Best restaurants

The Austin Eater likes to list the 38 essential Austin restaurants and update that list each month. I think restaurants are like music albums and authors--I don't want to call one the best unless pretty much everything is wonderful. I'd prefer to talk about dishes (and songs and stories), but I still have the problem that I haven't been to every restaurant. But, that doesn't have to stop me. Let the discussions begin.

Here are my favorite dishes*:

Barbecue: - Franklin's - the line is crazy long, but everything is good; my favorite is the chopped beef sandwich

Barbecue, runner-up for brisket: Rudy's - the only other brisket in town that's so flavorful it doesn't need barbecue sauce

Barbecue, runner-up for ribs: Salt Lick - a little sweet, but tasty

Burger: not sure; ever changing. Currently I like North by Northwest's angus beef burger with huntsman (cheddar + bleu) cheese and Alama Drafthouse Theatre's spicy blue cheese burger.

Burritos: Freebirds (chain)

Chicken tikka masala: Bombay Bistro

Chocolate cake: tie - Texas French Bread's Hyde Park fudge cake and whatever Santa brought me from Cheesecake Factory (chain) (blackout cake?)

Chocolate cake, runner-up: Mother's Cafe's Belgian chocolate cake (vegan)

Corn bread: East Side Cafe's jalapeno cheese cornbread (sadly, totally evil according to the recipe in their cookbook)

Enchiladas: Corazon at Castle Hill's chicken enchilada's suizas - "Two enchiladas filled with achiote-lime roasted chicken, cilantro, and jack cheese, then served in a sauce made from swiss cheese and sour cream. These are topped with ancho chile adobo and charred poblano salsa fresca. Includes sides of rice and beans." Very interesting.

Enchiladas, enchilada plate: La Palapa's beef enchiladas with red sauce - my favorite Tex-Mex enchilada plate--not too greasy, but still has the magic flavors

Enchiladas, green: El Chile's enchiladas verdes - normally I prefer ground beef or cheese enchiladas with red sauce, but these green chicken enchiladas are excellent (and the best thing at this restaurant).

Fajitas: Lupe Tortilla (chain): best flour tortillas in town with extremely delicious meat (both the beef and chicken)

Fried pickles: Second Bar + Kitchen's buffalo fried pickles - I used to think fried pickles sounded disgusting, but it it turns out that when you slice them, bread them, fry them, drizzle hot oil on them, and then provide a bleu cheese dipping sauce, they become irresistible to me

Fried Rice: tie - Tan My - I get the chicken and ask for extra bean sprouts to be mixed in; there's another place down south I can't remember

Gelato: La Dolce Vita's dark chocolate (or maybe I like gelato from all places; not sure)

Ham and Cheese: Upper Crust Bakery's ham and cheese brioche (available Saturday mornings only)

Ham and Cheese, runner-up: Hyde Park's fried egg sandwich

Ham and cheese, other runner-up: the Monte Christo at Bennigan's (chain)

Hummus: Star Seeds Cafe, open 24 hours - always different, but always good

Ice cream: Amy's (though I've still never been to Marble Slab)

Macaroni and cheese: Hyde Park Bar and Grill - very cheesy with seasoned breadcrumbs on top

Migas: Cisco's - I like the migas taco and it's super cheap and filling, too.

Milkshakes: 24 Diner and also Sonic (they both have peanut butter shakes; it's possible that I like milkshakes everywhere)

Muffins: Z'Tejas apple muffins (really carrot cake muffins)

Pizza, stuffed: Mangia's spinach flavor stuffed pizza, of all things

Pizza, thin crust: tie - Brick Oven (though I was disappointed last time) and Niki's Pizza (in Dobie Mall on campus)

Salads: tie - East Side Cafe's mixed field green salad (the key is the blob of fried goat cheese) and Hyde Park Bar and Grill's Asian chicken salad (just a good combination)

Salads, runner-up: Mimi's Cafe (chain) - don't remember which, but I do remember I quite liked them.

Salad, side: tie - Monument Cafe's with their house dressing, a vinaigrette, and La Madelleine's Ceasar salade

Strawberries: la Madeleine (chain) - always delicious as if they are always in season, even without the Romanoff sauce

Sushi, fake: How Do You Roll (click on link for review)

Sushi, fake, runner-up: Roll On Sushi Diner's Cholesta Roll (chicken fried steak and a green bean surrounded by mashed potatoes and a soy wrapper, tumpura fried, served on a bed of cream gravy); the Grouch looks good, too (roasted chicken, green chile, jack cheese, caramelized onions, arugula, chipotle aioli, and rice in a soy wrapper)

Tacos, chicken, soft: Lupe Tortilla - flavorful chicken rolled up in a delicious flour tortilla and covered in sauce and loads of sharp cheese

Tomato soup: la Madeleine's tomato basil soup - the regular is slightly yummier than the light, but both are winners

Beyond Austin

Artopitas: Artopolis - this is a savory stuffed pastry; all the flavors we tried were good; they also have an interesting excellent potato salad (tastes like it involves sour cream)

Blueberry sauce (for crepes, blintzes): Bellagio buffet (Las Vegas) - actually tastes like blueberries instead of flavored syrup

Cheese sandwiches - Pret a Manger (chain) - sort of like pimento cheese, but with cheese, green onions, and mayonnaise.

Chicken tikka masala - actually the best I've ever had was from a grocery store in London (I forget which one)

Chocolate croissants: that bakery in Belgium down the street from where my sister used to live; they also had great custard-filled things of all kinds

French toast - "Sputniks" at Sherman cafeteria at Brandeis (Waltham, MA) - French toast with a "surprise" inside, which turned out to be ice cream

Gryo cheeseburger: Max's Take Out (Chicago) (admittedly, the only gyro cheeseburger I've ever tasted)

Omelets: Disney World's Denver omelet (even though I don't much like green bell peppers) (Florida)

Pizza: Athen's Pizza (Atlanta); haven't been there in ages, so I'm not sure if it's still a favorite; one of the cheeses in the toppings is feta

Tuna salad sandwiches - some gas stations in Belgium; it's not really a great idea to have tuna salad on baguette bread because it all squishes out the side when you bite it, but sooo yummy.

*I'm not talking about things like gyros, spring rolls, and granola because my favorite places for those are gone.

And I'm not talking about favorites from outside of restaurants like asparagus (JA), biscuits (Mom), chicken pot pie (Marie Calendar, frozen), chocolate chip cookies (McK), crepes (P. family), devilled eggs (my family), mashed potatoes (Robin), meatloaf (JM), Mushrooms (Tam's old professor), pancakes (my family), pie (Mom), potato salad (my family), pumpkin pie cookies (LP), rice pudding (P. family), spaghetti (my family), or spiced nuts (WK).