Legend has it that the word bistro comes from a Russian word for "quick," or "hurry up!" How fitting that one of the best restaurants in the Theater District should be a bistro, since speedy service is exactly what theatergoers are looking for. The menu at Papillon features lots of dishes that French bistros have made famous (steak frites, roasted chicken and mussels in broth). But few restaurants that call themselves bistros reach for the stars with ambitious dishes like Papillon's duck breast with foie gras. The decor is dramatic, too. Located in the Hogg Building, around the corner from the Alley Theatre, the restaurant gains instant character from the space. Exposed ductwork and raw brick walls are softened by refinished wood floors and green and purple chiffon drapes -- it feels like a dressy dinner party held in a warehouse.

This Brazilian meat eater's paradise includes a 40-foot all-you-can-eat salad buffet with such exotic fare as quail eggs, crab salad and feijoada, a mixture of black beans and rice along with thinly sliced meats and collard greens. Choose only the salad bar for $17.99 or go for the complete buffet for $24.95, which also includes 17 kinds of meat and seafood, from bacon-wrapped chicken to beef tenderloin, ham, chicken hearts and linguiça, a Portuguese sausage, all served by gauchos wielding three-foot skewers of the meats prepared in the churrasco fashion. These beloved carriers of carne continuously bring on the meat until you can take no more. Wash it all down with a caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil, made with fresh-squeezed lime juice and rum.

With its rattan furniture and mounted trophy fish, the bar at this "Floribbean" restaurant is one of the most colorful in the city. In fact, the Floridita restaurant on Kirby takes its name from the El Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba, where Ernest "Papa" Hemingway drank. Try a Papa Doble, a double daiquiri made to Hemingway's specs, or a premium rum drink. If you hate theme restaurants, you may see this place as little more than a Bennigan's with a thin veneer of Key West pasted on. But if you can get over that, you'll find some standouts, like Gulf red snapper and mussels in Thai broth.

There's something magically peculiar about this space. It began as a church, then became the Dream Merchant, a freaky little clothing store. Now completely transformed into a restaurant, the former vestibule houses a dramatic, attractive wine cellar. The comfortably sedate furnishings flank a small glowing bar. But chef Mark Cox's cuisine outshines even these beautiful surroundings. He is an expert at balancing Houston's taste for comfort food (Mississippi-style grits served with chicken breasts) with a flair for the dramatic (black pearl risotto). But be sure to bring the corporate card, so you won't blanch when you learn that dessert costs a cool nine bucks.

Come for the cheap and excellent food, but come back for the bizarre mix of Heights yuppies, ethnic groups, gay couples and long-haul trucker types that populate this second location, the first one being the much smaller version on Irvington. With the Aztec mural on the wall, the Mexican soaps on the bar TV and the piped-in music (often in competition with the jukebox), it's possible to get overstimulated while dining here. If that happens, you can just get your tacos to go. There's no better food or people-watching for the price.

Whatever its name, The Fish (formerly known as Blowfish) is exceptionally titillating. It's identified on the outside solely by the abstract image of a spiny puffer fish. And on the inside, the color scheme is repeated in everything from the waitstaff's red ties and black shirts to the black napkins and red banquettes. And the after-hours scene here is as intriguing as the original name suggested. Blowfish, or fugu in Japanese, is the most dangerous and exciting of sushi experiences. Treated improperly, the delicacy will kill you. They may not serve any fugu here, but the food is as wild as the interior design. Try a science-fiction sushi creation like the fiery Godzilla roll or the wacky but delicious cookie-crusted shrimp. The off-the-wall menu and eye-popping decor have made this Midtown sushi salon one of the hottest hangouts in the city, the place to make a bold fashion statement and do a little late-night grazing.