Austin Food & Wine Festival

Each spring, Austin's Auditorium Shores fills with tents, grills and a genuinely impressive lineup of chefs for one of Texas's most prominent food festivals. The event mixes large tasting pavilions with hands-on cooking classes and a well-regarded barbecue competition that draws serious pitmasters from across the state.

Austin's own reputation as a genuinely exciting food city — driven by its food truck culture and a wave of ambitious independent restaurants — gives the festival a strong local identity rather than feeling like a generic touring event, with Texan and Tex-Mex flavours well represented alongside national culinary names.