Just back from Austin, where SXSW (South-By-Southwest Music and Film Festival) is still going strong, with the trade show winding down along with film festival screenings, and the music just now getting rolling. My last day wandering about coincided with the music opening and St. Patrick’s day festivities, so Sixth Street, Austin’s party central year round, was blocked off and packed with tipsy celebrants debating the merits of various watering holes and giving bad culinary advice. Maybe it wasn’t that way all over, but when I went out in search of lunch before a screening, I was steered to Riley’s, the reputed home of “Best Fish and Chips in Austin.” It was partly my fault, I suppose, for failing to remember that Texans have a habit of confusing Best with Biggest. The fish filets were the size of burrito supremes, but sadly short on flavor. Happily, the pint of Bass Ale served up with them cured a lot of ills, so it ended up being a satisfying meal, if not the Best. The best was Chuy’s, where I had the special, a stack of blue corn tortillas with chicken and spices in between, sour cream on the side and Chuy’s best-on-the-planet green sauce over all. There’s no lack of great Tex-Mex to be had in Austin, and I had nowhere near enough, but as this isn’t a food blog (it isn’t?) I’d best move on. Austin is a beautiful and friendly city, with great parks, a Huge convention center that festivalgoers managed to pack full most days and some nights. Photos to follow.