After serving buckets of fried chicken goodness to many a happy festival attendee at this year’s Austin City Limits Festival, Lucy’s Fried Chicken, the highly anticipated new venture from Olivia Restaurant owner and Chef James Holmes, opened Friday, December 16 in 78704. more ›

The Lomography Gallery Store is opening tomorrow with a big party featuring The White Ghost Shivers, foods from Frank and Sugar Mama's, and much more. The theme is "20s/30s Vaudeville," and if you're interested in posing like a flapper or Gatsby for their "mugshot photobooth," they'll have the fake pearls and big hats and all that other stuff you'd expect to get Prohibition-era fancy. more ›

When one thinks of Austin's recent culinary evolution, you can't help but point to Lou Lambert as the perfect symbol of symbiosis. Lambert is both a seventh-generation Texan and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America - a Texas chef who loves barbecue but has also cooked alongside Wolfgang Puck. Lambert's mix of classic Texas ingredients with forward-thinking techniques has endeared him to diners in Austin and Fort Worth for years - and now he's finally put all his best recipes and stories in one place. Co-authored with friend and author June Naylor, Lambert's Big Ranch, Big City was recently released to great acclaim. We caught up with Lambert as he drove on I-35 from his Fort Worth restaurant to his Austin one, and discussed everything from the outdated perceptions of Texan chefs to the evolution of South Congress Avenue. more ›

The repaving of South Congress that was set to begin this week has been postponed because of water line repairs, supposedly to start sometime next week instead. The stretch of road from Oltorf to Riverside will be resurfaced in three phases through June and part of July. Some lanes of South Congress will be closed daily during the construction, so be forewarned. On-street parking won't be allowed within the work zone, and residential streets off of South Congress will also likely be affected by the roadwork. Once this portion of South Congress is repaved, the city plans to institute reverse angle parking, such as is already in use on Dean Keeton and W. Sixth Street. more ›

With a summer full of posturing and rhetoric, the campaign season officially began after Labor Day. Six days in, on this past Sunday, Incumbent Governor Rick Perry released his first television ad, featuring South Congress businesses Farm to Market Grocery (seen at 0:04 of the ad) and Avenue Barber Shop (0:05). more ›

"[Lippincott] stormed into the salon in the middle of business hours, yelling, 'Get out!' at salon employees, and shouting, 'You are trespassing! This business is closed!' Employees were then told to gather their personal belongings and vacate the salon immediately, at which point the doors were locked for good." more ›

Customers hoping to get dolled up were instead greeted by a darkened storefront outside Ann Kelso Salon on Monday, as the shop was locked by property owners for failing to pay rent. more ›

Some residents of South Austin recently received a letter from Your Living Room, the upscale furniture store on South Congress and Barton Springs, informing them that the store owners have decided to retire. more ›

This coming February, Parts and Labour, the South Congress boutique that sells all things made in Texas, is moving to a new larger location. The store will remain in the city's retail ground zero and is moving into the old Ace tailoring building just across the street and down the block from its current location. In the mean time, store owners are looking to spruce up the new building a bit and have announced a mural contest. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

L'il Cap'n Travis is one of those rare bands whose music transcends the trappings of abstractions such as "alt-country", "indie", or "Austin", eschewing any hint of pretension. We challenge you to bring to mind another band as effortlessly and legitimately rock as LCT, so quietly invincible against the corrosive influence of the scene beneath a down comforter of fundamentally kickass material, singing into the stale-beer smell through a sheepish grin. more ›

The cast and crew of television football drama Friday Night Lights will kick off production in Austin once again on August 6 more ›

Polls are open from 7am to 7pm. more ›

Watching the presidential primary unfold these last few weeks, the thought has often occurred to us: "When will Obama and Clinton shut up about saving the people of Darfur from displacement and genocide, and start talking about the important stuff, like plaigarized speeches and superdelegates?" Haven't had the same reaction? Tonight, a very different kind of politics will be on display at the B. Iden Payne Theatre at the University of Texas. Our city will play host to one of the great voices for democracy and social justice in post-colonial Africa. more ›

It's time to play the name game! The Friends of the Austin Public Library and the Monster Book Store, located at 5th and Mary in South Austin, are moving and looking for a new, snappier name. They want to tap the collective creativity of Austin. Suggestions will be accepted through February 14th. more ›

Austin based non-profit, Grounded In Music is having its launch party tonight at the Gibson Show Room in Austin with all proceeds going toward their on-going effort to buy music instruments and provide free music lessons for underprivileged children at the Boys and Girls Club. Local favorites Vallejo will be providing music, and the event will also have a silent auction. more ›

This weekend brings another tremendous set of gigs to our beloved city. If the abundance of synth-pop and electro-rock acts lately is bringing you down, raise your spirits and beers to some stellar rock n’ roll on Friday. Emo’s hosts one of Austin’s hardest rockers in the form of the Young Heart Attack, while the newly renovated Austin Music Hall boasts a Dallas - Forth Worth Metroplex attack in the shape of the Toadies and Baboon. more ›

Woman who had worked as pharmacist for the CVS on Riverside had fake documents. 60 soldiers who had been serving in Iraq for over a year return home to Ft. Hood for the holidays. Look what our city might be gifted: a 60-foot saxophone sculpture! more ›

Young guy, wearing sunglasses inside of Quack's Bakery in the middle of the night, talking to a girl sitting near him:Do you reside here frequently? At I Luv Video on Airport Blvd., a female customer holding a DVD case: Is Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle any good? Dreadlocked Male Employee:Uh, that depends. Do you smoke weed? Female customer: I guess I could make a stop on the way home. DME: There's a... more ›

Image from AmericanApparel.netAustin will move three steps closer to becoming Southern California a real city a place where you can try on those high-waisted hot shorts and shiny tights before buying them with the opening of three new American Apparel locations (two real stores in Austin and an outlet in Round Rock). The first location will be on the Drag at 2316 Guadalupe, which is good news, because there are few things as vital to... more ›

Photo courtesy Ricardo B. Brazziell Brownout w/ Bavu BlakesFriday, November 16Flamingo Cantina (515 E. 6th St.)Doors: 9pm[info] Bavu Blakes @ B-Girl CitySaturday, November 17Ruta Maya (3601 South Congress Penn Field)10pm set[info] Bavu BlakesSaturday, November 17Plush (617 Red River)$10, Midnight[info]The anticipated long-form paean to Sparkdawg will have to wait for a week: Bavu Blakes, Austin’s biggest rapper, plays three shows and runs a 5k this weekend before hanging up his hat for the holidays. I caught... more ›

Image from www.homeslicepizza.com Home Slice-O-RamaSaturday, November 17Home Slice Pizza (1415 South Congress)Noon-6pm, Admission is free; booths, games and drinks cost tickets. All carnival proceeds to benefit Young Texans Against Cancer[info] The delicioso crew at Home Slice Pizza will celebrate their second year of slinging perfecto pizza by hosting a back yard carnival on Saturday, with all proceeds benefiting Young Texans Against Cancer. Here's what's on tap: • An old school pizza eating contest to win... more ›

Zombie fans and flash mob enthusiasts, take heed: there's a walk of the undead taking place at Congress Avenue this Sunday afternoon. more ›

First there was Keep Austin Weird, then Keep Austin Wired, Keep Austin Corporate— and, starting tomorrow, Keep Austin Good. The first annual “Don’t Lose a Good Thing, Keep Austin Good” is sponsored by Los Angeles lifestyle magazine GOOD, and described in a press release as “part party, part information exchange,” bringing the spirit of fun and the commitment to Austin’s quality of life together. Vendors and local businesses will hand out information about community... more ›

The Hey Cupcake! trailer that used to call the campus area home is now on South Congress, in the parking lot across from Vespaio. At two bucks apiece, the palm-sized treats are made fresh and delivered to the trailer several times a day. The vanilla and chocolate cupcakes are good, but not transcendent — they're basically what you'd think of when conjuring up a basic sugary cupcake in your mind's eye, replete with day-glo... more ›

Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th Hey you, big-spender: if you missed FactoryPeople's last pop-up store (at their former 1325 South Congress location), take a look-sy at the jewelry by Crumley, designed by Austinite-turned-New Yorker Brian Crumley. Crumley pieces are favored by stylists for both national and international photo shoots and runway shows. Guests can chat up Brian from noon to 6 p.m. and sip Crumley Cosmos—a raspberry champagne cocktail—while grooving to some... more ›

Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th Hey you, big-spender: If you missed FactoryPeople's last pop-up store, take a look-sy at the rockin' jewelry by Austinite Brian Crumley (now based in New York). The Crumley trunk show is from noon to 6 p.m. Guests can chat up Brian and sip Crumley Cosmos—a raspberry champagne cocktail—while browsing through sample on the new fall lines. Enter to win Crumley's handsome Banquet Amulet, a large hand blown glass... more ›

A popular dance-workout phenomenon that's been getting asses in shape in New York City and Chicago is now catching on in Austin. It's called the Dance Dance Party Party — think of it as a ladies-only, free-form, DIY Sunday night Rock the Casbah to help you work off that weekend of boozing. In their October/November issue, BUST magazine explains its appeal as bringing back that "giddy, uninhibited spirit of those bygone slumber parties, when you... more ›

Moxie and the Compound wants to wet your fashion whistle with its own Project Runway-inspired competition. Both Marques Harper and Stephen Moser mentioned they're judging the event. But who do you think promoted it better? Remember Factory People, the hip store on South Congress that closed this summer? Of course you do! They're still around, promoting parties and selling their shamelessly cool clothing online. But if you want to see Factory People's latest looks... more ›

After a long, hot summer, it’s time to check out Austin’s new fall fashions and get in the mood for shopping. Tribeza’s Fourth Annual Style Week is right around the corner—Wednesday through Sunday, to be exact—and there are plenty of fun events open to the public. Style Week is kicking off with a happy hour at By George’s South Congress location, where you can nibble on goodies from Cissi’s Market and peruse the flirty fashions.... more ›