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Best Burger

Christian's Tailgate Bar & Grill

Once, there was a convenience store with the wonderfully cryptic name "Christian's Totem" that was famous for its awesome burgers. Unfortunately, owner Steve Christian removed the convenience store shelves, expanded and renamed it Christian's Tailgate Bar & Grill. (A religious sports bar?) But lucky for us, Christian didn't screw up the burger. You get a hand-formed patty of never-been-frozen, freshly ground beef served on a perfectly toasted bun with just the right amount of lettuce and tomato, artfully wrapped in tissue paper and balanced on the edge of a red plastic basket full of fries. Jalapenos are extra and highly recommended.
Readers' choice: Becks Prime

Best Place to Skip Dinner and Get to Dessert

Ruggles Cafe Bakery

Bruce Molzan has had a rough couple of years seeing his establishments at Minute Maid and downtown fold like...um, folding chairs or a deck of cards or something. But that doesn't mean he's lost it. We still think he has the best desserts in town. And while his hearty sandwiches and sweet potato fries are also a delight, we'd much rather skip dinner altogether and get to the desserts as soon as possible at Ruggles. Pastry chef Susan Molzan's delicious confections -- including gooey tres leches, white-chocolate-macadamia-nut tortes, chocolate truffle cake and bread pudding -- will have your eyes rolling to the back of your head. You'll forget all that ails you.

Best Neighborhood Spot in the Heights

Onion Creek Coffee House

This is a pleasant, relaxing Heights-area spot that serves up tall cups of caffeine and pints of beer (not a short feat in this dry part of town) as patrons take in live music and DJs. At breakfast, loyal morning patrons inhale tasty croissants, bagels and kolaches, while lunchtime regulars wolf the phenomenal pizzas, "country ass" Reubens and delicious O.C. poor boys. Bring a laptop or a newspaper, or watch one of the many unobtrusive flat-screen TVs tucked away in the corners as you lounge on a comfy couch or soak up some rays on the deck.

Best Vintage Milk Shake

Yale Street Grill

With a five-station mixer constantly making shakes, malts and sundaes, the counter staffers at Yale Street Grill have their hands full. It is unknown whether they've been making shakes since 1923, when they opened, but the mixer sure looks the age. They start out with two or three generous scoops of Blue Bell ice cream, a good amount of milk and, in the case of the Oreo version, enough crushed cookie pieces to make it impossible to suck through a straw, no matter how big a sucker you may be. A spoon is definitely required. Classic flavors -- vanilla, strawberry, banana and chocolate -- are all available.
Readers' choice: 59 Diner

Best Neighborhood Spot in Montrose

Brasil

Photo by Katharine Shilcutt
While many Montrose cafes and coffee shops attract a fairly intriguing array of customers -- students with laptops, poets with notebooks, artists with sketchpads, wedding planners with engaged couples -- few provide as comfortable a place to just "be" as Brasil. And the food is no slack job, either. Stunning hummus pizza and mozzarella-tomato sandwiches delight. Wash them down with the city's best cup of joe or one of the several brews on tap while relaxing to the easy notes of jazz or ambient trip-hop. Our town's cooler, less hip-hop-and-house-obsessed DJs, like DJ Sun, DJ Suma and Lil Tiger, have all held down nights there, and groups like Drop Trio, Zin and Free Radicals have been known to set up shop as well, making Brasil also one of our more forward-thinking music venues.

Best Onion Rings

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Conversation momentarily ceases the moment the towering pyramid of onion rings hits your table at Fleming's. Then there's the hesitation: Do you dare disturb the architecture of the thickly sliced Vidalia onions and flaky, crunchy batter? Of course you do. This side dish is an excellent group treat, though you'll find you're muscling your way in past your tablemates to grab one of these nearly five-inch-wide golden-brown hoops, which are served with a zesty chipotle chili mayonnaise. If there's any stuffiness in this chic, trendy steak house, it's gone as soon as you eschew your knife and fork, dip your chunk of battered onion into the sauce and become a true lord of the rings.

Best Comfort Food

Cleburne Cafeteria

Dishes like roast beef, chicken-fried steak and mac 'n' cheese rarely grace the cover of Gourmet magazine, but they're at the epicenter of the collective American palate. And you'll be hard-pressed to find a place that serves better versions of these favorites than Cleburne Cafeteria. The lines form early and snake out the door here daily as West University locals and visitors clamor for the dishes that taste straight out of Mom's kitchen -- fresh milk, butter (lots of it), eggs and all. Owner George Mickelis keeps the Greek tradition of his father's cafeteria alive by offering excellent dishes like pastitsio, moussaka and even a palate-cleansing tabbouleh. And his downright addictive pies, cakes and custards, made daily, are the perfect Sunday-afternoon treat.
Readers' choice: Barnaby's

Best Salad

Ruggles Cafe Bakery

Call it the salad for people who hate salads. The "warm baked Texas goat cheese salad with apples and toasted almonds in a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette" -- yes, this salad needs a nickname -- at Ruggles Cafe Bakery seems like an hors d' oeuvres tray on a bed of lettuce. A thick, fat slab of goat cheese caked in sliced almonds sits on a bed of mixed field greens with slices of sun-dried tomatoes and Granny Smith apples. The whole affair is topped with shredded Parmesan cheese and a creamy, tart, husky, semi-sweet sun-dried tomato dressing. Add a grilled chicken breast to make this a hearty gourmet meal.

Best Greek Restaurant

Mykonos Island

With its big open windows and lush plants, Mykonos Island seems plucked from its namesake spot in Greece. Try the Greek sampler platter, which offers traditional appetizers like meatballs and stuffed grape leaves. True to Greek island cuisine, psari (seafood) reigns supreme here, with fish like grouper and snapper arriving fresh daily. The snapper dishes are served full-fish -- head, tail and all. Try the appropriately, if not ambitiously, titled Mykonos "best seafood dish": a butterflied red snapper fillet charbroiled with sauteed shrimp, scallops, mushrooms and tomatoes and served with potato spears and a stream of garlic-butter sauce. Or enjoy other Greek staples like lamb riganato simmered in olive oil, lemon, oregano and garlic. Finish with sweet rizo galo, light rice pudding dusted with cinnamon. And speaking of sweet finishes, the belly dancing on Friday and Saturday nights is also a Grecian delight.

Best Steak Frites

Laurier Cafe

Sure, you can get steak and fries at any steak house in the city, but Laurier Cafe's version is this town's best offering of the Parisian bistro classic. It starts -- as it always should -- with the steak, a glorious, 12-ounce Niman Ranch New York strip (Niman Ranch beef comes from cattle that are custom-fed and hormone-free). The steak is dressed with a zingy chipotle rub that teases the palate. Cut along the diamond crisscross sear marks, and you'll find a meticulously grilled slab with a picture-perfect pink center. Pommes frites, an elegant jumble of thin fries cooked to a perfect crisp, and sauteed spinach complete the triumvirate of bistro flavor. Wash it all down with a glass of cheap Rhone. We say bien fait to chef-owner Gary Fuller, who has transformed boring ol' meat and potatoes into a truly resplendent meal.

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