Austin Archives

April 26, 2023

I Biked the I-35 “Hell Route” From Austin to San Antonio So You Don’t Have To

Cycling for eighty miles along a busy highway frontage road isn’t exactly a wise idea, but I found a perverse enjoyment in it.

By Aaron Chamberlain

Arts & Entertainment|

April 25, 2023

Fifteen Hours and Thirty Drinks With the Minds Behind When Where What Austin

The men behind the immensely popular Instagram event calendar just wanna have fun (and champagne).

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Day Jobs exhibit at Blanton Museum of Art

Art|

April 25, 2023

In a New Exhibit, Artists Find the Sublime at Whataburger and the Supreme Court

"Day Jobs," on view at the Blanton Museum of Art, argues that beauty and inspiration can be found even during a nine-to-five.

By Laura Mallonee

Tacos|

April 20, 2023

Ramen Del Barrio Is a Chef’s Love Letter to His Mexican Upbringing

Christopher Krinsky—a 24-year-old who grew up in the U.S. and Mexico and worked in Japanese restaurants—combines his influences in his Austin ramen counter.

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A spread from Uptown Sports Club in Austin.

BBQ|

April 19, 2023

Aaron Franklin Brings a Taste of New Orleans to Austin

An early look at Uptown Sports Club shows gumbo stocked with Franklin Barbecue sausage, a raw bar, and four different po’ boys.

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Style & Design|

April 18, 2023

These Texas Makers Turn Salvaged Wood into Sustainable Showpieces

This Earth Day, shop for woodworking masterpieces made with materials such as skateboard decks and salvaged trees from the Rio Grande Valley.

By Tommie Ethington

Sports|

April 14, 2023

The Undertold Story of Jackie Robinson’s College Hoops Coaching Days

Before he began his pro baseball career, Jackie Robinson spent a season on the hardwood for Austin HBCU Samuel Huston College.

By Jeff Miller

How Big-Money Investors Have Changed the Texas Home Market

Business|

April 14, 2023

Buying a Home in Texas Often Requires Outbidding Big-Money Investors

A pair of bills at the Lege seek to help Texans compete for real estate against these deep-pocketed companies.

By Glenn Hunter

Politics & Policy|

April 6, 2023

What Does a Legislative Troll Look Like, and What Happens When He’s Absent?

Update: An ethics complaint against Representative Bryan Slaton, who skipped the session’s most consequential debate, has been filed alleging an “inappropriate relationship.”

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Food & Drink|

April 3, 2023

Jarred Salsa Helps Revive a Nearly 70-Year-Old Tex-Mex Institution

Austin’s El Patio was on the brink of closing in 2019 until some extended relatives stepped in and took the business to grocery shelves.

By Peter Blackstock

Style & Design|

April 2, 2023

Texas’s First-Ever CMT Music Awards, in Photos

The 2023 Country Music Television (CMT) Music Awards ceremony has brought nominees from across the country to the Lone Star State. See red carpet and backstage photos of winners.

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Politics & Policy|

March 30, 2023

How Texas Drag Queen Brigitte Bandit Exposed the Absurdity of Proposals to Criminalize Drag Performers and Shows

This week, the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs advanced two bills that would criminalize many drag performances. The bills, both filed by Republican Bryan Hughes of Mineola, take aim at men or women who use “clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers” to “exhibit” as

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Politics & Policy|

March 28, 2023

Texas’s Tampon Tax Has Contributed to Widespread Period Poverty. Is the Lege Finally Ready to Repeal It?

Menstrual products are subject to a sales tax, and Democrat Donna Howard has tried to change that since 2017. With support from powerful Republicans, this could be the year.

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UT Scientists Discovered a Beaver Fossil and Named It After Buc-ee’s

Critters|

March 28, 2023

UT Scientists Discovered a Beaver Fossil and Named It After Buc-ee’s

Collected in 1941, A. buceei languished in a drawer for decades.

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Art|

March 27, 2023

An Austin Artist With That Corky Charm

Beki Morris creates mosaic images from wine corks. By playing with textures, colors, and shapes, she creates impressive depth and detail.

By Texas Country Reporter

Does Your Wedding Even Count If You Don't Have a Beer Donkey?

Critters|

March 27, 2023

Did Your Wedding Even Count if There Were No Goats?

The new party VIPs are beer-drinking goats, beer-toting donkeys, and the occasional giraffe.

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Style & Design|

March 24, 2023

Fifty, Flirty, and Attending All the SXSW Panels About Aging I Could Find

After decades of visiting the fest, I set out to create an “age-appropriate” schedule packed with talks on menopause and death.

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Style & Design|

March 24, 2023

They’re Not Pajamas. They’re Sleepwear, and These Texas Brands Are Doing Them Right

These homegrown designers see no reason not to look cute while you snooze.

By Mary Beth Gahan

Business|

March 20, 2023

The Ice Chests Cometh: How Igloo and Yeti Defined Texas Cold

The coolers we keep say something real about the state we’re in.

By Michael Snyder

The Equipment Room, newly opened in the Hotel Magdalena, houses 1,200 records meant for serious listening.

Style & Design|

March 16, 2023

Austin Music Lovers, Your New Favorite Bar Is Hidden Away in a Former Storage Room

The Equipment Room, now open in the basement of the Hotel Magdalena, is a Japanese-style listening bar designed for serious audiophiles.

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CIA-presence-at-sxsw-Austin-South-By-Southwest_feat

Politics & Policy|

March 16, 2023

What Is the CIA Doing at SXSW?

Recruiting, mostly. But also trying to see New Order.

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Health|

March 13, 2023

Where to Try Cordyceps, the Star of ‘The Last of Us,’ in Texas

Cordyceps, a parasitic fungus made popular by the HBO drama, can be added to coffee for a boost of brain energy. A few Texas cafes offer a safe space to try it out.

By Nick Rallo

Business|

March 13, 2023

Elon Musk Came to Texas to End the Oil Age

It took him a while to get here, but now he’s out to transform our state with new technologies—if our leaders’ hostility toward renewable energy (and his Twitter misadventures) don’t get in the way.

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Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry and forward Dillon Mitchell celebrate a win against Baylor during an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, in Austin.

Sports|

March 9, 2023

How Rodney Terry and Texas Basketball Saved Their Season

After Chris Beard’s firing, fans assumed the season was over. Then the remaining coaches and the roster took control of their destiny.

By Richard Justice

Film & TV|

March 6, 2023

How Christy Carlson Romano Lost Her Disney Money and Founded an Empire

Ren Stevens and Kim Possible led the early aughts star to the role she was always meant to play—content strategist—in the place she was always meant to live.

By

BBQ|

March 3, 2023

H-E-B’s True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping

What I once claimed was the best barbecue chain in Texas has recently yielded some disappointing results as locations expand.

By

Music|

March 2, 2023

Willie Nelson’s New Album—His 150th—Honors Another Country Legend

Willie Nelson covers ten songs written by his late friend Harlan Howard in ‘I Don’t Know a Thing About Love.’

By

BBQ|

March 2, 2023

You’ll Find a Smoked BLT, Pastrami Burger, and Big Red Cheesecake at This Austin BBQ Joint’s New Location

JNL BBQ has leveled up with a new indoor location that features a stage for live music and more creative menu items.

By

Politics & Policy|

March 1, 2023

Cars Spun Doughnuts in Austin, And Greg Abbott Got Furious, Fast

Why has the governor lasered in on teenagers doing donuts and causing a ruckus in the capital city?

By Jack Herrera

Style & Design|

February 28, 2023

Incarcerated and in Search of Color

For many women inside Texas prisons, a crumb of color—such as a red ribbon or a floral postage stamp—is against the rules, but worth the potential risk.

By Dina Gachman

Politics & Policy|

February 28, 2023

Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for ‘Chicken Freedom’

Briscoe Cain wants all Texans to have the right to gather eggs in their backyards, local ordinances be damned.

By

Politics & Policy|

February 27, 2023

Inside the Karaoke Bar Where Texas Lawmakers Serenade One Another

Legislators and staffers have been cavorting in one of Austin’s most dimly lit establishments.

By

a white dinner plate with a cutout in the shape of a carrot.

Food & Drink|

February 27, 2023

Is It Possible to Be Vegan Without Eating Vegetables?

As the alternative meat industry grows—including San Antonio-based vegan chicken sandwich chain Project Pollo—one writer tests the future of eating in America.

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Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

Sports|

February 16, 2023

The Big 12 Doomsday Clock Is Ticking

The announcement of an official date for Texas and Oklahoma’s move to the SEC signaled the end of Texas college football as we know it.

By Richard Justice

The Texanist|

February 15, 2023

The Evolution of the Texanist, According to the Texanist

The magazine’s back-page columnist explains the subtle shifts in his “Fine Advice and Keen Observations,” from 2007 through today.

By

The Texanist|

February 14, 2023

The Texanist: Did the Texas Capitol’s Pink Granite Come From Maine?

A San Antonio man is puzzled by a historical marker he encountered while visiting the Pine Tree State.

By

How to Become a Regular at a Texas Dive Bar

Libations|

February 13, 2023

How to Become a Regular at a Texas Dive Bar

Follow these tips and tricks to becoming beloved at your local watering hole from the guy who literally wrote the book.

By Anthony Head

An assortment of shellfish atop Carolina Gold rice in a light, vegetable-focused pot liquor at Diner Bar in Austin.

Food & Drink|

February 9, 2023

Texas’s Best New Restaurants in 2023

The white tablecloth may be all washed up, but the dining is as fine as ever.

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Style & Design|

February 9, 2023

Nine Tarot Readers for Witchy Texans (and Their Dogs)

We sent a novelist to get her cards flipped up and down the state.

By Amanda Eyre Ward

News & Politics|

February 9, 2023

Inside the Bro-tastic Party Mansions Upending a Historic Austin Community

They have swimming pools, dozens of beds, and at least one stripper pole in a backyard school bus (you read that right). Locals say they’re are turning a vulnerable community into a “theme park” for hard-partying tourists.

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