Big Dance Parties

Continue March Madness with the Sweet Sixteen at these top venue choices

The first few rounds of hoops insanity is now over for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, but fans have only a few days to rest up before the Sweet Sixteen kicks into high gear. It’s from this point on where legends are cemented in history and underdogs prove that they belong with the powerhouses.

Since all upcoming match-ups enjoy primetime television slots, no one can use work as an excuse to miss out on the upcoming slugfests. Whether you and your buddies want to cheer on you favorite surviving teams or this year’s Cinderalla team, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, these are the top venues to catch the games on HD screens with some top-notch brew and snack specials.

March Madness at Black Sheep Lodge

When looking for a sports bar on the south side of town, it’s hard to do better than Black Sheep Lodge, especially when you factor in their juicy burgers. The dozens of flatscreens, 26 beers on tap and 125 bottled brews equal out to a winning formula.

Black Sheep might not have drink specials unique to March Madness, but they hardly need them with standard specials that change for each day of the week. You can pop in for the Marquette and Miami match-up for cheap margaritas and return the next night for affordable Texas pitchers as FGCU plays David against the Goliath that is the Florida Gators.

Liberty Tavern Watch Party specials

March Madness watch parties are done right at Liberty Tavern. Not only do fans have plenty of screens to choose from, they also won't worry about going hungry or becoming parched as they scream for their favorite teams.

50 cent wings are the big special for the tournament, including sauces from Caribbean jerk to peach habanero. If things get a little too spicy, quench that thirst with $2 Lone Stars or $4 Austin craft beer pints. The last thing you would want to do is lose your voice in the middle of a game.

Cover 3

If you prefer a more upscale eating experience while watching the Big Dance, Cover 3 is a better option than the dive bar down the street.

It’s the restaurant’s selection of over 100 wines that provides most of that class, but Cover 3 also has award-winning burgers on the menu. Mix the fine dining and drinks with some gigantic HD televisions and you might never consider Hooters again.

Blackfinn: A Celebration of Hoops and Hops

The newest edition to Austin’s sports bar scene, Blackfinn Ameripub makes a good first impression with its specials for March Madness. Choose between buckets or towers of Budweiser, Bud Light or Michelob Ultra from $15-$18, or get fancy with $22 towers of Stella Artois. That’s a sure sign that a sports bar isn’t messing around when Stella is on sale.

If beer gets old, try the special drink of Grey Goose and Red Bull, and soak up the alcohol with wing plates and beef or pulled pork sliders. Stuffing your face with good food is the best remedy for mourning the passing of your busted bracket.

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it's a lifestyle

Austin is one of the best places in America to be vegan, report says

The Beer Plant/thebeerplant.com

Vegans have made a large mark on Austin's local culinary scene.

Austin's vegan culinary scene has been steadily expanding over the last year, so much so that the Texas capital now ranks as the No. 6 best city in America for those living a plant-based lifestyle.

Austin moved up three spots in WalletHub's latest annual "Best Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians" study, after previously ranking No. 9 in 2023. The report analyzed 100 U.S. cities based on grocery affordability, vegetarian restaurant diversity, accessibility, and quality, and other vegetarian or vegan lifestyle considerations.

The city had a high affordability ranking with the sixth-lowest cost of groceries for vegetarians out of all 100 cities in the ranking. Laredo (No. 1); Greensboro, North Carolina (No. 2); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (No. 3); San Antonio (No. 4); and Tulsa, Oklahoma (No. 5) were the top five cities with the lowest grocery cost for vegetarians.

Factors that have enhanced Austin's diverse vegan scene throughout the year include a new bakery opening specializing in vegan olive oil cakes, and the addition of non-dairy mozzarella on the menu at all four Home Slice Pizza locations in Texas. But even larger chains are starting to make room at the dining table for vegans and vegetarians, too.

Home Slice vegan pizza It only took 19 years for Home Slice to find the perfect non-dairy cheese. Photo courtesy of Home Slice

"Just look at businesses like McDonald’s and Burger King incorporating Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers into their menus, for example," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "With meat prices rising significantly faster than vegetable prices, too, we may see a lot more people taking a foray into a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle in the near future."

Of course, Austin has plenty of legacy restaurants that focus just on vegan and vegetarian food, although they're subject to the same woes that keep other Austin restaurants on a tightrope between continued success and sudden closings. Bouldin Creek Cafe (with vegan and vegetarian versions of the same menu), Zucchini Kill, and the Beer Plant all have at least seven years under their belts; relative newcomers like the entirely plant-based fine dining restaurant Fabrik and sushi spot Nori also keep things fresh.

Gati vegan ice cream Gati, an East Austin shop specializing in vegan ice cream and vegan and gluten-free baking, offers more than 40 rotating flavors, like these seasonal pumpkin spice scoops.Photo courtesy of Gati

Austin was the only Texas city to make it into the top 10. Elsewhere in Texas, the only other cities to make it in the top 30 were Houston (No. 18), San Antonio (No. 20), and Dallas (No. 30).

The top 10 most vegetarian- and vegan-friendly cities in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Los Angeles, California
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Portland, Oregon
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Seattle, Washington
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Miami, Florida
No. 9 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 10 – Tampa, Florida

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

wallethub reports rankings vegan vegetarian austin