Below, Andrew recalls the last time he visited Austin. A weird place indeed.

Think you know where the best food is in Austin? Everyone attending SXSW has an opinion, from breakfast burritos to late-night vegan spots. And barbecue too, but that should go without saying.

So in the interest of a well-rounded experience at SXSW, we’ve done the foodie research for you.

Citizen Taco is a self-proclaimed “quick, easy, and reliable guide to finding good food, from four-star restaurants to no-name street carts.” That is, perfect for our quick and dirty needs down south. They draw up a nerdy, handy-dandy map of joints to hit, then break it down for dummies like me who want to eat every specialty the city offers.

The 512 Food Blog splits it up between the three main food groups you’ll be consuming: BBQ, Tex-Mex and burgers. What’s a vegetable?

The Modern Junkie organizes your week by meal, meaning you can hit all the events listed and never pay a dime for alligator chili, ice cream, crawfish, pancakes and more.

And of course there’s Foodspotting, one of the most popular apps to emerge from last year’s fest. This year they’ve got a street food scavenger hunt and secret menu items for users, as well as their usual international guide. We can taste it now…

Check our homepage for SXSW survival tips from artists like Andrew W.K. and Matt & Kim, and for the best foodie recommendations in Austin, Eat to the Beat will be delivering the goods. For those skipping the festival this year, don’t fret–plenty of radio stations and big corporations hoping to get in on the act will be streaming performances all week.

Chances are your must-see bands will be playing several times throughout SXSW, and Matt & Kim share a little advice about keeping up.

The band is also playing a few shows at SXSW, including the NPR party which will be broadcast live. Details on their website.

We talked to the guys, who told us about their preference for the studio or the stage.

The Dangerbird Records labelmates will be playing songs from both of their new albums–The Dears released Degeneration Street earlier this week, while Eulogies put the finishing touches on Tear the Fences Down last month.

Both bands stopped by our studios to tell us more about crafting new albums and why taking the easy way out is never the best route.

(Conversely, urbandictionary.com cites the definition of a rock ‘n’ roll breakfast as “when beer is substituted for milk in preparation of a bowl of cereal”–quite probable in Austin).

In its platonic form, the breakfast burrito is a honkin’ round of flour tortilla, warmed and browned on a buttered griddle and packed to bustin’ with all manners of protein-infused, cheap and filling ingredients like eggs, chorizo, cheddar cheese, beans, queso fresco, avocados, ham products and fried potatoes with luscious centers the texture of your momma’s cold cream. Not to mention the invigorating toppings like spicy salsa, cilantro, garlicky guacamole or a soothing shot of sour cream.

For SXSW, the always timely New York Times busted out with a guide to finding the perfect breakfast burrito in Austin. Behold the beauty:

PORFIRIO’S A variety of breakfast tacos, from carne guisada to potato, egg and bacon. 1512 Holly Street (Comal Street), (512) 476-5030.

TACODELI Try El Popeye— spinach and scrambled eggs with crumbled queso fresco. 1500 Spyglass Drive (Barton Skyway), (512) 732-0303, tacodeli.com.

TAMALE HOUSE The owner, Robert Vasquez, talks about the taco wars, when the price went down to 35 cents. 5003 Airport Boulevard (East 50th Street), (512) 453-9842.

TAQUERIA LA FLOR This trailer sells puffy potato tacos. 4901 South First Street (Heartwood Drive.)

TORCHY’S TACOS At five locations, Torchy’s sells tacos with eggs, guacamole, fried poblanos, carrots and poblano ranch sauce, among other styles. 1311 South First Street (Elizabeth Street ), (512) 366-0537, and four other locations, torchystacos.com.

Like everything else, the techies have a head start at SXSW. Today marks the beginning of SXSW Interactive, where companies gather to hash out emerging technology, websites, video games and cool new start-ups. (And we do mean hash–why, there are session-specific hashtags, of course).

We’re testing out the ways to engage more with video technology alongside other proud geeks who are also thinking ahead. There are keynote speeches, panel discussions, a trade show, an arcade to kill some serious time in and the annual Webby Awards (we’re a former finalist!).

And since our business is music and technology, one of our stops during the upcoming week will be at SoundCtrl’s FlashFwd event next Tuesday. RSVP at http://flashfwd.eventbrite.com

While everyone is seemingly focused on indie bands taking over the fest, Limewire highlights some of the best metal shows and best hip-hop shows. The metal side includes Fucked Up, Black Angels, Iron Age, Goat Whore, Defeater, and the hip-hop side counts Pharoahe Monche, Bun-B, 88 Keys, Black Milk, Killer Mike and B-Real of Cypress Hill as must-sees.

NPR offers a wide cross-section of artists to check out, including Best Coast, The Lovely Eggs, Mini Mansions, Camisama, Black Cobra, Rye Rye and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, who are playing NPR’s showcase. They also have some required listening in the form of a free SXSW sampler.

And you’re missing out if you miss checking out some Latin music. Guanabee has a great preview of the best Latin artists playing, including Maneja Beto, Maluca, Maldita Vecinidad, The Texas Tornados, Funky C and many more.

SPIN is also offering a free sampler including The Constellations, Freelance Whales, Yela Wolf, Free Energy, Surfer Blood, Oh No Ono and Foxy Shazam, who are playing their party.

We’ll be reporting from SXSW and bringing you recaps of the best shows and parties. See you there!

Alongside hundreds of performances and parties, those trekking down to the Lone Star state can also catch panels, films, mentoring sessions and some of the coolest poster art ever made. Smokey Robinson is the keynote speaker.

It’s never too early to get excited. The Duke Spirit are.

In honor of the couch potato, we’re rounding up the best of television in this installment of Six Degrees. This feature is inspired by none other than Mr. Kevin Bacon. You know the game–it’s a small world and we’re all somehow related. This theory applies to the music scene as well, no matter what you listen to, where you hang or who you know. We’re just showing you the connections.

6. The Mighty Boosh kick things off because 1). They have their own television show and 2). They’re awesome. See Exhibit A:

5. Alison Mosshart of The Kills made an appearance on the 2008 BBC documentary “The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space.” But there’s another show she can’t get enough of.

4. The Kills are labelmates with Mystery Jets on the London-based Rough Trade. They dig “Entourage.”

3. Though Stars is a proudly Canadian group, they share some British blood with The Kills. Lead singer Torquil Campbell was born in England and is also an actor, most notably appearing on “Sex and The City” and “Law & Order.” C’mon. You know we couldn’t get through a TV post without mentioning “Sex and The City.”

2. Great Northern has played the SXSW circuit alongside Stars, but their biggest exposure has probably been on the small screen. Their song “Driveway” was featured in the fifth season of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

1. Guess who else has been heard playing in the background of “Grey’s Anatomy“? Mike Doughty. He’s planning an international acting takeover.