Image courtesy Rude Mechs The Method GunThru 12/15, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmThe Off Center (map)[info] | [tickets] The Dick Monologues12/16 at 2pmHyde Park Theatre (map)12/12 at 7pm (sold out)[info] | [tickets]In this season of family-friendly fare, we're pleased to highlight a bit of naughty-naughty for your holiday pleasure. Admittedly it's something of an intellectually flavored naughty-naughty, but hey, that's how we like it. Rude Mechanicals' current show The Method Gun contains nudity! Whee! Nude Rudes!! Which......

Image via misterjingo on Flickr. Azul (1808 East Caesar Chavez)Now Closed[info]Last week, popular East Side coffee and food spot Azul closed down for good on the day before Thanksgiving. The converted house at E. Cesar Chavez and Chicon had been serving the neighborhood since 2000 with a mix of coffee, sandwiches, and breakfast items. It had been featured as one of Austin's best coffees in both Zagat's Texas restaurant guide and hipster travel guide eat.shop.austin.......

Photo from the Casserole Queens WebsiteCasserole Queens (Home-delivery Comfort Food) Phone: (512) 905-6967 or (512) 905-6986 [Website] Casserole Queens, the brainchild of chef Sandy Pollock and business partner Crystal Oakes, is a casserole delivery outfit servicing south, central, and north Austin with hearty throw-back fare. Great for busy working families or anyone looking for a little bit of oven-y comfort food, the Casserole Queens fill a food delivery niche with a kicky, campy retro feel.......

Sip 'N' Stroll: As a warm-up for next spring's Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, the organization is sponsoring a very enjoyable-sounding Sip 'N' Stroll event at three of The Domain's new restaurants. The concept is simple: you wander from restaurant to restaurant in groups, and each of them serves you a flight of wines and some paired appetizers. NoRTH features Italian eats, so naturally they'll be focusing on Italy's wine varietals. Regan Jasper, the......

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......

The start of the fall season on network television used to be a bigger deal before cable's summer original fare became so juicy and good. We admit we still get a little excited when we read about original ideas heading our way on the big networks. The crop of new shows starting this fall seems like more of the same (sadly), but there are some that don't follow type and deserve recommendation. Pushing Daisies, ABC,......

Mars Restaurant & Bar (Asian Fusion) Location: 1400 South Congress Avenue (map) Phone: (512) 472-3901 Cost: Brunch plates $4-6 dollars Atmosphere: Sleek, modern décor; airy and sunlit; nice people-watching from the spacious deck; attentive waitstaff Food: This just in: if you wake up on the weekend with a craving for a la carte Chinese hors d’ouevres, you no longer have to travel north of the river to get them! Mars, South Congress’ newest culinary addition,......

For 2008, Capital Metro is planning to double bus fare for adult passengers from 50 cents to $1. Other fares would increase in proportion (students would have to pay 50 cents instead of 25 cents for local/rapid routes); the Dillo would remain free for everyone. In their informational brochure(.pdf), Capital Metro makes a point of saying that the current fares have been the same since 1985, while operational costs keep going up. Is this......

Why does a production company in general, or a director in particular, choose a difficult script? Is it the challenge? The thrill of potentially succeeding where others have failed? Certainly an easy script can be dull to work with, especially if it's something that's been done to death, such as many of the straightforward, heartwarming, popular theatre pieces that make up so much of community theatre fare. We mulled over this question while we recently......

Patsy’s Cowgirl Café, 5001 E Ben White Blvd, proudly announces the lucky return of the Rosie Flores Trio on Friday the 13th. Six months ago Rosie was told she would not be able to play guitar due to arthritis. After several gigs in California, she's back in town and Patsy's owner and Esther's Follies alum Shannon Sedwick is asking Austinistes to come out and show Rosie their support. Rosie, who has been known to say,......

My how this city has grown. Austin used to be the kind of town where the summertime theatre offerings were slim pickings. Not so...not anymore. The joints are jumping, and this week is no exception. It's darn near impossible to offer a Pick of the Week, so this week we're suggesting not one but two productions we think you'll enjoy. First, however, we need to report on some awards show shenanigans that went down earlier......

Fancy Footwork – ChromeoAs soon as "Intro" launches Chromeo’s Fancy Footwork, the listener can prepare to be transported to another time. Ever since "Needy Girl" captured our hearts and memories a few years ago, the duo of Dave 1 (beats) and P-Thugg (vocals) has built a decent following among fans still reminiscing about the 80’s. First single "Tenderoni" kicks off like "Wanna Be Starting Something" (Michael Jackson) before launching into a synth-powered jam in true......

The little pocket of tex-mex restaurants on Manor just east of I-35 never ceases to delight and impress, and El Gringo is no exception. Sunday's brunch outing was fruitful and exciting for the future of this establishment. Brunch was an addition to the full menu, meaning we had a wealth of options if one of us wasn't up for traditional morning fare. We began with gorgeous chorizo empanadas with a perfect crust - substantial......

This week Newsweek is releasing their list of the top 1,200 public schools in the nation, and a few Austin schools have made the cut. The rankings were figured by using the amount of AP (Advanced Placement) tests taken at each school divided by the number of seniors graduating. They say that they used the amount of AP tests taken instead of the resulting scores because schools tend to inflate the scores [see their......

Paula Disbrowe has been a food and travel writer in Manhattan and the cowgirl chef at Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch in Rio Frio, Texas. Her work has been featured in publications including the New York Times, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and Saveur. She recently launched one of our favorite websites, Dishola, and her new book, Cowgirl Cuisine: Rustic Recipes and Cowgirl Adventures from a Texas Ranch, showcases her love for Texas food. Catch......

The following is a letter written by Le and Thomas Popov, owners of South Congress boutique FactoryPeople. As life-long independent music lovers and long-time Austinites (at least one of has lived here since 1989), we have come to love mid-March when the SXSW Music Festival brings Austin to life. After the events of this year's fest, it’s unlikely we’ll ever feel the same affection for SXSW. On Thursday, March 15th, an inspector of the City......

We realize that you have many options for delicious food here in Austin, and coming from LA home of some great Mexican food we were very happy to run into Aurelio's on 6th Street. They've only been open for a few months (taking over the location from a previous Mexican place that reportedly was ousted due to drug issues, allegedly) but Aurelio's has been one of our regular haunts as we make our way......

That diapered astronaut homewrecker was under a lot of stress. This is our clinical diagnosis. A lady from Dallas tipped an NYC cabbie thirty cents on a $10.70 fare, and he still returned her diamond rings. See, the streets of NY ain't so mean. Meanwhile, an NY state senator is proposing a ban on the use of iPods on said streets, after two unfortunate Brooklynites were killed crossing the street while hooked into theirs.......

We really wanted to like the Belmont restaurant. In fact, after a shaky first experience, we decided to give it another chance. After all, talented Chef Ben Nathan, decor by Joel Mozersky, some decent word-of-mouth and a pretty website had us convinced that our first experience there--inconsistent cocktails, incompetent bar service and half-assed bar food--was most certainly a fluke. We're sad to say just how wrong we were. Our second trip offered really good......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

We missed that whole “Black Friday” thing (post-traumatic stress symptoms related to a former life working retail), and the holidays are creeping up faster than a cheer-stealing Grinch in a dogsled. We’re sure that some of you, dear readers, find yourselves in a similar boat. But, before you start snapping up pre-packaged bath sets at Target, check out Austinist’s very special recommendations. We’ve sorted through some of the sparkliest surprises available locally and on the......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead has been supplying inventive rock music and raucous live performances for over a decade now. What started out as a two man entertainment outfit headed by Conrad Keely and Jason Reece has grown over the years into a five-piece, dual-drums-pronged machine that abides no discernible formula when it comes to expansive rock. In 2003, the band found its mature side, employing the Tosca String......

Of all the cafés in Austin, Progress Coffee has to be one of the most ambitious. Ambitious may even be an understatement considering what owners Joshua and Sarah Bingaman have done to establish their little eastside gem as a casual, cultural environment that’s equally welcoming to day and night crowds. In addition to serving deconstructed delicacies, traditional café fare, coffee, and booze, Progress Coffee also regularly hosts literary events, art exhibitions, and live music. They......

Célébrez la performance! Entertain, or die. The mutli-faceted, loosely-connected, intellectually-rigorous fare that’s common from the Rude Mechs is again on display in Have You Ever Been Assassinated?. The boisterous-while-intricate, convention-bending staging by director Carlos Treviño coupled with the sharp dialogue and big-ideas-in-small-packages text by playwright Rebecca Beegle is often exceptionally witty and delightfully clever. So clever, in fact, that even though we hardly cared about the characters—a circumstance that’s generally a one-way road to......

WEDNESDAY [27] books • Texas Monthly Author Series presents John Burnett, author of Uncivilized Beasts and Shameless Hellions at BookPeople (7pm) benefit/music/food • Celebration of Choice 2006, a benefit with Genevieve Van Cleve, Carolyn Wonderland, The Texas Sapphires; live & silent auction; light fare buffer; at Antone's (5:30pm, $35/advance, $50/door, $20/music only) ® party • Hot Dog Hump Day: The Peacock Celebrates Its First Birthday! at The Peacock (4:30pm-7pm, Free) music • Bitter Tongues,......

As you may be aware, there is a big Longhorn football game upcoming. No, not the Sam Houston St. game. Next weekend in Dallas, the Longhorns will do battle with OU in the Red River Shootout. Or Red River Rivalry. Or whatever the hell the new corporate sponsorship-dictated name is. We have not attended this game in at least a decade, so our memory of the experience is a little hazy, but we do......

Only one more week and I'll be waking up in Austin, ready to put on an entire bottle of sunscreen and head out to Zilker Park for my favorite music festival in the world. I know you guys may have thought I forgot about you - but I've been hard at work on my Austin City Limits Festival Preview Page, trying to wrap up the project before the festival actually starts. From today through......

Before I launch into this week's batch of ACL previews, a bit of bad news - Feist has unfortunately dropped out of the lineup. Her replacement hasn't been named yet, so hopefully I'll have an update for you by next week, but in the meantime, you too can stalk the schedule. Remember, you can check out all the previews that have been posted over on my ACL Artist Previews Page. This is what's new......

With our wine loving in-laws in town for the month of July, there were plenty of opportunities to drink bargain wines. After all, when you're sitting on the back porch nightly with a glass or two of red each for four people, those $25 bottles just aren't a fiscally sound option. This led to the pleasant discovery that there are many great bottles at the $10 point on the shelves of Austin's wine sellers.......