Food & Drink in Hereford

The culinary wizards at Pattaya create a whirlwind of traditional Asian flavors while conjuring a menu of stir-fried favorites for palates to swoon over. Guests plunge their forks into house specialty Ondara's rice and retrieve bites of yellow rice mixed with chicken, shrimp, egg, and pineapple ($8.50). The beef pad thai's bed of rice noodles––blended with ground peanuts, green onion, and egg––provides a comfortable spot for diners to rest their heads after a long day of work ($6.75). Quell hunger pangs with a plate of stir-fried chicken, cashews, and dried chili peppers ($7.75), or turn up the heat on taste buds with the spicy tofu's medley of zucchini, basil, and jalapeños over fried rice ($7.75).

Helmed by owner and cake artist Mandy Williams, The Cake Company unfurls a fresh panoply of cookies, brownies, and fetching customized cakes. Peanut-butter or snickerdoodle cookies strut around plates next to their gargantuan cousins, the 12-inch or 16-inch chocolate-chip cookies. Cake-smiths set up private consultations for prospective brides and grooms, wherein couples taste their way through six samples before collaborating on the design for their perfect wedding cake. The pastry architects commemorate other special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, or finally figuring out how to ride two bikes at once with specialty cakes adorned with colorful buttercream or fondant arranged into clever designs, such as a lighthouse, a giant cupcake, or a spray-paint can.

The King and I of Canyon welcomes hungry visitors to feasts of rich coconut-milk curries, tender morsels of tuna, salmon, and crab, and spicy stir-fry dishes flavored with aromatic scallions, garlic, ginger, peppers, and basil. Taking its name from the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and its less famous spinoff sitcom, the restaurant enchants visitors with an exotic, yet approachable charm, seating guests at tables decorated with fan-folded napkins and fresh blossoms, while serenading diners with live musical performances. Behind the marble-topped sushi bar, chefs hand-roll inventive maki combinations or arrange nigiri plates into colorful, edible pieces of art.

The savory aroma of fire-grilled steaks and fried eggs is the first thing to greet the noses of guests ambling into The Ranch House Cafe. After the initial olfactory welcome, the restaurant envelops visitors in a relaxed, home-like atmosphere bolstered by homemade meals, friendly service, and embarrassing middle school class portraits of every visitor. Chefs bustle about the kitchen transforming Angus Beef into hand-formed burgers before sending them to tables on the arms of speedy servers. Conscious of meeting the dietary needs of all its patrons, The Ranch House Cafe offers low-calorie, meatless, and kid-friendly noshes to ensure that eaters push back from their tables feeling sated.

A lifelong baker, Tina turned her zeal for treats into a business when she opened Bluebonnet Cupcakery in fall of 2012. She is known for her original creation––the pie cupcake––but she also whips up batches of traditional cupcakes, sugar cookies, and cakes for special occasions. Her baked goods are a hit at events such as baby showers and birthday parties as well as meetings and company food fights. Always open to suggestions, she adorns her treats with custom decorations at no additional charge.

La Fiesta Grande's chefs populate a colossal menu with authentic south-of-the-border dishes, earning their eatery the third-place spot in CityVoter's Best Mexican Restaurant 2009. Beef, chicken, or shrimp conductors direct the steaming fajita skillet's sizzling ballad, soothing appetites and inspiring star-crossed veggies, guacamole, and pico de gallo to fall in love with teeth (beef or chicken, $10.99; beef and chicken, $11.99; shrimp, $14.99; trio platter, $13.99). Diners can sic seafaring chompers on the baja crispy fish tacos' triumvirate of tortilla-breaded ocean dwellers, reigning over swells of house-made baja sauce ($10.99). Meanwhile, a dollop of sour cream as fluffy as a pillow stuffed with cumulus clouds tops the spinach enchilada platter's cheesy trio of vitamin-packed cylinders ($8.99).

Pizza making at Papa Murphy's stops just short of the ovens. After watching the pizza artists layer thin crusts or stuffed pies with toppings from the selection of four sauces and 20 meats and vegetables—including bacon, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes—customers take the pizzas home and follow the simple instructions for either baking or grilling them to a crispy golden-brown. Now boasting more than 1,200 locations across 37 states, Papa Murphy's pizza artists begin every morning by hand making new batches of dough and grating fresh cheese with Bruce Willis's coarse cheeks.