A new healthy lunch and dinner option has opened in downtown Austin. Muscle Maker Grill offers a variety of health-conscious American, Asian, Mexican, and Italian-style dishes. The menu features creative protein-based dishes, a wide selection of smoothies and protein shakes, as well as a range of vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Muscle Maker Grill began in the northeast, where Matthew DeLeon, the owner of the Austin Muscle Maker Grill location, discovered and fell in love with the restaurant and its healthy offerings. He decided to bring the concept to Austin, where he believes the restaurant will thrive amongst our health-conscious culture.
Austin is “such an active and healthy city,” DeLeon says. “I’m confident that Muscle Maker will complement Austin perfectly.”
The first Texas location of Muscle Maker Grill is located at 9th and Congress, only two blocks south of the Capitol. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekends. They also offer catering and delivery options.
For more information about Muscle Maker Grill and to view the full menu, visit their website.
(Photo credit Brian Fitzsimmons)
(St. Edwards University's Holiday Window Walk Design Competition in the 2ND Street District. Photo credit Jessica Pages via CultureMap)
Every Tuesday and Wednesday from December 6th through 21st, Downtown Austin’s 2ND Street District hosts “Deck the District” with food, entertainment and fun for the entire family.
Each week’s events include caroling, dancing, Elvis sightings and more. 2ND Street boutiques and businesses will host in-store parties with elves passing out bites and beverages throughout the District.
Deck the District begins this evening, and businesses in the district will donate 10 percent of sales from 6 to 9 p.m. to their chosen charities.
For more information and for the full entertainment lineup, click here.
This Sunday evening at 6p.m., join Austinites for the Zilker Tree Lighting Ceremony in Zilker Park near downtown Austin. The 155-foot tree created from lights attached to one of Austin’s historic Moonlight Towers will illuminate the park throughout the holiday season. Music from the Barton Hills Choir and the Austin Civic Wind Symphony will accompany the lighting ceremony.
All December, over 3,000 lights will brighten Zilker Park every evening from 6p.m. to midnight. Food and novelty vendors will be on site until Christmas to provide holiday cheer and entertainment for the family as well. Santa and his elves will make nightly appearances from December 5th through the 11th to hear children’s holiday wishes. And hang around on the 11th for The Hillside Theatre Community Stage’s holiday event with candy, face painting, and community entertainment.
For more information about the festivities at Zilker Park this December, visit the Zilker Tree website. The site also includes information about the history of the Zilker Tree, details about its construction, and a list of other holiday events happening this month with Austin Parks and Recreation.
(Photo credit: Austin Parks and Recreation)
This Saturday, December 3rd from 6 to 9p.m., join the Downtown Austin Alliance and KUT 90.5 for the 22nd annual Holiday Sing-Along and Downtown Stroll at the Capitol and along Congress Avenue.
The evening begins with a holiday sing-along hosted by KUT’s John Aielli on the Capitol grounds from 6 to 7 p.m. Immediately following the carols is the lighting of thet 40-foot live tree at 11th and Congress. The tree will be installed this week and will remain in front of the Capitol until the second week in January.
After the Tree Lighting Ceremony, venture down Congress Avenue for the Downtown Stroll. Congress establishments will stay open late for holiday shopping, food and activities. For a list of activities including live performances, visit the Downtown Stroll schedule here.
(Photo credit: Visualist Images on Flickr)
This week, Bar Congress – located in the base of The Austonian – made headlines (again!) for its authentic cocktails.
The downtown bar’s Miso Mule, created by bar manager Adam Bryan, landed on Tasting Tables Best Cocktails of 2011 list. Bryan, who manages Bar Congress and the bar at neighboring Second Bar + Kitchen, made a name for himself in the cocktail scene at East Side Show Room and Lamberts Barbeque.
Read the full story in the CultureMap article here.
(Photo credit Thomas McConnell)
Tonight the Downtown Austin Alliance hosts “An Evening on the Avenue,” a night showcasing the various restaurants, stores and cultural attractions along Congress Avenue.
Several Congress establishments will host special events this evening. Manuel’s is hosting a Day of the Dead Party from 4 to 6 p.m., complete with a special Happy Hour featuring scary cocktails and half-price appetizers, as well as an altar viewing party and Day of the Dead displays honoring Steve Jobs.
The Mexic-Arte Museum will also hold a Day of the Dead themed event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Their Death to Dollars Exhibition, which runs through November 13th, is both a celebration of the holiday and an investigation of the ways in which Day of the Dead iconography has been increasingly commercialized by popular culture in recent years. The exhibition features 21st-century Day of the Dead art and design, as well as traditional and non-traditional altars in the back gallery.
At Arthouse, artist Carlos Rosales-Silva will lead a “Talking Art” forum at 6 p.m. in which he will discuss his art on display at the gallery. Following the “Talking Art” forum is a special event, complete with music and drinks. The event is free for Arthouse members, $10 for non-members.
At 7 p.m. doors open at The Paramount Theater for a performance by Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian musician who has released over 35 albums over the course of his career, including his 1992 Grammy winning album Brasileiro.
(Photo credit: Visualist Images Photography, http://johnrrogers.com/)
This Tuesday, South Lamar favorite La Boîte Café opened a new location in downtown Austin at the intersection of 10th Street and Congress Avenue. La Boîte Café offers exclusively local foods, ensuring that their menu stays fresh with a daily supply of organic baked goods, coffee, and traditional French-style sandwiches. The ever-changing menu features La Boîte’s couture macaroon selection. This week, La Boîte is featuring candy corn macaroons in honor of Halloween.
The Downtown Austin Alliance brought La Boîte Café to Congress Avenue as part of their effort to better use the Old Bakery Block, a historic site just one block south of the Texas State Capitol.
The process for rethinking the use of downtown Austin’s historic Old Bakery Block includes an Idea-a-thon, which is a six month effort to engage experts, stakeholders and citizens to imagine a new future for the site.
The second location of La Boîte Café is one of the first additions to the Old Bakery Block and a new arrival to the thriving restaurant community in downtown Austin. For more information about La Boîte, and to stay up-to-date with their menu, visit the café’s website.
At The Austonian, wine aficionados have excellent resources at their disposal including access to the secured climate-controlled wine storage on the 9th floor, proximity to award-winning restaurant Congress, and the personal service that Urban Wine & Liquor will offer to wine enthusiasts when it opens this winter.
The climate-controlled wine room at The Austonian is 400 square-feet in size and currently stores the collections of several homeowners. Wine Trend was responsible for the design of the room, including the 147 floor-to-ceiling lockers that can hold about 3,500 bottles of wine.
The space is climate controlled with two air handling units to maintain the humidity and room temperature at 58 degrees. The space is also connected to The Austonian’s back-up generator to protect residents’ wine in case of power outages.
For homeowners in need of new wines and spirits, Urban Wine & Liquor is slated to open in the base of the luxury condo this winter. The store will offer wine lovers a variety of services including events and tastings, special orders tailored to client’s needs and delivery to The Austonian.
For homeowners who prefer to enjoy their fine wines with a five-star meal, the Beverage Director at the trio of restaurants at The Austonian (Bar Congress, Congress and Second Bar + Kitchen) offers thoughtfully selected wine pairings as well as a comprehensive wine list. In 2009, June Rodil took first place at the Texas Best Sommelier Competition, an accomplishment that earned her the designation 2009 Texas Best Sommelier. This year, Wine and Spirits magazine named her one of “The Best New Sommeliers of 2011,” a title she shares with only four other sommeliers in the country.
(Photo Credit: JH Jackson Photography)
