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

North Carolina BBQ Trail

Just mention the word "barbecue", and some people will start salivating.  And with good reason, because there is a lot of great barbecue out there.

For this map though, we'll focus on barbecue from North Carolina, and the mission statement for the North Carolina Barbecue Society says it all:

"The mission of the North Carolina Barbecue Society (NCBS) is to preserve North Carolina’s barbecue history and culture and to secure North Carolina’s rightful place as the Barbecue Capital of the World."

To help you sample North Carolina barbecue the NCBS has put together a Barbecue Trail to help people sample the distinctive methods and barbecue cooking styles North Carolina barbecue has to offer, and you can see the 23 places they've chosen on our map below.

For a slightly different perspective on North Carolina barbecue, check out the BBQ Jew blog.  And if you want to check out unique and unusual things to do between meals, Visit NC has some suggestions.

Zoom in to find your next meal.

Where To Find Authentic Neapolitan Pizza

There are all kinds of pizza in the U.S. - New York-style, Chicago-style, St. Louis-style, even California-style.  But where can you find authentic Neapolitan-style pizza?

Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are typically made with tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese, and are cooked in a very high-heat wood burning oven. While you could order Neapolitan pizza in a lot of pizzerias, the only way to know you are getting truly authentic Neapolitan pizza is if the restaurant has been certified by VPN Americas.

VPN Americas is the American Delegation of the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, an international non-profit organization founded in the mid 1980’s by a group of Neapolitan pizzaiolis (pizza makers) seeking to cultivate the culinary art of making Neapolitan pizza.  Currently there are 69 restaurants that have been certified in the U.S. and Canada, and as you can see from our map some are in places you wouldn't expect.

Zoom in the map to see exactly where each restaurant is at.  Enjoy!

Where Is The Best Ice Cream

There is plenty of ice cream out there - it's not like we lack choices.  But if you have the chance there are a few ice cream shops you should really make an effort to visit, and we've mapped the top choices from six "Best Of" lists to help you find them.

• Two Scoops of Ube - Time
• Great American Ice Cream Shops - SAVEUR.com
• America's Best Ice Cream - US News & World Report
• Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S. - Food & Wine Magazine
• The 25 Best Ice Cream Shops in the U.S. - Complex
• America's Best Ice Cream Shops - Travel + Leisure

Vanilla is still the king of flavors, however as you visit the ice cream shops on our list you may find new favorites that go beyond strawberry and chocolate too.

Move the map around to see where all the shops are located (don't forget Hawaii too), and zoom in to see how close you are to some creamy heaven.

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.

2011 Top 100 Chinese Restaurants

Every January Chinese Restaurant News announces the winners of the best Chinese & Asian cuisine in the U.S. and other countries.  This years winners span 33 states, including big cities like New York and Los Angeles, and small ones like Eagle River Alaska and Mason Ohio.  Just goes to show you that you can get good food just about anywhere.

Our map shows the winners of the Top 10 Overall Excellence and Top 100 Overall Excellence.  Additional winners not on our map (yet!) are:

• Top 10 Signature Dish
• Top 100 Takeout
• Top 100 Buffet
• Top 100 Local Favorite
• Top 100 Healthy Menus
• Top Celebrity Chefs and Owners
• Top 100 Hall of Fame Restaurants

Zoom and move the map around to find the restaurant closest to where you are, or where you're going. The blue "10" icon shows the Top 10 Overall winners.

Things To Do: New Orleans

Mardi Gras in New Orleans ends on Tuesday - so what else is there to do?  Lots.

Food is definitely a big reason to roam around city, and there is plenty of history to view too.  We have mapped three lists to help you decide what to do, and where to go:

• New York Times - 36 Hours - New Orleans
• Msnbc.com - 15 things you didn't know about New Orleans
• Food Network - Diners, Drive-ins & Dives

You don't have to wait for Mardi Gras to visit New Orleans, and considering how much there is to do, it's going to take more than one trip to see it all.
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Best New Restaurants of 2011

What were the best new restaurants of 2011?  Depends on who you ask.  Which is why we have pulled together four "Best New" lists for you to use for finding not only good food, but maybe even something that is really unique.

The four lists we've mashed up for our map are:

• Bon Appétit - The Best New Restaurants in America, 2011
• Conde Nast Traveler - Hot New Restaurants of 2011
• Esquire - Best Restaurants 2011
• Gayot - Top 10 Ten Best New Restaurants in the United States

Some cities can have multiple restaurants (New York has 13), so be sure to zoom in for more detail.  Also, let us know if there are any national lists we missed.

Fish Taco Ground Zero

Some food is closely identified with specific cities - Philadelphia has it's cheesesteaks, New York has pizza.  For San Diego, it has to be fish tacos.

The history of the fish taco predates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico, and Spanish conquistadors were the first Europeans to experience eating one.

Fast forward to 1983, when Ralph Rubio opened up his first Rubio's restaurant that featured his version of the fish tacos he experienced while on a college break in San Felipe Mexico.  Now every Mexican eatery offers them, and they are the subject of culinary competition at high end restaurants.

Who has the best?  The San Diego Union-Tribune has an article called "Quest for the Fish Taco" that sheds some light on some unique San Diego versions, but the only way to know for sure is to go eat a bunch.  Let us know what you decide.

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Best Road Food - Western U.S.

Sunset magazine, which is "the premier resource for achieving the ultimate Western lifestyle", has put together the absolutely best places to eat along Western highways.

In their article called "Top 41 road food spots in the West", they show you the best places to pull off the road and chow down burgers, milkshakes, fish taco's, breakfast, pie, or just good road food.  Yum!

And if you're in Hawaii, or planning to travel there, don't forget to check out the food places on Kauai and Oahu.

Things To Do: Cape May NJ

Where is the country's oldest seaside resort?  Cape May, located on the southern tip of New Jersey, began hosting vacationers from Philadelphia in the mid 18th century.

When you visit, if don't have much time The New York Times has some suggestions in their article "36 Hours in Cape May, N.J.".

If you have more than 36 hours, we've also added a few things from our extensive database of unique places, such as 51 Bed and Breakfasts that are right in town and walking distance to the beach, three wineries, and because Cape May is arguably the top bird-watching area in the entire Northeastern United States, we added the Cape May Bird Observatory to your map too.  Tell us how your visit went.

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Where Are The Best Burgers in San Diego?

Southern California has had a large role in providing the world with the food staple we call the hamburger (or burger for short).  McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr, In-N-Out and Fatburger all started in Southern California, and these are just the most widely known.

New burger chains like The Counter and San Diego's own Burger Lounge show that there is still plenty of demand for new variations, and while the most convenient burger can be found at a burger chain, sometimes the best are found at the truly local burger joints like Hodad's or new food havens like Jayne's Gastropub.

Where can you get the best burger in San Diego?  We've pulled together three "Best Burger" lists for you to sample (yes, go eat there):

• San Diego Union-Tribune - Best burgers in paradise
• San Diego Union-Tribune - The Superdiners on 2011's super burgers
• Yelp - Best hamburger San Diego

Let us know when you're done sampling and want to crown a winner.

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Follow The Food Celebs To: Indianapolis IN

Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate?  How about the Travel Channel food show Man v Food? It's time to follow these professional foodies and try out some of the restaurants they have visited...

If you look at the map of Indianapolis IN there is an interesting resemblance between the surrounding I-465 highway and the racetrack of the Indianapolis Speedway.  Coincidence?

There is lots to ponder about this vibrant midwest metro area, and plenty to do in addition to sampling the variety of food visited by the food celebs.

We've mapped out just a small sample of the things to do and places to go around Indianapolis, and you can certainly find more on our Attraction Map (tab at top) as well as at Visit Indy, the official tourism site of Indianapolis.

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Mothers Day Things To Do

It's Mothers Day soon, and do you know what you plan to do?

To give you some ideas, we've collected a few of our previous articles & maps to help you out:

• America's Most Romantic Restaurants
• Sunset - 50 Romantic, Beach and Hideaway Places To Stay At
• Hotels For Business, Pleasure And Weird
• Best Resorts in the Caribbean
• 2010 Top 100 Chinese Restaurants
• Unique Spas in North America
• Sunset - Top 10 Hideaways by the Sea
• Travel + Leisure - America's Best Coastal Hotels

And if you'll be taking the kids with you (you know, the ones that make a mother a mother), or want some sweets for your sweetie, then consider these:

• 15 Places Your Kids Should See Before 15
• America's Best Hot Chocolate
• Where Is The Best Pie In America?
• America's Best Donuts - Where Are They?

Let us know what was the most interesting.

The Guy Fieri Effect: San Diego

Guy Fieri has an effect on people, especially when it comes to food.  He makes food look good, and delicious. And since he does that in front of a large TV audience, people take notice, and want to experience the same food. That's the Guy Fieri effect.

The San Diego Union-Tribune looked into this effect on eight county restaurants Guy visited for his Diners, Drive-ins and Dives show.  The response was so overwhelming that three of the restaurants have opened up second locations, and it's easy to tell when a rerun has been on (hint: they get even more crowded).

Guy is a busy guy these days, what with his Food Network shows, a game show, and his own restaurants too.  But for local restaurant owners his biggest effect is when he comes to town, hungry, and with his sense of wonder for local versions of food.

Want to experience the Guy Fieri effect?  Use our TV Food Show Restaurants map to find the nearest restaurant.

Things To Do: Seattle WA

Seattle is known by many nicknames, including the official one (Emerald City) and Jet City (Boeing's influence), and residents are known as Seattleites.

While you can't see all of Seattle in one day, the New York Times has taken a stab at finding a good amount of things to do in a day and a half in their article "36 Hours in Seattle".  We have also added the places they covered in a 2007 article called "Seattle’s New Food Market", which is mainly at the Melrose Market.

Speaking of food, if you're a fan of TV food shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and  Man v Food, then look for the Food Network and Travel Channel map icons for places that have been visited by these and other shows.

And in case you're looking for more to do, we have added the attractions covered by CityPASS, which provides multi-day attraction passes at a discount.

Zoom the map out and around to see all the places.

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Things To Do: Downtown Los Angeles

The New York Times has gone into the heart of it's cross-country rival and uncovered a wide variety of things to do in their article "36 Hours in Downtown Los Angeles".

In a day and a half, they take you through art galleries, food, drink, fashion, architecture and a variety of entertainment.  You'll need a vacation to recover!

And if you want more to do and eat while in L.A., check out our "Follow The Food Celebs To: Los Angeles" article.

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Unique New York Doughnut Shops

Donuts.  If ever there was a food that generated so much inner conflict, it would have to be donuts.  They are not only an indulgence, but a desire that seems to be genetically wired into us from childhood (not to mention the breakroom at work).

We previously published a map mashup of four "Best Donut" lists (America's Best Donuts - Where Are They?), and we wanted to add the places covered in a recent New York Times article called "A Flowering of the Doughnut Arts".

Not surprisingly, some donut shops (like Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop) end up on more than one list, so here are the best places you can be assured of getting a great donut experience!

Our map below includes all the donut places nationwide from our other article - use the View Larger Map link to find your next heavenly doughy bite.


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Follow The Food Celebs To: Las Vegas

Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate?  How about the Travel Channel food show Man v Food?  It's time to follow these professional foodies and try out some of the restaurants they visited...

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Las Vegas is a wonder to visit, and like other big destinations you can't see all of it in one visit.  Besides gambling and gawking, the shows are probably what define Las Vegas the most, so we'll show you a few of the most notable ones to consider in between eating where the food celebs have eaten.

Look below the map for even more activity suggestions.
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All Las Vegas Shows:

VegasTickets.com has been in business for over 20 years serving tickets to the hottest shows in Las Vegas at VegasTickets.com.

Attraction Passes:

The Las Vegas Explorer Pass includes three events from our list of top Las Vegas shows, tours, nightlife, dining, and attractions for one low pre-paid price. You'll save up to 50% off compared to regular admission prices.

Activity Passes:

VISITicket.com now offers two exciting passes in Las Vegas that provide visitors with instant access to all the top things to do in Las Vegas including the best Las Vegas restaurants, the top Las Vegas attractions, and the most exciting Las Vegas Tours.  See what the Las Vegas Power Pass and Las Vegas MealTicket passes offer.

Nearby Activities:

Grand Canyon Tour Company offers the BEST tours at the BEST price from Las Vegas.

Bookings For Everything:

As one of the market leaders for Las Vegas, BestOfVegas.com offers you highly competitive rates on hotel rooms, show tickets, and much more. Ranging from small economy hotels to luxury hotels, from the hottest shows in town to the best deals you can find on smaller shows, from Las Vegas Strip tours to exciting tours of the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, from Nightclub VIP Passes to Bottle Service reservations, and so much MORE, BestOfVegas.com provides you with nothing but the best!