Austin Studio Tour Beer, Spooky-Ass Ice Cream, Pizza, More Pizza, Wine Passports, Surrealist Delicacies, and More …

Here's some of what's happening in Austin's culinary scene, as wrangled from numerous PR releases, words on the digital street, and even the occasional (verified) IRL eavesdroppings.

Yes, it’s your Food News Buffet for the last week in October, Year Two of This Lousy Plague.

Big Medium x Thirsty Planet = Neon Rattlesnake for the Austin Studio Tour

So, that visual-arts-championing Austin Studio Tour is coming up again – a combo of the pre-pandemic East Austin Studio Tour and West Austin Studio Tour – and that means, in this context, we get to announce a new beer. Once again, Big Medium and Thirsty Planet have teamed up to produce a craft brew to accompany the tour (Nov. 13-14 and 20-21), and this year it’s a tasty sudser called Neon Rattlesnake by artist Alie Jackson and brewer Shane Erickson. For those into beer, you’ll be interested to know Neon Rattlesnake is a lime gose, specifically; and for those into cool shit in general, check this out: Jackson's artwork includes an AR environment, accessible via QR code found on the six-pack; scan it, follow the provided instructions, and explore a whole world built by the artist. Note: The beer will be available for purchase on the tour, and possibly at your nearest H-E-B …

UwU … Totes kawaii, amirite? Oh, Museum of Ice Cream! But, look, just look at this sweet hound's nametag … o.O

Ah, the Domain. And, not to be confusing, the Domain NORTHSIDE. We recently took the time to explain how they’re not the same thing, those two side-by-side, almost interlocking spaces up there in North Austin. Now we’ll note that the Domain’s Museum of Ice Cream has a Halloween activation going on; and that Grimaldi’s Pizza, replete with coal fired brick-oven pizza and calzones, has opened their emporium of Brooklynesque goodness in the Domain NORTHSIDE …

Speaking of pizza, Jet’s Pizza is offering free pizza to on-duty first responders – EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, and police officers – on Thu., Oct. 28. Show up in your uniform at any of the three Jet’s locations (8900 S. Congress, 3003 S. Lamar, and 9001 Brodie) from 10am-5pm and you’ll be treated to a small Detroit-style pie …

First responders or not, all citizens can cheer the imminent arrival of three new dining spots to the already robust foodie epicenter of Aldrich Street in the Mueller development: Veracruz All Natural, Tinys Milk & Cookies, and the first Austin location of Marufuku Ramen. Might be a while yet (early 2022), but they’re on their way … Oh, and Cheryl Chin of Austin’s DFG Noodles has partnered with former executives of Dell, Macy’s, Hershey’s, Taco Cabana, etc., to bring Tàstès, “the first democratized grocery store” to our busy town. That’ll also be in 2022, when the store will feature goods from hundreds of local vendors like Mother Culture, Dos Lunas, Shirttail Creek Farm, and Quality Seafood Market (which will supply the seafood department) – and shoppers can choose what products they want to see on shelves by participating in a quarterly voting system …

The Austin Food + Wine Festival is on its way, too, but much sooner: So many bright opportunities for dining and wining and learning and (safely) mingling, right there in the heart of Downtown the weekend after Halloween’s come and gone. (Nov. 5-7, to be precise.) Note: Weekender and all-in tickets are sold out, but dinner options are still available …

While we’re telling you about wine doings in advance, let’s look a little further into the future: This year’s Christmas Wine Affair, the last of 2021’s passport events, lets you enjoy sipping and sampling award-winning wines at around 40 Hill Country wineries. Get you a digital Event Passport, wine lover, and you can taste at up to four wineries per day over the course of this activation, and get exclusive discounts on bottle purchases …

Back to the present! There are a lot of Halloweenish fêtes in this burgeoning burg of ours right now, but we’re especially enchanted by the sheer audacity (and, duh, dining potential) of Devil May Care’s Surrealist Ball …

And, though it has little to do with spooky stuff, it has everything to do with food and local sustainability: This Saturday’s Field Guide Festival at Fiesta Gardens …

When is LeRoy and Lewis also your Huckleberry? When it's Surf & Turf time, citizen, when it's Surf & Turf time.

And we reckon you’ll need to reserve tickets quick af, for the Huckleberry x LeRoy and Lewis team-up set for Fri., Nov 5: It’s a Surf & Turf Dinner, featuring a wedge salad, smoked beef tenderloin, a crab cake topped with bearnaise sauce, sides, and a glorious cheesecake finish …

You say Insta, we say Gram: This Saturday, Trace at the W Austin hotel will be featuring liquid nitrogen cocktails for “a photogenic and entertaining experience for friends to enjoy.” (Liquid nitrogen, though? Are these friends from, like, Fomalhaut IV?) … And what about Sunday as a fun day? Maybe try Trudy’s Tex-Mex, where both South Star and North Star locations are throwing a Dia de los Muertos party from 6:30-8:30pm on Sun., Oct. 31, with a costume contest and all manner of deadalicious specials going on …

Wait, have we gone this far this week without shouting about some notable alcoholic spirits? Oh no! *clutches pearls* But don’t let’s freak out – let’s merely click over to these recent booze recos, where, at the very least, you’ll be glad we told you about that Kasama Rum …

Now eat as well as you can, citizen; and tip like it’s going out of style; and watch out for those lingering ’ronas …