If you love Austin food, May has one event that belongs at the top of your calendar: Hot Luck Festival.

This isn’t your typical food festival where you walk around a giant parking lot eating the same five things from restaurant booths. Hot Luck is much more Austin than that. It’s a combination of incredible food, live-fire cooking, chefs from around the country, drinks, live music and late-night parties, all wrapped into one long Memorial Day Weekend celebration.

Founded in part by Aaron Franklin and built around Austin’s obsession with food, barbecue and live music, Hot Luck has become one of the city’s most interesting food events. The 2025 festival ran May 22-25 and featured several different food events, music events and chef-driven experiences around town.

And here’s the thing about Hot Luck:

You don’t go just to eat.

You go to hang out.

You go to drink.

You go to listen to music.

You go to discover chefs you haven’t heard of.

You go to eat food that you probably aren’t going to find on a normal Austin restaurant menu.

And you go because this is one of the few festivals where the food actually feels like the main attraction.

HOT LUCK IS NOT JUST ANOTHER FOOD FESTIVAL

Austin already has plenty of food festivals.

Hot Luck stands apart because it doesn’t try to feel like a giant corporate food expo.

The festival is built around chefs, restaurants, pitmasters and musicians, with events that feel more like giant backyard parties than formal culinary events.

The official festival describes Hot Luck as a celebration of live food and music, and that’s exactly what it feels like.

Food is being cooked over fire.

Drinks are flowing.

Music is playing.

People are hanging out.

And the chefs are right there.

THE 2025 FESTIVAL RAN MAY 22-25

Hot Luck 2025 took place over four days from Thursday, May 22 through Sunday, May 25.

That timing is perfect because it falls on Memorial Day Weekend, giving people an opportunity to turn the festival into an entire Austin getaway.

The 2025 schedule included Giddy Up, Nite Moves, Al Fuego and Camp Sunnyside, along with music events throughout the weekend.

Instead of one giant event on one day, Hot Luck gives you multiple reasons to come back.

GIDDY UP AT FRANKLIN BARBECUE

The weekend kicked off Thursday with Giddy Up at Franklin Barbecue.

And yes, there are few more Austin locations you could choose for a food festival than Franklin Barbecue.

Giddy Up served as the opening event for Whole Enchilada pass holders, with chefs including Aaron Franklin, Ana Castro, Amanda Shulman, Alex Kemp, Geoff Davis, Lawrence “LT” Smith and Nate Barfield.

This is one of those events where you immediately realize Hot Luck isn’t messing around.

You’re getting chefs from different parts of the country together in one place and letting them cook.

NITE MOVES IS WHERE THINGS GET REALLY FUN

One of the highlights of the 2025 festival was Nite Moves, the Friday night street-food-focused event at Assembly Hall.

This was a new addition for the 2025 festival and was designed around chefs putting their own spin on street food from around the world.

That’s exactly the type of Hot Luck event you want.

You aren’t necessarily getting a traditional restaurant dish.

You’re getting chefs experimenting.

And street food is the perfect format for it because you can walk around, grab something, try another dish and keep moving.

THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO EAT AT HOT LUCK

Don’t approach Hot Luck like a normal dinner.

Approach it like a food adventure.

Take small portions.

Try things you’ve never heard of.

Don’t spend all your time waiting for one dish.

Walk around.

Talk to people.

Look at what other people are eating.

If something looks incredible, go find it.

Then move on.

THE CHEFS ARE THE REAL CELEBRITIES

At Hot Luck, you don’t need to chase movie stars.

The celebrities are the chefs.

And the lineup is stacked.

The 2025 events brought together chefs from Austin and around the country, including people associated with restaurants such as My Loup, Burdell, Chilte, Eventide Oyster Co., Lao’d Bar, Ajja, Row 34, Mr. Tuna, OMG Squee, Mister Mao, Canje and Birdie’s.

That’s a ridiculous amount of culinary talent in one weekend.

THE BEST PART IS DISCOVERING SOMETHING NEW

If you’re already an Austin foodie, you’ve probably eaten at many of the city’s famous restaurants.

Hot Luck gives you an excuse to discover chefs from outside Austin.

You might taste something from a chef from New York.

Then something from New Orleans.

Then something from another Texas city.

Then you walk around the corner and find an Austin chef doing something completely different.

That’s what makes the event exciting.

AL FUEGO IS THE ONE FOR FIRE-COOKING FANS

Saturday’s Al Fuego is one of the signature Hot Luck events.

The entire concept revolves around cooking with live fire.

And if you love barbecue, this is the event you don’t want to miss.

We’re talking fire.

Smoke.

Grills.

Open pits.

Wood.

And chefs who know how to use all of it.

Hot Luck’s 2025 Al Fuego event took place at Jester King Brewery on Saturday, May 24.

JESTER KING MAKES AL FUEGO EVEN BETTER

Taking a live-fire food event out to Jester King is a perfect Austin combination.

You’ve got food.

Beer.

The Texas Hill Country atmosphere.

And chefs cooking over fire.

It feels much more like a giant backyard gathering than a formal food festival.

Wear comfortable clothes.

Bring your appetite.

And don’t expect to sit down for three hours.

THIS IS WHERE THE BOOTS COME IN

If there is ever an Austin food event where you can wear boots and not feel overdressed, this is it.

Hot Luck doesn’t require fancy clothes.

You want to be comfortable.

You want to walk.

You want to eat.

You want to drink.

You want to hang outside.

Think Texas casual.

CAMP SUNNYSIDE

Sunday brings Camp Sunnyside, another major Hot Luck experience.

The 2025 event was held at Fair Market and featured a large collection of chefs serving food in a lively indoor-outdoor party environment. The official Hot Luck material describes it as one of the largest culinary events of the weekend.

If you only have time for one major food event, this is one of the strongest choices.

THIS IS WHERE YOU WANT TO BRING YOUR FRIENDS

Camp Sunnyside is perfect for groups.

Everybody can walk around.

Everyone can try different food.

Nobody has to agree on one restaurant.

And you can compare what everybody finds.

It’s basically a giant group food crawl without having to drive all over Austin.

HOT LUCK IS ALSO A MUSIC FESTIVAL

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re going to eat and go home.

Music is a major part of Hot Luck.

The 2025 lineup included live performances at venues throughout Austin, with shows involving artists including White Denim and a variety of local and touring acts.

This is what separates Hot Luck from many other food festivals.

You can eat all day and then spend the evening listening to live music.

WHITE DENIM

White Denim was one of the bigger names on the 2025 Hot Luck music lineup, performing at High Noon on Saturday night.

That makes for a perfect Hot Luck night.

Eat.

Drink.

Listen to music.

Then keep the night going.

HIGH NOON IS A GREAT PLACE TO END THE NIGHT

High Noon is one of those Austin venues that fits perfectly into the Hot Luck atmosphere.

It’s intimate enough to feel like you’re actually seeing a band rather than watching a giant production.

And after spending the day eating, it’s a good place to burn off some calories by standing around listening to music.

HOTEL VEGAS AFTER DARK

If you’re not ready to go home after the main event, East Sixth Street is the obvious direction.

Hotel Vegas and the surrounding venues hosted Hot Luck-related music events during the 2025 festival.

This is where the food festival turns into a normal Austin night out.

Music.

Bars.

DJs.

People everywhere.

And plenty of options for continuing the evening.

HOT LUCK IS PERFECT FOR THE AUSTIN BAR SCENE

This is another reason I like Hot Luck.

You can spend the afternoon at a food event, then head into East Austin for drinks.

You don’t need to find a fancy cocktail lounge.

Grab a beer.

Find a patio.

Listen to a band.

Walk to another bar.

Hot Luck fits naturally into Austin’s nightlife.

THE BEST HOT LUCK NIGHT

Here’s the perfect plan:

5:00 p.m.

Start with a food event.

6:30 p.m.

Eat your way through the festival.

8:00 p.m.

Grab a drink.

9:00 p.m.

Head to a live music show.

11:00 p.m.

Go to East Sixth.

Midnight

Late-night food.

1:00 a.m.

One last drink.

That’s a proper Austin night.

DON’T FILL UP AT THE FIRST STOP

This is the most important food advice.

You will see something delicious.

You will want to eat all of it.

Don’t.

Take a bite.

Enjoy it.

Move on.

You have an entire festival ahead of you.

THE “ONE MORE BITE” PROBLEM

Hot Luck is dangerous for people who love food.

Because every time you’re full, you see something else.

“Oh, I’ll just try one.”

Then another.

Then another.

And suddenly you’re lying on a couch wondering why you ate six meals.

Pace yourself.

DRINK WATER

Hot Luck happens in May.

Austin can already be hot.

Combine that with outdoor events, food, beer and walking around and you can get dehydrated quickly.

Drink water between drinks.

You’ll enjoy the festival much more.

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE HEAT

May in Austin can feel like summer.

Wear lightweight clothes.

Bring sunscreen.

Wear comfortable shoes.

And don’t assume an outdoor event will have plenty of shade.

Plan accordingly.

HOT LUCK IS A GREAT DATE

If you want an Austin date that’s more interesting than dinner and a movie, Hot Luck is perfect.

You can walk around.

Try food.

Share bites.

Drink.

Listen to music.

And there’s always something to talk about.

The food provides an endless supply of conversation.

IT’S ALSO GREAT FOR FOOD NERDS

If you are the person who watches cooking shows, follows chefs on Instagram and knows the names of restaurants in cities you’ve never visited, you’re going to love this.

Because Hot Luck is basically your Super Bowl.

BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A FOODIE

That’s important.

You don’t need to know who any of the chefs are.

You don’t need to understand culinary techniques.

You don’t need to know the difference between every style of barbecue.

You just need to like eating.

And drinking.

And music.

That’s enough.

THE BEST HOT LUCK STRATEGY FOR FIRST-TIMERS

Don’t try to do everything.

Pick two major food events.

Pick one music event.

Leave the rest of the weekend open.

That way you’re not running from one location to another.

You’re actually enjoying yourself.

THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

For people who want the full experience, Hot Luck offers the Whole Enchilada pass.

The 2025 Whole Enchilada pass provided access to the full collection of Hot Luck events, including the opening Giddy Up party and the food and music programming throughout the weekend.

It’s the all-in option.

If you’re the person who wants to experience everything, this is the way to go.

BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO ALL-IN

If spending hundreds of dollars on a food festival isn’t your thing, don’t worry.

You can choose individual events.

Pick the event that sounds the most interesting.

Maybe you’re a barbecue person.

Go to Al Fuego.

Maybe you’re a street-food person.

Go to Nite Moves.

Maybe you want the biggest party.

Go to Camp Sunnyside.

Maybe you’re mostly there for music.

Pick a music event.

THE BEST EVENT FOR BARBECUE PEOPLE

Al Fuego.

It’s basically a celebration of cooking over live fire.

If you love smoked meat, grilled food and anything cooked over wood, start there.

THE BEST EVENT FOR STREET FOOD

Nite Moves.

The whole concept is centered around chefs putting their own spin on street food.

It’s ideal for people who like variety.

THE BEST EVENT FOR GROUPS

Camp Sunnyside.

Big.

Social.

Lots of food.

Lots of people.

Lots of options.

THE BEST EVENT FOR A DATE

Giddy Up.

Franklin Barbecue.

Chef-driven food.

Drinks.

And the whole thing feels special.

THE BEST EVENT FOR MUSIC

Look at the music schedule.

Hot Luck isn’t about one giant stage.

It’s about music integrated into the weekend.

That’s more Austin.

HOT LUCK IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM AUSTIN FOOD & WINE

Austin Food & Wine is a major culinary festival.

Hot Luck feels more relaxed.

More casual.

More Austin.

The food is still excellent, but the atmosphere is less about culinary demonstrations and more about eating, drinking and hanging out.

One is a traditional food festival.

The other feels like the biggest backyard party in Texas.

THE SECRET IS THE MIX

Food.

Music.

Beer.

Cocktails.

Chefs.

Barbecue.

Friends.

That combination is what makes Hot Luck work.

Take away any one of those things and it wouldn’t be the same.

WHY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND WORKS

The timing is perfect.

People already have a long weekend.

Austin is warm.

The city is busy.

Restaurants are active.

Music is everywhere.

And there’s enough time to make the festival part of a larger weekend.

You can spend Friday eating.

Saturday listening to music.

Sunday at Camp Sunnyside.

Monday recovering.

HOT LUCK IS ONE OF THE MOST AUSTIN EVENTS OF THE YEAR

SXSW is Austin’s giant international festival.

ACL is Austin’s giant music festival.

But Hot Luck feels more like the city itself.

Food.

Music.

Barbecue.

Drinks.

Local chefs.

National chefs.

East Austin bars.

Texas Hill Country.

And people who just want to have a good time.

THE BALLER ATX HOT LUCK GAME PLAN

Don’t try to eat everything.

Sample small portions.

Drink water.

Wear comfortable shoes.

Bring sunscreen.

Pick at least one event centered around live fire.

Try something from a chef you’ve never heard of.

Check out the music schedule.

Plan a night around East Sixth.

Don’t rush between events.

And save room for one more bite.

THE PERFECT HOT LUCK WEEKEND

Thursday: Giddy Up.

Friday: Nite Moves and live music.

Saturday: Al Fuego at Jester King, followed by music.

Sunday: Camp Sunnyside.

Monday: Sleep.

That’s the Hot Luck weekend.

THE BIGGEST TIP

Don’t treat Hot Luck like a food line.

Treat it like a party.

Walk around.

Talk to people.

Listen to music.

Try something strange.

Drink something cold.

Find a chef you like.

Go back for another bite.

And don’t worry about seeing everything.

The event is designed for you to wander.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Hot Luck is one of the best food events Austin has created because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The food is serious.

The chefs are serious.

The cooking is serious.

But the experience is about having fun.

You can eat incredible food cooked over live fire.

You can try dishes from chefs from around the country.

You can drink.

You can listen to live music.

You can hang out with friends.

You can explore East Austin afterward.

And you can spend an entire Memorial Day Weekend doing what Austin does best:

Eating, drinking, listening to music and having a damn good time.

If you’re only going to put one food festival on your May calendar, make it Hot Luck.

**Come hungry.

Come thirsty.

Bring your friends.

And don’t forget your dancing boots.

There are a lot of things people associate with Austin: live music, tacos, SXSW, Barton Springs, bats, barbecue and the University of Texas.

But there is one Austin tradition that somehow still feels like a secret to a lot of people.

It’s BBQ Austin, the barbecue competition that kicks off the Rodeo Austin season at the Travis County Expo Center.

And if you’ve never been, you’re probably picturing a bunch of guys standing around smokers while judges walk around tasting brisket.

That’s only part of it.

BBQ Austin is more like somebody took an old-school Texas barbecue cook-off, dropped it onto a giant fairground, added dozens of tents, live music, cold drinks, Western culture and thousands of people, and then told everybody to come hang out.

And the best part is that your admission gets you into the public tasting areas, where barbecue teams offer samples as part of the competition. Rodeo Austin describes the BBQ Austin ticket as providing access to all public tasting tents and onsite vendors.

This is one of those Austin events where you can spend an entire day wandering around, eating barbecue, drinking, listening to bands and feeling like you’ve temporarily left the city.

THIS IS AUSTIN’S OLD WEST

If you’re looking for something that feels completely different from downtown Austin, this is it.

You pull into the Expo Center and suddenly the atmosphere changes.

Cowboy hats.

Boots.

Smokers.

BBQ pits.

Western decorations.

Huge tents.

Live music.

The smell of wood smoke everywhere.

People carrying plates of barbecue.

And teams that have spent days preparing for the competition.

It doesn’t feel like a restaurant.

It doesn’t feel like a normal festival.

It feels like an old-fashioned Texas gathering that somehow survived into modern Austin.

And that’s exactly why it’s so much fun.

THE SECRET IS THE TASTING TENTS

This is the part I wish more people knew about.

The teams aren’t simply cooking barbecue for themselves.

Public tasting tents are part of BBQ Austin, giving attendees the opportunity to sample what teams are cooking.

That means you aren’t walking around looking at smokers wishing you could taste something.

You’re actually participating.

And if you’re smart about it, you can turn the entire event into a barbecue tasting tour.

DON’T JUST EAT AT THE FIRST TENT

This is the biggest rookie mistake.

You walk through the entrance.

You smell brisket.

You see a tent.

You stop.

You eat.

You’re full.

Then you realize there are dozens of other teams.

Don’t do that.

Take your time.

Walk around first.

Look at the tents.

See who’s cooking.

Then start sampling.

You don’t have to eat a full plate at every stop.

Small samples add up quickly.

BBQ AUSTIN IS NOT JUST BRISKET

Yes, brisket is going to be everywhere.

But don’t limit yourself.

You’re going to encounter ribs.

Sausage.

Chicken.

Pulled pork.

Sides.

Desserts.

Different rubs.

Different sauces.

Different cooking styles.

That’s what makes a competition like this interesting.

Two people can cook the same cut of meat and produce something completely different.

THIS IS WHY AUSTIN BARBECUE IS SO SERIOUS

Austin has become one of the most important barbecue cities in the country.

People fly here to eat brisket.

They wait in line for hours.

They plan entire vacations around barbecue.

But BBQ Austin gives you something different from the famous restaurant experience.

Instead of going to one legendary restaurant and ordering one plate, you get to sample barbecue from a large number of teams in one place.

That’s a pretty good deal.

THE MUSIC IS A HUGE PART OF IT

This isn’t a quiet barbecue competition.

There are stages and tents with live entertainment throughout the event.

You can walk around listening to different bands while you’re eating and drinking.

One tent might have country music.

Another might have rock.

Another might have a local singer.

And somewhere nearby, somebody is probably playing something that makes you stop and listen.

This is where BBQ Austin starts feeling like an Austin event instead of simply a barbecue contest.

EVERY TENT HAS ITS OWN PERSONALITY

This is probably my favorite part.

Don’t assume all the tents are going to feel the same.

They’re not.

Some teams go all-in on the decorations.

Some have elaborate setups.

Some feel like giant backyard parties.

Some are more polished.

Some are loud.

Some are relaxed.

And some look like somebody decided they were going to build a temporary bar in the middle of a barbecue competition.

Walk around.

Explore.

That’s the experience.

THE DRINKING IS PART OF THE EXPERIENCE

Let’s talk about the part everybody wants to know about.

BBQ Austin is definitely a social event, and beer and other beverages are part of the festival atmosphere.

But don’t confuse access to public tasting tents with an official “all-you-can-drink” admission benefit. The official Rodeo Austin information specifically describes the admission as access to public tasting tents and onsite vendors; beverages are not described as unlimited with admission.

That said, there are plenty of opportunities to grab a drink, settle into a tent and make an afternoon of it.

And once you’ve been walking around smelling barbecue for a couple of hours, sitting down with a cold beer feels pretty perfect.

MAKE A DAY OF IT

Don’t treat BBQ Austin like a quick lunch stop.

That’s another mistake.

If you’re going to go, give yourself several hours.

Arrive.

Walk around.

Taste.

Listen to music.

Drink something.

Visit another tent.

Eat again.

Watch people.

Find another band.

Then do it all over again.

This is one of those events where the whole point is hanging around.

THE COWBOY HAT IS OPTIONAL

But highly encouraged.

Seriously.

You don’t have to dress like a cowboy.

But this is one of those Austin events where you’ll fit right in wearing boots, jeans and a hat.

And if you’re taking pictures, the Western atmosphere makes for some pretty good ones.

DON’T WORRY IF YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BBQ COMPETITIONS

You don’t need to understand judging categories.

You don’t need to know which smoker is best.

You don’t need to know the difference between every competition rule.

Just eat.

Listen.

Ask questions.

If you see somebody doing something interesting with a smoker, ask them about it.

Barbecue people generally love talking about barbecue.

THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS GOING TO FRANKLIN BARBECUE

That’s an important distinction.

At a famous Austin BBQ restaurant, you’re going specifically for the food.

At BBQ Austin, you’re going for the entire experience.

The barbecue is obviously the star.

But the music, tents, people, drinks, competition and Western atmosphere are what turn it into an event.

It’s barbecue as entertainment.

THE SOCIAL SIDE IS HALF THE FUN

BBQ Austin is a great place to bring a group of friends.

It’s easy to split up.

One person can go check out a band.

Another can find barbecue.

Someone else can grab drinks.

Then everybody meets back at a tent.

You don’t have to spend the entire day together.

That makes it a particularly good group event.

IT’S ALSO A GREAT DATE

If you’re looking for something different from the standard Austin dinner-and-drinks date, try this.

Go to BBQ Austin.

Walk around.

Taste barbecue.

Listen to music.

Grab a beer.

Find a tent.

Talk.

It’s casual.

Nobody has to dress up.

There’s always something happening.

And if the date goes badly, there are enough people and enough things happening that you can escape into the crowd.

If it goes well, you’ve got an entire afternoon together.

THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THE FOOD

Think of yourself as a barbecue sampler.

Don’t eat like you’re at lunch.

Eat like you’re judging.

Small portions.

Taste.

Compare.

Move on.

Maybe one team has incredible brisket.

Another has amazing sausage.

Another has ribs that completely surprise you.

By the end of the day, you’ll have your own personal BBQ Austin ranking.

And that’s half the fun.

MAKE YOUR OWN BBQ RANKINGS

After you’ve tried several tents, start keeping track.

Best brisket.

Best ribs.

Best sausage.

Best side.

Best dessert.

Best overall tent.

Best music.

Best atmosphere.

Best place to hang out.

By the end of the day, you’re basically running your own barbecue competition.

DON’T FORGET THE SIDES

This is where people get distracted by brisket.

Don’t.

Some of the best barbecue experiences are about the sides.

Beans.

Potato salad.

Coleslaw.

Mac and cheese.

Corn.

Bread.

Pickles.

Whatever the teams are serving.

Try them.

You may find something you like almost as much as the meat.

COME HUNGRY

Obviously.

But don’t arrive starving and immediately eat a giant plate.

You need stamina.

BBQ Austin is a marathon.

Not a sprint.

Start with smaller portions.

Walk.

Drink water.

Listen to music.

Then eat again.

WATER IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Especially if you’re drinking.

You’re outside.

You’re walking.

You’re eating salty food.

You’re drinking.

Stay hydrated.

There is no prize for being the person who gets completely destroyed by barbecue and beer before the afternoon is over.

PARKING IS SOMETHING TO PLAN FOR

The event is held at the Travis County Expo Center, northeast of downtown Austin.

That means you’re not casually walking there from Sixth Street.

If you’re driving, plan ahead.

Rodeo Austin’s official information lists parking as a separate expense, and the organization recommends purchasing tickets ahead of time to avoid entry delays.

If you’re drinking, designate a driver or use a rideshare.

Don’t turn a fun barbecue day into a bad decision.

THIS IS WHY FEBRUARY IS THE PERFECT TIME TO START TALKING ABOUT BBQ AUSTIN

Even though the main BBQ Austin event occurs in March, February is when you should start making plans.

Rodeo Austin’s BBQ Austin event is the opening act for the larger Rodeo Austin season.

In 2025, BBQ Austin ran March 7-9, followed by the main Rodeo Austin Fair & Rodeo March 14-29. The 2025 BBQ Austin event drew nearly 51,000 people over its two-day competition period, according to Rodeo Austin’s post-event report.

That’s not some tiny neighborhood cook-off.

That’s a major Central Texas event.

THE BBQ COMPETITION IS SERIOUS

Behind all the partying, these teams are actually competing.

BBQ Austin is sanctioned by the Champions Barbeque Alliance, and teams compete under formal barbecue competition rules.

So while you’re walking around eating and listening to music, the people cooking the food are taking it very seriously.

That’s part of what makes the event fascinating.

You get the party.

They get the pressure.

YOU’RE WATCHING PEOPLE COMPETE FOR BRAGGING RIGHTS

These teams aren’t just trying to make good barbecue.

They’re trying to make the barbecue that beats everybody else.

That means they’re thinking about temperature.

Smoke.

Seasoning.

Timing.

Texture.

Presentation.

Every little detail matters.

And you’re getting a chance to taste some of the results.

THE OLD-WEST FEEL IS WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL

There are plenty of food festivals in Austin.

There are plenty of music festivals.

There are plenty of places to drink.

But BBQ Austin feels different because it combines all of those things with a distinctly Texas atmosphere.

Smokers.

Cowboys.

Boots.

Western music.

Barbecue.

Big tents.

Cold drinks.

And people who are genuinely proud of what they’re cooking.

It feels like stepping into another version of Texas.

BRING YOUR FRIENDS WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN

This is the person you want to take.

The friend who thinks they’ve done everything in Austin.

The friend who has been to SXSW 20 times.

The friend who thinks they’ve eaten at every BBQ restaurant in town.

Take them to BBQ Austin.

Walk them through the tents.

Let them taste the food.

Watch them realize they had never experienced this side of Austin.

IT’S ONE OF THOSE EVENTS THAT TOURISTS MISS

Tourists know Franklin.

They know Terry Black’s.

They know South Congress.

They know Sixth Street.

They know Barton Springs.

But events like BBQ Austin are where you can show somebody what Central Texas actually feels like.

It’s not polished.

It’s not fancy.

It’s not designed around Instagram.

It’s people gathering around food.

And that’s about as Texas as it gets.

THE BALLER ATX BBQ AUSTIN GAME PLAN

Arrive early enough to beat the biggest crowds.

Walk the entire area before eating.

Pick several tents to try.

Sample instead of filling up immediately.

Check out the live music.

Grab a drink.

Drink plenty of water.

Find a tent where you can sit and hang out.

Try more barbecue.

Compare the teams.

Take pictures.

Talk to the cooks.

Stay for the music.

And don’t forget that you’re at a competition, not just a food festival.

THE PERFECT BBQ AUSTIN DAY

Here’s how I would do it.

11:00 a.m.

Arrive and walk around.

11:30 a.m.

First barbecue tastings.

12:30 p.m.

Explore more tents.

1:00 p.m.

Grab a drink.

1:30 p.m.

Listen to live music.

2:00 p.m.

More barbecue.

3:00 p.m.

Find a tent and hang out.

4:00 p.m.

Start comparing your favorites.

5:00 p.m.

More music.

6:00 p.m.

Final food run.

7:00 p.m.

One last drink and enjoy the atmosphere.

Then head home before you’re too full to move.

THE BIGGEST TIP: DON’T RUSH

This is not an event you should rush through.

The whole point is wandering.

You’re supposed to see a tent that looks interesting.

You’re supposed to hear a band you didn’t expect.

You’re supposed to smell barbecue and follow it.

You’re supposed to sit down with friends and lose track of time.

That’s the experience.

WHY I CALL IT AUSTIN’S BEST-KEPT SECRET

Maybe it’s not technically a secret anymore.

Nearly 51,000 people attended the 2025 BBQ Austin competition.

But compared with Austin’s giant nationally famous events, it still feels like something many locals haven’t discovered.

And that’s what makes it special.

You get a huge Texas experience without the overwhelming feeling of SXSW.

You get barbecue without spending $40 on one plate.

You get music without buying a festival wristband.

And you get an atmosphere that feels like old Texas rather than modern downtown Austin.

FEBRUARY’S HOMEWORK

If you’ve never been, put BBQ Austin on your March calendar now.

Don’t wait until the last minute.

Get your friends together.

Decide who’s driving.

Buy your admission.

Come hungry.

And leave plenty of room in your schedule.

Because once you walk through those gates and smell all that smoke, you’re probably going to want to stay a lot longer than you planned.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Austin has plenty of famous food events.

But BBQ Austin is different.

It’s a barbecue competition.

It’s a music event.

It’s a drinking-and-socializing event.

It’s a Western festival.

It’s a giant outdoor gathering.

And it’s a chance to taste barbecue from competition teams while walking through a collection of tents that each have their own personality.

It’s the kind of event where you can show up wearing jeans and boots, eat barbecue, listen to a band, drink a cold beer, meet new people and spend the entire day feeling like you’ve been dropped into an old Texas town.

And that’s exactly why it deserves more attention.

**Forget the fancy dinner for one weekend.

Put on your boots.

Head to the Expo Center.

Follow the smoke.

Find the tents.

Taste everything.

Listen to the music.

And experience one of Austin’s best-kept secrets before everybody else figures it out.

August might be the hardest month to explain to somebody who doesn’t live in Austin.

It’s brutally hot. The swimming holes are packed. Everybody is sweating. Patios that looked like a great idea at 6 p.m. can become unbearable by 7. And yet, somehow, Austin’s nightlife gets even better.

Maybe it’s because everybody has figured out the summer routine by now.

You stay inside during the worst part of the afternoon, find a pool or watering hole when you can, and then start your actual night once the sun goes down.

August is also a month when Austin’s bar and restaurant scene gets interesting because new places are opening while some longtime favorites are changing. A number of new food and drink concepts were announced or opened around the city during the month, including a new South Austin dive bar from the people behind Lala’s Little Nugget, a new East Austin sports bar, a new coffee-and-cocktail concept and several new restaurant and food-truck projects.

But if you’re looking for the most Austin way to spend August, don’t overthink it.

Find a good dive bar.

Get something cold.

Eat something greasy.

Listen to some music.

And stay inside until the sun goes down.

AUGUST IS DIVE BAR SEASON

There are fancy cocktail bars in Austin.

There are rooftop bars.

There are hotel bars.

There are breweries with beautiful outdoor spaces.

But when August gets brutally hot, sometimes you don’t want any of that.

You want air conditioning.

You want a cold beer.

You want a bartender who doesn’t care what you’re wearing.

And you want a place where you can sit for three hours without anybody asking you to move.

That’s where Austin’s dive bars come in.

The city’s dive-bar culture is one of the things that separates Austin from a lot of other rapidly growing cities. New restaurants and expensive cocktail lounges continue opening, but the old-school bars haven’t disappeared.

In fact, they’re arguably more important than ever.

THE BEST DIVE BARS FOR AUGUST

If you’re building a Baller ATX dive-bar crawl, start with the classics.

Lala’s Little Nugget is still one of the city’s essential stops. The North Austin bar is famous for its Christmas decorations, which stay up year-round, and its old-school neighborhood-bar atmosphere.

It’s not trying to be trendy.

That’s exactly why people love it.

Don’s Depot is another Austin institution. Located in an old train depot, it’s the type of place that feels completely different from the polished cocktail bars downtown.

The White Horse is the place to go when you want a dive bar mixed with live music and dancing.

The Skylark Lounge offers another side of Austin’s nightlife, with a strong connection to local music and an old-school neighborhood-bar feel.

Sahara Lounge is another longtime favorite, particularly if music is the reason you’re going out.

And then there’s Nickel City, which has become one of the city’s most popular places to start or finish a night.

These aren’t necessarily identical experiences.

That’s the point.

A good dive-bar list should give you options.

THE NEW DIVE BAR EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT

August 2024 brought an especially Austin opening when Lala’s Little Nugget expanded south with Lala’s South Pole.

The new South Austin bar brought the same Christmas-all-year concept to a new neighborhood, creating an immediate destination for people who love the original Lala’s but don’t necessarily want to drive north.

It’s the kind of expansion that makes sense for Austin.

Take a beloved local concept.

Move it to another part of town.

Keep the personality.

Give another neighborhood a reason to visit.

The South Pole opening was one of the more interesting bar stories of the month.

And yes, the Christmas decorations remain part of the appeal.

Because in Austin, there apparently is no reason to wait until December to celebrate Christmas.

EAST AUSTIN IS GETTING ANOTHER SPORTS BAR

Another notable August development was the arrival of WTF Sporting Club, a new East Austin sports bar taking over the former Easy Tiger/LaV space on East Seventh.

The concept is part of the continuing evolution of East Seventh, which has become one of the city’s most interesting areas for restaurants, bars and nightlife.

The timing is particularly good.

Football season is approaching.

College football is about to become a major part of Austin’s social calendar.

And sports bars are getting ready for crowds.

August is when you should start figuring out where you’re going to watch games before September arrives.

THE FOOD SCENE ISN’T TAKING AUGUST OFF

It would be easy to assume restaurants slow down during the hottest month of the year.

They don’t.

Austin’s restaurant scene continues to change at an incredible pace.

August brought new restaurants, new food trucks, expansions and announcements about places that were coming later in the year.

One of the more interesting developments was Good Vibrations Pizza Co. moving into Vacancy Brewing in South Austin.

Pizza and beer is not exactly a complicated concept.

But it is an extremely good one.

Especially when it’s 100 degrees outside and you don’t want to spend your Saturday driving all over the city.

Grab a beer.

Order a pizza.

Find some shade.

Stay awhile.

COFFEE IS BECOMING PART OF THE BAR SCENE

Another trend worth watching is the increasing overlap between coffee shops and cocktail bars.

One East Austin cocktail bar added a daytime café component, bringing coffee, sandwiches and coworking into a space that normally comes alive at night.

That reflects something Austin has been doing increasingly well: creating businesses that change personalities throughout the day.

Coffee in the morning.

Lunch in the afternoon.

Cocktails at night.

It’s a smart model in a city where people increasingly work remotely and don’t necessarily want to spend their entire day at home.

MERCADO SIN NOMBRE BRINGS SOMETHING DIFFERENT

August also saw attention around Mercado Sin Nombre, a Mexican café concept focused on coffee and masa.

The idea is particularly interesting because it isn’t simply another coffee shop selling pastries.

It’s using Mexican ingredients and traditions as a major part of the identity.

Austin has always had a strong coffee culture, but the city’s newer cafés are becoming more creative about what coffee can be paired with.

And that’s something worth watching as the food scene continues evolving.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE FOOD TRUCKS

August is also a great month to eat at food trucks.

Why?

Because you can avoid the formal restaurant experience.

You don’t necessarily need a reservation.

You don’t have to dress up.

And if the food is great, that’s all that matters.

Austin’s food-truck culture remains one of the best ways to discover new chefs and concepts before they become established restaurants.

Some trucks will eventually disappear.

Some will move.

Some will open brick-and-mortar restaurants.

And some will become Austin institutions.

That’s part of the fun.

THE BIG AUGUST FOOD MOVE: KEEP WATCHING WHAT’S OPENING

One of the biggest stories in Austin’s food scene isn’t always what’s already open.

It’s what’s coming.

August brought announcements about several future restaurants and food concepts, including OroBianco Italian Creamery’s plans for a gelato truck on South Congress, Amanda Rockman’s upcoming Rockman Coffee + Bakeshop in Holly and a Japanese all-you-can-eat wagyu barbecue restaurant planned for Barton Creek Square.

That’s the kind of information worth paying attention to.

Because by the time everybody starts talking about a restaurant, the people who follow Austin’s food scene have usually known about it for months.

AUGUST IS THE LAST REAL SUMMER MONTH

Technically, summer doesn’t end until September.

But August feels like the final stretch.

School is starting.

College students are returning.

Football is coming.

The weather is still brutal.

And everybody is beginning to think about fall.

That means August is your last chance to embrace the summer lifestyle before the calendar starts changing.

Go swimming.

Have a frozen drink.

Eat outside after sunset.

See a concert.

Stay out late.

Then do it again.

GO SWIMMING BEFORE YOU GO OUT

One of the best August strategies is to make the water part of your afternoon.

Barton Springs.

Deep Eddy.

Twin Falls.

Sculpture Falls when conditions are good.

McKinney Falls.

Pick one.

Spend the afternoon cooling off.

Then head home, shower and change.

By the time you go out for dinner, you’ll feel like you’ve actually had a full day.

DON’T TRY TO DO THE GREENBELT AT 3 P.M.

This sounds obvious.

It’s not.

August heat plus a long hike plus limited shade is not a great combination.

If you’re hiking the Greenbelt, go early.

Or wait until later.

And always check the water conditions before making swimming the main purpose of the trip.

The Greenbelt can change dramatically depending on rainfall.

THE FROZEN DRINK IS STILL KING

August is the month when nobody should judge you for ordering a frozen cocktail.

Margarita?

Yes.

Daiquiri?

Absolutely.

Frozen Mexican martini?

Why not?

Anything blended with enough ice to make you temporarily forget that it’s 102 degrees?

Perfect.

The only problem is that frozen drinks can hide how much alcohol you’re consuming.

So drink water.

Eat something.

And don’t make your third frozen drink the size of your first.

THE BEST NIGHTLIFE STARTS LATE

If you’re planning a bar night in August, don’t rush.

Have dinner around 7.

Go somewhere with air conditioning.

Have a drink.

Wait until the sun disappears.

Then start moving.

At 9 p.m., Austin starts feeling dramatically different from 3 p.m.

The streets are more comfortable.

Patios become usable.

People start coming out.

And the whole city feels like it has been waiting for sunset.

RED RIVER IS STILL A SAFE BET

If you’re looking for live music, Red River remains one of the easiest places to build a night.

You don’t need to plan every detail.

Pick a venue.

See a band.

Walk to another venue.

Grab food.

Find another show.

That’s one of the best things about Austin’s concentrated music districts.

You can improvise.

EAST SIXTH IS FOR THE BAR CRAWL

If your goal is drinking rather than concerts, East Sixth is still one of the best areas to start.

Dive bars.

Cocktail bars.

Sports bars.

Restaurants.

Live music.

The neighborhood has enough variety that you can change your mind five times and still find somewhere to go.

And August is exactly when you want that flexibility.

Maybe you start at a dive bar.

Then somebody wants cocktails.

Then somebody wants food.

Then somebody wants music.

No problem.

SOUTH CONGRESS FOR A DIFFERENT VIBE

South Congress is a better choice if you want something a little more relaxed.

Dinner.

Shopping.

Drinks.

Music.

People-watching.

It works particularly well for visitors because there is always something to do without needing to drive between five different neighborhoods.

AUGUST IS ALSO WHEN FOOTBALL STARTS CREEPING INTO THE CONVERSATION

Even before the first big games arrive, Austin starts talking football.

Where are we watching?

Who’s tailgating?

Which bars are going to be packed?

Where can you actually get a seat?

Which restaurant has the best game-day food?

Those questions become much more important once September arrives.

August is the month to start figuring it out.

THE BALLER ATX AUGUST DIVE-BAR CRAWL

If you want to make a night out of Austin’s dive-bar culture, here’s a good approach.

Start north with Lala’s Little Nugget.

Work your way toward central Austin.

Stop at Don’s Depot.

Head toward Red River.

Grab food.

Listen to some music.

Then finish somewhere on East Sixth.

Or reverse it.

Start on the East Side and work your way north.

The important thing is not to try to hit ten bars in one night.

Three or four good ones is plenty.

You’re trying to experience the bars, not collect them like baseball cards.

AUGUST IS FOR THE LOCALS

This might be one of the best things about the month.

The tourists who came for SXSW are long gone.

The big spring festival season is over.

The weather is keeping some people indoors.

And the people who are still going out are the people who know how to handle Austin in August.

They know which bars have the best air conditioning.

They know which pools aren’t completely insane at noon.

They know where the coldest beer is.

They know where to get a late-night taco.

And they know that the best time to do anything outside is after the sun goes down.

THE AUGUST RULES

Rule one: Don’t underestimate the heat.

Rule two: Drink water.

Rule three: Eat before you start drinking.

Rule four: Check swimming conditions before hiking to a swimming hole.

Rule five: Go outside early or late.

Rule six: Don’t be afraid of a dive bar.

Rule seven: Try a new restaurant.

Rule eight: Start thinking about football.

Rule nine: Don’t spend your entire night sitting in traffic.

Rule ten: When in doubt, find a cold drink.

THE BALLER ATX AUGUST GAME PLAN

Start the day with breakfast tacos.

Get coffee.

Spend the morning swimming.

Take a long afternoon break inside.

Come back out around 6.

Find dinner somewhere you’ve never tried.

Get a frozen drink.

Listen to live music.

Hit a dive bar.

Grab tacos before heading home.

Sleep late.

Repeat.

That’s August in Austin.

THE END OF SUMMER IS CLOSE

August is hot.

There’s no way around it.

But it’s also one of the most authentic Austin months because the city has learned how to work around the heat.

People don’t stop going out.

They simply change the schedule.

Early mornings.

Late afternoons.

Long dinners.

Cold drinks.

Night swimming.

Live music after dark.

And bars with air conditioning.

By the end of August, everybody will be ready for fall.

But don’t rush it.

There are still swimming holes to explore, new restaurants to try, dive bars to discover and plenty of nights left to sit outside with a cold drink.

Summer isn’t over yet.

So go enjoy it while it lasts.

November might be one of the best months of the year to be in Austin.

The brutal summer heat has finally backed off, patios are enjoyable again, the holiday madness hasn’t completely taken over, and the city’s restaurants, chefs and bars are coming off another busy year of feeding one of the country’s most food-obsessed cities.

And then there is the weekend that brings all of that together.

The Austin Food + Wine Festival.

On November 4 and 5, 2023, Auditorium Shores will once again turn into one of the biggest food-and-drink playgrounds in Austin as chefs, pitmasters, bartenders, winemakers and food lovers gather for two days of eating, drinking and showing off what makes the Central Texas food scene so good. The 2023 festival was the 12th edition of the event and featured chefs from Austin and around the country.

For Baller ATX, this is one of those November events that is almost impossible to skip.

Austin has plenty of food festivals, but Austin Food + Wine is different.

This is the weekend when you can walk into one area and sample dishes from dozens of chefs without having to drive across the city.

You can eat barbecue.

Then tacos.

Then oysters.

Then pasta.

Then chocolate.

Then something you can’t pronounce.

Then wash it all down with wine, beer or a cocktail.

And then, because you are apparently making excellent decisions, you go back for another plate.

That’s the festival.

THIS IS NOT JUST A WINE FESTIVAL

The name can be a little misleading.

If you hear “Austin Food + Wine Festival” and assume you’re going to spend the weekend standing around sipping Chardonnay, you’re missing half the experience.

Actually, you’re missing most of it.

The food is the star.

The 2023 festival’s Chef Showcase brought together an enormous group of Austin-area chefs and restaurants, including Alma Alcocer of El Alma, Tano Avila of Grizzelda’s, Ji Peng Chen of Wu Chow, Jason Dady, Barrett Black of The Original Black’s BBQ, Joseph Gomez of Con Todo, Roberto Espinosa of Tacodeli, Liz and Stephanie Everett of Ensenada, Anthony Sobotik and Kendall Melton of Lick Honest Ice Cream, Paul Qui and the East Side King team, Jam Sanitchat of Thai Fresh and many more.

That’s what makes the event so fun.

You don’t have to pick one restaurant.

You don’t have to make a reservation six weeks in advance.

You don’t have to decide between tacos and barbecue.

You can eat all of them.

THE CHEF SHOWCASE IS THE MAIN EVENT

If you’re going to Austin Food + Wine, the Chef Showcase is where you want to spend serious time.

Imagine walking through a giant outdoor food festival and seeing restaurant after restaurant represented by the chefs actually cooking the food.

Instead of ordering one entrée at one restaurant, you get small bites from a huge selection of kitchens.

That means you can sample something from a restaurant you’ve been meaning to try without committing to an entire dinner.

And that’s one of my favorite things about the festival.

It turns the entire city into a tasting menu.

You can find established Austin institutions alongside newer restaurants that are trying to make a name for themselves.

You might discover your next favorite restaurant simply because you liked one bite.

And that is exactly how Austin’s food scene should be experienced.

THE FIRE PIT IS WHERE THINGS GET SERIOUS

Then there is the Fire Pit.

If barbecue and live-fire cooking are your thing, this is probably where you’re going to spend most of your time.

The Fire Pit features chefs and pitmasters cooking over open flames, giving attendees a chance to watch the cooking process and, more importantly, eat the results.

In 2023, the lineup included chefs such as Adrian Abella and Camille De Los Reyes of Sari-Sari Supper Club, Vinnie Cimino of Cordelia, Jason Dady, Leo Davila of Stixs & Stone, Harold Marmulstein of Salty Sow and Esaul Ramos of 2M Smokehouse BBQ.

And Esaul Ramos being part of the lineup is exactly the kind of thing that makes the festival worth attending.

2M Smokehouse has become one of the names people associate with serious Austin barbecue, and getting to taste food prepared by chefs and pitmasters like these in a festival setting is a completely different experience from going out for a normal Saturday lunch.

The Fire Pit also captures something important about Texas food.

Cooking over fire isn’t a gimmick here.

It’s part of the culture.

Barbecue.

Grilling.

Smoking.

Roasting.

Open-fire cooking.

Texas has built an identity around it, and Austin Food + Wine gives chefs an opportunity to put their own spin on those traditions.

WINE, BEER AND COCKTAILS

Obviously, the wine part matters.

The festival brings together wine and spirits producers, giving attendees the opportunity to taste things they may not normally find at their neighborhood restaurant or bar.

And that’s another reason you need a strategy.

Do not start drinking heavily the moment you walk through the gate.

You’re going to be there for hours.

There is food everywhere.

There are wine samples.

There are cocktails.

There are beers.

There are demonstrations.

There are people offering you things.

And eventually, if you aren’t careful, you’re going to be sitting underneath a tree wondering why you thought drinking your way through an entire festival was a good idea.

Pace yourself.

Drink water.

Eat.

Then drink some more.

The Austin Chronicle’s 2022 preview gave essentially the same warning, describing the festival as a particularly boozy event and recommending that attendees alternate alcohol with water or mocktails and plan transportation in advance.

It’s good advice.

THIS IS WHERE YOU FIND YOUR NEXT RESTAURANT

One of the best strategies at Austin Food + Wine is to stop thinking about what you already know.

Yes, go to the chefs and restaurants you’re excited about.

But leave room for something new.

If you’ve never tried a particular restaurant, this is the perfect opportunity.

Maybe you see a dish that looks interesting.

Try it.

Maybe somebody recommends a chef you’ve never heard of.

Go.

Maybe the line at your favorite restaurant is ridiculous.

Walk somewhere else.

The entire point of a festival like this is discovery.

And Austin has enough restaurants that you could spend the rest of your life trying to eat at all of them.

The festival gives you a shortcut.

THE 2023 LINEUP IS A SNAPSHOT OF AUSTIN’S FOOD SCENE

Look at the 2023 chef list and you’ll see just how diverse Austin’s food scene had become.

There were Mexican restaurants.

Barbecue.

Italian.

Chinese.

Thai.

Japanese.

Seafood.

Bakeries.

Ice cream.

Chocolate.

Cocktails.

And plenty of restaurants that don’t fit neatly into one category.

Chefs from places such as Wu Chow, Intero, Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar, Thai Fresh, Ensenada, Con Todo, Lick Honest Ice Cream, Tacodeli and East Side King were represented.

That is a pretty good snapshot of modern Austin.

The city still loves tacos and barbecue.

Obviously.

But the food scene has expanded dramatically.

Austin has become a city where you can eat incredibly well across a huge range of cuisines without needing to leave town.

And Food + Wine is one weekend where you get to see all of it at once.

DON’T MISS THE CHEF DEMONSTRATIONS

If you’re someone who actually likes cooking, don’t spend the entire weekend standing in food lines.

Check out the chef demonstrations.

These are one of the more interesting parts of the festival because you aren’t just eating.

You’re learning.

Chefs demonstrate techniques, recipes and cooking methods, and some of the most interesting information comes from watching how professionals approach ingredients that you might normally ignore.

Even if you don’t cook, they’re entertaining.

And if you’re the person who always says, “I could make that at home,” this is where you get to find out whether you actually can.

Probably not.

But it’s worth trying.

THE BEST PART: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A FOODIE

There is sometimes a perception that Austin Food + Wine is only for hardcore food people.

It isn’t.

You don’t have to know who every chef is.

You don’t have to understand wine.

You don’t need to know the difference between every type of olive oil.

You don’t need to watch cooking shows.

You don’t need an Instagram food account.

You just need to like eating.

That’s pretty much the only qualification.

If you like food, you’re going to have a good time.

If you like drinks, you’re going to have a good time.

If you like watching people cook, you’re going to have a good time.

And if you like all three?

You’re probably going to need somebody to roll you home.

THE BATTLE BETWEEN QUALITY AND QUANTITY

There is one problem with the festival.

There is too much food.

That’s a good problem.

But it’s still a problem.

The first hour is easy.

You’re excited.

You see a taco.

You eat it.

Then you see barbecue.

You eat it.

Then you see pasta.

You eat it.

Then dessert.

You eat it.

Then another taco.

Then something else.

Suddenly you realize you’ve been at the festival for three hours and you’re completely full.

And there are still dozens of things you haven’t tried.

That’s why small portions are your friend.

Take your time.

Share.

If you’re with friends, don’t have everybody get the same thing.

Get different dishes and try everything.

The goal isn’t to eat the most.

It’s to eat the best.

COME HUNGRY. BUT DON’T COME STARVING.

This sounds contradictory, but it’s important.

Don’t eat a giant breakfast before you arrive.

But don’t show up completely empty either.

Have something light.

Then start tasting.

You’re going to be drinking too, and drinking on an empty stomach at a food festival is a terrible strategy.

You’ll feel great for about 45 minutes.

Then you won’t.

WHAT TO WEAR

November is one of the best months for an outdoor Austin festival.

The weather is usually much more forgiving than the summer months, and that’s exactly what you want when you’re walking around Auditorium Shores eating all afternoon.

Still, check the forecast.

Wear comfortable shoes.

You’re going to walk.

A lot.

And don’t wear your nicest white shirt.

This is a food festival.

Something is going to fall.

Something is going to drip.

Someone is going to hand you a sauce you weren’t expecting.

Accept it.

THE FOOD FESTIVAL DATE NIGHT

If you’re looking for something different to do with a date, Austin Food + Wine can actually be a great option.

You’re not sitting across from each other at a restaurant trying to come up with conversation.

You’re walking around.

Trying food.

Talking about what you like.

Making fun of each other’s wine choices.

Finding new restaurants.

Watching chefs.

It gives you something to do.

And if the date goes badly?

There is enough food there to distract you.

That’s a win either way.

GO WITH FRIENDS

The festival is also better with a group.

Four people is probably the sweet spot.

Everybody can grab different dishes and share.

One person can go get barbecue.

Someone else can get tacos.

Another person can grab dessert.

Then everybody meets back up and compares.

It’s basically a giant culinary scavenger hunt.

And because the event is spread out over a large area, having friends makes it easier to divide and conquer.

Just don’t lose anybody.

You’ll spend the rest of the afternoon trying to find them.

AUSTIN FOOD + WINE IS A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE THE CITY IS GOING

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the festival isn’t any individual dish.

It’s what the event says about Austin.

Twenty years ago, Austin was already known for barbecue, Tex-Mex, breakfast tacos and a handful of iconic restaurants.

Today, the food scene is much broader.

The city has become a destination for chefs from different culinary backgrounds.

The festival reflects that.

You can eat a classic Texas barbecue bite and then walk over to a chef making something inspired by Southeast Asia.

You can try a taco and then eat handmade pasta.

You can have chocolate from a local chocolatier and then taste wine from somewhere you’ve never heard of.

That’s Austin in 2023.

AND YES, THE WINE FLOWS

Let’s not pretend otherwise.

This is Austin Food + Wine.

There is plenty of it.

Wine tastings are one of the festival’s major attractions, and if you enjoy exploring different producers, this is a good opportunity to taste your way through different styles without buying an entire bottle.

But the same rule applies:

Pace yourself.

Especially if you’re spending the entire afternoon at the festival.

Eat something.

Drink water.

Take breaks.

And if you’re drinking, don’t drive.

Plan your ride home before you arrive.

That makes the entire experience better.

THE FESTIVAL THAT AUSTIN FOOD LOVERS WAIT FOR

By November, Austin has already been through another year of restaurant openings, closings, chef changes, new food trucks, new bars and new culinary trends.

Austin Food + Wine gives everybody an opportunity to take a breath and celebrate it.

For one weekend, you don’t have to chase down every new restaurant.

The chefs come to you.

And that’s what makes this event so special.

It is a celebration of the people who make Austin’s food scene what it is.

The established chefs.

The new chefs.

The pitmasters.

The pastry chefs.

The bartenders.

The winemakers.

The local restaurants.

The people standing behind the food.

THE BALLER ATX PLAN

If you’re going to the festival this November, here’s our strategy:

Come early.

Wear comfortable shoes.

Start with food before drinking.

Try things you’ve never tried.

Share everything.

Visit the Fire Pit.

Watch at least one chef demonstration.

Taste something new.

Drink water.

Take a break.

Don’t try to eat everything.

Because you can’t.

Trust us.

You can’t.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Austin Food + Wine Festival is one of those events that perfectly captures the city.

It’s big without being impersonal.

It’s sophisticated without taking itself too seriously.

It’s packed with nationally recognized chefs, but the Austin food scene remains at the center of it.

And most importantly, it’s fun.

You get to spend a weekend eating food from some of the city’s best restaurants, discovering chefs you may not know, drinking wine and cocktails, watching live-fire cooking and hanging out with thousands of other people who apparently thought spending an entire weekend eating was a good idea.

They were right.

So if you’re looking for something to do this November, head down to Auditorium Shores.

Come hungry.

Bring friends.

Wear comfortable shoes.

And prepare yourself for a weekend where the biggest question isn’t “Where should we eat?”

It’s:

“How much more food can we possibly eat?”

The answer, in Austin, is always:

A little more.

July in Austin is hot.

Really hot.

By the time lunch rolls around, the idea of sitting inside a fancy restaurant for two hours can sound less appealing than finding a taco trailer, grabbing your food and eating outside with an ice-cold drink.

Fortunately, Austin has one thing that can make almost any summer day better:

Tacos.

And we’re not talking about the giant national chains or the restaurants that happen to serve tacos. We’re talking about the places that made Austin’s taco culture what it is—the trailers, trucks and tiny neighborhood operations where you walk up to a window, place your order and get some of the best food in the city.

This month, we’re skipping the fancy dining room and taking a taco tour.

Because if you really want to understand Austin’s food scene, you need to eat tacos from a trailer.

Austin’s taco-trailer culture is one of the best things about the city. Some of these places have been around for years. Others are newer operations that have developed cult followings almost overnight. Some specialize in breakfast tacos. Others make one specific taco and refuse to do anything else. Some are open all day. Others sell out and close.

And that’s part of the adventure.

You don’t necessarily need reservations.

You don’t need a dress code.

You don’t need a $100 dinner.

You just need to know where to go.

START WITH THE CLASSIC: EL PRIMO

If you’re looking for an old-school Austin taco trailer, start at El Primo on South First.

This is the kind of place people mean when they talk about Austin’s classic taco-trailer culture.

The setup is simple.

Walk up.

Order.

Grab a seat outside.

Eat.

There is nothing overly complicated about it, and that’s exactly why it works.

El Primo has built its reputation around traditional Mexican breakfast and lunch favorites, with breakfast tacos remaining one of the biggest draws.

If you’re going early, the migas are a great place to start.

Eggs, tortilla chips, cheese and salsa wrapped into a taco make the perfect Austin breakfast, particularly when paired with coffee.

The bacon, egg and cheese is another obvious choice, while chorizo and barbacoa are worth considering if you want something heavier.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking El Primo is only a breakfast stop.

The trailer also serves lunch tacos, tortas, burritos and other Mexican favorites.

That makes it a good first stop on a taco tour because you can get the classic Austin breakfast-taco experience before moving on to something completely different.

And that’s the key to doing an Austin taco tour correctly.

Don’t order six tacos at the first place.

You’re going to regret it.

Order one or two.

Try them.

Then move.

VERACRUZ ALL NATURAL: THE BREAKFAST TACO THAT PUT AUSTIN ON THE MAP

No list of Austin taco trailers would be complete without Veracruz All Natural.

In 2023, Veracruz was still one of the city’s most recognizable names in the taco world, and its reputation was well deserved.

The obvious order is the migas taco.

This is one of those tacos that has become so associated with Austin that visitors frequently put it on their must-eat list before they even arrive.

The combination of eggs, crispy tortilla chips, avocado, cheese, pico and salsa creates a taco that feels substantial without being ridiculously heavy.

But Veracruz isn’t only about breakfast.

The menu expands into seafood, chicken, steak, al pastor and other tacos, which means you can easily turn one visit into a full lunch.

The shrimp taco is another standout, especially if you want something different from the typical beef-and-pork rotation.

And don’t forget the drinks.

Aguas frescas and fresh juices are exactly what you want when you’re eating tacos in July.

Because here’s the thing about Austin in July:

You need something cold.

A spicy taco followed by an ice-cold agua fresca might be one of the best combinations in the city.

Veracruz has also become an important part of Austin’s food culture because it represents something bigger than one popular taco.

It is a family-run business that grew from a small operation into one of the city’s most recognizable taco brands.

And that is exactly what makes Austin’s taco scene interesting.

The best places aren’t necessarily the ones that started with a huge investment.

They started with food.

Then people came back.

Then they told their friends.

Then suddenly there was a line.

CUANTOS TACOS: SMALL TACOS, BIG FOLLOWING

Next stop:

Cuantos Tacos

Cuantos has become one of the most talked-about taco operations in Austin, specializing in Mexico City-style street tacos.

And this is where the taco tour starts getting serious.

The tacos are smaller than what many Americans expect.

That’s intentional.

They’re designed to be street tacos—small, flavorful and easy to eat several at a time.

Which means you don’t order one.

You order a few.

Cuantos offers several fillings, including carnitas, barbacoa, chorizo and other rotating options, and the best strategy is to order a variety so you can compare them.

One of the things that makes Cuantos particularly interesting is its connection to Austin’s broader taco community.

Owner Luis “Beto” Robledo became part of a group of Austin taco makers that local media later dubbed the “Taco Mafia.”

The group includes Robledo along with Xose Velasco and Anthony Pratto of Discada and Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi of Nixta.

In 2023, Austin PBS was producing a documentary series about the group, highlighting their businesses, friendships and the way they were shaping Austin’s modern taco scene.

That’s a pretty big deal.

Because it demonstrates that Austin’s taco scene isn’t just a collection of random food trucks.

There is a community behind it.

There are friendships.

There are chefs sharing ideas.

There are different styles of Mexican cooking being represented.

And there is a real sense of pride surrounding the city’s taco culture.

DISCADA: THE TACO THAT DOESN’T NEED A MENU

Then there’s Discada.

Discada may be the easiest taco trailer in Austin to explain.

They basically make one taco.

That’s it.

No giant menu.

No twenty different fillings.

No spending ten minutes trying to decide what to order.

You order discada.

And you eat it.

The taco gets its name from the cooking technique, which uses a large metal disc similar to a plow disc or wok.

The mixture combines meats and vegetables, creating a rich, intensely flavored filling.

Then it gets put into small corn tortillas and topped with ingredients such as onion, cilantro and pineapple.

That pineapple is important.

It adds a little sweetness that cuts through the richness of the meat.

The result is a taco that is very different from the standard Austin breakfast taco.

And because the tacos are small, you can eat several.

That’s the idea.

Discada’s focused menu has become part of its appeal.

You’re not walking up wondering whether you want chicken or steak.

You’re there for the discada.

And if you like it, order more.

Austin’s food scene has increasingly moved toward chef-driven food trucks and highly specialized concepts, and Discada is one of the best examples.

The trailer doesn’t need to do everything.

It does one thing.

And it does it extremely well.

NIXTA: WHEN THE TACO TRAILER WORLD GETS CHEFY

Technically, Nixta Taqueria is a taqueria rather than a traditional trailer, but it belongs on this list because it represents where Austin’s taco scene is going.

Nixta combines traditional Mexican techniques with modern, chef-driven ideas.

The restaurant became nationally recognized after chef Edgar Rico won the James Beard Award for Emerging Chef in 2022.

And by 2023, Nixta had become one of the city’s most talked-about taco destinations.

The standout is the duck carnitas taco.

Yes.

Duck.

Instead of the traditional pork carnitas, Nixta uses duck to create something richer and more unusual.

The tortillas are another major part of the experience.

Nixta focuses heavily on heirloom corn and nixtamalization, which gives the tortillas a flavor and texture that can stand up to the fillings.

This is where a taco tour gets interesting.

You can go from a simple breakfast taco trailer to a Mexico City-style street taco truck to a Northern Mexican discada truck and then finish at a chef-driven taqueria.

And they’re all serving tacos.

That’s Austin.

DON’T FORGET THE BIRRIA

No 2023 taco tour would be complete without talking about birria.

The birria craze was still going strong, and Austin had several places serving the rich, slow-cooked meat alongside crispy tacos and consommé.

One of the most popular styles involved dipping the tortilla into the cooking juices, griddling the taco until crispy and serving it alongside a cup of consommé.

It’s messy.

It’s rich.

It’s extremely satisfying.

And it is not necessarily the taco you want to eat while wearing a white shirt.

Austin’s birria scene also demonstrates how quickly taco trends can spread.

A few years earlier, birria wasn’t nearly as ubiquitous.

By 2023, you could find it throughout the city.

That doesn’t mean every birria truck is worth visiting.

It means you need to find the good ones.

And that’s where asking locals becomes useful.

Austin food discussions regularly recommend places such as Cuantos, Discada, Granny’s, Ensenada, Santa Barbacha and TexSueño when people ask about standout taco trucks and trailers.

THE SEAFOOD TACO STOP

If you’re doing a serious taco tour, don’t eat only meat.

Austin has a surprisingly strong seafood-taco scene.

Ensenada is one place worth putting on the list if you’re looking for seafood rather than the usual barbacoa, carne asada or al pastor.

Fish tacos can be especially appealing in July because they’re lighter than some of the heavier meat options.

Crispy fish.

Cabbage.

Salsa.

Lime.

Cold drink.

That’s a perfect summer lunch.

And it gives your taco tour some variety.

THE BREAKFAST-TACO RULE

Here’s a Baller ATX rule:

Breakfast tacos count.

They absolutely count.

In fact, you could make an entire Austin taco tour out of breakfast tacos.

The city takes breakfast tacos seriously.

Eggs.

Potatoes.

Bacon.

Cheese.

Sausage.

Chorizo.

Migas.

Barbacoa.

And more.

The trick is knowing when to go.

Some of the best breakfast taco trailers get busy early.

If you show up at 10:30 or 11 a.m., you may have missed the peak selection or be standing behind everyone who had the same idea.

Get up early.

Eat breakfast.

Then take a break before starting the lunch portion of the taco tour.

THE PERFECT AUSTIN TACO TRAILER DAY

Here’s how we’d build a July taco day.

8:00 a.m. — El Primo

Start with a breakfast taco.

Keep it simple.

Migas or bacon, egg and cheese.

Coffee.

Don’t overeat.

You’ve got work to do.

10:30 a.m. — Break

Go somewhere with air conditioning.

Drink water.

Let your stomach recover.

Noon — Veracruz

Get the migas or a seafood taco.

Try one of the aguas frescas.

Take a break.

2:00 p.m. — Cuantos

Now it’s time for Mexico City-style tacos.

Order several small tacos and share them.

4:00 p.m. — Discada

This is the specialty stop.

Get the discada taco.

Then get another.

You’ve earned it.

6:00 p.m. — Pool

This is important.

You need to cool down.

Head to Barton Springs or another swimming spot.

8:00 p.m. — Dinner

If you’re still hungry, go for something lighter.

Maybe seafood.

Maybe a final taco.

Maybe just a cold drink.

10:00 p.m. — Bar

Finish somewhere with live music.

Because no Austin food tour should end before the night does.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE: TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH

There is one major problem with making a taco-trailer itinerary.

You are going to want to visit everything.

Don’t.

You don’t need ten taco stops in one day.

Your stomach will hate you.

Pick three or four.

And spread them out.

The goal is to experience the tacos.

Not create a medical emergency.

Also remember that food trucks and trailers can have different hours than restaurants.

Some open early.

Some open late.

Some close when they sell out.

Some are closed certain days.

And some move.

Always check the current schedule before driving across town.

That was true in 2023, and it remains one of the most important rules of the Austin food-trailer scene.

WHY TRAILERS MATTER TO AUSTIN

There is a reason Austin’s taco trailers have become such an important part of the city’s identity.

They represent accessibility.

You can walk up.

Order something incredible.

Eat it outside.

And not spend a fortune.

They also give chefs an opportunity to experiment.

A trailer is a lower-cost way to test a concept.

If people love it, the business can grow.

And some of Austin’s most celebrated restaurants started with that kind of small-scale food operation.

The taco trailer is also deeply connected to the city’s Mexican-American food culture.

These aren’t simply trendy businesses.

They are part of a much larger history of Mexican food in Central Texas.

What has changed is the attention.

Austin’s taco makers are now getting national recognition.

They’re appearing in documentaries.

They’re winning awards.

They’re attracting visitors from around the country.

And in 2023, Austin’s taco culture is arguably one of the city’s biggest food attractions.

THE FINAL BITE

So if you’re looking for something to do in Austin this July, forget the expensive dinner.

Forget the complicated reservation.

Forget the restaurant where you have to dress up.

Find a taco trailer.

Order something you’ve never tried.

Sit outside.

Drink something cold.

Then find another one.

Austin’s taco scene is too big to experience in one day, and that’s exactly why you should start exploring now.

There are old-school breakfast taco legends.

Mexico City-style street tacos.

Northern Mexican specialties.

Birria.

Seafood.

Chef-driven tacos.

And countless neighborhood trailers that don’t have national recognition but have a loyal following of locals who swear they’re the best in town.

That’s the fun.

There isn’t one definitive “best taco in Austin.”

Ask ten Austinites and you’ll get ten different answers.

But there are places worth trying.

And the best way to decide for yourself is to grab a few friends and start eating.

Just remember the Baller ATX taco-tour rules:

Order small.

Share.

Drink water.

Wear sunscreen.

Bring cash just in case.

Check hours before you go.

And most importantly:

Never stop after the first taco.

It’s Austin.

There’s always another taco trailer around the corner.

January can be a strange month in Austin.

The holidays are over. New Year’s Eve is finished. The weather can be cold one day and warm the next, and after a month of holiday parties, people are suddenly looking for something to do that doesn’t cost a fortune.

Fortunately, Austin has a tradition that practically seems designed for the first week of the year.

Free Week.

For local music fans, January doesn’t really get started until Free Week arrives.

What began as a way to help Austin’s live-music venues bring people through the doors during the slowest part of the year has grown into one of the city’s most important annual showcases for local music.

And in January 2023, it is once again giving Austinites an opportunity to discover new bands, revisit old favorites and spend several nights bouncing between some of the city’s best music venues without paying a cover charge.

The concept is simple.

The music is free.

The bands get exposure.

The venues get customers.

And Austin gets another reminder of why it calls itself the Live Music Capital of the World.

The 2023 edition is especially concentrated around the Red River Cultural District, with participating venues including Cheer Up Charlies, Chess Club, Elysium, Empire Control Room & Garage, Flamingo Cantina, Mala Vida, Mohawk, Stubb’s, Swan Dive, the 13th Floor, Valhalla and Vaquero Taquero.

That concentration is part of what makes Free Week so much fun.

You don’t necessarily have to plan an elaborate night.

You can start at one venue, watch a band, walk down the street, stop somewhere else and catch another performance.

If you don’t like the band, leave.

If you love the band, stay.

Because there is no cover charge, there is very little risk involved.

That’s the entire point.

Free Week encourages people to take chances.

And that is particularly important for Austin’s local musicians.

A band that might normally play in front of a few dozen people can suddenly find itself performing for a packed room full of people who simply wandered in because the show was free.

That can lead to new fans.

It can lead to future shows.

It can lead to new collaborations.

And occasionally, it can be the beginning of something much bigger.

For people who have lived in Austin for years, Free Week is also a way to reconnect with the city’s music scene.

It is easy to fall into a routine.

You go to the same bar.

You see the same bands.

You listen to the same playlists.

Then January arrives and suddenly there are dozens of free shows happening around town.

It becomes much easier to say, “Let’s go see what they’re doing.”

And that’s when you discover something new.

One of the best examples during the 2023 Free Week lineup is El Tule, performing at Flamingo Cantina with the Tiarras and Los Kurados.

El Tule brings together cumbia, merengue, Afro-Latin, reggae and psychedelic influences, making it a perfect example of how broad Austin’s music scene has become.

This isn’t simply a rock festival.

And it isn’t simply an indie-music showcase.

You can find Latin music.

Punk.

Hip-hop.

Country.

Electronic music.

Metal.

Soul.

Blues.

Psych-rock.

And everything in between.

That variety is one of Free Week’s greatest strengths.

Another standout show is happening at Hotel Vegas, where Annabelle Chairlegs, Queen Serene, Heavy Meddo and Chuck are scheduled to perform.

Annabelle Chairlegs brings a blues- and psychedelic-influenced rock sound, while Queen Serene represents a younger generation of Austin musicians building a following through indie and bedroom-rock influences.

Hotel Vegas is exactly the kind of venue where Free Week works.

The atmosphere is casual.

The venue is part of the Red River entertainment district.

And there are plenty of other places nearby if you decide to keep going after the show.

That makes Red River one of the best places in Austin to spend a January night.

You can walk between venues.

Grab a drink.

Watch a band.

Get tacos.

Find another show.

And do it all without spending a fortune.

Food is actually a major part of the Free Week experience.

Because the music is free, people have more money to spend on dinner and drinks.

That makes the bars and restaurants around Red River especially important.

One of the most convenient options is Vaquero Taquero, which is participating in Free Week and gives people the opportunity to combine one of Austin’s favorite things—tacos—with another Austin tradition—live music.

That combination is almost impossible to beat.

Watch a band.

Walk outside.

Get tacos.

Find another band.

Order another drink.

Repeat.

For Baller ATX readers, that’s probably the best way to approach Free Week.

Don’t treat it like one concert.

Treat it like a neighborhood-wide music crawl.

Pick a part of town.

Choose two or three shows.

Leave yourself room to discover something you didn’t plan on seeing.

And don’t be afraid to walk into a venue because you recognize the name of a band you’ve never heard before.

That’s what Free Week is for.

The event is also important because January is traditionally a slower period for Austin’s nightlife industry.

The holidays have ended.

Visitors aren’t arriving for major festivals.

Students are just returning.

And many people are recovering from December spending.

Free Week gives the bars and venues a reason to bring people back out.

Instead of sitting at home because January feels quiet, Austin has a citywide excuse to go out.

And the timing couldn’t be better.

After the holiday season, people are often looking for inexpensive entertainment.

Free Week provides exactly that.

You can spend an entire evening listening to live music without buying a ticket.

Your money can go toward food.

Or drinks.

Or parking.

Or another night out.

For musicians, meanwhile, January provides an opportunity to start the year in front of new audiences.

The Austin music scene is constantly producing new artists, and Free Week acts as an informal introduction.

Some of the bands playing in January 2023 may become much more familiar names later in the year.

Others may remain Austin favorites without ever becoming nationally famous.

Both are valuable.

Because Austin’s music culture has never been exclusively about making stars.

It has always been about having somewhere to play.

Having somewhere to listen.

And having a community that cares about music.

That’s why the Red River Cultural District matters so much.

The neighborhood contains an unusually high concentration of independent music venues within walking distance of one another.

That creates an environment where experimentation is possible.

A band can play one room.

A different band can play down the street.

A DJ can be performing somewhere else.

And a completely different crowd can be watching a metal show around the corner.

Free Week takes advantage of that concentration.

For several days, the district essentially becomes one giant music festival.

The difference is that you don’t need a wristband.

You don’t need to buy a three-day pass.

You don’t need to choose one stage.

You simply show up.

Another reason January 2023 Free Week is worth paying attention to is the number of Austin musicians who are already building reputations beyond the city.

The local music scene is not isolated.

Austin musicians are touring.

Releasing records.

Playing festivals.

Collaborating with artists around the country.

And Free Week gives locals a chance to see some of them before their schedules get more expensive.

That makes the event particularly valuable for people who want to discover artists early.

And if you’re new to Austin, Free Week may be one of the best introductions you can get to the city’s music culture.

You don’t need to know the history of every venue.

You don’t need to understand every genre.

You simply need to show up.

Walk around.

Listen.

And see what catches your attention.

There is also something very Austin about the fact that an event built around free music can still support the local economy.

The music costs nothing.

But people still buy dinner.

They buy drinks.

They buy records.

They tip bartenders.

They use rideshare services.

They visit nearby businesses.

The bands get exposure.

The venues get traffic.

The neighborhood gets energy.

Everybody benefits.

And that is why Free Week has survived and grown.

It isn’t just a promotion.

It is part of Austin’s music culture.

January also provides an interesting contrast with the rest of the Austin festival calendar.

SXSW is still several months away.

ACL is months away.

There isn’t the same pressure to make every show a major event.

Free Week is smaller.

More local.

More spontaneous.

And in some ways, more representative of everyday Austin music.

You aren’t necessarily seeing the biggest artist in the world.

You’re seeing the band that might be playing your neighborhood bar next month.

You’re seeing the singer who is about to release a new record.

You’re seeing a local group that has been playing Austin for years.

And you’re seeing musicians who are simply trying to build their audience.

That’s the Austin music scene at its most authentic.

For people who usually say they don’t know where to find live music, January is the perfect time to change that.

Start with Free Week.

Pick one night.

Head to Red River.

Walk into a venue.

Listen to something you’ve never heard.

Grab a drink.

Then walk into another venue.

You might discover your new favorite band.

And you might discover your new favorite bar while you’re at it.

That’s what makes January in Austin different.

The city isn’t trying to be the biggest.

It is trying to be interesting.

Free Week turns what could otherwise be a quiet winter week into one of the most active periods on the local music calendar.

And in 2023, the event once again demonstrates why Austin’s music identity remains so important.

The next time someone says there isn’t anything to do in January, send them to Red River.

There will be music.

There will be bars.

There will be tacos.

There will be people.

And best of all, there will be no cover charge.

For a city that loves music as much as Austin does, that’s about as good as January gets.

September is when Austin finally starts getting a break from the worst of summer. The afternoons can still be hot, but the evenings become easier to enjoy, football season returns, patios become more comfortable and the city begins building toward one of its biggest annual events: Austin City Limits Music Festival.

This is also one of the best months to explore Austin’s food and bar scene before October brings enormous festival crowds.

The biggest story heading into fall is obviously ACL.

The 2022 festival is scheduled for two weekends in October—October 7–9 and October 14–16 at Zilker Park—with a lineup that includes Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, Paramore, The Chicks, SZA, Flume, Lil Nas X and Kacey Musgraves.

That means September is essentially Austin’s preparation month.

Hotels begin filling.

Restaurants start planning for enormous crowds.

Bars prepare for festival visitors.

Transportation becomes a bigger concern.

And anyone who wants to experience ACL without spending the entire weekend inside Zilker Park starts making plans for the shows and parties happening around town.

The official festival is only part of the experience.

Austin’s unofficial ACL parties are becoming almost as important as the festival itself.

Restaurants host special dinners.

Bars book musicians.

Brands throw parties.

Venues schedule after-shows.

And local businesses take advantage of the thousands of people already in town.

For Baller ATX readers, September is the month to start watching those calendars.

If you wait until October, many of the most popular events will already be full.

The restaurant scene is also giving Austinites plenty to talk about.

One of the most interesting openings around town is Uroko, the Japanese restaurant from the team behind Kemuri Tatsu-Ya. The concept focuses on Japanese cuisine with a Texas influence, continuing the Austin trend of chefs blending local ingredients and traditions with international cooking.

That type of restaurant is increasingly common in Austin.

The city has become a place where chefs don’t feel obligated to choose between “Austin food” and international cuisine.

They combine them.

Texas barbecue can meet Japanese technique.

Mexican ingredients can appear in modern fine dining.

Southern cooking can be paired with Asian flavors.

And Austin diners seem increasingly interested in the results.

Another major food trend to watch this fall is the continued expansion of Austin’s food halls and restaurant parks.

These concepts work particularly well in Austin because they combine several things locals already love.

Food.

Drinks.

Outdoor seating.

Live music.

Games.

And the ability to meet a group without everyone having to agree on the same restaurant.

That’s becoming an increasingly important part of Austin’s social scene.

Instead of asking, “Where should we have dinner?”

People are asking, “Where should we hang out?”

That difference is significant.

Restaurants are increasingly becoming destinations rather than simply places to eat.

September is also the beginning of football season, which means Austin bars are preparing for one of the biggest sports traditions in the city: Texas Longhorn football.

Whether you’re a die-hard fan or someone who simply enjoys the atmosphere, football weekends create a noticeable change in Austin’s nightlife.

Bars begin opening earlier.

Restaurants advertise game-day specials.

Patios fill with fans.

And the University of Texas area becomes significantly busier.

The return of college football also adds another layer to Austin’s already busy weekend entertainment schedule.

You can watch football during the afternoon, go to dinner, catch live music and finish the night at a bar.

And in September, the weather is finally making that possible again.

The heat is still around, but the evenings are becoming more manageable.

That means patio season is getting a second life.

The spring patio season may have been interrupted by summer temperatures, but September brings it back.

Restaurants with shaded patios and outdoor seating become especially popular around sunset.

This is one of the best times of year to eat outside in Austin.

The temperature drops.

The sun sets earlier.

And suddenly sitting outside with a margarita doesn’t feel like a challenge.

Austin’s cocktail scene is also entering a strong season.

Downtown rooftop bars remain popular, but neighborhood cocktail bars are increasingly becoming destinations themselves.

East Austin continues to be one of the best areas for this.

A typical night might begin with dinner and turn into several drinks at different bars.

That’s because East Austin’s nightlife is designed for walking and exploring.

You don’t have to spend the entire night at one location.

Try one bar.

Move to another.

Find music.

Grab late-night food.

Repeat.

That’s one of the reasons the area remains so popular with both locals and visitors.

But there is another side of Austin nightlife worth exploring this month.

The city’s dive bars remain some of its most authentic places to spend an evening.

After highlighting Austin’s top dive bars last month, September is a good time to actually visit one.

Nickel City.

Deep Eddy Cabaret.

Donn’s Depot.

Lala’s Little Nugget.

The Grackle.

Barfly’s.

These places don’t need ACL or a major festival to attract customers.

They’ve been doing their thing for years.

And as Austin continues to grow, those longtime bars are becoming increasingly important pieces of the city’s cultural identity.

September is also when many people start thinking about Halloween.

It may seem early, but Austin’s bars and event venues begin planning their fall parties well in advance.

The city’s Halloween scene has become a major nightlife event, particularly on Sixth Street and in East Austin.

Costume parties, themed events and bar crawls begin appearing on calendars.

For anyone planning to host or attend a Halloween event, September is when it pays to start looking.

The same is true for restaurants.

Fall menus are beginning to appear.

Chefs start shifting away from the light summer dishes and toward richer seasonal food.

Cocktail menus begin changing.

And breweries start preparing fall releases.

Austin’s food scene is increasingly seasonal, even if the weather doesn’t always cooperate.

You may still be sweating in September, but restaurants are already thinking about fall.

And that means pumpkin, apples, roasted vegetables, darker beers and heavier cocktails aren’t far away.

Another major September story is the continuing transformation of Austin’s downtown entertainment districts.

The city’s growth is creating new restaurants, hotels, apartment buildings and entertainment concepts, but it is also putting pressure on some of the smaller businesses that helped create Austin’s nightlife reputation.

Rainey Street is perhaps the clearest example.

The neighborhood that once consisted primarily of historic houses converted into bars is increasingly surrounded by high-rise development.

That doesn’t mean the bars disappear overnight.

But the character of the neighborhood is changing.

And for longtime Austinites, that is something worth paying attention to.

The same thing is happening elsewhere.

Small restaurants are being replaced by larger developments.

Longtime businesses are moving.

New concepts are arriving.

The city is becoming more polished.

Some people love that.

Others miss what Austin used to be.

September sits right in the middle of that debate.

You can go to a brand-new restaurant with a highly designed interior and expensive cocktail menu.

Then you can drive ten minutes and sit at a dive bar that looks almost unchanged from twenty years ago.

Both are Austin.

And that’s what makes the city’s nightlife scene so interesting.

The city hasn’t completely lost its old personality.

It’s just sharing space with a very different new one.

September is also an excellent month for live music outside the ACL festival itself.

Austin’s music venues continue booking local artists and touring acts, and smaller venues can offer a much more intimate experience than a giant festival.

Red River remains one of the best places to discover emerging musicians.

South Austin continues its long tradition of live music.

East Austin’s bars mix music with food and cocktails.

And downtown venues attract larger touring acts.

You don’t have to wait for October.

Music is already everywhere.

The biggest difference is that September gives locals a chance to enjoy it without tens of thousands of festival visitors standing next to them.

That makes this month especially good for exploring.

Try a new venue.

See a local band.

Find a new restaurant.

Visit a brewery.

Check out a new cocktail bar.

Then make your ACL plans.

Because once October arrives, Austin gets busy.

Very busy.

For Baller ATX readers, September is therefore less about one giant event and more about preparing for everything that’s coming.

ACL is coming.

Halloween is coming.

Football season is here.

Fall restaurant menus are arriving.

New bars are opening.

Patio season is returning.

And Austin’s nightlife is getting ready for one of its busiest stretches of the year.

The smartest thing you can do this month is explore before the crowds arrive.

Try the restaurant you’ve been hearing about.

Visit a bar you’ve never been to.

Find a new brewery.

Check out an old-school dive.

Listen to live music.

And figure out where you’re going to eat during ACL.

Because once October arrives, everyone else will be trying to do the same thing.

September is your head start.

August in Austin is a month of survival—and knowing where to go makes all the difference.

The temperatures are high, the afternoons are hot enough to make a short walk feel like a workout, and most Austinites have figured out that the best summer plans involve cold drinks, air conditioning, swimming pools, live music and restaurants that don’t require you to spend much time standing outside.

But August is also a surprisingly interesting month for Austin’s food and nightlife scene. New restaurants are opening, established local businesses are expanding, new concepts are arriving from outside Austin, and the city’s legendary neighborhood bars continue doing what they have always done: providing a place where you can grab a cheap drink, sit down, listen to music and forget how hot it is outside.

One of the biggest restaurant stories this month is the arrival of Paris Baguette, the South Korean bakery chain that has opened its first Austin location in the Highland neighborhood. The bakery brings together French-inspired pastries and Korean bakery traditions, with items including croissants, cakes and mochi doughnuts.

For Austin, this is another sign of how international the city’s food scene has become.

The traditional Austin food conversation usually begins with tacos, barbecue and breakfast tacos. Those foods remain essential, but the restaurant scene has grown dramatically beyond them. International chains and independent restaurants are increasingly looking at Austin as a city where customers are willing to try something different.

Paris Baguette is a good example.

It isn’t simply another coffee shop.

It is a bakery experience, and the combination of French-style pastries and Korean influences gives Austin diners something they may not have seen before at a neighborhood bakery.

Another interesting opening is Choo Sando, the Japanese sandwich pop-up that is moving into a permanent location in Brentwood. The restaurant specializes in Japanese katsu sandwiches and is also offering pre-order omakase experiences.

That is another example of Austin’s food scene moving toward specialized concepts.

Instead of trying to serve everything, newer restaurants are often building their identity around one particular type of food.

Japanese sandwiches.

Omakase.

Regional Mexican seafood.

Vegan Oaxacan food.

Cuban sandwiches.

Austin diners seem increasingly willing to seek out those specific experiences.

And August is bringing plenty of them.

Another new arrival this month is La Plancha, a Mexican restaurant in the Blackland neighborhood focusing on breakfast, lunch and dinner, including breakfast tortas and vegan-friendly options.

North Austin is also getting more attention with Nissi VegMex, a vegan Mexican restaurant that moved from food-truck service into a permanent restaurant in the Wooten neighborhood. Its menu includes vegan birria tacos and burritos.

This kind of move is worth watching because Austin’s food-truck culture continues to act as a pipeline for new restaurants.

A food truck can test a concept.

Build a following.

Develop a menu.

Then, if the customers keep coming, the owners can eventually make the much larger investment required for a permanent restaurant.

Austin has produced countless restaurants this way.

August is also bringing a Cuban influence to the city’s food scene.

Oye Chico is setting up at Better Half, bringing Cuban sandwiches and Little Havana-inspired food to the Austin restaurant scene.

It is exactly the kind of smaller opening that can easily get overlooked when people are focused on Austin’s biggest restaurants, but these are the businesses that make the city’s food scene interesting.

You don’t have to spend $100 on dinner to experience something new.

Sometimes the best discovery is a sandwich from a small counter or food truck.

That brings us to the other major Austin story this month:

the dive bars.

Austin’s dive bars have always been one of the city’s greatest forms of entertainment.

They don’t need rooftop views.

They don’t need elaborate cocktail menus.

They don’t need velvet ropes.

They don’t need DJs standing behind a $30,000 sound system.

Sometimes you just need a cold beer, a jukebox and a bartender who doesn’t care what you’re wearing.

And in 2022, Austin still has plenty of those places.

The Austin Chronicle’s 2022 Best of Austin readers poll named Nickel City the city’s Best Dive Bar, with Back Lot, Barfly’s, The Grackle and Lala’s Little Nugget as finalists.

That gives us a pretty good starting point for an August dive-bar tour.

10 Austin Dive Bars to Know in 2022

1. Nickel City

Nickel City is the dive bar that manages to feel both genuinely comfortable and extremely Austin at the same time. Located on East 11th Street, it has a large selection of drinks, a relaxed atmosphere and food from an onsite kitchen. The Austin Chronicle’s readers officially selected it as the city’s Best Dive Bar in 2022.

The important thing about Nickel City is that it doesn’t feel like a bar trying desperately to convince you that it is cool.

It simply is.

Grab a drink.

Order some food.

Find a spot.

Stay awhile.

2. Deep Eddy Cabaret

If Austin dive bars had a hall of fame, Deep Eddy Cabaret would have a permanent spot.

Located near the original Deep Eddy swimming area, the bar has been part of Austin’s drinking culture for decades. It is the kind of place where the jukebox matters, the drinks are straightforward and the atmosphere feels lived-in rather than designed.

In a city where many new bars are trying to create an “Austin” aesthetic, Deep Eddy doesn’t have to try.

It already is Austin.

3. Donn’s Depot

Few places capture old Austin quite like Donn’s Depot.

The West Austin bar has a reputation for its unusual setting, live music, cheap drinks and eccentric atmosphere. The interior is famous for its train cars and Christmas decorations, creating a bar experience that would be almost impossible to replicate intentionally.

Donn’s is one of those places where you can walk in not knowing anybody and leave having talked to half the room.

That is the point.

4. Barfly’s

Barfly’s is another classic neighborhood dive that Austin locals repeatedly mention when discussing the city’s best low-key bars. It is unpretentious, comfortable and exactly the kind of place where you can actually sit down and have a conversation.

In 2022, locals on Austin’s Reddit community repeatedly recommended Barfly’s when asked about the city’s best dive bars.

That matters because dive bars aren’t really defined by marketing.

They’re defined by regulars.

If people who live in Austin keep recommending a place, pay attention.

5. Lala’s Little Nugget

Lala’s is one of Austin’s most recognizable old-school bars, particularly because of its famous Christmas decorations.

The bar’s holiday theme stays up year-round, which means you can walk in during the middle of August and feel like Christmas has somehow arrived early.

That is precisely the kind of weirdness Austin does well.

Lala’s is also a good reminder that a dive bar doesn’t necessarily have to be ugly or miserable.

It can simply be quirky, comfortable and different.

6. The Grackle

The Grackle on East Sixth Street represents another side of Austin’s dive-bar culture.

It has a strong music connection, a casual atmosphere and the kind of East Austin location that makes it easy to turn a night there into a larger bar-hopping adventure.

The Grackle was also one of the finalists for Best Dive Bar in the Austin Chronicle’s 2022 readers poll.

It is a good place to start if you want a dive bar that still feels connected to Austin’s music scene.

7. The Skylark Lounge

The Skylark is technically more of a dive-juke-joint hybrid, but that’s exactly why it belongs on the list.

Located on the east side, the Skylark has long been associated with live music and a neighborhood atmosphere. Austin locals frequently mention it alongside Sahara Lounge as one of the city’s great “dive juke joints.”

This is the type of bar to visit when you want the music to be as important as the drinks.

8. Sahara Lounge

Sahara Lounge is another Austin institution that doesn’t fit neatly into one category.

It is a dive bar.

It is a live-music venue.

It is a neighborhood gathering place.

And it has one of the most distinctive music calendars in town.

The bar’s international musical programming has helped make it one of the city’s most interesting places to hear something different.

The Austin Chronicle’s 2022 Best of Austin listings also recognized Sahara as one of the city’s standout intimate live-music venues.

If your idea of a great Austin night involves discovering music you weren’t expecting, put Sahara on the list.

9. The Cloak Room

Downtown Austin has plenty of bars, but very few feel like The Cloak Room.

Hidden underground near the Capitol, it is tiny, dark and deliberately old-school.

It doesn’t look like a modern cocktail lounge.

It doesn’t need to.

The Cloak Room has the atmosphere of a place that has been there forever, which is exactly what people are looking for when they say they want an authentic Austin bar.

10. G&S Lounge

South Austin’s G&S Lounge is another longtime neighborhood favorite.

It’s the kind of bar where the atmosphere matters more than presentation. Regulars, inexpensive drinks and a laid-back South Austin personality make it a classic choice for people looking to escape the more polished parts of the city’s nightlife.

Austin locals discussing dive bars in 2022 repeatedly singled out G&S as one of their favorites.

And that’s the beauty of this list.

None of these bars needs to be the newest.

In fact, that’s part of the point.

Austin’s nightlife is constantly changing, but the best dive bars have survived because they provide something that newer establishments can’t easily manufacture.

History.

Regulars.

Stories.

Character.

A jukebox.

A bartender who remembers your order.

A pool table that has probably seen better days.

A neon sign.

A strange decoration.

Maybe a little cigarette smell permanently trapped in the walls.

That’s Austin.

And in August, when the heat makes you want to find somewhere dark and cold, a dive bar can be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Of course, Austin’s nightlife isn’t only about dive bars.

Newer cocktail lounges and restaurants continue to appear, and the contrast between those businesses and the old neighborhood bars is part of what makes the city interesting.

You can spend Friday night at a sophisticated downtown cocktail bar and Saturday night drinking cheap beer at a place that looks like it hasn’t changed since 1987.

Both experiences can be equally Austin.

The restaurant scene is moving forward.

The bar scene is moving forward.

But the old places remain.

That balance is important.

Because if Austin becomes nothing but new restaurants, luxury apartments, rooftop bars and expensive cocktails, it loses part of what made the city special.

The dive bars are a reminder that Austin nightlife doesn’t have to be complicated.

Sometimes you just need somewhere to go.

August is also a good month to pay attention to restaurant closings and redevelopment.

One of the biggest stories late in the month is the announced closure of a longtime Rainey Street bar because of downtown development. The story is another reminder that the Rainey Street neighborhood is changing rapidly as large-scale development moves into an area that was once primarily known for small houses converted into bars.

That transition is going to be one of the defining stories of Austin nightlife in the years ahead.

Rainey Street helped establish Austin’s modern bar-hopping culture.

But the neighborhood’s future is becoming increasingly dominated by larger development projects.

Some longtime bars will survive.

Others won’t.

And that makes places like Donn’s Depot, Deep Eddy Cabaret, Lala’s and the other old-school bars even more valuable.

They represent a version of Austin that is increasingly difficult to find.

August is therefore a good month to get out and explore both sides of the city.

Try one of the new restaurants.

Check out a bakery you’ve never visited.

Grab a Japanese sandwich.

Find a Cuban food truck.

Then, when the sun goes down, skip the rooftop for one night and visit a dive bar.

Order a beer.

Put some money in the jukebox.

Talk to somebody.

Don’t worry about taking the perfect Instagram picture.

That’s the beauty of a dive.

Nobody cares.

And maybe that’s exactly what Austin needs in August.

A place to escape the heat.

A cold drink.

Good food.

Live music.

And a little bit of the old Austin still hanging around.

Because the new Austin is exciting.

But the old Austin is worth protecting.

Austin is heading into February with the kind of restaurant and nightlife calendar that makes the shortest month of the year feel anything but short. New restaurants are opening across the city, major food-and-drink projects are finally becoming reality, and several highly anticipated concepts are giving locals plenty of reasons to explore neighborhoods they may not normally visit. With spring festival season getting closer, February is also the month when Austin starts feeling like the city is warming up for a much bigger year.

One of the biggest new additions to the city’s food-and-entertainment scene is The Pitch, a new restaurant and entertainment complex in North Austin located next to Austin FC’s training facility. The project opened February 11 and combines several restaurants, bars, outdoor space and a soccer-focused atmosphere into one destination.

The Pitch is exactly the kind of project that fits Austin’s increasingly popular restaurant-park model. Instead of opening one restaurant in a traditional storefront, the development brings several concepts together so groups can eat, drink and hang out in the same place. There is Ranger Burger, serving burgers and fried chicken; Ga Tori, specializing in Vietnamese rotisserie chicken; and Taco Flats, bringing tacos, quesadillas and queso to the complex. There are also two bars, San Bar and Corner Kick Bar, along with Coffee Club for coffee and bakery items.

For Austin FC fans, The Pitch gives the north side of town another place to gather around soccer. For everyone else, it is a new food-and-drink destination worth checking out simply because there are so many different options in one location. The project also features extensive outdoor seating and televisions for watching games, making it particularly suited for groups that want to turn lunch, dinner or drinks into an afternoon event.

February is also bringing something much more intimate to Austin’s food scene.

Toshokan, a new sushi omakase restaurant, is opening in East Austin, giving diners a dramatically different experience from the large restaurant parks and casual food halls popping up around town. The restaurant is being led by restaurateur C.K. Chin and chef Saine Wong and is located inside the Native Hostel.

Omakase restaurants are becoming increasingly popular in Austin, and Toshokan is part of a growing interest in highly curated Japanese dining. Instead of simply ordering a menu item, diners are essentially putting their meal in the chef’s hands, allowing the experience to develop course by course.

That makes Toshokan one of the more interesting new restaurants to keep on the radar this month.

But February isn’t just about restaurants opening their doors. Austin’s bar scene continues to evolve as well.

One of the city’s most anticipated new destinations is Wax Myrtle’s, the rooftop restaurant and bar at the Thompson Austin. The new space is designed as a major downtown destination, with a poolside setting, cocktails, food and views of the city. The restaurant is scheduled to open around Valentine’s Day, making it an especially timely option for anyone looking for something more memorable than the typical February dinner.

The arrival of Wax Myrtle’s adds another rooftop option to a downtown scene that increasingly revolves around destination bars rather than traditional neighborhood watering holes. Austin’s nightlife has become much more focused on atmosphere and experience, and rooftop spaces are particularly popular because they combine drinks, food, views and the feeling of being somewhere special.

That trend is continuing throughout the city.

Austin is becoming a place where going out for drinks can mean anything from sitting at a neighborhood dive to spending several hours at a rooftop pool, cocktail lounge, brewery or food hall. February’s new openings are reinforcing that range.

The month is also bringing a new generation of Asian dining options.

Two all-you-can-eat hot-pot restaurants are in development, with K Pot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot planned for Sunset Valley and Soupleaf Hot Pot planned for Highland. Both projects reflect the growing popularity of interactive dining experiences in Austin.

Hot pot is particularly well suited to Austin’s social dining culture because the meal itself becomes part of the activity. Rather than simply receiving a finished plate, diners cook ingredients at the table, making the meal something that groups can experience together.

That is becoming an increasingly important part of Austin’s food scene.

Restaurants aren’t simply selling food.

They’re selling experiences.

That helps explain the popularity of food halls, restaurant parks, omakase counters, rooftop bars and interactive dining concepts.

February also brings an important piece of Austin food history to a close.

La Mexicana Bakery, the longtime South First Street Mexican bakery, closed February 16 after 32 years in business when founder and owner Jesus Martinez Becerra Sr. retired. The bakery had been known for tortillas, pastries, tres leches cakes, tacos and tortas and had operated around the clock before reducing its hours in recent years.

The closure is a reminder that Austin’s restaurant transformation isn’t only about new places.

Some of the businesses that helped define the city are disappearing.

For longtime residents, places like La Mexicana aren’t just restaurants. They are pieces of Austin history. Generations of customers grew up buying bread, tortillas and Mexican pastries there, and the business had survived for more than three decades.

That makes the arrival of new restaurants feel even more significant.

Austin’s food culture is constantly replacing one generation with another.

One business closes after decades.

Another opens for the first time.

A taco truck becomes a restaurant.

A restaurant becomes a food hall.

A traditional bar becomes a cocktail lounge.

The city keeps changing.

And February provides plenty of examples of that transition.

Another major development worth watching is the growing list of restaurants expected to open later in 2022. The year’s anticipated opening list includes Este, the coastal Mexican restaurant from the team behind Suerte; Maie Day, the steakhouse associated with Olamaie and South Congress Hotel; and several other ambitious restaurant and bar projects.

That means February is also a month for looking ahead.

If you are the type of Austin diner who likes trying a restaurant before everyone else discovers it, now is the time to start paying attention to opening announcements.

Some of the biggest restaurants of the year haven’t opened yet.

They are still under construction.

Menus are still being developed.

Chefs are still hiring.

Spaces are still being renovated.

But by the end of 2022, some of those projects could become the restaurants everyone in town is talking about.

The bar scene is headed in the same direction.

Austin’s hospitality industry is increasingly interested in creating spaces where food, cocktails, music and socializing overlap. That’s particularly visible in East Austin, downtown and along the city’s growing entertainment corridors.

The result is a nightlife scene that is becoming harder to define.

There is no single “Austin bar scene.”

There are dozens of them.

You can spend Friday night drinking cheap beer at a neighborhood dive.

You can visit a cocktail bar downtown.

You can listen to live music on Red River.

You can spend an afternoon at a brewery.

You can eat tacos at a restaurant park.

You can watch soccer while drinking a cocktail at The Pitch.

You can have an elaborate sushi dinner.

You can finish the night at a late-night food truck.

That’s the Austin experience.

And February is a particularly good month to explore it because the city isn’t yet overwhelmed by the giant spring festival crowds.

March is coming.

Everybody knows it.

SXSW will bring musicians, filmmakers, technology companies, visitors and parties from around the world into Austin. Restaurants will be packed. Bars will be busy. Hotels will fill. New pop-ups will appear. Venues will host special events.

But February offers a quieter opportunity to discover the places that will be competing for everyone’s attention once the spring crowds arrive.

It’s the perfect time to try The Pitch before it becomes packed with soccer fans.

It’s a good time to check out new restaurants before word-of-mouth takes over.

It’s a good month to explore Austin’s cocktail bars.

And it’s a good time to make reservations for some of the city’s more anticipated upcoming openings.

February is also Valentine’s season, which gives restaurants and bars another reason to create special menus and events.

For couples, Austin offers everything from upscale dinners to casual taco dates, rooftop cocktails, wine bars and live music. For everyone else, there is no shortage of excuses to ignore the holiday entirely and simply go out for a good meal.

Either way, the city’s restaurant scene is giving people plenty of choices.

And if February’s openings are any indication, 2022 is going to be a major year for Austin food and nightlife.

The city is continuing to attract ambitious chefs.

Local restaurant groups are expanding.

Food trucks are becoming permanent restaurants.

New food halls and restaurant parks are appearing.

Bars are becoming more experiential.

And neighborhoods outside downtown are becoming major food destinations.

That is perhaps the biggest story of Austin’s February.

The city isn’t just getting more restaurants.

It’s getting more places where people can spend an entire afternoon or evening.

Eat.

Drink.

Watch a game.

Listen to music.

Meet friends.

Try something new.

Stay longer.

That’s the direction Austin’s entertainment scene is heading.

And with spring just around the corner, February is only the beginning.

If you want to know what Austin is going to be talking about later this year, keep an eye on the new restaurants, bars and entertainment projects opening right now.

Some of them will be gone in a year.

Some will become Austin institutions.

And a few may become the next places everyone tells visitors they absolutely have to try.

For now, though, the best thing to do is get out and see what is new.

Austin has plenty waiting.

After more than a year of COVID restrictions, closures and uncertainty, the city’s restaurant scene finally looked like it was moving forward.

New restaurants were opening.

Patios were filling.

People were going out.

And Austin’s food industry was starting to look toward the future instead of simply trying to survive the week.

The recovery wasn’t perfect.

Many restaurants were still dealing with staffing problems, increased costs and pandemic-related restrictions.

But the direction had changed.

For the first time in a long time, the big question wasn’t simply, “Will this restaurant survive?”

It was becoming:

“What’s opening next?”

That shift mattered.

Austin has always attracted ambitious chefs and restaurant entrepreneurs.

The pandemic temporarily put many projects on hold.

By spring 2021, some of those projects were moving forward again.

The restaurant industry was also taking advantage of everything it had learned during the pandemic.

Outdoor seating remained important.

Online ordering remained important.

Takeout remained important.

Restaurants had discovered that customers liked flexibility.

They didn’t necessarily need the old model back exactly as it was.

They wanted choices.

That was especially true in Austin.

The city had always been comfortable with unconventional dining.

Food trucks.

Pop-ups.

Patio restaurants.

Beer gardens.

Drive-through concepts.

Ghost kitchens.

The pandemic accelerated that creativity.

By May, Austin’s food scene was becoming a mixture of old and new.

Some longtime restaurants were returning to normal.

New concepts were launching with pandemic-era lessons built into their business plans.

And customers were ready.

People had spent months eating at home.

They were ready for tacos with friends.

They were ready for burgers.

They were ready for margaritas.

They were ready to sit on patios and complain about the heat.

In other words, they were ready to be Austin again.

The restaurant comeback wasn’t finished.

There would be more closures.

More openings.

More changes.

But May 2021 was when the recovery started to feel real.

Austin’s food scene had survived one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Now it was ready to start having fun again.