Readers Poll:
Food and Drink

Best All-You-Can-Eat

Fresh Choice Austin voted for over 60 different All-You-Can-Eats, and Fresh Choice prevailed. Past perennial winner Mr. Gatti's tied for second along with the two Palaces, Taj and Buffet. 9761 Great Hills Trail, 795-9200

Best Bakery

Upper Crust Out of 40 entries, four rose to the occasion. Past winners Upper Crust, Sweetish Hill (second place), and Texas French Bread (third) are expected, but a fine showing by new arrival Schlotzsky's Bread Alone is food for thought. 4508 Burnet Rd., 467-0102

Best Barbecue

Salt Lick The finger-licking great grub of the mighty Lick beat out many-time winner County Line. Sam's, Iron Works, and Pok-E-Jo's got votes as well. Camp Ben McCullough Rd., Driftwood, 858-4959

photograph by John Anderson

Best Beer Selection

Gingerman Pub It's a tough court for darts, with its hanging drape of dark atmosphere, but all the more a challenge, we say! By the time you get half-way through all their on-tap offerings, your game's sunk anyway. 304 W. Fourth, 473-8801

Best Brewpub

Waterloo Brewing Company Whatever's ale-ing you won't be after you and your brew-ed hit a happy hour at this much-loved watering hole. With four beers brewed on premise year round and two seasonal (Wildflower Honey Ale, and Hefeweizen -- a wheat beer), all going for $1 a pint daily between 5-6pm (not to mention plenty of other happy hour specials) you'll soon be able to answer the question: "What's the pint of it all?" 401 Guadalupe, 477-1836

Best Caterer

Prairie Rock This little house of set-up goodness takes it for a second year in a row! Deborah DeWitt's Prairie Rock is the caterer of choice for Live Oak Theatre, and with her cunning combination of French, Southwestern, and Meditteranean cuisines, this honor comes as no surprise. 441-0111

Best Chips (locally made)

El Galindo The chips fell where they have for the past four years, right here at our favorite Eastside chip factory. Runners-up include El Lago, Guiltless Gourmet, and newcomer Kala's. 1601 E. Sixth, 478-5756

Best Chocolates

Dr. Chocolate Dr. Chocolate (winner 1994) and Lammes Candies (1995, 1993) continue to duke it out. This year it's Doctor Chocolate's turn to chalk one up, with Lammes a close second. 4001 N. Lamar, 454-0555

Best Coldest Beer

Waterloo Ice House It ain't called Icehouse for nuttin', baby. Austin has called this the coldest Brrrrr-ew for two years now. The Draught Horse and Deep Eddy chill in second place. 1106 W. 38th, 451-5245; Sixth & Lamar, 472-5400

Best Coffeehouse: Flipnotics photograph by Laura Skelding

Best Coffeehouse

Flipnotics The groovy little java joint on restaurant row upended a three-year tradition and knocked Ruta Maya, the name synonymous with coffeehouse, to second place. Little City steeps in at third. 1603 Barton Springs Rd., 322-9011

Best Coffee (local)

Ruta Maya ¡Viva la Chiapatistas! Gulp down your fair share of the revolution, with Austin's famous (take) home brew. 218 W. Fourth, 472-9638

Best Custom Cakes

Lucy's We're with you, Austin! Lucy's takes the cake, and has done so since 1993. 2803 San Jacinto, 472-6612

Best Greasy Spoon

Dirty Martin's Kum-Bak Don't let the name make you think otherwise; this burger joint has taken first place in this category just about forever... fair and square. 2808 Guadalupe, 477-3173

Best Grocery Store Best Take-Out Food Best Wine Selection (retail)

Central Market Adding Best Take-Out to last year's Grocery and two previous Wine Selection awards, Central Market has certainly enhanced our shopping (and sampling) pleasure. Still, grocery-goers frequently steer their carts through Wheatsville, other HEB stores, and Whole Foods Markets as well. Wiggy's gets a strong second for its wine selection, while Tamale House, Whole Foods, and Wheatsville round out the leaders in Take-out. 4001 N. Lamar, 206-1000; 206-1020 for take-out

Best Lunch Under $5

Tamale House #3 Heck, you can eat like a reyna for $3.50 here. The Airport Boulevard landmark has never messed with their formula for success: offering some of the best fast Mexican food in town for even better prices. Thundercloud and Kim Phung take second and third. 5003 Airport, 453-9842

Best Margaritas

Trudy's Make ours Swirls, please! For the first time in four years, Trudy's beats out Baby Acapulco's (second place and previous winner). Chuy's comes in third by a very short hair. Texas Star, 409 W. 30th, 477-2935; North Star, 8800 Burnet, 454-1474

Best Open-Air Market

Travis County Farmer's Market We figured that in previous years, when we asked you to rate the Best Farmer's Market, that this Farmer's Market won by the power of suggestion. The category "Open-Air" didn't change a thing except to solidify Travis County Farmer's Market's hold on first place. Whole Foods' local outdoor produce fests sprouted into second. 6701 Burnet, 454-1002

Best Oriental Bowl of Noodles

Kim Phung Noodle-wise, they've got what you're looking Pho in aBundance. Also in abundance is their number of first places in this category; this makes their third. The new Thai Noodle House in the old Acorn Cafe location came in second. 7601 N. Lamar, 451-2464

Best Oriental Bowl of Noodles: Kim Phung photograph by John Anderson

Best Outdoor Patio

Shady Grove "When the sun is dry and the throat is parched, there's more than just spring water..." The Everly Brothers' song by the same name says it all. Depending on the size of the crowd, you can listen to the whisper of the branches above or the gossip the next table over. This is Shady's fourth year as the runaway winner. 1624 Barton Springs Rd, 474-9991

Best Pie

Threadgill's An old friend takes the cake in this new category. Pam Made Pies and Kerbey Lane tie for second and The Frisco Shop, Wimberley Pie Co., and ForRay's make solid strides. 6416 N. Lamar, 451-5440

Best Place to Eavesdrop

Kerbey Lane Cafe With over 70 contestants in this category, when do y'all have time for your own damn conversations? When you're not minding your own business, you're usually at Kerbey Lane, Magnolia, ForRay's, Mezzaluna, or Ruta Maya, according to this poll. 3708 Kerbey Lane, 451-1436; 12602 Research, 258-7757; 2700 S. Lamar, 445-4451

Best Place to Impress Out-of-Towners Best Restaurant with a View

Oasis Sure, Oasis is the landsliding (probably a term we shouldn't use to describe this hill-perched wonder) favorite, but for a different view, how about also-rans Shoreline Grill, County Line, Foot Hills, and Hula Hut? Or for you more urban types, the Hyatt La Vista? And to impress out-of-towners, in addition to Oasis, you voted for Fonda San Miguel, Central Market, Eastside Cafe, County Line, and Threadgill's, among 50 other destinations. It makes us proud to be Texans knowing that y'all are such fine hosts. 6550 Comanche Trail, 266-2441

Best Quick Lunch Best Sandwich Shop/Chain

Thundercloud The 'cloud has placed in first for three years running for Quick Lunch; in a town full of good, quick lunch options, top runners-up include Taco Cabana, Tamale House, Taco Bell, and Texas French Bread. To get their fourth win in the Sandwich Shop category, they edged second-placer Schlotzsky's by a teeny spread, with Delaware grinding in at third. Twenty-six locations

photograph by John Anderson

Best Salsa (made locally)

Timpone's Rose's Another bouquet of Rose's graces this year's ballot -- fourth year in a row. Restaurant faves Serrano's and Chuy's tie for second, but again, here's a category with a ton of nominees. 443-8050