Leave it to Austin, Texas, residents to rally together by way of Reddit amid a global technology outage.

The outage occurred Friday morning, effectively grounding flights around the world and disrupting services at banks, on-air media outlets, hospitals and more. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is believed to be behind the outage. The director of CrowdStrike Overwatch clarified on X that the outage was not necessarily due to a “whole faulty update” but rather a “faulty channel file.”

The cybersecurity company also stressed the issue behind the outage was not due to a cyberattack. Regardless of how the widespread outage came to be, Redditors are sharing information about the technology predicament on the r/Austin subreddit, including which local resources are down, who might be impacted and pointing out CrowdStrike’s local ties.

CrowdStrike is based in Austin, one of many Texas cities that were recently impacted by a Spectrum internet outage in the wake of Hurricane Beryl making landfall. While some Reddit users tossed around the idea the two outages might be related, it seems unlikely.

Some Reddit users reported that Austin 911 was down in the early hours Friday and that Baylor Scott & White Health facilities also were impacted by the outage. LoneStarLive.com reached out to Austin-Travis County EMS about whether Austin 911 call centers were affected by the outage and has yet to hear back. It appears Austin’s 311 nonemergency hotline currently is operating.

Baylor Scott & White Health provided LoneStarLive.com with the following statement when asked if their facilities were affected by the outages and if so, how it was being handled: “Our priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of those we serve and our team members. Patient care is safely continuing as we work through issues related to the technical disruption that is impacting computer systems across the globe.”

Most things appear to be up and running at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA), as Reddit user Moontowers commented they made it through security and IT systems appeared to be working around 8 a.m. ABIA did advise travelers to check their flight status with their specific airline before heading to the airport on Friday, as many flights have been delayed or canceled due to the outage. LoneStarLive.com reached out to public information officers at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport about how the facility has been impacted by the outage but has yet to hear back.

CapMetro services were briefly disrupted by the outage, but the public transportation provider shared an update on social media just before 9 a.m. that revealed “all CapMetro systems are back up and running.”

AUSTIN, Texas – The City of Austin is home to numerous greenbelts, which always carry the risk of wildfire, especially under drought conditions and red flag warnings. Now, crews are better prepared.

On July 18, city leaders, representatives from the Austin Fire Department and several other departments marked a major milestone in protecting Austin from wildfires.

Council member Alison Alter announced that, as of this summer, every Austin firefighter has completed “Responding to the Interface” training, an advanced level of wildfire training. 

The program started in Austin through a collaboration with the International Association of Firefighters.

“I am very confident that the completion of this course by all Austin firefighters is going to bolster the effectiveness of our response to wildfire, ensure better protection for first responders, our community and our natural resources. I am so proud of our city’s commitment to public safety and community resilience. And, I’m excited to see that AFD will be supporting other jurisdictions, especially in this region, to implement this life-saving training,” said Alter.

Austin is the largest city in the country to put all of its firefighters through the Responding to the Interface training.

If you are craving Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Singaporean, and Southeast Asian food but can’t decide on one, then 1618 Asian Fusion is perfect for you. Located near Riverside and Lady Bird Lake, you will find the restaurant in a nice apartment complex area, but once you open the door, you will feel ready to eat delicious Asian food. 

The Menu

1618 Asian Fusion restaurant has a brunch menu that will make you want to come back for more. They call their brunch menu a “Build-Your-Own Brunch Tray,” where you can choose one appetizer, an entree, and a beverage. They even have a vegan menu. If you are feeling like you want to treat yourself during your brunch, you can order one of their four $8 brunch cocktails.  

Starters

As part of your “Build-Your-Own Brunch Tray,” you can choose one appetizer. We had the Sugar Cane Shrimp; ground shrimp and chopped cilantro wrapped around a piece of sugar cane. Our waitress said the way to eat it was by first eating the shrimp and then biting into the sugar cane to suck for the juices. The sugar cane had a subtle sweetness that added to the richness of the shrimp.

From their vegan menu, we had their Crispy Eggrolls; tofu, glass noodles, taro, and yellow onion. The dish also came with house-blended vegan sauce. It was my first time trying a tofu eggroll and it was very crispy and soft on the inside.

The restaurant was also generous in serving us the favorite starters of their brunch menu: Vegetable Dumplings, Duck Pan Fried Bao, Sui Mai, and Har Kaw. 

These Vegetable Dumplings were different colors of the rainbow. Inside, they were filled with bean curd, mushrooms, bamboo, onion, celery, sweet corn, ginger, and carrots. The vegetables in the dumplings added a nice soft crunch to every bite and tasted fresh. 

The Duck Pan Fried Bao was two bao buns filled with ground roasted duck, yellow onion, and shiitake mushroom. The bao buns were golden and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside and had a light and sweet taste that added to the flavor of the duck filling. 

Finally, the last two appetizers were the Sui Mai and the Har Kaw made mostly of shrimp. You can taste the freshness and rich flavor of the shrimp in both dishes in every bite you take. 

Entrees

One of our entrees was the Brisket Pho. It was Vietnamese beef broth, brisket, rice noodles, bean sprouts, basil, lime, and serrano slices.  The brisket was very tender; almost melted in your mouth. And the broth was light and full of rich flavors. It was served with a dumpling soup and salad.

The next entree was the Yellow Curry Tofu. It was a curry with tofu, yellow onion, oyster mushroom, white mushroom, potato, and young bamboo shoots. The soup was thick and had a spicy kick at the end that was very tolerable. It was also served with white rice and vegetable soup. 

Given generously by the restaurant, we also had the Whole Peking Duck. It was roast duck with steamed bao buns, green onions, and duck sauce. I recommend adding the duck sauce because it is sweet, and also the cooked, crispy duck skin for an added crunch to your bao bun. 

Dessert

We were generously offered to experience the Flambeau Everest Cheesecake. It was a caramelized sugar, New York-style cheesecake served with Flaming Licor 43, cinnamon powder, and coconut pineapple ice cream. Our waitress came to our table with a standing tray and prepared the dessert in front of us. The cheesecake was warm, light, and fluffy. The cinnamon was not overpowering, and the ice cream paired perfectly with the dish. This would be a great dessert for the summer.

Drinks

I had two coffee drinks during my experience: the Café Sua Da and the Matcha Espresso. The Café Sua Da was a Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk and half & half. When you take a sip, the dark flavor of the espresso combined with the sweetness of the milk and half & half makes the drink very smooth. The other was the Matcha Espresso. The earthy taste of the matcha was very subtle and combined perfectly with the milk and espresso. If you love the taste of real matcha and espresso, this drink is for you. 

A drink I did have that was a choice in the “Build-Your-Own Brunch Tray” was the Chia Melon Tea. It was dried winter melon and dried pandan infused water with chia seeds. The flavors of the melon tea were sweet but tasted freshly made. You may think the chia seeds would be too much and a distraction when you take each sip but they weren’t. 

Location and Timings

Sun – Thurs: 10am – 9:30pm

Fri – Sat: 10am – 10:30pm

Happy Hour: Mon-Thur: 4pm – 6pm

Brunch: Saturday – Sunday: 10am – 3pm

Address

1618 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78741

We enjoyed the restaurant and will go back again sometime. It was a very welcoming, intimate restaurant that would be great for getting together and having a memorable meal. Sharing a meal is traditional in many Asian cultures, and 1618 Asian Fusion is a great place where you can do just that with family, friends, or a date.