In 1947, the Goodnight family—of the legendary cattle breeder Charlie Goodnight—opened a 20-seat coffeeshop next to their Goodnight Motel. Floods and fires ensued in the years since, but Hill’s Café reopened under the ownership of radio personality Bob Cole. Live music is offered many nights, and Sundays here are ideal for a gospel brunch.

You can’t get more Austin than Hill’s. Rows of booths are decked out with Willie Nelson paraphernalia and plaques honoring the governor of Texas; drinks are brought in enormous tumblers by the couldn’t-be-any-friendlier staff; and the menu proudly proclaims that the chicken-fried steak is “the last of a kind” and that the restaurant is “the home of the First Sizzlin’ Steak in the United States.”

Whether or not this was the first steak to sizzle, it is flavorful and cooked as ordered. Better yet is the barbecue—tender brisket with smoked red edges; ribs are tougher but not really dry, and crusted with salt and spice. Winning sides include fried okra and a great potato salad. The tour de force, however, is the luscious, indulgently crispy chicken-fried steak. The gravy is gloopier than most, but it works. This dish is art: not a hint of greasiness, not one sinewy bite on the plate—just the dreamy texture overlay, creamy upon crispy upon tender, flavor upon flavor, fat upon fat.