In his latest release, Alternadad, Neal Pollack chronicles his experiences as a father and family-man in the early 21st-century. Pollack proves in his fourth bound collection of pages that it is indeed an exciting time to be alive and parenting. Please be sure to read Austinist's exquisite review of Alternadad, an instant American classic. Having said that, we think it's important to let you know that Neal Pollack is coming to Austin. We won't tell......

John at Blue Star Cafeteria and Emily at Ranch 616 reminded us this week that, yeah, the food is the thing, but fantastic table service can make first-class food out of this world. Don’t let the word cafeteria fool you - Eddie Bernal’s handsome and fresh Blue Star Cafeteria, the little sister of 34th Street Deli and Santa Rita Tex Mex Cantina, put a great big selection of comfort foods in front of our......

Our new favorite place to grab a noontime meal is Progress Coffee. We already knew the coffee was good (remember?), but now that we've sampled the brie sandwich with jalapeno jelly, we'll be going back for more. The sandwiches come with a serving of chips and salsa--fresh, red, hot, saliva-inducing salsa. And the iced tea ain't bad either. The really wonderful thing about Progress Coffee is their committment to local and organic produce. They......

Austinist has received an anonymous tip that Rachael Ray of 30 Minutes Meals with Rachael Ray and $40 a Day is coming back to Austin for some chow and she'll be dining at Santa Rita Tex Mex Cantina on Thursday around 2pm. Okay, the anonymous tipper is an Austinist contributor who works there. We've been inspired by the recent disclosure of Deep Throat's identity. So, anyway, we have to wonder what Ms. Ray will......

We just re-read that headline, and even though it sounds a little...weird...we're rolling with it. It's hot outside and fruit is in season (not to mention, it's swimsuit season) but instead of forking out $6 for a "fast food" smoothie, why not make your own? It's easy, you can control the calories and quality of produce you chuck into the blender, and it will definitely save you money. We recommend this as a great......

Austin is full of tasty Mexican restaurants, but like most restaurants, there’s not many healthy choices on the menu that you’d actually want to eat. Well, the Austinist isn’t going to stand by and let good food get a bad name. We concocted a recipe for healthy tacos that is very easy, takes little effort and time, and only requires a few ingredients. And meat eaters, don’t shy away from this dish. We swear,......

Austinist found a great recipe for Spanish paella on the Food Network website. This is a heavily modified version of it that we found more to our liking, with shallots and even more seafood. Serves anywhere from 3-8 people, depending on whether you're serving alone or as a tapas spread. 1/2 lb Spanish Chorizo, sliced 1/4 lb large Black Tiger Shrimp, peeled & deveined 1/2 lb large sea scallops 1/3 lb Wild Halibut fillet 1......