Upper Crust
For 16 years, this family-run business has been churning out some of the best cinnamon rolls, among other baked yumminess, here in Austin. Their Gâteau Marissa cake is so popular that people call up to reserve a slice, knowing that once out of the oven, it doesn't even last long enough to be put in the display case.
4508 Burnet Rd., 467-0102
Best Barbecue
The Salt Lick
After two decades of searing Texas meats, this smoke has stories to tell. The last time our folks were in town, we took them here. The leisurely drive out to Dripping Springs impressed them plenty, but the meal won them over for good. Two days later, as they were about to return home, they were still raving about the brisket and how lucky we were to live in a town with such good Q. Don't we know it?
18300 FM 1826, 512/858-4959
Best Breakfast
Kerbey Lane
With a fourth location having opened up on the Drag earlier this year, the folks at Kerbey Lane keep spreading their kitchen magic across Austin. Their pancakes and omelets are legends in this town. Late nights and early Sunday mornings were made to savor this experience.
3704 Kerbey, 451-1436; 12602 Research, 258-7757; 2700 S. Lamar, 445-4451; 2606 Guadalupe, 477-5717
Best Cake Decorators
Lucy's Cakes
How can a retail outlet that fills orders for Lady Bird Johnson not make the top of the list? Cakes of every shape, size, and color are baked here. They can do completely original designs, create one from the theme of your choosing, or consult with you about ideas; they can even do like the big chains and scan your favorite picture into a computer and transfer the image onto your cake.
2803 San Jacinto, 472-6612
Best Caterer
Word of Mouth
Word of Mouth has reigned as Austin's top caterer almost since its inception in the mid-Eighties, and the talented team of Rebecca Wallace and Leslie Moore show no signs of slowing down. From their busy downtown compound, the dynamic duo and their crack staff can arrange a party for the president, a small romantic dinner, or a wedding reception for several hundred, all with equal aplomb.
919 W. 12th, 472-9500
Best Coffeehouse
Spider House
The dreamy smattering of Christmas lights in the night sky over Spider House's outside coupled with inside lamps that put out only enough light to let you know you are alive, not enough to let you know that you are awake, makes for an intense relaxation experience. It's the sort of place that demands that you lounge, not sit, amidst the lattes and mochas. Friends try desperately to shake the compulsion to sit in silence and fail. Lovers realize there is something more magnetic than each other nearby and unlock lips long enough to sigh and sip an Italian soda. Spider House wraps itself around its patrons, feeding and relaxing them, before it decides to release them. Oh, and the coffee's real good, too!
2908 Fruth, 480-9562
Best Diner
Star Seeds Cafe
While Austin may not be teeming with sleek, retro-chrome airstreamlined dives like our sister cities up north, we know "diner" from Adam. A diner is loud. A diner is greasy. A diner has good food. From deafening gangsta rap to droning trance to petrifying punk, from the overstuffed black bean beauties to the flapjacks that'd make Aunt Sassy sappy, the ambience and the food at Star Seeds Cafe screams 100% diner. Of course, if you don't want tinnitus with your breakfast taco, the staff will always be glad to assist you in getting the hell out.
3101 N. I-35, 478-7107
Best Home Delivery
EatOutIn
Why get dressed and wait an hour for a table when there are competent folks who will gladly bring a perfectly lovely restaurant meal right to your front door? Other delivery businesses come and go, but EatOutIn's consistency and reliability make them our perennial favorite. With a menu guide that features some of the most successful restaurants in all areas of the city and a sincere commitment to customer service, Judy Davies and crew just can't be beat.
4131 Spicewood Springs N., Ste. 4, 346-9990
Best Neighborhood Grocery
Fresh Plus
We admit it. We can't help but envy folks who live in Clarksville and Hyde Park, because they still have neighborhood grocery stores, the last two locally owned and operated Fresh Plus outlets. These are the kind of stores where you can chat with neighbors, hang up a flier about your church supper, and cash a check with someone who actually knows your name. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they have real butcher shops, good selections of gourmet products, and excellent restaurants right next door at each location.
1221 West Lynn, 477-5574; 408 E. 43rd, 459-8922
Best Lunch Deal
Kim Phung
Good and cheap? No, there's no catch. Kim Phung's Vietnamese fare is a throwback to Old Austin, a time when a filling, tasty meal could be had for less than five bucks. No wonder they win year after year after year!
7601 N. Lamar, 451-2464
Best Special Occasion Restaurant
Jeffrey's
When people talk about Austin's great "quality of life," Jeffrey's has to be one of the components. This classy West Austin eatery has been Austin's special-occasion dining choice for just more than 20 years. They manage to stay on top by consistently offering wonderful food, relaxed but very professional service, and a comfortable, upscale, but understated atmosphere that is definitively Austin.
1204 West Lynn, 477-5584
Best Waitstaff
Trudy's
Why are these people smiling? And why do they seem to be having as much as fun as the guests? Could it be because Trudy's knows how to treat its people? When the waitstaff actually enjoys hanging together at the same place where they just did a daylong shift, you know you're in for one happy meal.
409 W. 30th, 477-2935; 8820 Burnet Rd. #600, 454-1474; 4141 Capital of Texas Hwy. S., 326-9899
Best Bar Ambience
Club DeVille
Imagine that in the Cold War 1950s, your hippest, thrift-store-shopping uncle built a bomb shelter that could double as a cocktail lounge. That's this place: So casual and funky and dimly lit you'll forget you're not underground -- unless you're chilling on the big patio outside. You don't have to wait for the return of Mutually Assured Destruction to sequester yourself in this crypto-swanky gin mill and drink to your own personal perestroika. Your comrades are probably already waiting for you, too. And the barkeeps? See next entry.
900 Red River, 457-0900
Best Bar Staff
Club DeVille
Mixology: It ain't rocket science, folks. But if it were, these cunning booze jockeys could send us to the Horsehead Nebula and back a dozen times by Christmas. Barbacks Christopher Walker and Jacob Schulze and bartenders Mendy Frohlich, Davis Comeau, Michael Nowlin, John Nordstrom, and Montgomery Conner comprise a sort of National Alcohol and Suaveness Administration in our own downtown. Outta-this-world service, stellar concoctions, just the right fuel to feed your drive. Houston, we have no problem.
900 Red River, 457-0900
Best Drink Specials/Happy Hour
Trudy's
Mango, prickly pear, strawberry, banana, and the ever deadly "Swirl": just some of the famous, tropical fruit-bursting margaritas oozing with sun-kissed flavor that await your palate at Trudy's Happy Hour. While the official period of merriment (and slacker prices) extend from 2-7pm (and all day Monday), the place is so comfy, you'll feel happy there no matter what time you visit.
409 W. 30th, 477-2935; 8820 Burnet Rd. #600, 454-1474; 4141 Capital of Texas Hwy. S., 326-9899
Best Bar Snacks and Best Pub
Dog & Duck Pub
Merry olde England with a twist: Whether you want bangers & mash or fish & chips from across the pond, or just some good ol' Texas nachos from across the creek, the green freehouse nestled downtown just off the Gallery District has the perfect complement for your pint of ale. Once you've doused the basket full of fried goodness with vinegar and lemon, you'll be singing "God Save the Queen." Easily Austin's most British of watering holes, the D&D is a salute to the best suds under the Union Jack, including ESB, Newcastle, and McEwan's. Texas microbrews are also served.
406 W. 17th, 479-0598
Best Produce and Best Retail Beer & Wine
Central Market
Visiting chefs from all over the country are regularly dumbfounded by the depth and breadth of the available produce selections we've come to take for granted at both Central Market stores. If it's in season somewhere in the world, the produce section here is likely to have it. These days, they'll even prep it for us and provide recipes on the best ways to cook it. What could be easier? Justifiably bedazzled by the bounty of produce, we then make our way to the retail beer and wine department, where a well-trained, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic salesperson is always there to assist us. No stuffy, pretentious wine geek but a regular gal (or guy) who just happens to have the up-to-the-minute scoop on the best wine deals in town. We live in grocery store heaven, and don't we know it?!
4001 N. Lamar, 206-1000; 4477 S. Lamar, 899-4300
