There is absolutely no reason to stay in on Friday evening. Whether it's DJ Shadow at La Zona Rosa or Future Clouds and Radar at The Parish, downtown offers you a wide variety of music to kick off your weekend....

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....

Gypsy (Northern Italian) Location: 1025 Barton Springs Road [map] Phone: (512) 499-0200 Cost: Lunch salads ($7-$10) Panini and Entrees ($8-$12) Dinner Apps ($5-$9), Salads ($6-$10) Entrees ($14-$20) Food: Gypsy, a new Northern Italian Bistro on Barton Springs Road next door to Vinny's on Italian Row, is the newest incarnation in a space that has seen an endless chain of eateries open and close. Only time will tell if this iteration will remain, but here's our......

Sampaio's (Brazilian Cuisine) Location: 4800 Burnet Rd. [map] Phone: (512) 469-9988 Cost: Lunch entrees: $9 - $16, Dinner entrees: $12 - $29 Atmosphere: Intimate, casual patio. Romantic interior. Food: If you've reached that point where you just need to eat some yucca, there's no better spot in Austin than Sampaio's. Located just west of Hyde Park on Burnet, this place blends delicious Brazilian food with a comfortable, intimate setting that manages to feel more relaxed......

Ming's Cafe (Chinese) Location: 2604 Guadalupe St. [map] Phone: (512) 476-8888 Cost: Lunch specials $6-8; Dinner dishes $6-12 Atmosphere: Clean, good tunes, comfy booths and a semi-private outdoor patio. Food: The word on the street is that Ming's is hit or miss, so we decided to check in and assess the situation. We ordered straight off the Daily Specials menu: crawfish with jalapeno black bean sauce, curry chicken with potato and the specialty spinach. We......

As the days go by, things get more intense at Slam Central. Each night, votes for the team bouts are tallied, and teams and individuals learn where they stand. The scores as of the wee hours of Wednesday morning have been posted, and while it's way too early to start popping the bubbly, we're excited to see Team Ego's in second place! First is Team Killeen (please tell us there's at least one slamming soldier......

It's the your favorite bartender at Sao Paulo, or the girl in the cutoffs at El Chilito. It's the smokin' UPS guy, or one of the Lone Star Rollergirls. It's your local secret crush. It's hard to believe that it's been over sixteen years since Linklater's Slacker edified the collective and individual characters that make Austin, well, Austin. Although Liberty Lunch is long gone, the people that make our city great remain. And what......

Victor Bermon Arriving at Night Bermon's full-length is airplane music for the soul: soft, lilting compositions comprised of acoustic guitars, piano, synths, found noise and electronic percussion that walk the line between ambient folk and opening credits majesty. "Farewell Lunch for Laura" opens with an off time back beat and snare play that quietly pulses through the rest of the song's subtle horn and string whispers, creating an atmosphere that lingers for the entire album.......

WEDNESDAY [2] DJ • The Black (DJ Set), Gerald Cosloy at Scoot Inn (10pm, Free) books • Poetry on the Plaza: The Book of Poetry at The Harry Ransom Center (12noon) books • Jeffrey Greene presents Water From Stone at BookPeople (7:00pm) dance • Stomp at The Paramount Theatre exhibition • UT Department of Theatre & Dance's Annual Design and Technology Exhibition at Oscar G. Brockett Theatre, Winship Drama Building (9am) film • "Plagues and......

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:......

Contributed by Phil West Austin band ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, in its decade of evolution, has long had a reputation for controlled (and sometimes out-of-control) chaos in its live shows as one of its hallmarks. Back in the day, the band would make shows at now-defunct venues like the Blue Flamingo and Liberty Lunch just that much more interactive. We still remember the Lunch show, for instance, in......

An annual showcase and celebration of all things DIY, the Stitch Fashion Show and Guerrilla Craft Bazaar returns for its fourth installment this Saturday with an even bigger and better lineup. Back in 2003, local designers Jesse Kelly-Landes (Amet and Sasha), Tina Sparkles (Sparkle Craft), Karly Hand (Identity Crisis Clothing) and Jennifer Perkins (Naughty Secretary Club), dismayed that Austin lacked an effective outlet for independent designers to exhibit their work, orchestrated one of the city's......

Sometime this fall, the city is finally going to take steps to demolish that half-assed Intel building. The eyesore has been stagnant for so long, we can't remember what was there before it existed. Probably a Liberty Lunch or Armadillo equivalent that became prey to evergrowing corporate needs to just build something. Intel pulled the plug on construction in 2001 with no intention to complete it. Now we know there were a gajillion cool things......

We can't count the number of times we've headed up to 9th and Congress for a little lunch-time falafel or some tangy baba ghanoush to go alongside our green bean salad and gyro. Our destination: Marakesh. For the past six or seven years, when you went it to the Middle Eastern restaurant, you were always certain to be met by the smiling face of owner Samir Saadeh. Saadeh was always happy to chat with the......

Austin's undisputed bastion of hard rock (not to mention proud home to head-banging, sweaty dudes with waist-length locks, and parking-lot brawls over meth deals gone bad) will soon be forced to close its doors......

We recently discovered a unique crepe stand in South Austin that gives us hope that not all French food here has to be expensive: Flip Happy Crepes is run out of a little Airstream trailer off of South Lamar in the parking lot between Floribunda and Flashback. All their savory crepes are around $5.50 or less, and their sweet crepes are $3.75 or less. We've been craving crepes as good as those we've enjoyed in......

Tonight, Monday, February 27th, SIDE BAR (602 East 7th St) will be having a benefit/fundraiser for the local nonprofit AUSTIN PETS ALIVE, who support no-kill solutions. So please come out to donate and then participate in a RAFFLE, DOOR PRIZES AND COMPLIMENTARY FOOD (with donation)! Starts at 7PM. Feel free to bring out your friendly canine friends (LEASHES REQUIRED)! Prizes include: -Running shoes from Runtex -Toros Tickets -Lunch at Pecan Street Cafe -Plus much,......

Aren't tubers fun? The versatile sweet potato happens to be one of our all-time favorite foods and while we missed the big sweet potato festival in Golden, Texas this year, we aren't giving up on eating lots of sweet potatos this autumn as part of our seasonal eating plan. So what exactly is a sweet potato and how does it differ from a yam?, you just might be asking. Sweet potatoes are simply pink......

Liberty Lunch, Steamboat, Twang Twang Shock-A-Boom … does anyone remember when the "Live Music Capital of the World" really was the "Live Music Capital of the World," or is it one of those myths like "growing up in the 50’s" where everybody knew your name and kids could ride their bikes down the street ‘til the sun went down? It seems that decades past always seem better than the present. Well, for anyone who......

We might as well dub this the Week of the Dance Party - Emo's on Monday, Beerland on Tuesday, Flamingo Cantina on Wednesday, The Parish on Thursday, and - best of all - Gallery Lombardi on Friday. Check it out, and pace yourselves. As always, feel free to contact us with any hot tips! MONDAY [music] Church of the Friendly Ghost may have postponed shows at their awesome Eastside house, but they're still bringing great......

There are so many panels at SXSW Interactive, we hardly know which ones to go to, but we'll do our best in recommending the exciting and/or most relevant ones. 1130: How to Leverage Solipsism - Lead by Peter "I coined the term 'blogger'" Merholz, this will be a panel about tagging and taxonomies -- the stuff that powers Flickr and Delicious. If you're into emerging web tech, which we very sadly are, this is one......