User Lists in Austin, TX Metro

The bar and restaurant scene is spreading like wildfire, in a good way. Each week another new bar or restaurant is opening its doors to satiate Austin's craving for something hip and new. Here's a look at the city's newest hotspots.

With SXSW taking Austin by storm for two weeks during March, there are countless concerts, films and other fun happenings around the city. We've got the scoop on a few great ways to spend your free time in Austin during March.

We can always count on the bar scene in Austin. Here's our list of the top bars in the city for 2010. Go ahead: toast to the hour that is happy--or any time, for that matter.

Foie gras burgers, CIA-trained chefs and a diner equipped with a sommelier and beer specialist--yeah, Austin's dining scene is on the upswing. Austin has seen some sweeping talent take over its dining rooms in 2010. Here's my list of my favorite restaurants of the year, some new and others long-standing favorites.

The power lunch definition: a meeting over lunch that gives somebody the opportunity to cultivate an important contact or discuss high-level business matters. Here's a round up of Austin's best power lunch hotspots to let you conduct important business (or just pretend you are doing so).

Football season has begun and the temperatures dipped below 100 degrees, chilly for us Austinites. Here's a list of pumpkin-infused drinks to get us ready for the fall.

Oh glorious paella: one indulgent Spanish vacation-turned-unforgiving-bingefest some 5,000 miles from Austin and we were hooked. Eventually returning stateside (feeling more worldy and a few pounds heavier), we wondered if central Texans can whip up the traditional bomba rice dish with much (if any) justice or culinary integrity. A Sunday rendezvous at Vino Vino or midweek food romp at Malaga beckon an affirmative si gorda, estas de suerte!; and thus, we're thrilled to say, you can now find us face first in a piping hot pan of seafood, meat or (if we're feeling really crazy) mixed paella right here on home turf. Chow down at any of our Austin picks.

Whizzing past the alphabet streets of Austin's eccentric Hyde Park is risky for the indecisive and fruitful for the hungry, as its prime locale makes it a hotbed for killer restaurants of all varieties. Once 19th century sleepy streetcar suburb and now a revitalized haven for families, young professionals and college kids insistent on ditching the dorms, the neighborhood crop is as diverse as its populace?wheatgrass bars to oyster-slinging fish markets to bistros with Food Network star power. Below, just a few of our Hyde Park favorites.
(Pictured behind the massive muscle: Vino Vino)

Those luscious locks of ours need major lovin? after the hell we put them through, but frequent TLC at high-end Austin salons can be a toughie for those low on dough. Before you resort to the amateur hair hacker within, consider our top 5 salons that offer quality tress-taming services with a lessening blow to the wallet.

In a town where chips and salsa are king (and served at every meal time) sometimes you just want something else to snack on. You're in luck 'cause it turns out that this Tex-Mex loving town can actually cook up, or should I say fry up, some pretty good french fries.