Restaurants in Rendon

Ruffino's is a culinary paradise that revolves around the gastronomic genius of Chef Asdren Azemi. Graduating in the top five of his class from The French Culinary Institute in New York City, Azemi's classically trained food-potion skills emanate from every impeccably crafted dish found on the dinner, lunch, and Sunday brunch menus. Revel in the simplicity of Italian antipasti offerings such as the hand-pressed Russet-potato gnocchi ($12) or Prince Edward Island mussels ($12). Garden goodies dance with the Ruffino's Salad ($8), which delicately sprinkles feta, fried olives, and seasonal vegetables with balsamic-tomato vinaigrette. After your pre-mealing, dive face first into Franco's lasagna ($17), with ground beef, rich ricotta, and fresh herbs all smothered with the Ruffino family's robust tomato sauce. Or go with the spaghetti with diver scallops ($22) or the wild-salmon steak ($26), laid atop roasted eggplant, asparagus, seasonal tomato, and olive-oil vinaigrette. Although wine is not included in this deal, you can click here to print out an invitation for a complimentary glass between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. any night.

Cast Iron satiates eager sustenance-hankerers with its gourmet versions of homemade southern-cuisine favorites, pleasing both the traditional grandmother and the edgy, postmodern foodie. Inaugurate the gastronomic ceremonies with fried green tomatoes ($7), a flavorful side spruced with local goat cheese and cilantro oil. Drizzled in red-wine syrup, the Shiner-brined pork chop ($17) is an entree juicy and tender enough to replace a damaged waterbed. Reach the fudge-soaked checkered flag with Cast Iron's double-chocolate-fudge cake ($6) with indulgent vanilla sauce. Early-risers still exhausted from a long night of trapeze-archery practice can rejuvenate lethargic brains with a New York–sourced bagel from H&H Bagels, topped with smoked salmon ($13) or the pulled-pork eggs Benedict ($14).

Featuring an extensive menu of creative American food—including The Reuben 1976, born on the restaurant and brewery's opening day—Humperdink's has served the mertroplex area for 36 years. Humperdink's boasts menu items such as barbecue ribs, sustainable seafood, steaks, gourmet burgers, and original buffalo hot wings, along with a number of award-winning microbrews crafted on the premises and served on tap.

Simply Fondue's intimate, chandelier-lit dining room plays host to tabletop pots that bubble with warm imported cheeses, oils, and broths. The restaurant's cheese fondues from Switzerland, the Mediterranean, and England allow diners to taste the world's flavors without having to lick every country's flag. The eatery also simmers traditional canola oil fondue and broth fondue. For each entree, chefs pair simmering helpings with platters of meat, seafood, or veggies, all of which can be altered upon request.

Many meals conclude with chocolate fondue, which features an impressive coterie of sweets such as pound cake, triple-chunk brownies, cookie-dough balls, and fresh pineapple chunks plucked from the hats of local conga dancers. The dining experience stays casual throughout with plush booths and granite table tops.

There’s a big difference between the muffins you pluck from the grocery shelf and those you choose from the counter at Social Bakehouse Cafe. That’s because the in-house bakers wake up early every morning in order to have fluffy cupcakes, flaky scones, and gooey cinnamon rolls freshly made just as customers begin flocking to the shop’s counters.

The pastry chefs liberally wield frosting guns over sweets, applying sugary flowers to the borders of custom cakes and creating seasonal designs on cookies and pumpkins trying to expand their resumés. Once the bakery rush subsides, chefs turn their attention to lunch dishes, such as mandarin chicken wraps and spinach salads drizzled with house-made dressing.

In the gently lit restaurant, a waiter in black trousers and white shirt glides between tables toward one of many private booths. When he reaches his destination, he opens his mouth to greet the waiting guests and take their order, but instead of speaking, he bursts into song. The singing waiters’ nightly performances help to fuel the happy chatter that rolls across diners at The Italian Inn as soon as they pass the red-and-white striped pole near the entryway. As a live musician sits down at a piano to join the servers in their songs, wall sconces and tabletop candles flicker. Red, blue, and green light-garlands run across the room, casting playful hues on walls covered in handwritten epigrams, love notes, and messages from cardiologists concerned by hearts full of letters.

Chefs load plates with USDA Choice beef or decorate pastas imported from small Italian towns with sauces made fresh daily or imported olive oil. In the kitchen, the crew crafts soups, dressings, and desserts anew each day, and servers scoot past to grab bottles from a cellar crowded with international red, white, and bubbling vintages.