One could hardly hold something called the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival without devoting an event to the glory of BBQ. So the folks behind the THCWFF have put together a Saturday afternoon feast of gluttony, with a bevy of ribs, brisket, sausage, and pulled pork that's bad for the heart but good for the soul. Particpating BBQ purveyors include both The Salt Lick and New York's popular upstart Hill Country Barbecue Market, which has been packing them in in Chelsea by serving up Lockhart-style BBQ and beers. Other restaurants will be announced soon. ...

With less than a month before four of the best food-focused days in Central Texas, now's the time to figure out the best strategy for maximum consumption. Click through for an entire event listing and links to purchase tickets. ...

While many of you may be feeling an aversion to adult beverages following your SXSW shenanigans, rest assured that by Thursday, you'll be ready to go out again. And what could be better than doing so in style with a wine tasting featuring Rob Mondavi? The Wine and Food Foundation is sponsoring an event this Thursday at The Four Seasons featuring the global wines from Folio, which is a Mondavi-run company featuring over 25 wine labels from California, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Argentina. Over 40 wines will be available to sample at this tasting event. ...

A New York judge rules that sending a MySpace "friend request" to a person who has a restraining order against you is illegal. Cold War conspiracy! Russia believes America's announced plan to shoot down one of its broken spy satellites is, in reality, a test its of its anti-missile defense system's capability. At any rate, it looks like the satellite is going to crash to Earth pretty soon, so keep your head on a......

Designs from Stella McCartney, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Zac Posen and Eskander will be showcased, but our interest level is definitely leaning towards mojitos, champagne, Italian cocktails, and snacks from The Steeping Room, North, Jaspers, The Daily Grill and Viva Chocolato. ...

The coalition is a community of Florida farmworkers from various immigrant backgrounds who strive for fair wages and fair treatment and work to end modern-day slavery. One of the activists from this Coalition, Lucas Benitez, will be delivering the opening address at UT's 28th Annual Student Conference on Latin America tonight. ...

Lots of young people got their voter registration cards in on time. News?: Door-to-door magazine salesmen harassing Austinites. Farmer's Branch city leaders sued over their anti-(illegal) immigrant ordinance. Meat from abused cows in California sent to Round Rock and possibly Austin schools....

Image from the Wine and Food Foundation Website The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Presents - Taste Washington – Austin!January 22, 2008One World Theatre (7701 Bee Caves Road)(6-9pm, $50 members, $60 non-menbers)[info] | [tickets]According to our trustworthy friends at the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, Washington State has become a premium wine producing region. Even though the Washington Wine industry is relatively young, it is now the nation's second largest wine producer and......

Shilla offers delicious beef and pork bulgogi, tabletop barbecuing for marinated ribs and the like, and whole broiled mackerel. Shilla also offers sushi that, while not exactly top-tier, is fresh and better than we expected....

For the next two weeks, the fancy wines flow more often in American households than during any other time of the year. Everyone even moderately nerdy about wine splashes out by opening "special" bottles that they need an excuse to pop, and wine retailers throw all their best stuff on the endcaps, because they know you'll spend more than usual on your holiday purchase. Unfortunately, when it comes to Champagne, Euro exchange rates have thrown even basic non-vintage bottlings into the $35 and up range. And while those Moët & Chandon White Star and Veuve Clicquot bottles are perfectly enjoyable, it should be noted that American sparkling wines of equal (and often much better) quality can be purchased for far less money. That said, why not spend less, try something new, and impress your holiday visitors with a domestic bubbly? Here are our picks for your varied taste profiles and budgets....

Russian Premier, er, we mean President Putin using Soviet-style measures to suppress political opposition? The evidence just keeps on rolling in... Yesterday, British forces formally handed the province of Basra to the Iraqi government. This is the ninth province transferred to Iraqi control by American-led forces since July 2006. The week-long U.N. climate-change conference, held in Bali, ended last Friday. A ranking has been released showing which countries have the most proactive greenhouse gas......

Mighty Fine Burgers have set themselves up a branding punchline. At the risk of being obvious to the point of heavy-handed, we'll say that Mighty Fine Burgers is not so much mighty fine as somewhat passable....

Logo from Edible AustinEdible Austin’s first annual Eat Local Week celebration runs from Saturday December 8th through Saturday December 15th. While you’re nourishing body and soul with locally-grown and handmade foods from an extensive list of participating restaurants and markets, a portion of proceeds will go to Urban Roots, a program which teaches sustainable agriculture fundamentals to East Austin youth. 15-20 participants aged 14-18 will be awarded a paid internship to grow food on an......

Image from SOS Alliance SOS Holiday Party & Silent AuctionFriday, December 7Mercury Hall (615 Cardinal Lane)$10 Suggested Donation, 7pm - Midnight[info]Tonight, the Save Our Springs Alliance will be hosting their annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction at Mercury Hall. In addition to food, drinks and great people, the event will showcase music by two environmentally-conscience local bands, Bill Oliver's Otter Space Band and The Bouldin Creek Bobkats. The Silent Auction features items from over 300......

Production still courtesy of Troma Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead w/ Lloyd Kaufman Live! Friday, December 7thAlamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (17329 Research Blvd)(7:30pm, $10)[info] | [tickets]Over the course of the last thirty-three years, Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Entertainment has produced hundreds of films, attracted legions of devoted fans, and influenced the likes of Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Trey Parker, Eli Roth and Takashi Miike. In fact, by Kaufman's estimation, the studio now owns more than......

Photo by dground on flickr City Council considering the gathering of information about Austin's homeless and the expansion of services that help them. The council may also merge Park Police, Austin Aviation Police and City Marshals with APD. Travis County officials aiding Hays County officials in the search for a woman who may have witnessed the murder of her son. Williamson County man on the run from child sexual assault charges captured in Costa Rica.......