'Best of Austin' 2009

Readers Poll

Food & Drink

Best All-Time Winner: Central Market

photo by John Anderson

Texas’ own 100-year-old H-E-B company conceived of Central Market and chose Austin as the location for the flagship store in 1994. We are eternally grateful. We can look back at the diversity of accolades heaped on Central Market by Chronicle readers and critics over the years and get a pretty good idea of what the creative, cutting-edge grocery store means to the city. Austinites appreciate the quality and selection of groceries, wine, and service personnel; plus the value-added attractions of a cooking school featuring in-house, local, and nationally known cooking experts as instructors; a reliable florist shop and catering operation; a family-friendly cafe; and an outdoor playscape that doubles as a music venue. The store serves as a prism through which to evaluate Austin’s continuing evolution as a great food city. Think of all the employees who discovered their culinary passions working in the store, the chefs who found their culinary voices in the cooking school, and the local artisan food manufacturers who have connected with consumers in the market. There are all those things, and the fact that we never tire of telling visiting chefs and food writers who marvel at the wonderfulness of the store, “Yes, we’re spoiled, living here in grocery store heaven.”
4001 N. Lamar, 206-1000; 4477 S. Lamar, 899-4300 www.centralmarket.com

Best 24-Hour/Late: Magnolia Cafe
Since opening its doors in 1979 as an egg-and-pancake joint, the Omelettry West on Lake Austin Boulevard, this icon of Austin eating has grown into a nationally recognized hot spot for good food and local flair. Open 24/8, the Mag (which opened a second location on South Congress in 1988) can feed even the hungriest beast.
1920 S. Congress, 445-0000; 2304 Lake Austin Blvd., 478-8645 www.cafemagnolia.com

Best Bar Ambience: TIE: Casino el Camino; House Wine
Until we ventured into the back of Casino, we didn't realize Aztecs had biergartens. Or that the incongruous was so congruous as to totally rock that aesthetic alongside what could be realistically called a "goth" bar, sans attendant caterwauling. A goth bar with no goth music! Yay! House Wine, on the other, very different hand, is like home, were your home tidy, streamlined, cozy, and posh, all at the same time. No wonder so many folks flock to it: Here, one may sip the yield of the grape whilst escaping his/her own disgusting domicile.
Casino el Camino, 517 E. Sixth, 469-9330; House Wine, 408 Josephine, 322-5210 www.casinoelcamino.net; www.housewineaustin.com

Best Bar Staff: TIE: Rio Rita; Nomad

From top: Rio Rita and Nomad

photo by John Anderson

A dance floor filled with sharks (of either the piscine or mammalian variety) won't keep Austinites coming back; it's the hosts, the standout bartenders who remember your previous order, who channel their creativity and expertise into experimenting with infusions that make your night more interesting (habanero garlic vodka makes a mean Bloody Mary). With this in mind, both Rio Rita on the Eastside and Nomad, a cozy North Central haunt, provide respite from the Downtown bustle and a place to get to know your friends and neighbors.
Rio Rita, 1308 E. Sixth, 524-0384; Nomad, 1213 Corona, 628-4288 www.riorita.net; www.myspace.com/nomadbar

Best Beer Selection: The Ginger Man
With more than 80 beers on tap and more than 30 bottled selections, it’s no surprise the Ginger Man has been serving the beer-lovers of Austin for more than 15 years. Formerly situated on Fourth Street between Lavaca and Guadalupe, the pub has found new digs right around the corner, on Lavaca between Third and Fourth streets. But a change of place doesn’t mean a change of face. The Ginger Man still has all your faves, biergarten included, but now it’s all shiny and new.
301 Lavaca, 473-8801 www.gingermanpub.com

Best Beer/Wine Prices: Spec's
It’s difficult not to leave with a few handles and some choice staff picks from Spec’s. The Houston-based liquor and wine supplier has ridiculous wholesale prices and insightful, personable service, not to mention an incredible selection and a variety of gourmet cheeses and coffees. Spec’s is the reason why drinking in is the new going out.
5775 Airport, 366-8300; 4978 Hwy. 290 W., 366-8260; 10515 MoPac N., 342-6893 www.specsonline.com

Best Cheap Date: P. Terry's

photo by Todd V. Wolfson

Cheap does not equal boring at P. Terry’s. Value-added, homegrown awesomeness comes free with its all-natural Angus beef combo meals and under-two-bucks shakes. The folks behind the scenes don’t scrimp on quality, so when you’re treating your sweetie, you’re doing it with hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, fresh-cut fries, and an original-recipe veggie burger that can’t be beat.
404 S. Lamar, 473-2217; 3303 N. Lamar, 371-9975 www.pterrys.com

Best Cocktails/Cocktail Menu: The Good Knight
Cocktails at this cozy Eastside gem evoke smoky, bygone eras (Old Fashioned, Grasshopper) with flair (the absinthe-infused Sazerac), but the Knight also tips its hat to inventive in-house concoctions like the June Rose: seedless grapes, bitters, basil, and Hendrick's gin. And a bartender who knows that if a drink is made right, you get the essence of the liquor last? That's who you want on the other side of the bar.
1300 E. Sixth, 628-1250 www.myspace.com/thegoodknightaustin

Best Farmers' Market: Austin Farmers' Market, Downtown
Local and slow foodies love the Austin Farmers' Market, and their devotion is understandable. The depth and breadth of the produce, meat, and cheese grown locally is mind-boggling. In a world where we are so far removed from our food (Where does it come from? What pesticides were used in its growth?), it's a valuable and precious experience to talk to local food producers face-to-face.
The Triangle, 4600 Guadalupe, 236-0074; Republic Square Park, Fourth & Guadalupe, 236-0074 www.austinfarmersmarket.org

Best Food Event: 'Austin Chronicle' Hot Sauce Festival
Salsa isn't America's favorite condiment just because it's fun to say (sorry, Seinfeld, we have to disagree) – at least not here in Austin. Salsa is serious business, much like Texans and their barbecue pits or the many local taco trucks and their connoisseurs. The possible combinations of tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, onion, habanero, chiles, mango, vinegar, and love (among many, many other ingredients) are no joke and are not taken lightly by the restaurants and hopeful individuals competing for the glory and your adoration. Yes, beer is on hand at this annual event, but we highly recommend water to wash down all those tasting chips as you try red salsas, green salsas, chunky salsas, salsas so hot you only need a toothpick-tip's-full. This fiesta is a spicy one, both in your mouth and in the Texas sun.
4000 N. I-35, 454-5766 austinchronicle.com

Best Intimate Dining: wink
The effects not noticed but noted – the quietly efficient staff, unassuming menus, minimalist decor – make dining at wink almost reverent in its romantic appeal. Each bite on your plate is designed to be slowly savored, as is each raised goblet of wine. This bliss transfers from food to mood, making date night here a full-bodied experience.
1014 N. Lamar Ste. E, 482-8868 www.winkrestaurant.com

Best Local Food Company: Greenling
Greenling traces its humble beginnings back to a round of discussions over beers on a South Congress First Thursday in March 2005. No question an organic grocery delivery business was needed, but was it viable? The answer: Oh hell yes! In the scant few years that Greenling has been delivering boxes of organic, not to mention tasty, meats and produce, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Greenling's online ordering couldn't be simpler – and we recommend you try one of the many prepacked boxes. Our favorite? The Dirty Dozen, 12 fruits and vegetables that any good steward of the earth should buy organic.
3913 Todd Ln. #618, 888/789-2352, 440-8449 www.greenling.com

Best Lunch Delivery: Jimmy John's
Hell yes, the Chicago-based chain delivers its freshly made clubs, subs, and other sammies of unusual succulence right to your front door, before a fit of munchies has you regarding your household pets with a Mondo Cane eye. And as if you couldn't recognize them from taste alone – the tell-tale yum – you'll know JJ's hunger-slayers by the big fat typefaces on that distinctive packaging.
601 W. MLK, 478-3111; 3203 Red River, 499-0100; 515 Congress, 457-4900; 6317 Bee Caves Rd., 327-6500; 2937 W. Anderson, 465-9700; 10900 Research, 340-0050 www.jimmyjohns.com

Best Neighborhood Grocery: Wheatsville Food Co-op

photo by Todd V. Wolfson

These days, it seems like our city charter mandates a natural foods grocery every 1.5 miles or so, but the world was not always thus. Sure, Wheatsville's popcorn tofu has its own Facebook fan page now, but when the co-op opened in 1976, it was the lone beacon in a wilderness of newly minted weirdos, crying out for a place to score meatless protein combos and pesticide-free munchies. While the grassroots grocer – in part because of its idiosyncratic staff and the availability of bulk buckwheat groats – grew a patchouli-ish rep, in truth Wheatsville was more concerned with member-ownership, cultivating community, and expanding our food choices than it was about dictating lifestyles: The original mission statement called for serving "a broad range of people" and "supplying high-quality food and non-doctrinaire information." In the Eighties and Nineties, the co-op grew and grew into its own, adopting the fertile slacker ethos that made it as entwined with Austin arts as any local business. There were the arts and herb fairs and proto-maker bazaars, all a blast, but there was also an ideology that (along with our long-gone affordable rental market) supported art workers' needs. By the mid-Nineties, along with the state school for the deaf and the Texas Legislature, Wheatsville was on the unwritten list of musician-friendly day-job providers. Countless iconic Austin performers punched its clock, from Ted Roddy to Lisa (then Dave) Cameron, and you knew when you walked in the door, you would be swept up by some floor manager's strange and perfect musical choice on the P.A., played just loud enough so's you'd notice. In 1998, this affinity resulted in The Wheat Album, a store-produced CD that featured such totally Nineties bands as Sixteen Deluxe, King Cheese, and Palaxy Tracks, all boasting members who worked there. Oh, and let's not forget the food. Wheastville was part of the first wave of now-standard eco-trends – bulk buying, rewarding reuse, purchasing from local farms – but its deli is also a wonderland of delicious concoctions, from Quincy Erickson's mind-blowing taste-sensations in the Eighties to its legendary veggie Frito pies, black-bean tacos, and the aforementioned "popcorn tofu." Though it makes a comfortable space for those who follow austere diets, Wheatsville has always been a place to indulge the senses, not deny them. Its recent expansion has been done intelligently, keeping the reasonable scale but bringing to the forefront, and adding to, the pleasures it has always celebrated (two words: cheese island!). When they turn the jams back up, it'll be paradise.
3101 Guadalupe, 478-2667 www.wheatsville.com

Best Neighborhood/Dive Bar: LaLa's

photo by John Anderson

It's Christmas in July! In August! In September! Hell, it's all about Christmas cheer throughout the year at Lala's, the Brentwood neighborhood dive that is bound to cheer you up and chill you out. The decor is strictly 1970s cocktail lounge, complemented by a jukebox that completes the trip back in time and accented with – Ho! Ho! Ho! – a true homage to all things merry and bright: A Christmas tree with pretty paper packages sits next to the front door and multicolored Christmas lights line the walls. And there are elves – lots and lots of elves in striped caps and socks, including a contingent that hangs from the ceiling over the bar in such a way that the elves do a little dance every time the men's room door opens. Lala's turns happy hour into merry hour. Jingle all the way!
2207 Justin, 453-2521

Best Outdoor Dining: Shady Grove
While there are scenic outdoor eating establishments all over Austin, the readers have spoken and declared that Shady Grove is the tops. Again. Along with its resident concert series, KGSR's Unplugged, Shady Grove's jukebox also wins raves. The comfort cuisine is great, the service is terrific, and the sprawling patio is the perfect setting for a very special night.
1624 Barton Springs Rd., 474-9991 www.theshadygrove.com

Best Place to Take a First Date: Alamo Drafthouse
Absolutely no contest here: Thanks to the Alamo, you can quickly discover your new guy/gal's moviegoing habits, from which, as everyone knows, you can then extrapolate everything from your chances of getting it on that night (they love Mario Bava!) or not (they love Zack Carlson!) to whether or not he/she is a potential romantic commitment (talking during film = no second date, while picking up the tab + large server tip + love of endless exploitation trailers = with this Ringu, I thee wed).
2700 W. Anderson, 459-7090; 1120 S. Lamar, 707-8262; 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320 www.originalalamo.com

Best Sweets/Goodies: Tiff's Treats
Diabetic coma notwithstanding, a week without Tiff's is like a week without sunshine, happiness, unicorns, or love. Fortunately, all of that can be assuaged with a quick phone call or click of the keyboard. "Tiff's? Send three dozen of your most deliriously delectable treats, stat!" Celebrating a birthday? Send Tiff's. Having an office party? Send Tiff's. Got into a tiff? Send Tiff's. And for those spontaneous, late-night benders (significant others of pregnant mamas heed these words): The Central/West Campus walk-up counter, open until 11:45pm seven days a week, will fix you good.
1806 Nueces, 473-2600; 11011 Research, 349-2200 www.cookiedelivery.com

Best Wine Selection: vino vino
You should always store your wine in a cool, dark place. But that's also exactly where you should store your winos: that way they'll stay the freshest. And vino vino has more than accomplished this with its inviting and sophisticated interior – dim lights, hardwood floors, and wine bottles lining the walls – and highly knowledgeable and friendly staff; they know their wines and are helpful with recommendations. Drop by for a glass of wine and a cheese plate, or buy a bottle to enjoy at home.
4119 Guadalupe, 465-9282 www.vinovinotx.com

Best Best-Kept Secret: Love Puppies Brownies
Sold at the South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery, Love Puppies Brownies are rich enough to stand in for that taco you were eyeing at neighbor Torchy's. These brownies are made "by local people who love puppies." But don't worry, puppies aren't allowed in the kitchen.
507-5926 www.lovepuppiesbrownies.com