FOOD & DRINK

The best of UT area eats

Choose carefully to break the Drag blahs

By Addie Broyles
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Mediocrity abounds when it comes to much of the food sold around the University of Texas campus. So many chain restaurants, so little appetite for another so-so sandwich or bland burger. The luster of eating on the Drag fades with each passing semester, and it's no help that new restaurants flip in and out of the area faster than undergrads do. Fear not, however. A handful of restaurants do serve delicious, well-priced food that will make getting through this semester easier and more tasty. We've surveyed the UT area's eating spots, new and old, to come up with this list of the best places for going cheap, eating Asian, Texas staples, taking the visiting parents out, studying and eating, and sticking to or trying vegetarian fare.

Best place for cheap, cheap eats:

Dirty Martin's Kum-Bak Place,

2808 Guadalupe St.,

11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, 477-3173

This 82-year-old standby still deserves your patronage. The styles might have changed since Dirty's first opened in 1926, but the delicious, greasy grub has not. You can still enjoy a basic burger for $3.25, or you can splurge for a D.H. Special (a hamburger with grilled onions and cheese on toasted bread) for $4.25. Don't forget about fried pickle spears, homemade chili, onion rings and fries. Now, all you need is a cheap beer — after 3 p.m., Lone Star and Austin Amber pints are $2. Add free parking and Wi-Fi to the great food, atmosphere and pricing, and you've got a jewel of a restaurant that better be around for at least another 82 years.

Also worthy: Slices and Ices, Kismet Cafe

Best Asian, non-sushi:

Thai Noodle House, 2602 Guadalupe St., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 494-1011

With all the better-than-average Asian restaurants around campus, picking the best is almost meaningless. Thai Noodle House stands out for its open, inviting porch and dining area that has become a gathering place as much as a dining hall. Enjoy fresh spring rolls, scrumptious dumplings, noodle bowls, stir-frys and, of course, a delicious pad just off the trodden path (Thai Noodle House is tucked behind Ming's Cafe off Guadalupe and 26th).

Also worthy: Madam Mam's, We Fuse

Best place to eat raw fish:

Sushi Niichi, 705 W. 24th St., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 469-0086

When it comes to sushi, pickings are slim near campus, but this small eatery on 24th Street does a fine job of attracting both students and nonstudents with its fresh, well-formed rolls and nigiri, as well as lunch and bento box specials and an array of appetizers to get you started. The sashimi tastes bright and has a texture closer to raw fish than melting raw fish, which is what some "sushi" restaurants around campus are serving.

Also worthy: None

Best place to have your parents take you out to dinner:

Texas French Bread, 2900 Rio Grande St., dinner 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 499-0544

Texas French Bread, well known for its baked goods, breakfasts and sandwiches, is branching out to serve seasonal, locally sourced dinner Thursday through Saturday at its Rio Grande location that would impress many a visiting parent. The large, open dining area has plenty of tables and good lighting, which lends itself to studying or coffee with friends, too. Start with good quality ingredients, and end with exquisite lamb sausage, fried squash blossoms with chevre and basil for dinner or nearly perfect scrambled yard eggs for breakfast. For lunch, choose from soups, salads and sandwiches, including homemade pimento cheese and La Nicoise, and about a dozen breads.

Also worthy: Fino, Clay Pit

Best place to pretend to study while scoping fellow procrastinators and people on the Drag:

Caffe Medici, 2222-B Guadalupe St., 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday, 474-5730

Caffe Medici has long been a Clarksville favorite for French press coffee and quiet mornings. Now, academics (or wannabes) can gather on the Drag (Medici replaced Metro, another coffeehouse, this summer) to enjoy one of the finest cups of coffee in town or Italian soda, teas, pastries, wraps or sandwiches. There's plenty of seating and big windows from which to stare aimlessly out of the second floor room while listening to your iPod and thinking about work. Or that attractive classmate in your chemistry lab.

Also worthy: CoCo's Cafe

Best place to stretch those newly forming vegetarian muscles:

Veggie Heaven, 1914 Guadalupe St., Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 457-1013

There's something about entering college that makes students want to try on dozens of different pairs of shoes to see what fits. For many an undergraduate reading "Fast Food Nation" or "The Omnivore's Dilemma" for the first time, ditching meat for a more sustainable diet means figuring out how exactly one lives off tofu, tempeh and beans. Let Veggie Heaven show you the way. Protein bowls, noodle dishes, stir-fry wraps and quesadillas will make even meat-lovers salivate. You might even get one of them to try TVP (textured vegetable protein, for the uninitiated).

Also worthy: Dhaba Joy, Tom's Tabooley

Best Tex-Mex and barbecue:

Trudy's Texas Star, 409 W. 30th St., 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to midnight Sunday, 477-2935; Ruby's BBQ, 512 W. 29th St., 11 a.m. to midnight daily, 477-1651

No, you can't get both at the same place. These staples of a Texas diet are best represented around UT by Trudy's Texas Star and Ruby's BBQ, both longtime fixtures. This is the original Trudy's location (since 1977), and it's famous for margaritas and Mexican martinis, breakfast until 4 p.m., fajitas cheaper than many spots and good chicken-fried steak. Ruby's (since 1988) used to be just a night crawl around the corner from Antone's. The club moved downtown, but Ruby's has stayed to satisfy cravings past the usual closing time for barbecue joints. Plus, this is where an array of side dishes — spiced pan fries, collard greens, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese are options instead of the usual beans and slaw — and Cajun plates coexist with the ribs, brisket, sausage and chicken world of Texas-style barbecue.

A Nice way to cap off your meal:

Nice Cones, a moveable stand in front of Potbelly Sandwich Works near 24th Street on the Drag, is serving shaved ice ($2.75 to $3.50) without all the high-fructose corn syrup. Using naturally flavored organic simple syrup instead, Charles Wilson and Stephen Standley are taking a childhood treat to a new level. Pick one, two or three flavors from the dozens of flavors ranging from coconut to blueberry, and then cool down with the sweetened, delicate ice flakes between classes.

abroyles@statesman.com; 912-2504