Our readers have responded with their own tales of working in the Yassine-owned bars, after we posted some of the stories we had heard on Friday. more ›

As news of Yassine Enterprise’s cocaine and money laundering scheme broke yesterday, we heard parallel stories from former bartenders, bouncers, and patrons regarding “drug-induced sex dens,” piles of cash in vaulted offices, inner circles of employees, blatant discrimination, and wage disputes. While we are unable to verify the truth of these statements, these stories, at the very least, paint a picture of downtown Austin reminiscent to some scene out of Eyes Wide Shut. more ›

This entry is a perhaps overdue explanation and follow-up to our story last week about the alleged incident at Barbarella. In the time that has passed, the editor has attempted to reach out to staff there, and hasn't been able to get in touch. Regardless of our ability (or deservingness) to get a statement or follow up from them, we felt it important to follow up with a bit more thought. What follows are two personal notes breaking from our standard first person plural voice. more ›

Want to go out and drink but don't want to waste any time at bars that aren't full of hunks or babes...or maybe you've decided your usual haunts aren't nearly as Cougar- or Dilf-ish as you'd like? SceneTap aims to fix all this confusion and save you the time bar hopping so you have longer to put out the vibe. 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 ›

Hush

Austin's more adventurous gays have already wandered past the usual 4th street haunts and discovered Austin's newest gay bar, Hush. Two of Austin's long time bar barons have ventured into business of the homosexual persuasion, which coincidentally befits the partnered couple. While Hush has been open for business for about a month, last week was its official coming out party. Located in the building that formerly housed Light Bar, Hush features two dance floors, multiple rooms, a rooftop lounge, and a late bed time - all crucial for attracting the cruising homosexual.

Dust off the derby hats and iron out the seersuckers. It's time to get lucky in Kentucky! Or, for those of us who'd like to skip the 14 hour drive, there's plenty of horsing around going on this weekend right here in Austin.

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While wine tastings are a regular event in Austin and beer events are becoming more common thanks to Zax and The Ginger Man, there aren't many opportunities to sample spirits side by side. We've tasted a few tequilas or rums on occasion at the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, but a comprehensive array of one spirit is a pretty rare thing. On Thursday evening, the Penn Field location of Opal Divine's hosts their seventh Whisky Festival - and experts will infer from the spelling that Opal's is focusing on Scotch whisky, which drops the "e" from the American and Irish versions. more ›

Despite a bottle service that started at $150 and attempts to expand their demographic, the club failed to weather the current economic crisis and shuttered its doors in mid-July (coincidentally, the same weekend as East Austin's Peacock Lounge). There's no word yet on what new bar or club will take over the space, or, more importantly, whether they're planning to auction off the stuffed zebra heads. more ›

Now you can show off your knowledge of "Hunting, Fishing and Drinking: The Three Dude Groups" or "Top 40 Songs Butchered by David Hasslehoff" every weeknight in Austin. Geeks Who Drink hosts live pub quizzes at 60 locations throughout Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. This month, they're expanding the lineup to run Monday through Friday in Austin and adding a night in San Marcos as well. more ›

YouTube user WiseGeorge365 might not appear to be the most employable kind of guy, but he's utilized YouTube in one of the most brilliant ways we can imagine. Over 365 days, he's gone to a different bar or food/bar combo locale and videotaped his experiences. more ›

Welcome to Ask Austinist, the feature wherein we answer questions from our readers. Today we take on this question: Could Austinist please provide some tips on bars or other not so serious venues where political junkies can watch their favorite change-agent, decider, hope salesman and sycophants and wonks stumble their way through presidential primary election nights? more ›

Photo by Pat Rioux on flickr Wanna see the Cowboys game tonight and don't know anyone with the NFL network? Local sports bars are getting ready for what could be their busiest night this year. Former Chester's site to house a community-service-oriented Christian congregation. Currently only one in five 5th graders who fail the TAKS are made to repeat the grade. Father of UT student killed in 1996 accident doesn't think the driver needs to... more ›

Image provided by Soundcheck MagazineWhile attending the University of Texas at Austin, one faces a constant barrage of “the weekend starts on Thursday” type advertisements. Although largely for exposure of Thursday night drink specials at bars on 6th Street, the intrinsic appeal of that statement bleeds through on days like these. Kick off your weekend early (and gently) with Swedish singer-songwriter José González at The Parish or dance away at the Electric Six show at... more ›

Flyer distributed by Pangaea AustinFor better or worse, Austin's new safari-themed nightclub in the Warehouse District will host its (doubtlessly) over-the-top grand opening next Friday, November 16. Pangaea, a so-called "ultra-lounge," takes over the former Alamo Drafthouse space. It was originally scheduled to open on Halloween, but evidently the tribal accoutrements didn't show up in time. Here's what you guys had to say when we first posted about it: "I think they want to go... more ›

Milking the last days of summer in an attempt to hook up? If so we suggest you turn your attention to the information that we've just stumbled across, because apparently there was some sort of muzak festival that all of the kids are talking about on the interwebs. So if you are one of those cool kids, you best get out there and see if there's any action to be had. If you have... more ›

Best known as the frontman of alt-country group Richmond Fontaine, Willy Vlautin is now also an author. His debut novel, The Motel Life, takes the same bleak, resigned-to-fate look on life that fuels his music. The story centers around the relationship of brothers Frank and Jerry Lee, who flee town after one of them accidentally kills a boy in a drunken hit-and-run accident. They find a strange kind of freedom in their ensuing travels; it's... more ›

Fat Man and Little Boy seem like innocuous pejorative phrases, possibly used to tease other kids on the monkey bars, but when associated with a date, specifically August 6th and 9th, 1945, those words become something else altogether. No longer mere verbal darts, those words evoke images of pillars of fire and shredded skin, of a war certainly ended, but possibly not won. Wednesday night, Academy Award winning director Steven Okazaki will take you on... more ›

Spoon (6:30pm): So here's the thing about Spoon: they're a studio band. And on record, they're pretty much bulletproof for this decade. But the band also have a deserved reputation as a sometimes shaky live act, and such was the case for the show's beginning today. Britt Daniel and the band emerged without opening music or much ceremony, plowing right into a half-dozen tracks from new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But they... more ›

Have you ever found yourself yearning to be lost in the sea of lesbians that is the Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs, but you can’t seem to get away? Do you want to have a night off from struggling to figure out where all the lesbians go in Austin and why the full-fledged lesbian bars in town can't keep from closing? More importantly, have you been patiently waiting since the year 1930 to attend... more ›

It’s a free show Wednesday night at the Mohawk outside for those over 21. And, unlike most of the bars on and around 6th street, they shouldn’t need a barker to shout, “Live music! No cover! $2 shots!” (We can’t vouch for the third one). It’s going to be a free night of electro-freak indie fun. First up, The Laughing. A great name for a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Bringing the... more ›

A San Antonio-area nonprofit is suing to have their chimpanzees returned from Louisiana Is someone trying to take down the Dollar General? The City of Austin has opted to extend the waterway ban on Lake Austin until Friday The Texas Department of Transportation begins inspections on possibly suspect bridges A 6-year-old girl in North Texas crashed her bike into a parked trailer and gets her head punctured by 4 inches of rebar Bars and... more ›

With construction on the new downtown Drafthouse well underway, the Alamo's Henri Mazza recently set out to explore the stretch of shot bars along Sixth Street that'll soon be their neighbors. To wit: ...And every night, I'm going to hang out for at least 15 minutes in a random bar. Tonight,I was by myself at Buffalo Billiards, the first bar that was open when I headed east from Congress. Buffalo Billiards was also pretty... more ›

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a... more ›

What happens when a runaway bride stumbles into the cabin of a hapless recluse? ...in the middle of the remotest Alaskan outback? ...during a terrible blizzard? Sounds a tad bit like the upcoming film Into The Wild, only with a potentially happy ending. One that's not based on a true story. Oh, and this tale includes a woman in a wedding gown who is hopped up on junk food. Okay, so it's not so... more ›

Say what you will about Tom Cruise’s career choices, religion, or personal relationships, the man has certainly made some fantastic action movies. Witness his sweaty brilliance firsthand tonight as 101X presents this week’s Summer Movie Series classic Top Gun. Cruise plays Maverick, a Naval Aviator whose record is less than pristine due to his high-flying high jinks and general loose cannon-itude. He makes it into the elite Fighter Weapons School by the skin of his... more ›

Austin native Rebecca Rosenberg has been living in South Korea teaching English, and she wants to share her experiences abroad with all of Austin. Austinist believes that we could all use some Korean culture. After nine months away from Austin, working as an English teacher in South Korea, I most miss lying on the grass with a margarita, relaxing at the meat market that is Barton Springs, with a Shady Thing pilfered from the... more ›

There are quite a few mentionables this week, including Dappled Cities' Granddance, produced by Jim Fairchild (of Grandaddy) and Peter Walker, and mixed by Jaquire King (Modest Mouse). Dappled Cities are an Australian indie rock band that we've grown rather fond of as of late, mostly because of "Fire, Fire Fire". Also of note this week is the latest from Ladybug Transistor and the latest Eccentric Soul compilation, The Prix Label. As usual, do... more ›

Back in July 2006, local event production company Direct Events, in collaboration with Novare Group Holdings LLC and Andrews Urban LLC (the developers of the new 360 Condos at 3rd & Nueces), unveiled a plan to "preserve, renovate and expand" the Austin Music Hall, one of Austin's larger live music venues. The venue is located at 208 Nueces Street, just down the way from the 360 Condos development. The plan calls for an expansion of... more ›