If you're in the campus area tomorrow, swing by the Speedway Mart corner (Speedway & 31st Street) if you want to witness a true miracle in Austin restaurant history. Battling stubborn/cheap students, rising rent and bad weather for foot traffic, Fricano's Deli has accomplished something that even national chains can't pull off in the campus area—they have reached their first anniversary. As a provider of an amazing variety of creative sandwich options to students,... more ›

East Austin's Saltillo Lofts will host its first annual "Sidewalk Celebration" this Sunday, kicking things off with the official opening of the New East Arts Gallery. New East is the latest venture by DiverseArts, a local nonprofit producer of multidisciplinary art and culture projects such as East End Fourth Fridays and the former Downtown Arts Magazine. Their inaugural exhibit, entitled "Fresh Black Paint," features works by New Orleans artist/musician Terrence Moline, who relocated, post-Katrina,... more ›

THURSDAY [29] theatre •Yellow Tape Construction Company presents I Am Not Tartuffe at play! Theatre (8pm) theatre •The City Theatre Company presents The Boys Next Door at The City Theatre (8pm) theatre •Ohio Trip, a "slide show adventure" by Elizabeth Cobbe at Women & Their Work Gallery (7:30pm) theatre •The Vortex presents Hamlet at The Vortex (8pm) theatre •Hyde Park Theatre presents Zell Miller III's My Child, My Child, My Alien Child at Hyde... more ›

FRIDAY [2] theatre • Improv rap group Aww Shit (Chris Trew, Cody Dearing, Eric Seufert) compose freestyle rap songs and improvise scenes based off of them at this week's Cage Match at Coldtowne Theater (11:30pm) art • Opening Reception for The Llamerret Show at Darkroom Gallery (7pm) art • Texas Biennial Opening Reception at Okay Mountain & Site 1808 (7-10pm, 301 Chicon Unit E at Third and Chicon) art • B Scene: A Night... more ›

THURSDAY [1] party • Learning Secrets hosts Optimo's JD Twitch (Glasgow, UK) at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $5) art • Public Tour: The Geometry of Hope: Montevideo in the 1930s at The Blanton (7:00 - 8:00 PM) art • Curator's Tour: The Geometry of Hope at The Blanton (12:30-1pm) art • Texas Biennial Opening Reception at Dougherty Arts Center (7-10pm) art • Art Fix: Enjoy an introduction to Latin American wines with Seth Pollard, Central... more ›

MONDAY [26] film • Squeegee Your Third Eye: Remembering Bill Hicks at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown books • New and Noteworthy Book Club discusses Snow by Orhan Pamuk at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • Wonderwall at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown meeting • Austin Music Foundation's Music Industry Boot Camp at Gibson Guitar Showroom (3601 South Congress G400) music • Aloha, Pompeii, The Politics, Low Line Caller at Emo's Lounge music • Shoot for the Stars, iKiLLcaRs, Bones... more ›

First Night Austin Schedule 2-5pm Family Festival 5:30-6:30pm Grand Procession 7pm Family Finale at City Hall 7-11:30pm Evening programming Midnight Grand Finale First Night Austin takes over downtown this Sunday, kicking off the second annual festival with three hours of family-friendly activities, performances, and art installations. From hip hop freestyling to Appalachian-style clog dancing, there promises to be enough culturally-rich distractions to entertain even that obnoxious nephew of yours who'd rather stay home to... more ›

MONDAY [11] film • AICN presents Calvaire at Alamo Drafthouse (7pm) ® film • El Mariachi at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • Dave Chappelle's Block Party at Café Mundi (8:30pm, Free) film • A Reasonable Guide to Horrible Noise at Alamo Drafthouse (9:45pm, $2) ® music • End of an Ear presents a listening party and midnight sale for TV On the Radio and Yo La Tengo, with DJs from The Rich Girls... more ›

2nd Street District is throwing a collective block party this week to celebrate their first anniversary. From June 15 through Father's Day weekend, they're hosting a bunch of birthday festivities, with proceeds raised from instore "donation jars" going to the nearby Austin Children's Museum. Thursday, June 15, 6-10pm Block Party with music on the sidewalks from DJ Chicken George, in-store events, and drink and dinner specials all evening long. Octane: Live music, food and beverages... more ›

A few highlights from this week's new movie releases: Bruce Willis is back! And he shoots guns this time! David Spade plays a nerd, just to mix things up! If the South had won the Civil War, would Toby Keith be campaigning for governor (oh God, we just vomited)? Film noir is great for teens! And Antonio Banderas teaches the youth of America that ballroom dancing can get you plenty of play! Lucky Number... more ›

A surprisingly hefty offering of new releases today! Trim the fat and take our recommendations to heart, won't you? Basic Instinct 2 It's not possible for us to care less about Sharon Stone's latest attempt to "get back in the game," as it were. You can already download the "sex" scenes from the internet, but honestly, why would you want to? It's like voluntarily searing your own retinas with white-hot needles. *Ice Age: The... more ›

Slim pickin's today, friends. You can either choose a movie starring Oscar winners/nominees (which of course doesn't guarantee anything), or you can go with movies that cater to the lowest common denominator. Which is apparently pretty damn low these days. *Inside Man Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster. Kudos, Spike Lee, for making a movie with one fine-lookin’ cast. (*Ed. Note: We saw a sneak preview of this movie and really enjoyed the nuances... more ›

Just a quick one today, kids. Hang in there, SXSW is almost over. *V for Vendetta Yes, it screened at SXSW two whole days ago, and now it’s out in theatres for all the little people to see. Despite her uncanny resemblance to a 12-year-old boy, Nat Portman is the shit. (link may be NSFW) *Neil Young: Heart of Gold Jonathan Demme’s documentaryish thing chronicling two days of Neil Young’s concerts at the famous... more ›

Yeah, yeah, SXSW Film kicks off this weekend, so you’re all like, “Say whaa? There are regular movies in theatres? How plebeian!” But for those of you who would rather forgo the madness of that festival, here’s what Hollywood has in store: Failure to Launch The words “to Launch” in this title seem superfluous. Much like Sarah Jessica Parker’s career without Sex and the City. The Hills Have Eyes Have you SEEN the creepy... more ›

What would you do if you signed a contract for $50 million? Take off for the Four Seasons Bali never to be seen again? Buy a golf course in Hawaii and work on your game while sipping Mai Tais for the next 25 years? Establish a few non-profits or maybe take a shot at that whole world peace thing? Or would you promote peace on a somewhat smaller scale by throwing a kick-ass party for... more ›

We reviewed Not Clown. Hilarious!. So much good music this weekend. You wouldn't have believed it if you didn't read it here. We might be the best blog in town, but there are plenty of other great ones out there. Jason McElwain, hoops legend. The feel-good story of the year (with video). The Texas re-districting battle takes to the Supreme Court. Round Rock Express tickets went on sale. The Great Mundane prepares to bring... more ›

We're sure you've got all of this Sunday reserved for the Oscars (pre-party coverage starts at like noon, people!), so maybe this weekend you should catch up on all your Oscar-nominated movie watching. But just in case you're in the mood for some flicks that will most likely never win Oscars, here are this week's new movie releases, in no particular order. 16 Blocks The release of this film makes us imagine that somewhere... more ›

: : FRIDAY : : [art] Coy Poage and William K. Stidham Art Exhibit benefiting the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Austin, 7pm-10pm @ Barocca Studios - $15 donation [music] Mae Shi @ Elysium [film] New Films! @ Your Local Theaters [music] Andy Rourke of The Smiths @ The Parish [music] Loxsly, 8pm @ Red Fez [music] AM Syndicate with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Cue and Dear Nora, 8pm @ Beerland [books] Douglas... more ›

For a while after all of our friends moved to the North Loop area, we cursed them. Their relocation meant more money spent on gas, longer commutes for reality t.v.-watching, and packing on the pounds from all those Parlor pizzas and Ararat hummus. We changed our tune when we drove down 53rd St. one day and spotted our new favorite store, Slinky Whistle Bait. The boutique (whose name apparently comes from a World War... more ›