It's that little bakery around the corner you go to on your lunch break every Thursday with your best pal to chat about movies and your crush, and the weather, and plans for the weekend while you munch on scones, cookies, iced coffee, and cake. The place is cute and snuggly and brimming with nice, happy people who love bread, aka the best kind of people. It’s basically paradise disguised as a bakery … or maybe it’s a bakery disguised as paradise? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that their egg salad sandwich on sourdough bread with a side of cheddar soup is better than life itself.

Upper Crust Bakery
4508 Burnet Rd.
512/467-0102
theuppercrustbakery.com

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Austin proudly boasts the most famous barbecue joint in the country, hands down. It's a small place with a line so long and well-established it has its own video feed, lawn chair vendor, and rules of engagement. Brisket whisperer Aaron Franklin has his own cookbook, an eponymous PBS cooking show, and James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef Southwest 2015" – the first pitmaster to win one of those babies. Can the brisket really be that good, incredulous folks ask? Why, yes, it certainly can.

Franklin Barbecue
900 E. 11th
512/653-1187
www.franklinbbq.com

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We recognized homegrown Hopdoddy as the prototype for an upscale chain right off the bat in 2010, and that was fine with us. We're perfectly happy to share the fine Premium Gold Angus burgers (fresh-ground in-house hormone- and antibiotic-free), luxurious shop-churned shakes, and innovative specials with folks in Round Rock, Dallas, Colorado, and Arizona. There are plenty of Llano Poblano burgers and cheese fries for everyone.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar
1400 S. Congress Ste. A-190, 512/243-7505
2438 W. Anderson Ste. A-6, 512/467-2337
4615 N. Lamar #307, 512/335-2337
2600 Hoppe Trail, Round Rock, 512/310-2337
www.hopdoddy.com

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Human cannot live on bread (muffin, scone) alone, so Houndstooth carries Tacodeli breakfast tacos. (Or, in the case of the North Lamar location, is situated right next to them.) But, truly, it's all about the coffee. And "Best of Austin"-winning good coffee at that. They've got all the regular artisan pours and then some: French press, Chemex, a cortado. The baristas are knowledgeable, the wooden decor pleasant, and the playlist on point (Nineties and Aughts classic hip-hop). You won't even care you're in a Portlandia sketch. Just be warned: The mornings are packed.

Houndstooth Coffee
4200 N. Lamar #120, 512/531-9417
401 Congress Ste. 100-C, 512/394-6051
2823 E. MLK #101, 512/243-8902
www.houndstoothcoffee.com

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Austin offers so many ways to dine and date. For those looking to romance, Justine’s delights all senses – from their steak tartare, Sazerac, and Side Car, to their enchanted garden patio, to their notoriously debaucherous galas and super-secret secret house. Offering more cheek than a French maid, this brasserie is sure to heat up any night out. Across town, Uchiko presents a more modern take on wooing, perfect for the heart set to impress. This more reserved (read: quieter) sibling of internationally recognized Uchi employs mood lighting warm enough to melt butter, and their shared plates tantalize taste buds and lovers alike. No matter the first date or the 99th, these spots will set the tone.

Uchiko
4200 N. Lamar
512/916-4808
uchikoaustin.com

Justine's Brasserie
4710 E. Fifth
512/385-2900
justines1937.com

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Those wacky kids have done it again! Although they continue to grow into brick-and-mortar locations, the popularity of their late-night trailers has not waned a bit. At Liberty Bar you can still enjoy all the classics – brussels sprouts, beet fries, chicken karaage – while sister Thai-Kun at Whisler's dishes out some mighty fine Thai cuisine to pair with craft cocktails. With convenient locations planted across Austin's entertainment districts, there's no need to go home hungry after a night of revelry.

East Side King
East Side King at the Liberty, 1618 E. Sixth, 512/407-8166
2310 S. Lamar #101, 512/383-8382
eastsideking.com/-liberty

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You might think vanilla is a boring flavor, but when done right, it hits all the pleasure receptors without being too sweet. Amy's takes this baseline flavor one step further, offering Mexican vanilla. Precious and few ice cream shops venture so deeply into the territory of el bean. It's the vanilla you've never thought possible. Now multiply that times all the other amazing flavors that come and go from the menu: Celis Raspberry, Butter Brick, Boston Cream Pie …. If ice cream were a person, Amy's would get a hug.

Amy's Ice Creams
1012 W. Sixth, 512/886-5737
3500 Guadalupe, 512/886-5933
2805 Bee Caves Rd. #416, 512/883-4187
10000 Research #140, 512/886-5955
AUS: Amy's Ice Creams, 3600 Presidential Blvd. #20, 512/530-2918
1301 S. Congress, 512/440-7488
4477 S. Lamar #790, 512/886-5998
13265 Hwy. 183 N., 512/918-2697
5624 Burnet Rd., 512/886-6153
9600 S. I-35 Ste. 400-C, 512/399-8030
12800 Galleria Cir. Ste G-150, Bee Cave, 512/262-9447
2901 S. Lamar, 512/447-2697
2002 Manor Rd., 512/551-8225
amysicecreams.com

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It used to be that deciding where to eat brunch was an arduous task requiring group texts, Facebook messages, and the occasional (gasp!) phone call. Now, thanks to Laura Sawicki and Rene Ortiz, that question only has one answer – Launderette. Go for the Duck Hash (which, because of the brussels sprouts, cons you into thinking it's healthy) or the Pork & Grits. Even if the Eastside hot spot didn't have great plates (clearly, it does), we would still think it was the best. Finally, all our friends agree on something.

Launderette
2115 Holly
512/382-1599
launderetteaustin.com

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It’s no slurprise that Ramen Tatsu-Ya made "Best of Austin" for the third time. This noodle joint, which recently opened a second location on South Lamar, is well worth the wait. Plus, you can enjoy an array of beers or sake while in line, so it ain’t so bad. The pork broth will have you drinking from your bowl with shameless abandon, and you’ll definitely want to order an extra ajitama egg (or five).

Ramen Tatsu-Ya
8557 Research #126
1234 S. Lamar
1600 E. Sixth
8601 S. Congress
ramen-tatsuya.com

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Contigo's patio, which is to say the entire restaurant, is the Sam Elliott of Austin dining. It's a little bit rustic, looks great in a cowboy getup, and gets better and better with age. There's been some renovation, but not much has changed about the rancho deluxe setting, the easy-sipping cocktails, or the accessible menu. That kind of star power never needs fixing.

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Home Slice's lock on Best Pizza lists has been hard-earned and well-deserved. There is no other place in Central Texas that's mastered the marriage of sauce and cheese into such a luscious blanket of East Coast POW!, a direct nonstop flight for the taste buds to NYC. Across town, the trajectory diverges – straight up the heartland to Detroit. It's an entirely different pizza planet at Via 313. Less pie than slab of pure stretchy, gooey, tomato-y, rectangular, caramelized bliss, this muscular representation of Via's homeland is the Dodge Challenger to Home Slice's hansom cab. In both cases, it's not so much the destination as the delicious journey itself.

Home Slice Pizza
1415 S. Congress
512/444-7437
homeslice.com

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Let's face it. Some of the hottest dining spots in town look like Design Within Reach showrooms. That's fine, but even in a town as mid-century-modern obsessed as ours, the eye needs to come in from the cold. Michael Hsu's design for Sway is the opposite of that. There's a warmth and timelessness that matches the agelessness of the kitchen. Our readers keep voting for it precisely because it already feels like home.

Sway
3437 Bee Caves Rd., West Lake Hills, 512/326-1999
www.swayaustin.com

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A tie between these two highly regarded purveyors of expertly prepared seafood would seem to indicate that sometimes we're in the mood for the casual atmosphere of dining with one of our favorite local fishmongers, while other times, we prefer the beach-like ambience and shady deck of a more upscale eatery. It just depends on our budget and whether we're hungry for a dozen oysters and some Cajun-inspired dishes washed down with an ice cold beer (Quality Seafood), or a sophisticated seafood brunch of New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp and stone-ground organic grits, lobster mac & cheese, or breakfast bouillabaisse topped with a fried egg, paired with a custom cocktail (Perla's). Either way, the seafood will be first-rate, and we're always happy.

Quality Seafood Market
5621 Airport
512/452-3820
qualityseafoodmarket.com

Perla's
1400 S. Congress
512/291-7300
www.perlasaustin.com

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In an ever-upscaling and -homogenizing Eastside, Counter Culture maintains a certain Austin charm. Did you know that CC founder/owner/chef Sue Davis is also a noted local vinyl DJ? DJ Sue Purr's curatorial expertise in sound – selecting, sorting, juxtaposing, blending, and contextualizing – is similar to what she brings to her restaurant menu's flavor palette. Apparently, that palette hits our readers' palate like music to the mouth. In song, she specializes in Sixties garage, Seventies power-pop, and Eighties punk. In food she makes magic with elements like jackfruit, cashew cream, cashew cheeze, chickpea chorizo, beatballs, and (in the words of one band whose music we bet she's spun before): Seitan! Seitan! Seitan!

Counter Culture
2908 Fruth
737/357-9522
www.countercultureaustin.com

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