Links We Luv: Austin in the News

Growing up, every year my family would go on a vacation. My family of five would pile into our Ford Conversion Van and my Dad would drive for hours at a time. We went to Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina and we’ve visited states everywhere in between. Oftentimes, Our Texas license plate would cause people to ask where we were from. The answer Austin, TX would normally provoke a dazed look and the reply “Where?”. This almost always lead to a conversation about how you could find Austin in relation to Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.

Oh how the times have changed. Nowadays, when I tell people I’m from Austin, it usually results in a response along the lines of “Oh, I just love Austin!”. I can’t remember a more exciting time to live in Austin especially for a food lover.

This edition of Links We Luv, reinforces that sentiment. I’ve shared a couple of great articles about the Austin food scene and the announcements of a couple of interesting store openings. Enjoy!

• Austin Food & Wine Festival Next Week – Solidifying Austin’s place as one of the great food cities, the first ever Austin Food & Wine Festival is next week. This event includes an impressive lineup of chefs and celebrities including Gail Simmons, Tim Love, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and many more. Austin favorites Bryce Gilmore (Barley Swine), David Bull (Congress), Tyson Cole (Uchi), and Top Chef Paul Qui (Uchiko) will also be on hand. (Austin Food & Wine Festival)
• Voting in Austin Chronicle’s Restaurant Poll ends on 4/23/12 – Austin restaurants take great pride in being named in the Chronicle’s Annual Restaurant Poll. Voting ends 4/23, so don’t miss the opportunity to vote for your favorites. (Austin Chronicle)
• How Austin Became a Culinary Capital – This is a really well written and interesting article about the Austin food scene. I really enjoyed reading it and thought you might too. (Statesman)
• In Austin, Texas, forget the music – cue the food –  Austin’s been getting a ton of love lately for our food. Here’s an article from the Miama Herald, that mentions some great Austin restaurants. (The Miami Harold)
• Trader Joe’s is Coming to Austin – I personally have never been to a Trader Joe’s, but I hear this is a pretty big deal. (Statesman)
• Salt & Time Opening a Butcher Shop in Austin – In other exciting news, Salt & Time will be opening a small butcher shop by the end of the year. Not familiar with Salt & Time. Check out this video to see why so many people love them. (Eater Austin)