The Austin American-Statesman reported that in a request for a temporary injunction on using the name, the festival and conference producer contended that the similarity of the name might “cause confusion with, or ... dilute the distinctive quality of South by Southwest’s marks.”
The owners of the new seafood and steak house have not announced a new moniker.
Google Maps has added Austin to the list of cities for which it features “Street View”, photographic representations of map locations. Just enter an address in greater Austin, then click Street View on the resulting pop-up arrow to view a panoramic photo of the location. You can also do the nifty pan-and-scan thing by dragging your mouse pointer around the photo, or just click and drag the little yellow man on the map to see the view of another locale.
What’s that building? Contrary to speculation, it is neither Superman’s Fortress of SXSW Solitude nor a kinky marital aid for a mythical race of Texas giants. It is the tallest building in Austin, and is officially known as the Frost Bank Tower. The story is that it was built by or at the direction of the Bohemian Club but, for most SXSW attendees, its perhaps cultish ties don’t diminish its utility as a 33-story landmark at Fourth and Brazos, signaling that the Convention Center is near. (Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)
Why on Earth would I want a Shiner? Ah, you misunderstand us. Folks offering you a Shiner aren’t promising a black eye but a bottle or draft glass of Shiner Bock. Brewed since 1909 by Spoetzl Brewery in the eponymous Shiner, Texas (a couple hours southeast of Austin, as the crow flies), Shiner Bock is the unofficial official beverage of many SXSW devotees. Try one. It’s tasty!
What the hell is up with all the birds? If you’re at all prone to Tippi Hedren-like hysterics, you’ve probably been a bit jumpy since arriving in Austin. That cackling you hear in the trees and that poop you see all over the walk come from the common grackle, of which the city has a ton in residence. Often mistaken for crows, the winged beasties are annoying to be sure and at various times Austin, like many other cities, has undertaken methods both routine and unorthodox to drive them from the streets. Some suspect a grackle mass-death in 2007 was the result of one such campaign, although it was more likely natural causes. Watch where you step and consider wearing a hat whilst roaming downtown.
What’s the deal with the bats? They get a bad rap, but Austin’s bat population isn’t the vampiric, blood-sucking variety. Those are the record producers. (Ba-dum-bump!) No, the cute little flying rats that form the world’s largest urban bat colony make their home under the Congress Avenue Bridge and, on summer and some late spring nights, emerge almost 1.5 million strong to feast on insects and crop pests. It can be quite a sight if you’re lucky enough to catch the furballs in flight but it can also scare the willies out of you if it happens while you’re stumbling along South Congress unawares and/or intoxicated. Please call the Bat Hot Line, 512-416-5700, Category 3636 (courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman), for the latest flight times.
Whoa! Who’s she? You probably just passed Sixth Street fixture Leslie Cochran, arguably Austin’s most prominent homeless transvestite former mayoral candidate (not that it’s a particularly wide field).
Turn right on Man-shack? Left on Guadaloop? Where’s The Drag? Huh? Guadalupe Street is pronounced “gawd-ah-loop.” It is a street running north-south in Austin, and runs through the UT campus area. The part of Guadalupe that runs through UT is commonly referred to as “The Drag.” Manchaca Road is pronounced as “man-shack.” Don’t ask us why. It’s just the Austin way. Other hints to talk like a local: San Jacinto is “San Jah-sin-toe”, San Marcos is San Mar-kiss and Nueces is New-ay-sez. Practice these and make us proud.
A friend of mine Twittered earlier today, asking about the fate of Las Manitas Avenue Cafe, currently located at 211 Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. Last year, hotel chain Marriott proposed building a large hotel complex on Congress Avenue, displacing some local Austin businesses, including the much beloved Las Manitas, causing a stir in the Austin community, who rallied to save the restaurant.
To make a long story short, the operators of Las Manitas signed a deal with the landowner resolving the situation in January. The deal will allow Las Manitas to continue operating at their existing location on Congress Avenue until June or July and then move to a historical building they own on the same block. So, yes, Las Manitas will continue serving their delicious food during SXSW 2008, and move to 227 Congress Avenue in the summer. Let’s hope the move goes smoothly.
Photo by Matthew Levine, used under a Creative Commons license.
Got Some Downtime? Check Out These Events During SXSW
In case you’re looking to do some exploring in Austin, there are some cool events happening in Austin that coincide with SXSW dates:
Mike Birbiglia, Michael Showalter, and Eugene Mirman at Emo’s
In case you don’t get enough of comic Eugene Mirman at the Web Awards, head over to Emo’s the following night to see him do some standup with Michael Showalter and Mike Birbiglia. You might recognize Michael Showalter from his role Wet Hot American Summer or as part of The State. Mike Birbiglia is an up and coming NYC stand-up comedian who just had a Comedy Central Presents special air last month. I’ve seen all three perform, so this show is definitely worth checking out.
Autumn de Wilde: Elliot Smith
Not only is noted musician photographer Autumn de Wilde speaking on a panel at SXSW Music, but she’s also bringing her show of Elliot Smith portraits to Austin, at the 4 Walls Fine Art Gallery. The gallery is conveniently located near the 6th street district, on East 5th Street, just off Congress. You may recognize de Wilde’s most famous image of the iconic singer-songwriter, found on the cover of Figure 8. The show runs Thursday, March 13 through March 22, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 13 from 4 to 7pm. Listen to a podcast about her work with Smith.
3rd Annual Austin Chocolate Festival
The 3rd Annual Austin Chocolate Festival benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The festival will include up to 20 vendors including chocolatiers, bakeries, patisseries, restaurants, hotels, caterers, authors, and resorts. The participating vendors will offer samples to festival guests. Tickets are available online for $21.56 per day; the festival takes place from March 7 -9.
It’s a little known fact that there are FREE trolleys called Dillos which run through the core of downtown Austin. It’s a great way to check out some of the sites around town, or perhaps you just want to get away from the crowds and find somewhere quieter to eat that doesn’t have a queue.
There are 5 different lines, which you can catch mostly off Congress or the Blue line that stops in front of the Convention Center (only through the lunch hours 11am-2pm).
Stops are marked by a sign with a picture of an armadillo and the trolleys tend to come every 15 to 20 minutes. But note, there is quite a number of blocks between stops. I highly suggest that you refer to the Schedules and Map links I’ve provided below. Take note that each map highlights the various destinations you can reach on the Dillo.
If you’re looking to work off some barbeque or sweat away some SXSW-related stress (So. Many. Bands.), consider some roadwork with an informal group of SXSW runners organizing on Facebook. It’s a great way to take in the Austin scenery and enjoy (what we hope will be) the lovely weather.
Welcome to Austin! Already, the town is filling up with folks eager for the Interactive conference to begin in earnest tomorrow. Lines at the Austin Convention Center have been long and a bit slow processing registrations, which gave us the opportunity to eavesdrop on a few conversations that yielded some pretty Frequently Asked Questions. SXSW Baby! is here to help…
What’s that building? Contrary to speculation, it is neither Superman’s Fortress of SXSW Solitude nor a kinky marital aid for a mythical race of Texas giants. It is the tallest building in Austin, and is officially known as the Frost Bank Tower. The story is that it was built by or at the direction of the Bohemian Club but, for most SXSW attendees, its perhaps cultish ties don’t diminish its utility as a 33-story landmark at Fourth and Brazos, signaling that the Convention Center is near. (Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)
What the hell is up with all the birds? If you’re at all prone to Tippi Hedren-like hysterics, you’ve probably been a bit jumpy since arriving in Austin. That cackling you hear in the trees and that poop you see all over the walk come from the common grackle, of which the city has a ton in residence. Often mistaken for crows, the winged beasties are annoying to be sure and at various times Austin, like many other cities, has undertaken methods both routine and unorthodox to drive them from the streets. Some suspect a grackle mass-death earlier this year was the result of one such campaign, although it was more likely natural causes. Watch where you step and consider wearing a hat whilst roaming downtown.
What’s the deal with the bats? They get a bad rap, but Austin’s bat population isn’t the vampiric, blood-sucking variety. Those are the record producers. (Ba-dum-bump!) No, the cute little flying rats that form the world’s largest urban bat colony make their home under the Congress Avenue Bridge and, on summer and some late spring nights, emerge almost 1.5 million strong to feast on insects and crop pests. It can be quite a sight if you’re lucky enough to catch the furballs in flight but it can also scare the willies out of you if it happens while you’re stumbling along South Congress unawares and/or intoxicated.
Howdy folks! Just wanted to let you know that Tappity has created a special page for SXSW attendees to help you make the most of your week in Austin. Now you can see what time the next panel starts, find out where to grab a bite for lunch, and check if your flight is on time, all from your mobile phone.
For those who are already registered and familiar with Tappity, just login to your account and visit the link above. If you’re new to Tappity, or a bit confused, Tappity is a user driven site where you discover, rate, and suggest mobile-friendly web pages for viewing on phones and PDAs. In addition, you can save favorite items to a mobile homepage that’s personalized just for you. Plus, it’s free!
The blog post also mentions this handy economy hint for SXSW transit users:
As an added incentive for SXSW attendees, $1 day passes are available for purchase on board Capital Metro buses and provide unlimited use of Capital Metro services for an entire day.
The majority of SXSW events take place in Downtown Austin. All of the official conference events during the day (panels, keynotes, the trade show, etc.) take place at the Austin Convention Center at 4th and Neches Street, on the eastern side of downtown; all evening events, music parties, and film screenings are scattered about town, but there’s lots of stuff you can do without getting inside a car.
Unfamiliar with Downtown Austin? It’s pretty easy to figure out since it’s a grid bordered by water on one side and the highway on another side.
Many of the streets downtown are one-way. The east-west streets are numerical. Cesar Chavez Street, just north of Town Lake, was formerly called First Street. Cesar Chavez is the southern border of Downtown. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, just south of the University of Texas campus, was formerly Nineteenth Street. MLK is the northern border of Downtown. The north-south streets are named for the rivers of Texas geographically from west to east, beginning with Rio Grande on the west and stretching east to Sabine.
Congress Ave. and East 6th Street are the main drags of downtown, with Congress running North-South and being the street that splits it the numbered streets into West and East; hopefully your accommodations are only a short walk from these streets. There’s also a bunch of bars and clubs on Red River Street. If you’re visiting for the Music Festival, definitely familiarize yourself with Red River.
Personally, I have never ventured too far into northern downtown (say, north of 9th Street) or west of Congress when walking around between panels and parties at night. There’s also a action happening on Red River, which is the street hugging the Convention Center/Austin Hilton to the right, two blocks west of I-35. So if you’re hopping to events after conferencing all day, you’ll probably be going up to Red River or north up to E. 6th Street.
Here’s the official SXSW Hotel Map [PDF]. The red splotch is the convention center, and the block labeled 8 is the Hilton. Downtown Austin has a great and very helpful web site of its own, too.
Here’s some PDF maps of the main drags, denoting businesses, restaurants, and bars:
Film Venues Map [You’ll definitely need a taxi or car to get to some of the venues, or ride the Cap Metro bus.]
And if you’re a badgeholder, your program guide for Interactive, Film, or Music will have all this map information repeated, too, in professionally printed form.
Well, it’s snowing here in NYC and I just checked the weather forecast for the next week for Austin, TX. Looks amazing, with a high of 79 degrees F expected on Saturday. Let the countdown begin…
I’m by no means an expert on Austin food, but I thought it would be handy to note some of the places I’ve enjoyed over the last few SXSW conferences.
My focus here on listing places has been mostly those restaurants that are:
1. in close proximity to 6th Street and the Convention Center at 4th St and Neches (I like the Warehouse District a lot but most people won’t be willing to walk all the way out there for lunch)
2. relatively inexpensive and casual (or are of good value)
3. places specializing in BBQ and Tex-Mex
4. not national chains like IHOP or PF Chang’s and the like
So here’s my shortlist of where you and a few friends can sit down and grab a bite downtown in between films, panels, parties, and bands. Personally, I try to avoid eating Asian food since I can get a lot of that at home, YMMV. As a New Yorker, I also maintain the right to be snotty about Austin’s imposter Katz’ Deli.
Thanks to Yimay Yang, Karen Broyles, and Michaela Drapes for extra tips.
I’m most intrigued by #3, Lamberts, a brand new BBQ place on the west side of Downtown that claims to be a “fancy BBQ” joint. Reservations are recommended and the menu’s upper entree prices are $20. But the menu contains upscale choices like baby-back wild boar ribs, pecan-smoked Alaskan king salmon, cold-smoked quail, mustard and brown sugar ribeyes, and fried blackberry pie with lemon sorbet. I’m guessing you don’t wipe your hands with paper towels here?
What’s that building? Contrary to speculation, it is neither Superman’s Fortress of SXSW Solitude nor a kinky marital aid for a mythical race of Texas giants. It is the tallest building in Austin, and is officially known as the 
