinema experience you may be like, “Really guys, an absolute must-do is a movie theater?” more ›

Join a true who’s who of top area chefs at La Condesa this Sunday for an epicurean extravaganza benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. The SFC’s Chef Dinner Series Autumn Harvest event will feature a multi-course tasting menu prepared by chefs from Uchi, Olivia, Fino, La Condesa and more to celebrate local growers, ranchers, and culinary artisans. more ›

When the Alamo Drafthouse announced that noted mixologist Bill Norris had joined their team as beverage director this summer, it seemed obvious that he'd take the cocktail menus at Alamo Ritz and The Highball to a new level. What was less certain was how the Alamo would employ Norris' knowledge in their many venues without a hard liquor license. This week brings us a perfect example of what Norris and Chef John Bullington have been concocting. more ›

A mainstay of the Austin fall event calendar, next week marks the return of the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas' Big Reds and Bubbles event at The Driskill Hotel. This year's bash will be held on Thursday, November 17 from 6:30-9:30pm.

As we explained last year, the idea for the event is simple: as the holiday season approaches, sparkling wine and heavy reds become the focus of one's wine purchases during the holiday season. So why not sample the best wines in current release and decide what is worth the cash? more ›

Two interesting bits of news from fine dining favorite The Carillon today: first and foremost, the restaurant has hired former Congress pastry chef Plinio Sandalio to oversee their pastry program. In addition to being nominated for a James Beard Award, Sandalio also has pastry chef experience at restaurants such as Rickshaw, Noe, Soma, and Gravitas. Like his former boss David Bull and his new one Josh Watkins, he's also competed on Iron Chef America. more ›