Every year in the middle of March, thousands descend on Austin to eat barbecue, drink Lone Star, and party. Following on their heels are a tsunami of guides to eating barbecue, drinking Lone Star, and partying.
Eater has some opinions, of course. Now it's time to get meta and sift through the torrent of advice, from genuinely useful articles to listicles trumpeting under-the-radar Torchy Taco. See a guide missing? Hit the tipline or the comments.
Where to Eat During South by Southwest: Statesman critic Matthew Odam rounds up 100 restaurants in the central Austin area, including a number of 'platinum picks' and runners up broken down by cuisine. [Statesman]
The Austin Food Blogger's Alliance Guide: By far the most comprehensive and locally sourced guide, the Austin Food Blogger's Alliance uses their collective clout to guide visitors toward everything from barbecue to banh mi. Want to know what to Instagram or where to go vegan? They have you covered. [AFBA]
The Best Places in Austin to Spot Celebrities During SXSW: Austinites pride themselves on not freaking out over fancy famous people, but if you'd like to stare at Matthew McConaughey, CultureMap has some suggestions, almost all of them bars and restaurants. [CultureMap]
2015 Taco Map - Los Real Deal: Austin's intrepid Taco Journalists make reliably good and well-researched taco suggestions around various SXSW venues. They also call Torchy's "decent, but not worth the crowds." [Taco Journalism]
Where to Avoid SXSW Crowds: Zagat offers alternatives to popular Austin destinations, some of them sensible, like subbing Freedmen's for Franklin Barbecue. Though why Torchy's needs any other alternative besides "another Torchy's" makes less sense. [Zagat]
Where to Eat Great Barbecue in Austin When You Can't Get Into Franklin: Bon Appetit drops a thorough and thoughtful Austin barbecue guide to solve the very real problem that faces the city year-round. [BA]
SXSW: When in Austin, Eating Like a Local Means Breakfast Tacos: The Los Angeles Times recruits one half of Taco Journalism Mando Rayo for a taco crawl around town. Their five recommendations are solid, though they make a strangely big deal over how "tiny" breakfast tacos are compared to breakfast burritos. Surely Rayo told them to order more than one. [LA Times]
A Dozen #1 Food Trailers, Depending on Who You Ask: The folks at Food Trailers Austin round up recommendations from a number of Austinites. Not a huge number of surprises, but all reliably good. [Food Trailers Austin]
Austin Way's Many Guides: The glossy newcomer goes big with the SXSW guides, covering what chefs will be eating (though will any chef really be standing in line at Hopdoddy right now?), restaurants to try, pizza, and juice. [Austin Way]
Craft Beer Guides: Craft Beer Austin drops a map of craft beer destinations and breweries, as well as some general tips. For the Austin Food Bloggers' Alliance, the ladies at Bitch Beer roll out a massive guide to beer across town, with lots of advice about what to look for. [Craft Beer Austin / Bitch Beer]
Where to Eat in Austin During SXSW 2015: Fodor's guide points out some good options but also suggests eating Juan in a Million's stunt foodstuff the Don Juan for an "authentic taste of Austin." [Fodor's]
Spredfast's Instagram Snacker Tracker: A social media marketing company deployed a food guide based on Instagram popularity. The barbecue recommendations put Stubb's at the top. No one is going to Stubb's for the barbecue. [Spredfast]
What's New in 2015: ATXVEGAN, SXSW, And Trailers Everywhere: Vegan Lazy Smurf is one of the most dedicated plant-based bloggers in town. If you wish to check out the newest and hottest in vegan food trucks, this one's for you. [Vegan Lazy Smurf]
The Tastes That Make The City: Austin: Just in time for SXSW, Foursquare debuts another tech-based disruptor of the ol' meatspace food recommender industry. Some of the dishes are quite wonderful: Fresa's street corn, Jar Jar Duck at Uchiko, Bob Armstrong Dip at Matt's, Tonkatsu Ramen at Ramen Tatsu-Ya. But does the fried avocado at Hula Hut really define Austin's avocado heights? Is the vegan ice cream at Mother's the essential vegan dish? It's the uncanny valley of dining guides. [Foursquare]
At South by Southwest It Would Be a Crime Not to Eat Really, Really Well: Food Republic breaks the dining options down by time of day. The guide is solid, though optimistic about the state of downtown during SXSW. Many restaurants suspend their happy hours during the festival, and Fader Fort-adjacent Wright Bros. Brew & Brew has been taken over by Visa and definitely won't be low key. [Food Republic]
Eight Essential Ways to Experience The Best of The SXSW Music Festival: StubHub has done the world a favor by creating the platonic paint- by-numbers SXSW guide: barbecue at The Salt Lick, tacos at Guero's, and chicken shit bingo at Ginny's. [StubHub]
[WARNING: VIRAL] 5 Cafes to Visit in Austin For SXSW: Yes, that is the headline for Sprudge's SXSW coffee guide. All five cafes are in fact quite good, if far from downtown where the caffeine will most sorely be needed. [Sprudge]
5 SXSW Eateries Off The Beaten Path: Presumably, Paste's guide means Jo's Coffee, not Joe's Bakery, when they suggest checking out alternative Cenote (which is often booked for events and actually a terrible place to seek shelter during the festival). [Paste]
A 'Weird' Place For Business, But Not For Cowboy Boots: JW Marriott Hotel restaurant Osteria Pronto is "known for its hand-made pastas" according to the BBC, which is pretty fast considering they opened a month ago. The guide's only other dining suggestion is Lambert's. [BBC]
DO SXSW LIKE A LOCAL!1!1!!! eat cheap tacos and drink affordable beer in the sunshine whenever you want SUCKAZ
— SXSW Like A Local (@SXSWLikeALocal) March 12, 2015