THE XL DINING GUIDE

A boom year for dining

Austin restaurant market sizzles

It's a boom year.

Led by the Domain, the new shopping and residential area in North Austin, the growth in high-end restaurants in Central Texas is the biggest in a decade.

Upscale spots that joined Neiman Marcus and Tiffany's at the Domain include Jasper's, the Steeping Room, Kona Grill, Daily Grill, Joe DiMaggio's Italian Chop House, North and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant.

The growth, however, is not limited to the northern sector.

Mars and Botticelli's have taken up residence on South Congress Avenue, and Estancia Churrascaria, a Brazilian steakhouse, has opened in Southwest Austin.

Outside the city, new restaurants include Falls Bistro & Wine Cellar in Marble Falls, Uptown Blanco in Blanco, Stories in the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort near Bastrop and Damian Mandola's Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood. (Many of these places haven't been open the requisite three months for a review.)

At the same time, downtown grows stronger. Trio, which replaced the Café at the Four Seasons in a renovated room, launched at the end of August, while Cibo blossomed on Congress and III Forks and Lamberts helped make the Second Street District hop at night.

There's also the new Primizie and Stortini in East Austin, Gypsy on Barton Springs Road and Bellissimo on Fifth Street — a veritable feast of Italian dining.

Plus, there are more openings on the way: Fogo de Chão, the famous Brazilian steakhouse chain, will open soon on Third Street near the Convention Center and Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, with seating for 350, will be launching in the first quarter of 2008 in the Norwood Tower on Colorado Street.

With all the high-rise construction, look for more major announcements in the coming year.

All this makes Austin one of the hottest dining scenes in the South. We're sizzling and your choices have never been greater, as this year's XL Dining Guide illustrates.