On the streets of our fair town, our spotters spied Jake Gyllenhaal at Enoteca, Home Slice, the trail around Lady Bird Lake and Lance Armstrong’s Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. He was in town to celebrate filmmaker David Modigliani’s 30th birthday.

Eyed at Uchi were Molly Sims and Matthew McConaughey (separately).

Over at Iron Works Barbecue was celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. “He went back for seconds on the beef ribs,” said Roland Cantu. “His wife loved the chicken.”

Pam Blanton and Anika Kunik

“I know at least three of the lovers,” said one guest at the Kunik reading and reception at Ranch 616 on Monday. Another interjected: “I don’t know him, but I’d sure like to meet the personal trainer.”

Mary Elizabeth Parr and Elizabeth Parr

The slim book is brisk, light and funny, condensed into romantic — or not so romantic — episodes. Reading through it, I thought something was missing. That something turns out to be Kunik. Her reading from the Ranch 616 bar was just the sort of dramatic interpretation one would expect from an accomplished actress.

Anika Kunik, Turk Pipkin and Christy Pipkin

Turk Pipkin, one of my tablemates, suggested she contract a screenwriter for an adaptation. My other table conspirators, fueled by signature drinks inspired by the characters, threw out names of stars who could play Amanda/Anika — Meg Ryan, Jennifer Aniston, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz.

Charla wood and Jane Wu

I met the thoroughly fascinating Elizabeth Parr, mother of event planner and public relations ace Pam Blanton, and also of sweet Mary Elizabeth Parr. Yes, they are related to the famous Parrs of South Texas, but I’m not sure about connections to the Blantons of Houston.

Judy Marquez and Cathy Waks

Others at my table included Cash Edwards (furious about the Cactus Cafe crisis); Sara Fox (a blessing whenever I see her across a crowded room); Christy Pipkin (forever under-credited in her endeavors with husband Turk); as well as Judy Marquez and Cathy Waks. On my way out, greeting my Marfa playmate Gail Papermaster, she introduced my to Jane Sibley’s son and his Alpine wife. Must get to know them better!

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Steve Moreno and Jaime Dito

At Molotov, the mood was exultant. Guests dressed in costumes from the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” series. You see, the HomeAway ad was filmed like a trailer for a Vacation iteration — with Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo — sending TV watchers to the vacation rental listing’s site for a more complete mini-movie.

Emma, Brian and Chloe Sharples

I was forced to make a terrible confession: I’d never seen a “Vacation” comedy. Not one. I’m pretty sure I know the basic set-up. But even liking Chase and D’Angelo a lot, I never bothered. (I think I was deep into graduate studies back then.) So, a cultural Achilles Heel.

Toni Houghton and Amber Cope

That didn’t ruin the fun at Molotov. “It’s been stressful,” said HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples, cutting cake with his family. “But the media buzz alone is worth it.”

Stephanie Gutierrez and Patricia de la Garza

I’d guess the HomeAway crowd went 90 percent for the Saints. But they also were behind the ad and waited with just as much anticipation for the short commercial. Even though they grew comparatively hushed during the rip on bad hotel experiences, I couldn’t hear the dialog. So I’ll look it up online.

Katie Jones and Henry Kittredge

Saturday, however, I delved into the much more democratic Valentine’s Gala Presentation benefiting Hospice Austin. This dignified event was launched in a private home, moved to the Renaissance Austin Hotel, then, this year, headed downtown to Hilton Austin.

Joanne Kemper and Laura Deskins

More than 100 high school seniors were slated for group presentations. Slender young women wore sleek red gowns. Upright young men looked dashing in tuxedos. Proud parents, siblings and friends also got gussied up, some mothers in demure versions of haute couture.

Kayla Kopp and Ryan Orton

Before entering the candlelit banquet room, the guests lingered in the sixth floor lobby. (Mostly) men gravitated to the HD screens to watch the Colts dominate the first quarter of the Super Bowl, then cheered when the Saints roared back in the second quarter.

Rick and Elise Schram

Why book a gala during the Super Bowl? One male guest said: “I didn’t make the connection until last week. But my daughter looks great and who would miss this?”

Elizabeth Lowrey and Patrick Brinkmann

Indeed, how many times does your son or daughter walk the stage to be presented to polite society? Some may think I’m being sarcastic, but I’m fascinated by these threads of tradition borrowed from European and East Coast culture. In our Open City, I’m rarely worried these rituals will be taken too seriously.

Ann Bauer and Marjorie Mulanax

EJ Lawless and Claire Vo

Wow. That’s two and one half times the size of the biggest meals I’ve joined lately — for Dell’s Children’s and Philanthropy Day, each in the 1,000-guest attendance range. One draw: Pricing is democratic. Only $700,000 gross was expected, however, compared to Dell Children’s $1 million mark.

Nicole Alberda and Tiffany Greer

Lots of black hats, plus a few white ones at the Palmer Events Center for the 2010 Rodeo Gala. Denim was OK. So were gowns and abbreviated tuxes. Just handling 2,500 people would challenge any event planner, but Rodeo Austin comes with some experience moving people — and livestock. Drink stations flanked the silent auction tables on the south side. Ten or more buffet lines, laden with barbecue and other delicacies, were set at angles against the north wall.

Kyle Ballarta and Allison Huth

One curiosity: The corral-style fencing used to designate the VIP sections. Guards with sensitive people skills were stationed to keep those from the other 200-plus tables from dancing in this area. (I guess you can only be so democratic.)

Stacy Looney and Christy Bowen

County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt sat at our table (No. 20), but we could only shout over the country sounds of Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros, warmups for headliner Dwight Yoakum. I heard, however, from my left-hand companions, Kurt and Kelly Bender, about the Tequila Club, the all-male group that historically built the rodeo’s leadership.

My right-hand companions were Jeff and Liz Carmack. Liz, a former journalist and author of “Historic Hotels of Texas: A Traveler’s Guide,” has been commissioned to write a history of Rodeo Austin. What a delicious task! I hope rodeo leaders allow her to chronicle some of the road bumps along the way as well as the glories.

Mark Harrington, Megan Felker and Don Eckols

OK, yes, I’m a wuss. I left before Yoakum sang. I’m just not one for waiting and waiting and waiting. I’m sure he blew the roof off of Palmer. Remember, the rodeo is coming soon!

Stephanie Villalobos and Tammy Grumberg

No fashion show yet. The event, staged mostly by Prototype Vintage Design, had attracted some fervent devotees of the 1970s and ’80s, reeking of disco, glitz and the urban street. Memories … scattered pictures … of the smiles we left behind …

Chris Lyons and Lauren Robertson

I engaged in a particularly long conversation with Lauren Robertson, who moved away from Austin in the late ’90s and had just relocated here from San Francisco. She rightly observed that, while in the Bay Area, things seemed “set,” here, everything feels wide open. Anything could happen. We recounted how, just 10 years ago, runway shows were rarer than expertly made cocktails. Now …

CJ Anderson and Richard Orr

I also enjoyed a chat with Grace Rogers, a journalism student at the University of Texas, who looked as if she just left the Zach Theatre stage in one of Dave Steakley’s classy pop shows. Her friend, Karma Stewart, was the belle of the upper terrace, though, in her grandmother’s flashy threads. She ruled.

Grace Rogers an Karma Stewart

OK, regular readers are tired of this trope, but there I was, almost 2 hours after I had arrived, and still no show. Fashion Freakout was running on club time. Which is no time for me. The rest of the guests — now filling all the spaces — remained loyal, however, pushing toward the runway. I’ll return to this hipster jewel next season, but with a better notion in advance about the actual walk time.

Laura Moliter and Elizabeth Moliter

I mingled with art lovers, music lovers (Suzanna Choffel headlined) and party lovers (including bristle-haired copywriter JJ McLaughlin, who is always sniffing out a new scene). I spoke with “Desire” curator Annette Carlozzi and her still-new hubby Dan Bullock.

Meg and Adam Hulse

‘Desire’ accumulates pieces and performances from dozens of media. I’ll let the critics describe it, but I was happy to discover that Women & Their Work director Chris Cowden and I singled out the same dark, flower-strewn sculpture. I also snuck upstairs to see the Veronese altarpiece exhibit in its final days.

My visit to the main galleries contrasted sharply with my experiences at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts the previous week. The older, more traditional museum — located in a city twice our size with a long history of arts collecting — impressed me with its masses of exquisite Asian art. The Blanton, however, did not pale in comparison. In fact, for the quality of individual works and their vivid presentation, I’d give the UT museum the upper hand.

Ryan Masters and Teal Stamm

Back to the social observations: I had planned on cutting out early to make a fashion show, but was frozen by a dozen or so conversations. By then, the place was packed, filled with eccentric beards, odd club-wear, zany haircuts and other accessories of youthful vogue. The target demographic had arrived!

Kimberly Lewis and Albert Yeung

In fact, I watched as older museum members gravitated to the administration building across the plaza, muttering about the pack in the blue atrium. Would have loved to attend the Director’s Circle party the night before, when, according to more than one report, Denise Prince arrived in a costume so sheer, she might as well have been naked. A performance?

Less than two years ago, Sascha Stone Guttfreund was a round-faced boy with a fast lip and exactly one concert promotion under his belt. Yet he was so confident of his slapdash team of volunteer University of Texas students, Guttfreund was ready to turn Austin nightlife upside down.

Some of that wisdom was hard won, promoting more than two dozen full-fledged concerts, along with parties and nightclub events, courting burnout and controversy, and learning that he didn’t know quite as much as he thought he did.

“Stuff has definitely happened,” Guttfreund admits. “A lot I never would have expected.”

Guttfreund — self-described “Jewish Latin American” on his father’s side, with Canadian and Russian Jewish roots on his mother’s — comes from a Los Angeles show biz family. Yet one alert to the potential traps awaiting youngsters who stray into the Hollywood entertainment minefield.

“The kids drive Mercedes and BMWs,” Guttfreund says. “There’s a skewed concept there of what people deserve as kids. Nobody wanted to cruise off in our ‘89 minivan.”

Although his father, André Guttfreund, won an Oscar (shared with Peter Werner for the 1976 short “In the Region of Ice”), and his mother, Andrea Stone-Brokaw, is a successful casting director, Guttfreund has insisted on making his own way. When it came time for high school, it was off, at age 16, to small, international Verde Valley School in Sedona, Ariz., exactly where his father had boarded as boy, protected by his prominent family from civil unrest in El Salvador.

“My first-year roommate spoke no English,” says Guttfreund, whose family name, in German, means “good friend.” “The students were from everywhere you could imagine.”

Mediating between his parents, divorced when was he was 7, and establishing new friendships across international lines helped Guttfreund pick up priceless communications skills.

Guttfreund arrived in Austin in 2007, right out of Verde Valley, a year before he registered at UT, so he could work and qualify for in-state tuition. Why a university 1,500 miles from Southern California?

“A counselor told me I couldn’t possibly get in,” Guttfreund says with a sly smile. “Well, if somebody tells me I can’t do something …”

He now studies corporate communications, with an eye on law school.

Music continues to captivate him. His first and entirely accidental exposure to promotion came when rapper Shwayze was booked for the Monday after the 2008 Austin City Limits — a terrible time slot. That didn’t daunt Guttfreund, who jumped at the chance to spread the word.

“I utilized the tools at my fingertips,” he says. “Which was the university.”

Guttfruend went around to social clubs, fraternities and even his classes, announcing he was promoting the show, “who wants to help?” He assembled a team of 13 who sold 900 tickets in three weeks.

For a few months after that, Guttfreund marketed local nightclub events, but found the nightly grind a challenge to his health.

“I figured out a formula, though: A lot of boys go where the girls go; girls go where their friends go; so if you can get the girls and their friends on board …”

Eventually, he turned back to concerts, promoting in May 2008 Afroman at Aces Lounge, the former Hard Rock Cafe on East Sixth Street that Brendan Puthoff had opened with a novelty burlesque theme. Puthoff was so impressed, he asked Guttfreund to skip a summer job on a New Mexico movie set to book Aces on a regular basis.

“Sascha’s been a tremendous asset,” says Puthoff, who also owns the Third Base Sports Bar group. “The best way I can describe it is that he’s always on. He lives and breathes live music every hour of every day.”

What about the challenges of employing somebody who’s also a college student?

“There have been times that I know for a fact he’s in class, but I’m getting text messages or e-mails from him about the next show he’s booking for me, or ideas for an open night,” Puthoff says. “I’ve worked with a ton of promoters and talent buyers in the past — and none of them were also full time students — but Sascha is by far the most prolific in his ability to connect with the college demographic and draw great crowds for shows, week in and week out.”

One stumble gave Guttfreund the lesson of his life. A third-party promoter came to him with a deal too good to be true, a reggae headliner that, supposedly, Emo’s, downtown’s leading live-music club, had wanted. The promoter offered Guttfreund Buju Banton, who made a name in the 1990s with extreme anti-homosexual lyrics and pronouncements.

“I had heard the name,” Guttfreund says. “But I was born in 1989. I didn’t know this other stuff. Well kid, you should probably do your research! I when I heard what he’d said, I was disgusted.”

The act was moved to reggae-centric Flamingo Cantina, and Guttfruend received credit for canceling it, but also hate mail from those accusing him of insensitivity to Jamaican culture.

Guttfreund typically books mixed-genre acts — techno, dub, the “indie intellectual end of hip hop.” His artists attract, in his words, “hippies, frats, ‘sneaker heads,’ the clothing demographic, Texas State students. We love mixed crowds”

There’s also the homebody side of Guttfreund who likes nothing better than kicking back with old friends for Los Angeles, catching up with family, meeting with acquaintances at UT. He can do all that because his first career — an extremely social one — is well in hand.

“I finally have my tools in order,” he says. “I know what I’m doing when I book an artist.”

FINANCIAL SERVICES: W. Eric Hehman, CEO - Austin Asset Management Company; Jason C. Qunell, Senior V.P. Commercial Banking - Capitol One Bank; Carrie Arsenault, President - Accountability Resources; James Edward Dyess, CEO and President - Horizon Bank; Kathleen Denise Hausenfluck, Accounting Manager - Cooper Graci & Company

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Julie Kemp Jumonville, Co-Founder and CIO - UpSpring Baby; Rochelle Rae, CEO - Rae Cosmetics; Tiffany Laine Taylor, Owner - Tiff’s Treats; Clayton Craig Christopher, Founder and CEO - Sweet Leaf Tea Co.; J. Todd Coleman, V.P. and Creative Director - KingsIsle Entertainment

GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Amy Nicole Holloway, President and CEO - Avalanche Consulting; Jennifer Ransom Rice, Director of Development - Texas Cultural Trust; Karin Rene Crump, Attorney/Mediator - Law Office of Karen R. Crump, P.C.; Ryan David Clinton, Attorney - Hankinson Levinger, LLP; Royce Pabst Poinsett, Of Counsel - McGinnis, Lochridge and Kilgore, LLP

MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE: Kelli Dudley Kelley, Director - Texas Parent to Parent; Marilyn Maguire Orr Wilson, Development Director - AIDS Services of Austin; Daniel Z. Sternthal, Associate - Brown McCarroll, LLP; Terri Renee’ Broussard Affiliate V.P. Govt. Relations and Advocacy - Amer. Heart Association; Anthony J. Maneul, Staff Anesthesiologist - Capitol Anesthesiology

REAL ESTATE: Roland L. Galang, Senior Agent - Urbanspace Realtors, LLP; Alex Charfen, Co-Founder and CEO - Distressed Property Institute, LLP; Derek Andrew Land, Co-Managing Partner - Stream Realty Partners; Tausha Carlson, Founder and Owner - Marathon Real Estate; Kathryn Scarborough Bechtol, Co-Owner and Realtor - Turnquist Partners Realtors

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCES: Scott Thomas, President - Intelechy Group; Roman Daniel Grijalva, Senior Project Manager - Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.; Lemuel Curly Williams, Director of Business Development - Uptime Media; Tria Brindley, Senior Director of Relationship Management - Blue Fish Development Group; Sarah Neil Evans, President - Well Aware

LEGAL: Dennis William Donley, Jr., Partner - Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee, PLLC; Amy Catherine Wilson, Senior Counsel - Kelly Hart and Hallman; Lee Potts, Partner - Brown McCarroll, LLP; Howard Daniel Nirken, Partner - Dubois, Bryant & Campbell, LLP; Ben De Leon, Attorney - De Leon & Washburn

Other imbibing establishments were not far behind: Deep Eddy Cabaret (15 percent); Casino El Camino (13 percent); Ginger Man (12 percent) and Side Bar (11 percent).

Then we move on to the real dives, not the pretend variety (I like ‘em both): G&S Lounge (9 percent); Poodle Dog (8 percent).

The final three gin joints are good, too: Club de Ville (5 percent); Barfly’s (4 percent) and Longbranch Inn (2 percent).

If I weren’t suffering from a horrible, mean, nasty cold right this very minute, I’d be out testing each spot for their “Valley of the Dolls” credentials. And I’d bring along my sister in crime, Stephen Macmillan Moser.

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) and Lucy’s Cakes (4 percent).

I could eat my way through all three varieties.

Born on April 29, 1925 in Kerrville, Bode was best known for “Capital Eye,” an interview program featuring political reporters that aired on various local channels for 17 years from 1969 to 1986.

“In that day and time, it was significant,” said journalist Ernie Stromberger of Bode’s show, comparing it to “Meet the Press.”

Bode, who also appeared on radio and wrote newspaper stories, interviewed Nelson Rockefeller, Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Anne Porter and Elvis Presley during his long career after graduating from the University of Texas with a degree in English.

He also published a biography of legendary Texas folklorist and teacher J. Frank Dobie entitled “A Portrait of Pancho.” The two, who shared a background in Texas ranching culture, remained friends for years.

“He was a pioneer,” said public relations expert Eric Webber. “As a journalist, he had more of a literary style.”

“He was a guy who loved every kind of journalism,” said his son, Todd Bode. “His favorites were the personal-interest stories.”

Bode was married to Mary Jane Bode, a reporter who later served as state representative from Austin from 1977 to 1980. They had divorced in 1968; she died from cancer in 1998.

In later years, Bode put out a political newsletter, contributed freelance columns to various media - using his trusted manual typewriter - and delivered commentaries on News8Austin.

“Actually, he was a wonderful man with a lot of knowledge of people,” said Charmaine Bode, his daughter-in-law.

Besides Todd and Charmaine, Bode is survived by daughter Georgianne Bode Harms of Barrington, Ill., five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A family memorial service is planned.

The race for the top Vietnamese spot on the A List readers poll this year pitted Kim Phung (just over 16 percent of the vote) against Pho Hoang (just under 16 percent).

Four others — Sunflower, Hai Ky, 888 and Tam Cafe and Deli — bunched together at 10 to 12 percent of the tally.

Mekong River and Pho Van tied exactly at just under 8 percent. Saigon Kitchen and Triumph Cafe rounded out the list at 5 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 Gz, Downtown Rulers Club, LAX, TV Torso and Shurman — managed 3 percent or less.

Still, I’m up for sampling them all. Kat’s the only one I already listen to obsessively. In fact, she’s on the Bose right now.