Where To Eat & Drink At SXSW... And Why

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conferences & Festivals are going on now through March 17, and this yearly event draws a lot of people from outside Austin TX.  In between the various planned activities, the attendees want to drink in (literally in some cases) the local sights, scenes, sounds and senses.  And we'd like to help.

We have gathered up all the stories we have collected from around the web that talk about food & drink related places in the Austin area, and put them on one map.  Click on each dot to see what place it is, and who was talking about it.

The full list of the stories are below the map - Enjoy!:



The stories we've collected relating to Austin are:

Veggie Tales: Austin's best spots for plant-based dining - The Austin Chronicle
You Gotta Try This, SXSW: Vegetarian favorites - Austin360.com
You Gotta Try This, SXSW: Lunch, dinner downtown - Austin360.com
You Gotta Try This, SXSW: Lunch, dinner outside the downtown core - Austin360.com
Top Austin Restaurants for SXSW, According to TripIt Users - TripIt Blog
Find time for a long, tall taste of Austin during SXSW madness - Austin American-Statesman
Austin, Texas: Where to Eat and Drink - Bon Appetit Magazine
10 places to see in 2013 - Los Angeles Times
101 Best Restaurants in America for 2013 - The Daily Meal
The Best Burgers in 25 Cities - Zagat
The Most Important Restaurants in America - Bon Appetit Magazine
'Where Chefs Eat': Insiders Guide to the World's Best Dining Delights - PRI's The World
America’s Best Bagels - The Daily Meal
A trio of Austin art galleries - San Antonio Express-News
After Crispy Pig Ears, 10 Trends for 2013 - The New York Times
America’s 12 Best Donut Shops - The Daily Meal
The Best Burritos in America - The Daily Meal
What to eat in Austin right now - New York Post
Best French Fries in the U.S. - Travel + Leisure
America's Coolest New Diners - Travel + Leisure
Top sandwich shops: Travelers pick their favorites - USATODAY.com
10 of America's best historic restaurants - CNN.com
The 25 Best Ice Cream Shops in the U.S. - Complex
Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S. - Food & Wine Magazine
World Beer Cup 2012 Winners - USA & CAN
100 Restaurants with the Best Service in the U.S. - OpenTable
The Ten Best New Restaurants in America: Restaurants + Bars: - GQ Magazine
Best Restaurants 2011 - Esquire
The Best New Restaurants in America, 2011 - Bon Appetit Magazine
2011 Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Competition - Top 100 Overall Excellence (USA)
2009 Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Competition - Top 100 Overall Excellence (USA)
Food Wars - Travel Channel
America's Best Donuts - Travel + Leisure
National Carousel Association
Sweet Tooth - Food Network
Bar-B-Que - Food Network

U.S. 2012 World Beer Cup Winners

Where can you find the best craft beer?

Earlier this month the Brewers Association held the World Beer Cup 2012 - 'The Olympics of Beer Competition'. 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states entered 3,921 beers in 95 beer style categories.

U.S. breweries won 212 of the 284 total awards, with California (55 awards) winning the most, and Colorado (27 awards) winning more than the next highest country (Germany with 23 awards).

So where can you find the best craft beer?  On our map!

We have mapped the winning small & medium sized breweries that you can visit, tour or drink at.  Zoom in to where you are, or where you're going, and click the map pins to see the brewery name and their awards. The map pins are even color coded.  Read more after the map...



In the U.S., the Brewers Association says there were 250 new breweries that opened in 2011, and though overall beer sales by volume were down, craft brewery volume was up by 13%.  Clearly more and more people are enjoying the unique beers being crafted by these mainly local breweries.

You don't have to be a beer expert to enjoy craft beer, but you may want to brush up on some definitions:

• Microbrewery - A brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels (17,600 hectoliters) of beer per year with 75% or more of its beer sold off-site.
• Brewpub - A restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or more of its beer on site. The beer is brewed primarily for sale in the restaurant and bar.

Two resources to find a craft brewery, or your favorite craft beer are:

• CraftBeer.com -published by the Brewers Association, they have an extensive database of breweries and beer-related information
• TapHunter - They don't cover every market, but they specialize in connecting craft beer fanatics with the beers they love, the brewers who brew them and the locations that pour them. They have a website plus iPhone and Android apps

If you want to share your beer experiences, two of the largest forums are:

• BeerAdvocate - a global, grassroots network, powered by an independent community of beer enthusiasts and industry professionals who are dedicated to supporting and promoting beer
• RateBeer - an independent world site for craft beer enthusiasts that is dedicated to serving the entire craft beer community through beer education, promotion and outreach.

Things To Do: Orange County, CA

Just south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego lies Orange County California. If you're not familiar with Southern California, it's where Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm are located (and a lot more).  Zoom our map out to get your bearings, then zoom in to find lots of things to see and do.

To give you a flavor of what you can find in Orange County, we have mapped the places from ten different articles from four different local media - those that know Orange County the best.

Click around to explore, and see the article list below:



Articles we've mapped:

• Southern California Close-Up: 10 places to explore in Inland Orange County - Los Angeles Times
• One perfect day in Irvine, CA - Sunset
• Cruise California's Newport Harbor - Sunset
• Best of Orange County 2011 - Best Hole in the Wall - The Orange County Register
• Best of Orange County 2011 - Best Restaurant - The Orange County Register
• Best of Orange County 2011 - Best Romantic Restaurant - The Orange County Register
• Best of Orange County 2011 - Best Museum - The Orange County Register
• 10 Great Breweries In Orange County - The Orange County Register
• Delectable Donuts - The Orange County Register
• Donut Gold - Coast Magazine

If you need more local info, check out the official website for Orange County.