Austin

(From April 2009) While its menu may not be as extensive nor its setting as grand as those of the cafe at the Kimbell, in Fort Worth—the benchmark by which all museum cafes should be measured—this casual new cafeteria-style dining venue across from UT’s Blanton Museum of Art is well on its way. Choose from a varied light menu designed by UT chef Josh Watkins (formerly of the Driskill Hotel), including yummy flatbread pizzas, crisp build-your-own salads, and panini (we raved over the Italian, with prosciutto, smoked ham, salami, and provolone). Visit the adjacent gift shop on your way out. Beer & wine.

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(From November 2009) If you find yourself racked with hunger while strolling the lovely grounds of Laguna Gloria art museum around lunchtime, you needn’t flee for sustenance: 34th Street Café is now serving up tasty pre-made sandwiches and salads. We enjoyed the roast beef with Gouda and horseradish, particularly its spongy poppy seed bread.

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(From November 2009) New to the hip Austin Triangle development, this Colorado chain has people going cuckoo for a childhood favorite: grilled cheese. And not just a slice of cheddar stuck between two slices of bread (although you can get that too). Just about every combo of meats, cheeses, breads, and condiments can be tried. We liked the Yoga Teacher, with turkey, avocado, spinach, and a tangy Italian dressing pressed on seven-grain bread with gooey Provolone to boot. Next time, we’re going for the French Kiss, a romantic union of Gorgonzola and sun-dried-tomato spread on focaccia.

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(From March 2009) Once just a cute neighborhood market with scattered seating for food from the deli, Cissi’s has revamped its entrance area into a wine bar serving a limited menu of nouveau bistro fare. Sitting at the window beneath the twinkling lights wrapping the mammoth oak tree outside, we started with wafer-thin waffle-cut potato chips dusted with savory Gruyère shavings. A grilled date wrapped in crispy smoked bacon made a perfect sweet-salty snack. Pork rillettes served with pickled quail eggs and warm fresh bread made us happy, but it was the sugary doughnut served with salty toffee that nearly got a standing ovation. Now that chef Deegan McClung has left to go to Jeffrey’s, some of the dishes may well change. But the general idea remains the same, for now. Beer & wine.

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(From September 2008) Set in a charming old bungalow in Central Austin, casual FoodHeads uses fresh and—when possible—local ingredients in strikingly creative ways. A blackberry balsamic vinaigrette, for instance, elevates a salami and mozzarella sandwich on toasted sourdough. The eatery also pays keen attention to detail; consider its specialty cucumber and tarragon mayonnaises, great homemade icebox pickles (sweet, sour, mustardy), garlicky coleslaw, and signature jalapeño relish. FoodHeads is aptly named; foodies will feel right at home here.

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(From October 2009) There are only a few tables indoors and a handful on the deck at this tiny spot, but it’s the place to go for big tacos on a lazy Saturday morning. The line at the counter moves quickly, so don’t freak at the number of people ahead of you. And the crowd is friendly—a nice mix of college students, trendy types (think pooch in a purse), and outdoors aficionados (an access point to the Greenbelt is across the street). In addition to the custom breakfast tacos (build your own with egg, cheese, chorizo, potatoes, and the like), there are more than twenty specialty items on the menu, including the Thunder Heart Bison Picadillo (ground bison seasoned with roasted garlic, tomato, caramelized onion, melted jack cheese, and jalapeño and topped with queso fresco and fresh cilantro), the cochinita pibil (Yucatecan-style roasted pork marinated and cooked in citrus and achiote and topped with pickled purple onion and serranos), and the Florentino (fresh spinach sautéed in olive oil and sherry and tossed with onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper). On a recent morning we couldn’t help ourselves and went with the house favorite (ours too), the Otto: smoky refried beans with bacon, avocado, and cheese. We lingered a bit over fresh grapefruit juice, luxuriating in the warm weather while people-watching to our heart’s content.

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(From July 2009) Hope floats for this shell of a structure rescued by Sandra Bullock, who has become Florence Nightingale to local decrepit buildings. Light and airy, this sandwich shop, bakery, and florist fronts West Sixth Street; walk-ins keep the chairs filled and the mighty espresso machine steaming. You might come for something “staple,” say, a poorboy stuffed with cornmeal-crusted catfish, oysters, and shrimp or perhaps pastrami on house rye. We stop at the pastry counter and go directly for the “fancy”: a crisp macaroon oozing with tart lemon curd or the sweet potato Whoopee Pie (like pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting).

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