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Best Summer in a Bottle

Goodflow Limeade

Nothing quenches a Texas thirst like limeade, and the good folks at Goodflow sure know how to mix up this classic cooler. Just the right amount of tart and sweet, it's interminably sippable and smooth enough to be downed in a single, sweaty gulp. We can't get through summer (or spring, winter, or fall, for that matter) without it.

Available at local groceries, 2601 E. Cesar Chavez, 472-6714

Best $8 You'll Ever Spend on Your Health

Casa de Luz

Even after they tell you the names of the foods on your plate, you won't know what half of them are: a bowl of miso-wakame soup, adukis, millet, collards, root vegetable nishime, burdock-hiziki medley, and a little umeboshi pickle. Yeah, right. Whatever it is, it looks beautiful and tastes delicious and is arguably some of the very finest macrobiotic cooking available in the United States. Casa de Luz offers a prix fixe plate lunch and dinner weekdays, and a buffet brunch weekends in a serene, friendly setting behind a Montessori school. If communal tables and New Age music are not for you, there's always take-out.

1701 Toomey, 476-2535

Best Authentic Chinese Experience

Austin's Wok n' Roll

Looking for the real Chinese food thing, or the closest thing to it here in Austin? Check out the green and pink shack over there, yeah, the one that looks like a taqueria or a flower shop. Mmmm, here's that smell - that greasy, heavy air that fills up your nostrils and coats your skin - and there's the menu in Chinese posted in strips up on the windows. Now try the food - flat pan-fried noodles, rice soup, noodles in brown beef broth - the very stuff of Hong Kong street dining that brings the local Asian clientele flocking to the smudged glass counter. And remember, this is strictly a wooden chopstick, nothing over $5.50, serve yourself for drinks kind of joint where they bark out your name to come pick up your food, and you leave fat, greased up, and happy. You're loving it, aren't you?

5119 Burnet, 451-2345

Best Chef's Apprentice

Joe Synatschk at Central Market Cooking School

This dedicated young man seems to be pursuing a chef's apprenticeship the European way, by working his fingers to the bone in the service of resident and guest chefs alike at the Central Market Cooking School. You'd never know to look at him that he's only 14 years old, but this aspiring chef is gaining untold hours of excellent free culinary training because he's willing to work for it. We expect great things from this guy. He's making the most of the Central Market volunteer program.

4001 N. Lamar, 458-3068

Best Avant Garde Margarita

Curra's Avocado Margarita

As if Curra's hadn't given enough to the eating community already, with their cochinita pibil, tamale plates, and generous happy hour (all afternoon). Now, they're coaxing avocado into the world of sweet drinks by taking a frozen lime margarita and adding a quarter of an avocado and some cilantro. Mmm, cool and frosty, and, well, fatty, but who cares? We're not drinking margs for our health anyway, are we?

614 E. Oltorf, 444-0012

Best Big, Honkin' Chocolate Eclairs

Quackenbush's/Quack's 43rd Street Bakery

When you have a craving for this French pastry, Quack's will surely satisfy. No puny, petite sample, this is a Texas-sized round mound full of egg custard and covered in dark chocolate that's big enough to share with a couple friends. Some people have been known to hide while eating this delicious dessert to fully enjoy this creamy experience (or keep from sharing with anyone else). A definite value for the buck!

2120 Guadalupe, 472-4477; 411 E. 43rd, 453-3399

Best Cheap Kegs in a Bind

Junior's Beer & Wine

We all know the tragedy of a floated keg, especially when you're the one throwing the party. What's even worse is when the sand is running out on time to buy. Instead of cussing the thirsty strangers that suddenly showed up, head down to Junior's. For $42.95 these guys can keep the party going - even if it is with Pearl. But at that time, how dare anyone complain?

705 W. 29th, 474-9724

Best Chain Restaurants That Have Surprisingly Good Coffee

Souper Salads and Luby's

Even in your tonier establishments, a satisfying cup o' joe can be tough to come by. So it's always a pleasure to return to these cheap eatin' institutions for food that is exactly the same as it was the last time you ate it, and have a really good cup of coffee to top it off. The coffee at Souper Salads should always be ordered after you finish your last trip to the salad bar (so it won't sit in front of you getting cold), and drunk with a chunk or two of gingerbread; and always finish your "Lu Ann Platter" with Luby's rich, nothing-quite-like-it blend. Ahh. Now you can go back to work.

various locations

Best Cheap Drink

Austin's Tap Water

In June, Austin's water was chosen as best drinking water in Central Texas by the Texas Water Utilities Association in a taste test against samples of water from other cities in the region. The water was judged on clarity, purity, and taste.

in fountains and taps all over town

Best Drive-Thru

Culver's Frozen Custard

photograph by John Carrico

A drive through Culver's includes a sign near the drive-thru window that says the reason customers must wait longer for their food at Culver's is because it isn't pre-made. Culver's specializes in butterburgers (which means that the top of the hamburger bun is lightly buttered) and thick, stout, frozen custard that every day comes in vanilla and the flavor of the day, which recently has been such exotic flavors as Glorious Grasshopper, Wholly Whoppers, and Mint Truffle. It's comforting, isn't it, to think that a fast food place would deliberately slow things down?

3424 W. William Cannon, 892-1114

Best Church Brunch

St. Julia Catholic Church

The brunch at St. Julia's is homemade in every aspect of the word. Breakfast is served by hustling volunteers carrying dented baking sheets stacked with handmade tortillas, empanadas, sweet rolls, breakfast tacos, huevos, and menudo. Though the beige plastic plates, matching coffee cups, and metal folding chairs have probably been in service since the church opened in 1957, they add a coziness to the communal atmosphere created by scampering kids and hundreds of friends enjoying one anothers' company. Open to the public, Sundays, 8:30am-1pm.

3010 Lyons, 926-4186

Best Comeback

Flo's

We never know where or when the indomitable Flo Washington will pop back into the Eastside culinary landscape, but we're just as happy as all her other loyal fans whenever she does. This newest incarnation offers her signature soulful downhome specialties (fried chicken, smothered pork chops, vegetables, cornbread, pie, and cake) at the usual bargain prices. Welcome back.

1209 E. 11th, 482-9840

Best Cookbook by a Local Author

Cocina de La Familia

Popular local chef Miguel Ravago contributed his culinary expertise to this fascinating collection of Mexican-American immigrant family recipes written with Seattle travel coordinator Marilyn Tausend. The book garnered a Julia Child Book Award for excellence from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and Simon & Schuster plans to bring out the Spanish language version in 1999. Felicidades!

Simon & Schuster,$30 hard

Best Corn Tortillas

Amaya's Taco Village

Sometimes there is a wait for the food to arrive on the table at Amaya's; they've run out of their popular corn tortillas and they have to be made, just for your order. Thick and hot with the feel of the comal still clinging to them, these corn tortillas are great by themselves or with the delectible caldo de pollo that's a very popular menu item in the winter.

Capital Plaza, 5405 N. I-35, 458-2531

Best Delivery Pizza South of the River

Pizza Nizza

They looked across the waters. They saw a land where pizza chains held dominion, and they said "Woe unto them who must subsist upon lame-ass pizza," and they begat delivery to that land; and lo, it was sustenance deemed divine, for the crust was hearth-baked; yea, the three sauces were revealed to be slow-simmered, and the people of that land said, "It is good," and they tipped their driver.

1608 Barton Springs, 474-7070

Best Dinner & a Movie

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's First Anniversary Special

The best dinner and a movie pairing this year had to be the Alamo's first anniversary celebration. Owners Tim and Karrie League presented Alfonso Arau's romantic film
Like Water for Chocolate paired with a dinner based on recipes taken from the novel that inspired the movie. The dining audience was served the delicate quails in rose sauce just as the incendiary scene in which they were featured flickered across the screen. Quite an impressive accomplishment.

409 Colorado, 867-1839 or 476-1360

Best Downtown Breakfast in the 'Burbs

Austin Java North

Weekends in Austin are breakfast heaven. There are so many choices! Problem is, if you're like us and wake up after 11am, by the time you get your lazy, hungry, jonesing-for-something-eggy butt out of the sack, your favorite brunching hot spot is packed. Head north to Austin Java Company's location on 183. Amidst the sprawl and strip maul, there is relief in the form of Java's familiar eggs benedict and c'est bon! French toast, not to mention their comforting array of exotic joe. What isn't familiar, however, is the fact that you don't have to wait in line for an hour while running into everyone you know.

13376 Research, 219-5388

Best Drink Named for Its Restaurant

The Marstini at Mars

Seems a simple enough concoction: The first syllable of both restaurant and cocktail were the same, voilà , the Marstini was born. Basically, it's an Absolut Citron martini with Grand Marnier replacing the vermouth. Sounds easy, right? Well, replacing vermouth with Grand Marnier is trickier than it sounds. Try making them at home, and you'll end up with a syrupy golden beverage that looks like watered-down barenjaeger (the honey-flavored cousin to jaegermeister). Having ordered it in other places (always by the proper trademark Marstini), we note that most bartenders are a little heavy-handed with the old orange brandy. In its home environment at Mars, however, the cocktail is a bracing, refreshing, strong apertif which washes down an order of potstickers like a cool mouthful of velvet gold.

1610 San Antonio, 472-3901

Best Drive-thru Malteds & Shakes

Hilbert's

See those pillow-toting mamas? Or rather mamas-to-be? They go directly from their childbirth classes at Seton and make a beeline to Hilbert's to order one of these babies. Honest to goodness shakes and malteds that are, in a word, yummy!! Could an entire class of pregnant women be wrong about such a thing? Remember, follow a pregnant woman.

3303 N. Lamar, 452-2317; 5340 Cameron, 371-3717

Best Drive-thru Pizza

Aljon's

Okay, okay ... so your favorite pizza isn't the same as ours; we know it's a peppery subject. But it's no toss-up that Aljon's is the best NY-style pizza in town with a drive-thru window! All we have to do is call ahead for our favorite pie - say, pepperoni and mushroom, on a traditional yeasty crust cooked to cheesy, saucy perfection - and when we arrive it's boxed up and ready to sail through their window and into ours. By the time we get back home (if we've kept from reaching under the lid en route) the slices have cooled off just enough to fold and eat.

1945 E. Oltorf, 447-2306

Best Gourmet Tamales

Hot Damn Tamales!

When Angele Cleopatra Stavron gave up playing bass in punk bands to go into the tamale business, some snickered as if to say, "You? Start your own company?" They're not laughing now, they're smacking their lips and belching in satisfied torpor. Angele's masa marvels are made with quality ingredients and are available in such non-traditional flavors as smoked chicken poblano, (vegan) spring vegetable, and wild mushroom with Texas goat cheese. We'll miss her when she relocates to Fort Worth later this year, but her hot tamales will still be available for delivery by ordering online at http://www.hotdamntamales.com.

Available at Whole Foods, Wheatsville, Sun Harvest, Westlake Farmer's Market, or on the menu at Spider House, 467-9102

Best Hearts

Cynthia & Lydia Perez of Las Manitas

Year in and year out, these hardworking sisters always give from the heart to support the causes they believe in, most notably the local Latino arts community. This year in addition to providing exhibit space for La Peña's Toma Mi Corazon Heart Auction, they persuaded several hotshot chefs to donate food and opened their restaurant for a preview party that raised plenty of extra money for the arts.

211 Congress, 472-9357

Best Hippie Cookie

Ronnie's Realfood Chocolate Chip

One might think a no-dairy dessert would be no more exciting than say, a handful of raisins, but Ronnie's Chocolate Chip Cookies are our favorites even before we look at the ingredients - a dense concoction of oats, organic flours, chocolate, a little canola oil, and some other components that shouldn't rightly turn up in a sweet. We don't really care that they might be better for us than the standard tollhouse version, just that they taste amazing. And just think ... since they're vegan, we might convince mom that it's okay to eat them instead of our veggies.

Available at Whole Foods and Cooks Night Out, 207 E. St. Elmo, 441-7971

Best Homestyle Lebanese Meal

Longhorn Po-Boys & Falafel, Downtown

The greatest addition to the usual deli-style fare at the downtown Po-Boys is the presence of owners Mom and Dad. Dad is usually hacking away at the register with a big smile on his face, while Mom works invisibly in the back preparing the daily specials of homestyle Middle Eastern cuisine (served 'til 3pm, including chicken & rice, stuffed cabbage, and Schwarma made with 13 spices!). The food is hot, delicious, and cheap with accompanying vegetables, rice, potatoes, or exceptionally good hummus on the side; each special runs $5-6.

906 Congress, 476-7735

Best Host Chef

Elmar Prambs at the Four Seasons; Roger Mollett at Central Market Cooking School

Both these men are highly regarded for making visiting chefs welcome in their kitchens. Celebrity chefs from all over the country who invade the Four Seasons kitchen for collaborative dinners rave about chef Prambs' hospitality and professionalism. Cookbook authors and culinary instructors who frequent the Central Market cooking school kitchen always give high marks to chef Mollett and his staff for their exemplary tactical support. We'll just have to call this one a tie.

98 San Jacinto, 478-4500; 4001 N. Lamar, 458-3068

Best Hot Dog

Shady Grove

Restaurant choices along this stretch of Barton Springs Road are certainly staggering, but if a person has a jones for a hot dog, Shady Grove is the answer. Not too many establishments go to the trouble of making this old-fashioned specialty into a meal, but Shady Grove does; its deliciously grilled hot dog-and-a-half (exactly what one would expect, a frank bisected lengthwise with another half dog lying next to it on a toasted bun), is a sufficient stopper to almost any appetite. Flanked by a side of fries, the hot dog and a half will give most diners second thoughts about ordering dessert afterward.

1624 Barton Springs, 474-9991

Best Human-Scale Place to Buy Good Food

Wheatsville Co-op

Don't get us started on the parking lot thing again, but suffice it to say that both Central Market and Whole Foods sort of terrify us, and going to either one of them feels like a major expedition. More often than not, we've already had all the super-sized multi-option mega-life we can handle in one day before we realize we need a bag of brown rice and a bunch of bananas. This is what Wheatsville is all about. Not too big, not too small, not too friendly, not too snooty ... Wheatsville is just right, and really is a place you can swing into for a bag of groceries, like in the good old days. Plus it is the economic lifeline of a disproportionate number of Austin musicians, and it is always fun to buy yogurt from the bass player.

3101 Guadalupe, 478-2667

Best In-Store Wine Tasting

Whole Foods Market Gateway

These casual Thursday gatherings have gained in popularity and attendance all year long. Savvy wine buyer April Lowe chooses her programs well, offering excellent domestic selections from California, Washington, Texas, and Oregon, plus interesting vintages from the best wine regions of Italy, France, Germany, and Australia. She wowed us recently with a tasting of several 1995 vintage Chateauneuf de Pape reserve wines from the southern Rhone region of France for a mere $20. Plenty of well-researched info and tasty tidbits of food always complement the wines.

9607 Research, # 300, 345-5003

Best Gelato to Go

Milano's Gelateria Dolci & Caffe

photograph by John Anderson

Is it the friendly chefs from Italy behind the counter? Is it the allure of the gigantic Sophia Loren plastered on the back wall? Is it that our tongue starts automatically wagging in Italian as soon as the luscious flavors like zabaglione (Marsala wine), bacio (chocolate & hazelnut), and menta (mint) hit it? We just can't get enough of the light, smooth peach, lime, limon and the cool, crisp tropical pineapple with rum sorbettos; they keep us coming back for more. We grab some on the go whenever we're in Austin's funky warehouse district. And this summer, we discovered that Milano's is not only great on the go, but that they can come to you, too. Their spiffy refrigerated gelato cart makes it possible for them to scoop their luscious frozen wares at fairs, festivals, farmer's markets, and catered parties. Just call them up, bella, and they'll come rollin'.

217 W. Fourth, 326-3980

Best Gelato to Stay

Dolce Vita Gelateria & Espresso Bar

The patio of this Hyde Park cool spot is one of our favorite places to people-watch while we enjoy a crisp waffle cone full of ultra-creamy lemon sorbetto and sip a frothy iced cappuccino spiked with one of the many available flavored syrups and liqueurs. The "sweet life" is just what we experience when we indulge in a post-prandial visit for an elegant dessert, a scoop of gelato, and a sophisticated aperitif.

4222 Duval, 323-2686

Best Jewish Deli Sandwich

The New York Deli

The "Joan Rivers," a tongue, corned beef, and Swiss sandwich, with cole slaw and Russian dressing on either rye or pumpernickel, is the real deal. Order a latka or knish on the side to eat in at their recently expanded restaurant, or take home other deli classics: a container of chopped liver or an addictive vanilla egg cream.

712 Round Rock, 246-1108

Best Liquid Cure-all

Dr. Dream's Immune Fuel

The days of tonic touting may have passed, but we can't help but boost this distinctive juice-for-what-ails-ya. Dr. Dream's elixir, a tasty concoction of lime juice, ginger, and that miracle sniffle-stopper Echinacea, could prevent even a low-pressure system from feeling under the weather. When we sense the funk coming on, we're happy to take our medicine as long as it's Immune Fuel: delicious cold or heated up to soothe sore throats (not bad to wash down a tuna sandwich with, either).

Available at Whole Foods, Fresh Plus, Central Market, and other local groceries.

Best Local Use of the Potato

Tito's Handmade Vodka

Made proudly at the only distillery in the state, Tito's Vodka is so smooth that we're sure it would give even Dostoyevsky something to write home about. Tito's tastes great in a peppery Texas Bloody Mary or in a shimmering vodka martini, but we'd be willing to line up a straight shot against any of those foreign brands any day. Move over, Absolut and Stoli, Tito's Texas Vodka deserves some room on the top shelf.

12101 Moore, 243-2755

Best New Branch on a Family Tree

Changos Taqueria

We're very fond of this funky little monkey we found swinging on a branch of the Manuel's family tree. While the downtown ancestor is responsible for our favorite half-priced appetizers, Changos evolved into a very affordable taco heaven. We're partial to the rotisserie-cooked pork in adobo that fills the tacos al pastor and the delicately battered fried mahi-mahi in the Tacos del Mar stuffed with tangy cabbage slaw. All the great fillings are wrapped in divine fresh tortillas made right before our eyes. We salute the next generation! Olé!

3023 Guadalupe, 480-TACO

Best New Brunch

Ella's Restaurant & Bar

We'll have to admit we're smitten with this classy new little jewel box of a restaurant on Kerbey Lane. In a very short time, we've become addicted to the elegant but very reasonably priced Sunday brunch menu with its savory waffle topped with spicy sausage and chile con queso or big, beautiful biscuits crowned with a tender quail and delicious gravy. We could sit here swilling Bloody Marys all day. No buffet, no parking problem, no worries.

1 Jefferson Square, 458-1248

Best New Restaurant Without a Kitchen

Malaga Wine & Tapas Bar

Leather-bound wine lists, marinated beef tenderloin with bleu cheese, staying open until 2am: All of these things make Malaga a new favorite, but the secret is that the space they occupy doesn't have an actual kitchen. For now, their tapas are being prepared in the kitchen of the old Soma space, next door. What will they do when the Blue Water Cafe opens there in October? Stay tuned.

208 W. Fourth, 236-8020

Best New Saloon

Threadgill's World Headquarters & Saloon

The back room at Eddie Wilson's southern Threadgill's location is as geographically close to the site of the former Armadillo World Headquarters as he's likely to get in this lifetime, so maybe that's the reason the music in the new saloon is so appealing. We can't get enough of great bands like Hot Club of Cowtown in the intimate room, and the late-night menu they serve until midnight on the weekends appeals to us, too.

301 W. Riverside, 472-9304

Best Little Big Bites

Rhythm House Tapas Bar

Tapas once meant little more than the crusty bread rounds that covered wine jugs, but they've come a long way from their modest beginning, and the Rhythm House offers a selection no one could get around in a single sitting. We love the humble patatas with their spicy little sauce when we're feeling casual and favor the ceviche served in a cool martini glass when the mood is more sophisticated. Paired with the house sangria, these are appetizers worth making a meal of.

624 W. 34th, 458-4411

Best New Take on the Lunchtime Noodle Bowl

Yen Ching Chinese Noodle House

It ain't always for Pho we go when we're craving a bowl of Oriental noodles, not since we discovered the homemade noodle-making talent at Yen Ching, anyway. We always ask for the restaurant's main menu (the special lunch menu was created for folks in a hurry and out of the know), then choose from a handful of noodle soups - hot or cold, mild or spicy. The long, chewy nest of noodles that fill the bowl are made on order. We've never tasted 'em fresher!

2910 Guadalupe, 472-4754

Best Noodle Soup

Pho Cong Ly, Downtown Location

The third location in Austin of this Vietnamese restaurant chain, Pho Cong Ly downtown has the atmosphere and freshness lacking at the other Pho joints across the city. Their Pho, a light beef stock poured over rice noodles topped with various cuts of meat in one large bowl, is served steaming and fragrant. No dishwater soup here. The accompanying lime, basil, coriander, bean sprouts, and jalapeño slices are consistently clean and fresh.

215 E. Sixth, 236-8878

Best Peanut Butter Cookies

The Kolache Shoppe

Heaven for pocket change. For 39¢, the Kolache Shoppe can transport your mouth (and your weight) to a higher state, leaving you feeling somehow light and fluffy. Their peanut butter cookies, with an emphasis on butter, are divine. We've always known there was something special about them - the way their delicate, almost crunchy edges give way to a soft and chewy center, the way they make our lips grow into a dazed crumb-covered smile, the way we crave them again only minutes after eating the last one. Milk was made for cookies like this. And we haven't even begun to tell you about their kolaches!

7113 Burnet, #112, 458-5542

Best Pizza Slice

Saccone's

Ooooh. North Austin! Do you realize what you have? Not just one but two choice pizza joints within crawling distance. Last year we waxed wistfully about Reale's - home of some of Austin's finest mom-and-pop Italiano cuisine. This year, we drove a little further north and got hooked on the crispy, crunchy, chewy, fold-me-in-half-and-let-me-slide-down-the-gullet goodness of this Jersey Shore pie. The shop itself recalls the best of those no-frills walk-up counters: tart sauce, flavorful cheese, and beefy dough tossers who actually say "Yo!"

13812 Hwy183 N, 257-1200

Best Place for a Romantic Late-Night Snack & Drink

Hyatt Regency's Branchwater Lounge

On nights that the hotel on Town Lake isn't full of drunken conventioneers, the bar on the first floor is often nearly empty and seductively dark. Slip in for a drink or a snack until midnight on weekends (kitchen closes at 11pm on weekdays). Even though there is no service after 9pm on the outdoor patio overlooking the lake and downtown, it is a great place to sip the last drops of your drink and gaze into your sweetie's eyes.

208 Barton Springs Rd., 477-1234

Best Place to Get Cheap Breath Mints

Only Deals

Altoids, schmaltoids! Unless you just like the fancy tin, there's no reason not to head over to the candy aisle at Only Deals to buy roll upon roll of Trebor Extra Strong (England's No. 1 Mint) for only 33¢ each. Trebor's have an unwieldy 7/8" circumference that makes them difficult to pinch between cheek and gum, but yer yapper cleans up just as nicely.

118 E. Oltorf, 442-5485

Best Place to Tie One on for $10

G&S Lounge

It's a little past midnight and you'd rather swallow a mouthful of broken glass than spend another hour at Emo's. You reach into your pocket: 10 lousy bucks and no buzz. Well, get your ass to G&S Lounge and fast! The G&S has over 45 different selections of domestic and import bottles - always for $2 a pop. Pool tables and cool AC. So give the Lone Star a rest and get yourself some class, son.

2420 S. First, 707-8702

Best Protein Fix

Ararat Middle East's Sizzling Lamb

We know steakhouses are all the rage, but when it's red meat we need to sink our teeth into, we go the way of the little lamb. Ararat's sizzling lamb platter is protein like we like it - perfectly grilled, tooth-tender meat smothered in an incendiary Middle Eastern chili sauce. Sizzling indeed!

111 E. North Loop, 419-1692

Best Purveyor of Indian Imports

India Bazaar

photograph by John Carrico

Not only does India Bazaar have those hard-to-find authentic ingredients (like weird beans and exotic grains), but the owner of this unusual nook of a grocery store loves to instruct those interested in the ways of spices and recipes. The small triangular frozen samosas (thin dough filled with peas and potatos) she sells are great baked or fried, and when accompanied with bright green coriander chutney, they gain a piquancy that screams of real Indian food.

3004 Guadalupe, 494-1200

Best Restaurant to Take Out-of-Town Visitors to Watch the Sunset

The Iguana Grill

High on a cliff overlooking Lake Travis, the restaurant's patio offers a prime view in the fading evening light of the silver lake dotted and streaked by boats winding between the hills as the sun slips away to appreciative applause of the patrons. Most importantly - the Tex-Mex food is just about as fine as anything you can get downtown.

2900 N. FM 620, 266-8439.

Best Roving Vendor

The Poleta Vendor or Poletero

Recognizable by his little handbell and mint green pushcart, this vendor of frozen poletas can be spotted in neighborhoods all over town. When you see him, stop him and treat yourself to the most delicious frozen treat you'll ever eat. The poletas come in all-natural flavors such as mango, coconut, chocolate, and vanilla bean to name just a few. Do yourself a favor and try them.

In a neighborhood near you

Best Sign That Civilization Has Reached South Austin

Onion Creek Bakery

No longer does anyone south of Slaughter have to make a trek into Westlake Hills or Central Austin to get European pastries and cakes. Chef Scott Teal makes some of the biggest, chocolatiest croissants and blueberry danishes. Besides croissants & danishes, you can get espresso, cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, cookies, cakes, breads, éclairs, cheesecakes, wedding cakes, or salads. Tucked behind the Pizza Hut at the southeast corner of Manchaca & Slaughter, Onion Creek makes weekend mornings complete.

1807 Slaughter, #450, 280-6399

Best Silk Purse From a Sow's Ear

Miranda's Patio

With a stack of donated materials, a little bit of money, and a lot of hard work, patio proprietors Miranda Walton and Malik Khurshid took a vacant, weedy, and downright ugly Manor Road lot and turned it into a "Relax-Station" of the first order, serving burgers, burritos, and breakfast tacos from a small stand. Okay, so it's still hard by the smog and sounds of the street, and the shade trees are a little scarce, but it's a helluva lot better than what came before.

2021 Manor, 236-1676

Best Silly Drink

Tien Hong's Dr. Skull

You know the kind. Drinks that are adorned with little paper umbrellas and fruit impaled on tiny plastic swords.Tien Hong is best known for its outstanding dim sum, but this wonderful concoction of bananas, strawberries, coconut, rum, peach brandy, and fruit juices is yet another reason to drop by. Dr. Skull even arrives in a cool Tiki God glass. The Doctor is "in."

8301 Burnet, 458-2263

Most Necessary Restaurant Expansion

Taco X-press

photograph by John Anderson

Argentinean beauty Maria Corbalan is the reigning taco queen of South Austin in our opinion. Her funky little taco trailer on South Lamar proved to be such a success that she had to expand into the Sugar & Spice General Store to stay ahead of the demand for her delicious tacos and other homestyle Mexican delights. Try her spicy picadillo or carne guisado wrapped in a divine homemade corn tortilla and you'll soon know why Maria's the queen. Hundreds of South Austin musicians can't be wrong.

2529-A S. Lamar

Most Testosterone in Smallest Place

Bert's BBQ

Animal Rights activists, steer clear. Bert's BBQ is probably not the gentlest spot for vegetarians. The walls are decorated with mounted deer heads. A bulletin board labeled "Bert's Wall of Fame" showcases photos of customers with their kill. Offering a small-town feel without leaving the city is Bert's specialty. You'll come for the decor, but stay for the food.

3563 Far West, 345-2378

Best Specialty Dish

Perkins Special at El Patio

Jimmy Perkins' photo looks out over El Patio. He ordered the same thing for so many years that it eventually got put on the menu. The Perkins Special is a chalupa shell covered with taco meat under lettuce and tomatoes, then smothered in queso. We give it two yums up.

2938 Guadalupe, 476-5955

Best Bowl of Coffee

High Time Tea Bar & Brain Gym

High Time's ample serving of New Orleans-style chicory coffee has the soft, creamy essence of marshmallow, and it's a great complement to their fabulous breakfasts, like Portabello Omelette with Tomato-Sherry Sauce and mixed green salad. Even the toast seems like someone made it with love.

1501 S. First, 445-5405

Best Taqueria Around Us

Taqueria Guadalajara Arandas #5

This funky Taqueria has everything a starving artist (or any starving person, for that matter) needs: great gobs of Mexican food for a few pennies and a smile. Their location one block south of Oltorf on South First has a hole-in-the-wall atmosphere complete with orange diner booths and exotic art, which rivals that of Star Seeds or any other local hipster dive, except here the service is friendlier and 90% of the folks around you won't be speaking English. There is a jukebox with all your Spanish favorites, and the location on Burnet even sells beer. Arandas specializes in Jalisco-style Mexican food, and their spicy, tangy tacos al pastor are the attraction to jones for - marinated pork, fresh cilantro, onions, lime juice and salsa wrapped in two corn tortillas for only $1.30. Plus, where else can you find a plate of cow brains for under six bucks?

4619 S. Congress, 448-4771; 3518 E. Seventh, 389-3834; 834 Rundberg, 835-4369; 6534 Burnet, 452-9886;
Round Rock, 244-2446

Best Truck Stop Coffeeshop

Jim's Restaurant

When you just want to gulp a cup of coffee and smoke a damn cigarette without a permit from the S.O.S., the FDA, or the TABC, Jim's is the place. Sure, Austin has lots of fine, independently owned, gourmet, hipster eateries, but it is sorely lacking in the all-night plain ol' cup o' joe department. Save for Jim's. Thank you, Jim's. Sweet Mike, that's good gravy!

Various locations

Best Two-for-One Business

Parlour Antiques & Pies

We can't help but admire the chutzpah of a woman who will stock a line of locally baked whole pies to attract shoppers to her South Austin antique shop. We've heard of all kinds of two-for-one deals but this is quite a concept. Our hats are off to clever entrepreneur Michelle Hart.

1234 S. Lamar, 326-1234

Best Wacky Restaurant Idea

Manga, an Asian Diner

Once again, Bick Brown enlisted the stunning design vision of Sarah Bishop (previous work includes Dolce Vita's cool interior) to present a unique and welcome dining experience to Austin. The menu features a variety of Asian dishes priced reasonably and spiced nicely. The decor is sleek, and the entire back wall is a square of TV screens featuring manga, Japanese animation.

408-C E. 43rd, 451-1121

Best Way to Enjoy Lake Austin on a Budget

Mozart's Bookstore & Juice Bar

A neighborhood coffeeshop with an outlet and a view of the lake is something every writer with a laptop needs access to, and Mozart's new juice bar and book store provides additional fortification for those working away from home.

3826 Lake Austin, 477-2900

Best Way to Kick the Can

Mexican Cokes

The real thing, baby: It ain't so real these days. When Coca-Cola became new and then classic and then new and then classic again, the original spark and fizz got blurred and lost under a red blanket of marketing mush. Now, cans and plastic are the only choices for "it." Ick! Yuck! When we want the "real" real thing, we head for a cooler at one of our favorite local taquerias or grocery stores. "The Real Thing," according to our tastebuds, can only be found in a big glassful of the fizzy formula bottled south of the border - or Mexican Cokes, as they are known here in the States.

¡Hecho en Mexico, siempre es Coca-Cola, si!

La Mexicana, 1924 S. First, 443-6369; La Victoria, 5245 Burnet, 458-1898, Fiesta Mart, 3909 N. I-35, 406-3900; Wheatsville, 3101 Guadalupe, 478-2667; and restaurants and stores everywhere.

Grocery Store Mega-Food Court

Greats! Cafe at Hancock Center HEB

We won't lie to you. When we first saw that the new HEB did not carry over its Chinese kitchen, we were bummed. But the overwhelming selection and the courteous and knowledgeable staff at the remodeled grocery store's new Greats! Cafe more than makes up for it. The hot food selection offers barbecue, pizza, pasta, and a variety of casseroles (our favorites are the Southwest chicken dish and the hot smoked turkey barbecue with a generous slab of their pepper-laden corncake). The salad bar is packed with a variety of lettuce, fresh veggies, and spicy cold noodle dishes. If you crave a snack or even a full meal afterhours, the refrigerated section has many of the day's favorites, plus the treats from locals Kala's Cuisine, Eat Your Greens, Marta's Flan, and Tom's Tabooley are pre-packaged for your convenience.

Hancock Center, 41st & Red River, 459-6513