2 Best Restaurants in Austin, Texas

Local chef and native east Austinite Hoover Alexander has created one of the city’s best comfort-food oases, blending Mama's home cooking, diner short-order specials, Tex-Mex favorites, and Cajun influences in one Southern comfort mecca. The self-styled "Smoke, Fire & Ice House" is known for its large portions and flavorful recipes, like a Jamaican jerk chicken and a chicken-fried steak that puts most others to shame. "Side mates” like mac 'n' cheese, fried okra, and creamed jalapeño spinach round out any home-style cravings. A full bar serves popular staples like beet margaritas. It’s hard to save room for dessert, but the homemade pies are excellent—and their New Orleans–influenced breakfasts are worth a try.

The “ranch-to-table” cuisine of this east-side hot spot speaks to the Southern comfort cravings of Austinites, with savory classics like stuffed Salisbury steak, pickled fried green tomatoes, and shrimp-and-grits. The interiors, boasting natural hardwoods and salvaged materials from the Jacoby family ranch, provide an ideally casual place to kick back and relax with cocktails like mezcal margaritas and West Texas shandys; the scenic back patio overlooks the Colorado River. Central Texas Jacoby-brand beef is featured in the house burger and chicken-fried steak, but seasonal entrées like Cornish hen and pumpkin and goat cheese dumplings are also signatures. Sides like mac 'n' cheese, braised greens, and acorn squash are served family-style.