Hungry to share your most provocative Austin food photos? Send them here. Make sure to include your name, where the photo was taken and a complete description of the food....

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. ...

For years, the Austinist staff has fielded queries from friends and acquaintances about SXSW goings-on. "Can I walk to The Salt Lick?" "Does it really take 90 minutes for a Casino El Camino burger?" But most of all: "What showcase do you recommend to see some good new bands I don't know about?" This year, we've made the answer official. Austinist is presenting an official nighttime showcase featuring six different American acts at Spiro's on Thursday, March 13. We've done a lot of listening to different bands and entire showcases, and believe that this one has great potential to impress you. The roster:...

Spoon (6:30pm): So here's the thing about Spoon: they're a studio band. And on record, they're pretty much bulletproof for this decade. But the band also have a deserved reputation as a sometimes shaky live act, and such was the case for the show's beginning today. Britt Daniel and the band emerged without opening music or much ceremony, plowing right into a half-dozen tracks from new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But they......

As summer draws to a close, it's frustrating at times to realize what you never got around to during the season. Whether you meant to rent a boat, go to the beach, or visit the ballpark, sometimes the time just flies right by. Thankfully, the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas have given all foodies an excuse to drive up to Round Rock and check out the Dell Diamond before summer's end (though there......

Austin has a love/hate relationship with bikes. Love Lance. Hate the Lance-wannabes cruising FM-1826, slowing down the burnt-orange pickups on their way to the Salt Lick. Love biking the Hike-and-Bike trail. Hate slaloming between kids and dogs on a busy Saturday. Love the idea of bike lanes and bike commuting. Hate actual bikers slowing down traffic and swerving into the street because of cars parked in the bike lanes. Love reducing traffic and pollution......

The 57th Annual Austin Fine Arts Festival is set to showcase the creative powerhouse of Austin artistry Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15 at Republic Square Park. The festival will shine a light on the work of more than 220 visual artists as well as Grammy award winning musicians. The event will also feature artist demos, local food, and art activities. Tickets are $8, kids 12 and under get in free. Saturday's festivities run......

The Austin Chronicle kicked off its 19th Annual Restaurant Poll yesterday with a ballot deadline of April 23. Each year the Chronicle covers all the bases from best comfort food to best bathrooms to best wine list. The results will be featured in the May 18 issue of the Chronicle. Here's who we're voting for: FAVORITE RESTAURANT One: El Gringo Two: Vespaio Enoteca Three: Uchi BEST DISHES Appetizers: The Bar at the Roaring Fork......

Back in early 2006, foodies were abuzz about the pizzas and Italian food products on offer at Mandola's Market on 47th Street. The shop fast became a neighborhood mainstay and maintains a loyal following. When we recently became aware that they were also planning a combination winery and restaurant venture in Driftwood (home of The Salt Lick), we contacted Mandola Estates hospitality head Lynn Zeller to find out more. The upshot of our talk:......

Sixty restaurants, thirty wineries, and you. This is perhaps the simplest way to describe the indulgence that is the Stars Across Texas tasting at the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. A veritable "who's who" of Texas restaurants each prepare small portions of signature dishes for guests to sample, making the most difficult choice simply what to eat before you run out of room. Last year, we had sushi tarts from Roy's, Shiner-braised......

With great weather, a social atmosphere, and big crowds, there were many good times to be had at last year's Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Sunday Fair in Georgetown. Having braved the long drive, we found a huge, beautiful park filled with white tents full of salsa, BBQ, chocolate, tamales, and copious amounts of booze. This is probably one's best chance to experience the gluttony of the THCWFF at a moderate cost,......

Things we learned at the 2006 Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Tour de Vin at Whole Foods Market: When it comes to great Austin chefs, we love it when we get the chance to eat: • Warm Gorgonzola, Pancetta & Roasted Garlic Dip with Amuse Bouche Croutes from Amuse Bouche Catering Company • Posole Blanco from Castle Hill Cafe • Crab Cakes from Eddie V's Edgewater Grille • Mini Tuna Tartare Tacos with Wasabi......

At the top of the Austinist don't-miss list for people who eat and/or drink is The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas' fourth annual Tour de Vin on the downtown Whole Foods Market terrace next Thursday, October 5, from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Participating chefs and restaurants include Austin culinary heavyweights; Amuse Bouche – A Catering Company, Aquarelle, Bistro 88, Castle Hill Café, Cibo (Will Packwood, a Food & Wine’s 2001 Best New Chef......

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.......

A mere four miles from The Salt Lick, Driftwood Vineyards is an ideal detour for those shuttling out-of-town guests to the BBQ haven out in the Hill Country. The tasting room sits at the top of a long, unpaved road and overlooks Driftwood's grapevines and some beautiful countryside. While the setting was enjoyable, we had our suspicions about Texas' ability to compete with California or Oregon wines, some of which were confirmed. We began......

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......

FRIDAY [21] [music] Sons of Hercules and The Bad Rackets at Woody's South (link) [music] Those Peabodys, Grand Champeen, Birds of Avalon (ex-Cherry Valence), Man Eaters of Tsavo at Emo's (link) [music] The Radiators at The Parish (link) [music] Blue October w/ People In Planes and Bril at Stubb's (link) [music] The Shells CD Release at End of an Ear (Free, 6pm) (link) [lecture] The Texas Observer presents David Sirota, author of Hostile Takeover: How......

The Old Settler’s Music Festival sure has a line up. Why, they have more roots music than you could shake a roots-music-shaking stick at. This weekend marks the 19th year for the event, held at the Salt Lick BBQ Pavillion right out in Driftwood. The line up includes Keller Williams, Kinky Friedman, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, Terri Hendrix, Todd Snyder, the Lonestar Bluegrass Band and a heap of other talented folks. They’re additionally......

MONDAY [17][music] The High Flyers at Continental Club (10pm) (link) [lecture] Josh Rushing, future host of a show on Al Jazeera International and "accidental media star" in "Control Room," speaks at UT LBJ Auditorium (7pm) (link) [art] Opening Reception for Michael Schliefke's newest works, "What If We Could Get It All Back?" at bolm Studios (6pm-11pm) (link) [film] Oscar-Nominated Documentary shorts at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] Anime Movie Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm)......

The Peels are a rock band out of San Francisco, now under indie DIY darlings Dim Mak Records. Their debut LP "S/T", produced by the legendary John Goodmanson, was released back in February this year. Now on tour with The Raveonettes and Autolux, The Peels took time after their show last week at the Parish Room to sit down for a chat with Austinist. We spoke with lead singer Robyn Miller and bassist Joshua......

The 18th Annual Old Settler’s Music Festival kicks off today out at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCullough, just south of town. The festival features one of the best bluegrass, folk and Americana lineups of any fest in the country, with more than two dozen bands set to perform. For those of you who have not attended, the weekend is a truly unique experience. The ambience of the pecan tree-lined Onion Creek......

The celebrity whose name we are now embarassed to type because we've typed it so many times in the last few days has gone and talked about Austin on national television again. We thought she was out on the road to promote a movie or something, but apparently she just wants to gab ad nauseum about our favorite city. This time, Ms. Bullock -- we couldn't resist! -- was on the Daily Show talking with......