For 35 years, Fonda San Miguel has been the grande dame of Mexican dining. She has elegant lines in the style of a tiled Spanish mission, a deep-orange warmth, and a collection of important Mexican art; her airy, leafy atrium evokes a colonial courtyard. In this area, you won’t even need a reservation and can usually get a table. We’d come just for the superb margaritas and some antojitos (the wine list has a few abundantly worthy surprises on it).… [More]

We love being in this family-run establishment, which first opened as a grocery in 1946. It makes its home in an old basketball court, the high ceilings and once-green walls having long ago turned varying shades of greasy brown and black from all the smoke. Dim lighting and the tap of feet shuffling against hardwood floors almost give Louie’s the feeling of a chapel.

And a typically Texas Hill Country religious experience this is. Definitely go with moist and fatty… [More]