Babe’s
208 E. Sixth, 473-2262Monday-Saturday, 11am-2am; Sunday, 11am-midnight
In addition to a full slate of live music, Babe’s has been serving hamburgers well into the night for 10 years. The ground beef patties are well-seasoned, and the toppings are extra-generous, making for a mushy yet filling repast. The French fries are standard-issue, but they get the job done. Babe’s also has a full bar with frequent drink specials.
Fresh Choice
9761 Great Hills Trail, 795-9200Sunday-Thursday, 11am-9pm; Friday-Saturday, 11am-10pm
This all-you-can-eat salad, soup, pasta, and potato emporium does bang-up lunch business among Arboretum shoppers and Silicon Hills cube dwellers. Specialty salads and soups rotate every month, but you can always get mainstays like Caesar salad, Chinese chicken salad, and chicken noodle soup. Fresh Choice also makes a fine blueberry muffin. The regular lunch price is a bit steep, but $4.99 coupons abound in the Sunday papers and online at www.freshchoice.com.
Ma Ferguson’s
6000 Middle Fiskville Rd., 206-3030Monday-Friday, 6:30am-2pm, 5-10pm; Saturday-Sunday, 7am-2pm, 5-10pm
Although eating in chain hotels often means paying too much for mediocre food, Ma Ferguson’s bucks the trend with affordable prices and food worth writing home about. Alberta’s Oven Done Chicken is pecan-smoked, slathered with tangy barbecue sauce and served with garlic mashed potatoes. A pricier standout dish is Ruby’s Red Tequila Shrimp, featuring marinated grilled shrimp with ruby red grapefruit sections in a subtly tart, creamy tequila-lime sauce arranged around a serving of pecan wild rice.
Souper Salad
6700 Middle Fiskville Rd., 453-7687Monday-Friday, 10:30am-9pm; Saturday, 10:30am-9pm; Sunday, 11am-8:30pm
2438 W. Anderson, 451-9320
Monday-Friday, 10:30am-9pm; Saturday, 11am-9pm; Sunday, 11am-9pm
10710 Research, 343-0807
Monday-Friday, 10:30am-9pm; Saturday, 11am-9pm; Sunday, 11am-8:30pm
4211 S. Lamar, 441-6958
Daily, 10:30am-9pm
11066 Pecan Park, Cedar Park, 336-0782
Monday-Saturday, 10:30am-9pm; Sunday, 11am-8:30pm
2601 S. I-35, Round Rock, 238-6942
Daily, 10:30am-9pm
Founded in Houston back in 1978, Souper Salad dominated the all-you-can-eat salad and soup scene for years with an iron fist. Then outfits like Fresh Choice stole some of their thunder by adding potatoes, pasta, and pizza for one price. However, Souper Salad maintains lower prices than Fresh Choice, with the soup and salad combo clocking in just short of five bucks. And you still can’t beat Souper Salad’s cornbread and gingerbread.
TGI Friday’s
10000 Research (at the Arboretum), 345-6410Daily, 11am-2am (kitchen open until 1am)
111 E. Cesar Chavez (at the Radisson), 478-2991
Daily, 6:30-2am
TGI Friday’s is a good place to take a large group of clients from out of town if your expense account can’t handle Steak and Ale. Their extensive menu reads like War and Peace, so everyone should find something to their liking. Half-pound burgers, chicken, pasta, steaks, fajitas, wraps, and seafood are just a few of the items that could arrive at your table, adequately prepared with no surprises whatsoever.
This article appears in December 21 • 2001.