5. Chocolate Cake at Eloise Nichols:

It "reminds you of Grandma's house," writes Mai Pham of this no-fail dessert option at River Oaks's neighborhood spot Eloise Nichols. Why? It's a "moist, frosted, deep-brown rectangle of baked goodness" topped with crunchy hazelnuts and if you also order the bourbon chocolate shake with salted caramel and whipped cream," you'll be in heaven.



4.  Crawfish at Crawfish & Noodles:

"These came piping hot, with billows of steam wafting upwards as we un-bagged the critters. These crawdads were also uniformly large in size, incredibly juicy, and not a single one was waterlogged," writes Mai Pham. "Two thumbs up for quality."


3.  Pizza at Second Bar + Kitchen (in Austin):

This downtown Austin spot is a true lunch gem with numerous options, from sizable salads to a legit burger, but the wood-fired pizzas are really the star of the show, including this truffle-laced black and bleu cheese pizza, with bits of pork belly confit and sweet medjool dates, making for an extremely decadent midday meal.


2.  Roasted corn ravioli at Killen's STQ:

"While Killen's STQ is certainly all about the meat," contributor Brooke Viggiano says, "this roasted corn ravioli was an unexpected treasure: sweet, smoky and in a surprisingly light corn milk sauce that needs to be spooned up to the last drop. Don't worry, meat lovers — it has bacon jam, too." Just make sure to save room for dessert, because, also phenomenal: "The bacon tres leches bread pudding."



1. Savory Foie Gras Crème Brûlée at Brasserie 1895:

 "The custard of foie gras, Madeira and truffle finished with a crisp, torched sprinkling of sugar served with house-made ginger snap cookies was simply plated, cute to look at and difficult to share politely." No wonder chef Kris Jakob garnered top honors at the 2015 Woodlands Wine & Food Week for this exact dish.