Photo from AIArchitect.com We recently came across this fascinating master's architecture project by UT Arlington alumnus Jason Mellard. Drawing from Star Wars and "biomimicking" the clam shell, this archipelago of futuristic donuts would function as a self-sustaining aquatic research platform, designed to allow scientists to study marine animals and fish in their natural habitat for extended periods of time. From AIArchitect: The research spheres consist of laboratories, classrooms, computer labs, viewing platforms, holding tanks, offices,......

Primizie Osteria (Italian) Location: 1000 E. 11th St., Ste. 150 [map] Phone: (512) 472-9299 Cost: Entrees $9-11 Atmosphere: Casually urban decor, concrete floors, wine bar. Counter ordering. Food: The new Primizie Osteria serves simple but elegant Italian at good prices in a comfortable, casual setting in semi-gentrified East Austin. Eastside denizens are lucky to have such a place close by for a spur of the moment relaxed dinner or a to-go run for a......

Have you been wanting to eat out at a great restaurant lately but just needed a good reason? If so, then we've got just the reason to get you out of the house tonight. Dining for Life is Monday and Tuesday night and is a great, and very easy, way to help benefit Aids Services of Austin. More than 60 of Austin's best restaurants donate 15% of their dinner proceeds to AIDS Services of......

Austin is full of small, out of the way places that we have grown to love. These aren't the big name restaurants that everyone already knows about or the restaurants in the warehouse district or downtown locations. In fact, two of them are in nondescript strip malls, and one is surrounded by giant safety cones. These places offer up good (and in the case of Tomo, great) food in locations away from the city center.......

Patterson Hood is best-known for his work with the Drive-By Truckers, but the Alabama native, whose father was a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, has a musical career stretching nearly 20 years. He's been through near-hits and near-misses aplenty. In one particularly tumultuous season, he put together an album of solo material, Killers and Stars, which became an unofficial release passed out at shows and circulated amongst fans. Now, as he's wrapping......

Maru (Japanese) Location: 4636 Burnet Rd [map] Phone: (512) 458-6200 Cost: Starters $5-8, Maki Rolls $6-13 Atmosphere: Not much to speak of, as it's on a nondescript part of Burnet Road in some modest and anonymous white-walled digs. Food: There are three reasons to visit Maru, and they are simply the freshness of the fish, the affordability of high-quality sushi, and the modest $5 corkage charge. Maru's decor is as plain as can be,......

Ah, back to school – that magical time of year when students across town come back from those lazy days of summer and start emptying their wallets on books, parking tickets, and cover charges. So what's the best way to actually break the monotony of ramen and grilled cheese without going broke in the process? Four magic letters: BYOB. Thai Noodle House is nestled in at 2602 Guadalupe, just behind the 7-Eleven on the north......

The Pier on Lake Austin, an old staple of Lake Austin boat cruisers and Hill Country folks since the 1920s, closed its doors back in 2005 after the restaurant/music venue/gas station lost its lease. Since that time, the place has basically sat unused. As we reported in April 2006, the original plan was to replace The Pier with a three-story development that consisted of a mix of casual and finer dining. Evidently this plan fell......

When summer arrives, most food and wine events disappear into the hot summer air, not to be seen again until fall. Thankfully, this year seems to be an exception to that rule. On Sunday the 15th, the Wine & Food Foundation is partnering with Mirabelle and Chef Michael Vilum to create a special summer foodie event. The Mirabelle dining room will host a 'sip and stroll' dinner featuring seven different dishes (three appetizers, three......

30 seconds on American Idol are worth more than you will ever be. (Also, the girl won. Apologies to those who Tivoed the finale to watch later. Actually, we don't apologize -- we recommend getting a life, instead.) Veganism kills (sometimes), so make your own burgers this Memorial Day weekend. We're not sure if anyone would want to eat these creatures from the abyss, but the dumbo octopus is totally the Nabaztag of the......

Posted for Veronica Meewes How’s a mom to celebrate Mother’s Day when she’s stuck working a double at the Yellow Rose? Or catering someone else’s mom-day brunch? Or doing any of the number of things Austin’s plentiful parental population will be busy doing this and every Sunday? Well, the folks at Patsy’s Cowgirl Café feel your pain and they’re offering a Post-Mother’s Day service industry lunch special this Monday, May 14 for those who......

Fire ravages Griffith Park in L.A.; city councilman compares fire to Mick Jagger. Things really are different out there. The five-second rule, explained. Way fewer people watched TV this spring, and network suits are flipping out. Maybe everybody found out that Jack Bauer is a neocon fantasy? Sorry ladies—Ty Pennington ain't as perfect as you're always telling us. Sammy Hagar need never argue with the Van Halen brothers again, or do anything else for......

With all the recent responses, we get it - you're passionate about food. Austin is no longer a one chicken fried steak town with a burgeoning fine dining scene and three "best new chef" honorees by Food and Wine Magazine. In that spirit, the city has announced plans for its fifth annual industry-specific start-up conference: Ingredients for Success: Opening a Restaurant. The one-day forum, sponsored by the City of Austin Small Business Development Program......

As you might recall, a homeless man inadvertently started a fire on the outdoor patio of Mother's Cafe earlier this month, causing an estimated $500,000 in damage. No charges were filed against the man, John Evans, who was merely trying to stay warm; Mother's co-owner Cameron Alexander demonstrated an extraordinary degree of compassion in agreeing with fire investigators that Mr. Evans should not be punished. While no one was injured by the blaze, much......

Hurry up and join Austin-based writers of The Fearless Critic Austin Restaurant Guide Robin Goldstein, Rebecca Markovits, and Monika Powe Nelson tonight from 5-7pm at Follett's Intellectual Property. All three authors will be present to sign copies of the book, and Ruby's will serve up free samples of their award-winning barbecue. According to Editor-in-Chief Robin Goldstein, a food and travel writer for Fodor's and Condé Nast and graduate of the French Culinary Institute, "Our reviews......

You can’t steal from the public and stay out of jail for long. Unless, of course, you’re a politician. John Villarreal, former director of Austin’s community access TV stations, found that out the hard way today when state District Judge Mike lynch sentenced him to seven years in prison for stealing public funds. Prosecutors had asked for a 10-year sentence, while Villarreal’s attorneys had sought probation. While in his position of authority, Villarreal stole more......

We attended the press day preview of the new Round Rock IKEA store last week, where we had a chance to snack on an assortment of delectable Swedish cuisine before being given a tour of the new (and enormous) space. Like every other IKEA we've ever visited—Frisco, Houston, Elizabeth, Emeryville, Covina, Taipei—the store is laid out as a series of showcase areas (Living Rooms, Wall Units, Media & Storage, Kitchens & Dining, etc.) that......

Zagat's 2007 America's Top Restaurants Survey is out and although the setup on this one begs for an immediate rimshot, it's true - we love eating out. In fact, only Houston residents eat out with more frequency *snicker* than Austinites. Hungry Houstonians are eating out an average of 4.2 meals per week while residents of Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth eat out an average of 4 times per week. Trailing in weekly eating-out outings are......

The Austin Business Journal reported earlier today that Tiffany & Co, purveyors of fine baubles and other really expensive polished minerals, will join the already swank establishments at the upcoming luxe retail development called The Domain. Opening next March and a mere stone's throw from Dell HQ, The Domain will be a massive 700,000 square foot haven of "luxury, couture, contemporary fashion and restaurant space," anchored by the city's first Neiman Marcus (budget masturbation......

Hastert knew about Foley three years ago, but forgot to write it down and it just slipped his mind and he's been very busy and stressed out at work and WILL YOU PEOPLE JUST GET OFF HIS BACK already? NYT food reporter R.W. Apple dies; readers of the Dining Out section are now deprived of that sweet little chuckle every time they see his byline. If Al Gore is right, which, of course, he......

TUESDAY [19] film • Waiting for Guffman at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) ® film • AFS Essential: These are the Damned at Alamo Downtown (7pm) film • Butterfly at The Space (8pm, Free) film • Pieces at Spiderhouse (9pm, Free) film • Yacht Rock with Captain Smoothie live! at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $10) film • Ravenous at Spiderhouse (11pm, Free) music • Architecture in Helsinki, The Blow, Prom Nite (outside), Daughters, Russian Circles, The......

Looking for a way to indulge your gluttony while supporting a great cause? Aids Services of Austin has the answer – the 14th Annual Dining For Life 2 day event. Today and tomorrow, go stuff your face at some of Austin’s best restaurants and 15% of your dinner proceeds go to HIV and AIDS prevention, education and support services such as ASA's Helping Hands Food Pantry, Jack Sansing Dental Clinic and Capital Area AIDS......

MONDAY [18] film • La Brune et Moi with Cry Blood Apache live at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $2) ® music • Darling New Neighbors, Coach & Four at Hole in the Wall (10pm) music • David Garza at Cactus Café ® food • Dining for Life at Participating restaurants all over town More than 50 of Austin's best restaurants donate 15% of their dinner proceeds to Aids Services of Austin ® books • Greg......

The judge in Saddam's trial just told him that he was never a dictator. The enabling magistrate then reassured, "And your butt doesn't look fat in that, either," before the two took final swigs of their Smirnoff Ices and headed down to Sixth Street. Bush tells conservative journos that this country is in the middle of a third Great Awakening. That crumbling you hear? Oh, that's nothing, just a pesky little wall between church......

If Central Market and Chuy’s haven’t provided you with enough green chile madness, local southwestern trend-o-mat restaurant Z’Tejas presents a special green chile menu with some proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. The cause is good, and if the ubiquitous Navajo Eggs and requisite Bloody Marys are any barometer (and if you don’t hate trendy southwestern American kitchen fodder) this one is probably worth the effort. Z’Tejas 1110 W. Sixth St and 9400-A Arboretum......

We all know about the plethora of great happy hour appetizer values in Austin, but another great deal often goes overlooked. If you are one of the many Austinists with children, you can reap the rewards of free kids' dining at many area eateries. Unfortunately, Uchi and Driskill Grill don't seem to be on board, but then again, when are you taking your kids there? ...

Even as the stores sport back to school sales (which depress us, even now), summer lingers on your friends the -ists. This week's collection of links provides some of the best, worst, and oddest bits of summer fun. So, bring your laptop up onto the roof, make yourself an umbrella drink or ten, and enjoy this week's choice posts from across the Gothamist network. Torontoist (where it's 75 degrees F as of this writing)......

Martha Stewart's been a busy (and fabulous) bee in the year and a half since being released from Alderson Federal Prison. In these past few months she's: announced a lucrative partnership with Kodak, opened the first in a series of Martha Stewart-designed model townhomes, was crowned "Godmother of Princess Cruises," launched a new line of merch at Macy's ("i LOVE THE NEW CLOTHES LINE" says Maryland fan Dayneisha), published a book, and agreed to take......

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......

The New York Times suddenly has a hankering for Texas food. Over the past ten days, three separate articles have praised the virtues of everything from Salt Lick BBQ sauce to Whataburger. You foodies may not consider these items haute cuisine, but it's exotic enough to get attention, we suppose. Other objects of the Times' devotion include Blue Bell Ice Cream and Shiner Bock. We take all of these items for granted, so it's......