30 more favorites

Good restaurants abound in Central Texas, but all could make the top 50. Here are 30 more to please the palate:

Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy
2901 S. Capital of Texas Highway (Loop 360), 306-0857

Lubbock-based Abuelo's, located on the edge of Barton Creek Square mall, offers a welcome choice seldom found in a single restaurant: upscale, interior Mexican food or more basic Tex-Mex fare.

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Banderas: A Texas Bistrot
9721 Arboretum Blvd., 795-6100

The food at this Renaissance Hotel restaurant is delightful, artfully presented and sophisticated. If only the excellent tapas-style dishes were being served somewhere other than the hotel lobby.

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Baxter's on Main
919 Main St., Bastrop; (512) 321-3577

Fine dining can be found on Bastrop's historic Main Street, where Terri Knop — after a career in customer service in the airline business — opened Baxter's for tasty steaks and seafood.

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Bitter End
311 Colorado St., 478-2337

Closed by a fire, the Bitter End should come back better than ever with Texas fare that pairs beautifully with the award-winning beers brewed on site in the Warehouse District pub.

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Bordeaux's
108 Center St., Kyle; (512) 268-3463

An upscale restaurant in the heart of Kyle, Bordeaux's is not a classical French restaurant as its name might imply. Still, its made-from-scratch fare is delicious, such as the smooth, rich butternut squash soup.

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Carrabba's Italian Grill
6406 N. Interstate 35 (Lincoln Village), 419-1220

Families are big winners at Carrabba's, where a comfortable ambience welcomes them with good Italian fare and child-oriented amenities, including plentiful highchairs, crayons and toys.

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Chez Zee

Photo by Jay Janner/AA-S 2004 The fresh fruit Bavarian cheesecake at Chez Zee is a dessert worth savoring.

5406 Balcones Drive, 454-2666

There is a comforting consistency to the food and attitude here. At Chez Zee, you feel at ease lingering over dessert, particularly the wickedly appealing cakes and pies that are among the city's best.

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Cool River
4001 Parmer Lane, 835-0010

A beautiful wood-lined room sets the tone at Cool River, one of the largest restaurants in Texas. One outstanding item at this steakhouse is the filet on a portobello cap with brandy peppercorn sauce.

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Dan McKlusky's
301 E. Sixth St., 473-8924

Dan McKlusky's tries to age its steaks for 28 to 45 days, which adds a significant depth of flavor and helps tenderize them. The tenderloin is delectably tender; in fact, it could easily be cut with a fork.

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Doña Emilia's
101 San Jacinto Blvd., 478-2520

In making the transition from East Seventh Street to San Jacinto Boulevard, Doña Emilia's has further enhanced and diversified the downtown dining scene with its Colombian and "New Latin" cuisine.

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Houston's
2408 W. Anderson Lane, 451-7333

When prime rib fanciers ask for the best place in town to get a fix, the answer is Houston's. The delicious meat is finished on an oak-fired grill and served in a warm ambience without pretense.

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Iron Cactus

Photo by Ha Lam for AA-S At the Melting Pot, the yin and yang fondue -- dark and white chocolate swirled in one pot -- comes with strawberries, pound cake, pineapple, brownies and cheesecake.

10001 Stonelake Blvd., 794-8778

Iron Cactus has found its niche by concentrating on sophisticated Mexican fare, such as Yucatan fish tacos filled with white fish, spinach and papaya-serrano pepper salsa with a jicama salad on the side.

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JC's Steakhouse
5804 N. Interstate 35, 407-9393

In a city that spends a lot of time trying to be hip and trendy, JC's Steakhouse is marching to a different drummer. It is more like the good steak spots of West Texas than other places in the capital.

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Kenichi
419 Colorado St., 320-8883

An offspring of the upscale restaurant of the same name in Aspen, Colo., Kenichi has been a crowd-pleaser for several years with its trendy décor and sushi that is as alluring as the surroundings.

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Las Palomas
3201 Bee Cave Road, 327-9889

Family sums up this spot. It's a family operation, it's a comfortable place for families, and its wonderful recipes reflect familial links; they were collected from generations of Amelia Corona's family in the interior of Mexico.

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La Vista
208 Barton Springs Road, 477-1234

La Vista at the downtown Hyatt Regency nails two different styles — Continental and Tex-Mex. In fact, the Hyatt pioneered a sizzling skillet of fajitas in the 1980s, ahead of most local Mexican restaurants.

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Manuel's
10201 Jollyville Road, 345-1042
310 Congress Ave., 472-7555

Manuel's packs strong, wonderful flavors into virtually every bite of its interior Mexican fare, such as its tortilla soup that features a thick, highly spicy base made from ancho chiles.

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Melting Pot

Photo by Deborah Lykins/AA-S 2004 When you're feeling crabby, head to La Vista Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency downtown for Texas blue crabcakes.

13343 U.S. 183 N., Suite 350; 401-2424

An intimate ambience and the restaurant's core concept — cooking to share — merge to make this upscale fondue restaurant a romantic spot, one that's so popular that reservations are a must on the weekends.

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Monica's 701
701 S. Main St., Georgetown; 931-2438

Owners Jim and Monica McKinney and chef Jim McNeill, who also maintain the Main Street Grill in Round Rock, deserve accolades for a major turnaround. Monica's is now a little gem with tantalizing, eclectic fare.

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North by Northwest
10010 Capital of Texas Highway N. (Loop 360), 467-6969

This is a brew pub with a strong meat-and-potatoes approach. You never know what kind of fanciful spuds will show up: Red pepper mashers. Garlic-scallion-Parmesan mashers. Blue-cheese scalloped potatoes.

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Ms. B's
8105 Mesa Drive, 372-9529

Owners Billy and Brenda McGowan offer authentic Cajun and Creole fare. Scrumptious dishes include their gumbo, crawfish bisque and my favorite: garlic shrimp and "soft-cooked" oysters over pasta.

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Old San Francisco
8709 N. Interstate 35, 835-9200

This is a reliable and straightforward steakhouse where patrons can find a good steak with sides and salad included in the price of the meal, plus live entertainment: the girl on the swing.

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Palmer's
218 Moore St., San Marcos; (512) 353-3500

Palmer's stands out in a town full of college-oriented eateries. At this upscale spot, main courses and desserts are a strong point, and the lush courtyard is a perfect place for a drink or dinner.

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Rocco's Grill
612 W. Sixth St., 480-5920

Modeled on the original Lakeway restaurant, the downtown Rocco's Grill is a lively space, with attention-grabbing whimsical murals. The Italian fare, particularly the pizza and pasta, deserves attention, too.

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Satay
3202 W. Anderson Lane, 467-6731

At this Thai spot, chef-owner Foo Swasdee has been an Asian-food pioneer in Central Texas, helping to educate diners and popularize the cuisine before it became a hot commodity in the 1990s.

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Shogun

Photo by Amber Novak for AA-S Shogun draws diners to Slaughter Lane with Japanese dishes such as the sushi platter.

1807 W. Slaughter Lane, No. 225; 292-1580

In far South Austin, a small, quaint, decade-old Japanese restaurant is thriving. Shogun is drawing folks with delectable sushi and Japanese fare, including some of the city's best tempura.

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Suzi's China Grill
858 Shoal Creek Blvd., 302-4600

Suzi reaches beyond her mostly Chinese cuisine with a sushi bar. A delectable dish is garlic beef, a spicy plate of tender flank steak in a chili-garlic sauce with onions, mushrooms and water chestnuts.

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34th Street Cafe
1005 W. 34th St., 371-3400

Longtime favorites and new seasonal dishes compete for diners' attention in this quiet little bistro. While patrons may vary the entrees, some consistently end with the luscious coconut cake.

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Tokyo Steak House and Sushi Bar
201-D Sundance Parkway, Round Rock; 388-7896

Tokyo Steak House is one of the few upscale restaurants that is perfect for family dining. Sushi pleases sophisticated adult palates while youngsters are enthralled with the entertaining show at the grills.

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Z' Tejas
1110 W. Sixth St., 478-5355
9400-A Arboretum Blvd., 346-3506

The emphasis is on the Southwest at this Austin-based chain, but other flavors — including those of Louisiana, Asia and points in between — touch the dishes, too.