A SXSW festgoer's guide to Austin's many new restaurants

Welcome to the boomtown, South by Southwesters. We've had an explosion in our central-city restaurant population since the last time you were here:

Congress is the flagship of a three-part venue — with Bar Congress and Second Bar + Kitchen — to showcase the talents of former Driskill Grill chef David Bull. In the spare elegance of Congress, the menu brings together four courses for $65 or seven courses for $95. Dishes might include rack of lamb with cardamom yogurt, grilled rib-eye with foie gras beurre rouge, beef tartare with fried oysters and desserts such as grapefruit sorbet with Campari pop rocks. The wine list is 20-plus pages, and the Bar Congress lounge is doing some of the city's best cocktail work: hops-infused gin, bourbon with allspice dram, absinthe with egg and cream and more. 200 Congress Ave. 827-2760, www.congressaustin.com .

Second Bar + Kitchen brings a more casual lineup of pizzas, soups, small plates and hearty dinners to the Congress family. Entrée prices run from about $12 to $28, with smaller bites to fill the gaps: short-rib croquettes, black truffle fries, pepperoni soup and avocado fundido. There's wine on tap (I said it), a curated roster of local beers and a sticky toffee pudding with bacon ice cream, all in a space that feels like a high-design diner. 200 Congress Ave. 827-2750, www.congressaustin.com .

Haddingtons combines a serious chef (Zack Northcutt) and mixologist (Bill Norris) for a unique gastropub, where you might start with truffled egg custard or Scotch eggs then move to grilled trout and lamb pie while sipping on a duck-fat Sazerac or a $48 bottle of Belgian champagne-style beer. 601 W. Sixth St., 992-0204, www.thehaddington.com .

Barley Swine represents Austin's keep-it-local, keep-it-eclectic movement, arising from the success of chef-owner Bryce Gilmore's farm-to-market trailer called Odd Duck. In his new brick-and-mortar restaurant, Gilmore does small plates that combine elements such as scallops with duck cracklings or sweetbreads with Brussels sprouts, even crispy pig's foot with soft-boiled egg. Beer gets the same respect a sommelier would give a wine list. 2024 S. Lamar Blvd. 394-8150, www.barleyswine.com .

Franklin Barbecue, the trailer that's made a national name for itself with brisket as rippled with character as the history of barbecue itself, closed last week because it's moving indoors Saturday, taking over the former home of Ben's Long Branch BBQ. 900 E. 11th St. 653-1187, www.franklinbarbecue.com .

Backspace is the pizza-parlor sibling (and next-door neighbor) to chef Shawn Cirkiel's East Sixth Street bistro called Parkside. From a $12,000 Italian pizza oven, Backspace produces Neapolitan-style pies and antipasti dishes such as white beans with guanciale and octopus with blood orange. Backspace and Parkside will be open for lunch and dinner for SXSW from Friday through March 21. 507 San Jacinto Blvd. 474-9899, www.thebackspace-austin.com .

Hopdoddy gives South Congress Avenue another reason to be as crowded as the Wisconsin statehouse. A group including restaurateurs from the Roaring Fork and Moonshine and the owner of the Continental Club have put together a burger place that bakes its own buns, shreds its own beef and makes its own ice cream for shakes. Good choices include a seared tuna burger with wasabi and fried seaweed, a turkey burger on a grain-studded bun and a lamb burger dressed like a Greek salad. 1400 S. Congress Ave., Suite A. 243-7505, www.hopdoddy.com .

Vince Young Steakhouse shows how much we love our former Texas Longhorns quarterback. The steakhouse staples are here: wedge salad, lamb chops, crab cakes, cheesecakes and high-dollar bone-in rib-eyes the size of a national championship trophy. Pick up a bottle of Chateau Margaux signed by Young for around a thousand bucks. 301 San Jacinto Blvd. 457-8325, www.vinceyoungsteakhouse.com .