Recently in Austin Category

As popular as Austin is, it's hard to get past the heat sometimes. And with temperatures already soaring into the upper 90s, you'll want to find restaurants that are both cool and cool you off during your stay at the Aloft Austin at The Domain.

Uchi (pictured), has been wowing Austinites with its innovative take on sushi and other Japanese dishes in a cozy cottage. Chef Justin Cole is on the verge of opening a second restaurant, Uchiko, and foodies are eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Olivia was one of Bon Appetit's 2009 Top Ten New Restaurants, and it's earned its accolades with a seasonal, locally sourced menu and attention to detail.

Dinner and a movie is dinner at a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. The cinema-themed menu is pun-tastic but trustworthy, and the beer list is long and ice-cold. If you have to stick close to The Domain and don't want a chain restaurant experience, The Steeping Room is your best bet. It's a combination tea house and light restaurant, with some tasty baked goods, salads and desserts to nosh while you sip carefully selected teas. Though it's gets so hot outside, you may want to ask for it iced.

A weekend spent at the Aloft Austin means putting on the cowboy boots and loosening the belt buckle a notch or two - right? Not exactly. This Tex-Mex heaven is a lot greener than you may expect. The birthplace of Whole Foods lays claim to some pretty exciting restaurants that have your health - and the planet's - in mind.

"Only" is an oft-repeated word when it comes to Ruby's BBQ's many claims to fame: It's the only place in Austin that slowly smokes its BBQ in oak wood-fired authentic brick pits; the only BBQ restaurant serving all-natural, hormone-free brisket; and it only serves side dishes it makes in-house from fresh produce. Its chunky mayonnaise potato salad gets rave reviews.

Texas-Tuscan haven Vespaio gets up close and personal with its meat as well, actually butchering the locally-raised lambs and pigs that make their way into its spicy Italian dishes - the wood-fired Toscana pizza features housemade Tuscan pork sausage. A back garden provides fresh herbs, and pastas, including gluten-free options, and breads are handmade in-house. The 16-table Wink Restaurant & Wine Bar keeps it fresh-as-can-be as well, relying on local produce, herbs, and cheeses, with an emphasis on what's in season. This member of the slow food movement is so serious about sustainability that it prints the names of the many Texas farms it works with at the bottom of its menu, which features fresh, inventive dishes like grassfed bison NY strip on barley pilaf with hen of the woods mushrooms and dried cherries.

Oktoberfest isn't just in Germany, of course. There are events all around the United States this month celebrating the brewer's art. Here are a few to look for on your travels.

Each Thursday in October, the Atlanta Botanical Garden hosts the Fest-of-Ale, featuring a selection of seasonal beers selected by Hop City, live music, and nighttime viewing of their fall Scarecrows in the Garden exhibit. The garden is an easy walk from the W Atlanta - Midtown; stop and pick up a flashlight on the way.

On Oct. 17, KC Beerfest gives folks the opportunity to sample nearly 75 beers from around the world and lets you keep the glass as a souvenir. Continue your taste test at Flying Saucer, a short cab ride from the Westin Crown Center.

Flying Saucer's Fort Worth and Austin branches are celebrating their own Fall Beer Festivals on Oct. 17 and 24, respectively. For $15, try out 10 beers from categories including "Texas' Best Brews," "Cap'n Keith's Picks" and "You're Not Worthy." They're close to the Sheraton Fort Worth and Sheraton Austin, respectively. In Austin, you can enjoy a film with your beer at the Alamo Drafthouse.