Dining Del Lago 2011

Time was when Lake Travis was a quiet summer resort area with some upscale retirement homes and hippie swimming holes serviced by sleepy Ranch Road 620. Shopping opportunities were limited to beer, bait, and rental boats, and what few dining options existed were simple and casual, at best. It was a challenge for restaurants to survive year to year. How drastically things have changed in the past few years! Most of Ranch Road 620 is now a big city thoroughfare, and Lake Travis is a full-fledged neighborhood with homes, schools, businesses, plenty of grocery and retail shopping, and a crop of good new restaurants almost every year. For our annual lakeside dining roundup, Chronicle reviewers Wes Marshall, Kate Thornberry, Rachel Feit, and Sarah Hamlin sought out the area's newest spots, while our affordable dining guru, Mick Vann, checked out what's available in trailers and double-wides (see "'Chronicle' 2011 Lake Food: Trailers"). I've pitched in with an update on what's new at some of our favorite lake-area eateries from previous years. Water may be disappearing from the Highland Lakes this summer, but the dining is better than ever.
– Virginia B. Wood