Fredericksburg

(From January 2011) Everything’s made from scratch at this unpretentious local cafe. The chicken-fried steak earns its reputation with thick, tender, well-seasoned beef in a hearty crust, and the hand-cut steaks are deliciously cooked to order and bargain priced. Friday night’s seafood buffet is heavy on the fried stuff, but the Southwestern salmon is flavorful and fresh. Sides include outstanding yeasty dinner rolls and country-style veggies; the green beans simmered with bacon are wickedly good. Skip the peach pie and have a slice of the decadent Jefferson Davis coconut custard topped with pecans. Beer & wine.

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(From March 2012)

Executive chef Ross Burtwell exceeds the hype with his version of haute home cooking. Starters are deliciously diverse, like a velvety blue-cheese fondue with house-made russet potato chips for dipping, a savory chowder of curried pheasant and apples, and a piquant salad of spinach, Rio Grande grapefruit, and Gorgonzola. Entrées are fresh and local: oak-smoked pork tenderloin, grilled quail stuffed with jalapeños and wrapped in bacon, and even a reimagined (and how) CFS starring Angus ribeye smothered in chunks of lobster and napped with green-chile gravy. Bar.

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(From June 2011) All-you-can-eat catfish draws loyal locals to this unpretentious surf-and-turf spot, where combo platters pair the name-sake fish with everything from jumbo shrimp and stuffed crab to ten-der frogs’ legs and oysters (a succulent delight, and just as good tucked into a po’boy sandwich). There’s also a respectable selection of grilled seafood, hand-cut steaks, and CFS, as well as a 21-item salad bar and a bottomless pot of bacon-infused pinto beans. Be sure to save room for a slice of Tootie’s Buttermilk Pie. Beer & wine.

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