Judging from the list of shops that made the list of Best Bakeries in the most recent A List readers’ poll, three categories nestle within the main category. Some are traditional all-purpose bakeries, such as Upper Crust (which rose to 21 percent of the vote), Sweetish Hill (18 percent); Texas French Bread (8 percent); Quack’s (6 percent) and Russell’s Bakery (5 percent). Others emphasize a particular baking tradition: La Mexicana (10 percent) and Phoenicia (3 percent). Still others are newer, kicky creations that are as much about style and entertainment as baking. They include Hey Cupcake (13 percent); Tiff’s Treats (11 percent) ...

Ooooo. I love this sort of A List contest category. Asking readers to name the Best Newcomer to Austin’s Music Scene means exposing me, along with everybody else, to some fresh talent. And more social options built around live music in the coming weeks. Rootsy advocate of Americana Jesse Woods ran away with the title this year, strumming up 54 percent of the vote. Bright Light Social Hour ran a strong second with 27 percent. Jazz sweetheart Kat Edmonson led the rest of the pack with 6 percent of the tally. The followers — Neon Indian, the Trishas, League of Extraordinary ...

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This entry adapts — and builds upon — material from an earlier post. Like many people, my curiosity about books spans a world of interests. Yet a subset of my reading list specifically informs my reporting on Austin’s social scene. The following titles, read in the past few months, feed that function. The land and its history — You can’t understand contemporary Austin’s social scene unless you study the physical and cultural environment that spawned it. The three men of the Philosopher’s Rock provide a solid, if, obviously partial foundation. Roy Bedichek’s precise observations on natural life in “Adventures with a Texas ...

Yes, I know. Traveling to Minnesota in deepest winter makes little sense. Yet my dear friend Rob Kendrick transferred here to teach at Gustavus Adolphus University in St. Peter, about an hour south of Minneapolis. It was time for a visit. My first concern was the subzero temps. Friends and colleagues had warned me about pained lungs, stinging ears and 15-minute frostbite. Well, I suppose if you are snowmobiling or cross-country skiing, these might be legitimate concerns, but most people here are just passing to and from their cars to get somewhere. Everything is white, as advertised, but this is December snow. ...

Within the relatively cozy world of Austin musical theater, a male voice like Andrew Cannata’s comes along once in a generation or so. Joe York’s warm, booming baritone made its first mark in the 1980s. Stephen Michael Miller’s delicate tenor glided onto the scene in the 1990s. Cannata, 23, a recent graduate of St. Edward’s University, impressed Zilker Summer Musical audiences as a junior TV writer in “My Favorite Year,” amused Zach crowds playing a Boy Scout perfectionist in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” He also scored major roles in “Parade,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “On the ...

After the Anti-Defamation League Torch of Liberty awards dinner Thursday at the Four Seasons, I wondered, if only for moment, why it went so well, why the introductions and acceptance speeches, the videos and testimonials, even the lighting combined for a profound emotional and intellectual impact. Kirk and Amy Rudy Once again, Steven Tomlinson, playwright, performer and business coach was ready with the answer. “Because the speakers hold the audience to account,” he said. “It’s the only gala where that happens. There’s a confessional element, then they make sure the listeners understand they are personally responsible for fighting bigotry.” Kirk and ...

If Jetté Momant hasn’t reached you through social media, chances are, she will. The Austin event planner and public relations expert tends her Facebook, Twitter and blogosphere networks like an avid gardener in spring. Palm Pre at the ready, she knows where you are, who you are seeing and why you should stray in her direction — if you have the time. Gentle persistence is her strategy. Like many offspring of frequently relocated military families, Momant, 29, considers socializing a survival skill. Her parents, both U.S. Marines, devised her first name by splicing the monikers “Jet” and “Beneé” She suspects her ...

Elisha Pease, and to a lesser extent, his wife Lucadia Pease, played critical roles in mid-19th-century Austin. They also embodied aspects the city’s always intriguing historical complexities. Hailing from Connecticut, Elisha was a key figure in the Texas Revolution, later a Unionist, then Reconstruction governor. He owned slaves, but it’s not clear whether his land above Shoal Creek was ever devoted to large-scale agriculture. (The Enfield neighborhood derives from his land and background, as do many of its street names.) Of Greek revivalist Abner Cook, he commissioned Woodlawn, one of the city’s architectural gems, and Pease was the first leader ...

I could have listened all night. A room full of very sharp people gathered at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on Tuesday for the annual University Awards. The announcement of the teaching and service honors were made by UT President Bill Powers and Provost Robert Hutchings, both speaking carefully and with dignity. President William Powers and Juan Sanchez Presidential Citation winners included university carillonneur (since 1952!) Thomas Anderson and university backers Kenneth Jastrow and Robert Rowling. The Civitatis Award went to civic-minded English professor Alan Friedman, while the Arno Nowotny Medal was conferred to former staffers Brenda Luckie and ...

With joy. You decide. I’m busy wiping away the tears. ...

Popcorn is evil. It’s soooo good. And only in great quantity. But even sick evil things deserve credit for their temptations. Austin360readers told the Your A List online pollsters their favorite popcorn could be found at Alamo Drafthouse South, that cathedral to moviedom on South Lamar Boulevard. It rocked almost 42 percent of the vote. It’s cousin, Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, didn’t do so badly at 13 percent, nor did Cinemark Round Rock at 9 percent. The next three — Regal Westgate, Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz and Regal Gateway — almost tied, leaving Alamo Drafthouse Village, Cinemark Austin Southpark, AMC ...

Five things l learned from the Philanthropy Day Luncheon at the Hilton Austin on Tuesday. A) The 313 members of the Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals are serious about their work. Yet they don’t take it too seriously. They ribbed themselves and others during the Philanthropy Day Awards ceremony, which luckily started on time, since a bundle of honors were bestowed. (Austin Community Foundation’s Ken Gladish makes a brainy emcee.) James Armstrong and Larry Connelly B) The Austin Hilton can easily accommodate 1,000 diners for a comfortable, fresh, filling meal. What actually discourages event planners is the parking, which ...

While it is true that a bevy of celebrities attend University of Texas sporting events, it’s not always easy to spot them among a crowd of, say, 100,000 fans. Without a zoom lens. Cut them some slack, though: Your A List voters picked UT Longhorns games as the Best Place to Spot a Celeb. Credit UT with 28 percent of the tally. South by Southwest, Austin’s biggest single social event, perked up 23 percent, while the Four Seasons Hotel — especially the lobby — did quite well at 12 percent. Austin City Limits, which points the spotlight on the house as well ...

I adore improvisation, well done. Yet I don’t seek it out like I did in the past. Entirely my fault. Something about a social schedule. I’m pleased to announce, however, that A List readers have made their choices. Stool Pigeon won their favor with 29 percent of the vote. Mouthful Parallelogramo-phonograph filled the next spot at 24 percent. Frank Mills also scored well with 19 percent. ColdTowne shook loose 8 percent. Snackers — what a crunchy name! — served up 7 percent. Midnight Society snuck in 5 percent. The remainder — Maestro, Girls, Girls, Girls, Confidence Men and GetUp — came up ...

When the results of Your A List’s Best Radio Station-Sponsored Event contest popped onto my screen, I breathed a sigh of relief. The winners are indeed popular Austin social intersections, most often combined with live music. (What if they were unknown, rogue events? What would I do?) KGSR took the top two slots with its Blues on the Green (37 percent of the vote) and Unplugged at Shady Grove (19 percent). KVET’s casual series of free concerts behind Hill’s on South Congress Avenue strummed up 11 percent. (Check on parking in advance.) Scampy Bobby Bones headlines two events: Second-Chance Prom (7 percent) ...

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Austin’s culinary horizons have expanded in every direction during the past 25 years. Top chefs run top restaurants. Local and organic foods abound. Central Market and Whole Foods set national standards for grocery stores. Wineries spread across the landscape, ever improving in quality. Foodies constitute one of the liveliest constituencies in social media. Newcomers help set higher and higher standards. Chad and Susan Auler Credit some of that to the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, now celebrating its 25th year. It must have seemed like something of an amusement to Ed and Susan Auler when they hosted the ...

The goal is $5 million. Already, donors have pledged $2 million. For one charity event. Pick the right cause, at the right time, and one can line up the biggest names to back it. Ask Steve Hicks, investor and executive chairman of Capstar Partners. Hicks and his wife, Donna Stockton Hicks, long ago selected a charity, the Rise School of Austin. They are helping to turn its first creative event, the Rise Across Texas Challenge, into the richest ever for Austin. And the news keeps on rolling in: You’ve probably already heard about the cross-state bike ride, slated for March 6-20. Or ...

Like silk. That’s the best word to describe the Dell Children’s Gala at the Austin Convention Center on Saturday. Supple, smooth, classy. Few hard sells. Many opportunities to reflect on the value Dell Children’s Medical Center brings to Central Texas and beyond. Steve and Amy Robertson Too large for any other traditional gala venue, Dell Children’s takes over the upper reaches of the convention center. (A volleyball tourney occupied the lower southwest quadrant.) Check-in was effortless, and the black-tie guests ascended the double escalators with regal calm. José and Lissandra Adames A few wrinkles waited in the upper lobby. Bar stations were ...