Restaurants in Temple

Although Yasbel Flores emigrated from Cuba at the age of 18, her cooking remains firmly rooted in the flavors of her native culture. Yasbel and her husband, Ron, did their best to bring the flavors of Cuba to Austin by opening Habana Restaurant and Bar in 2001, with Yasbel basing the menu on a trove of family recipes she pored through with her mother. Ron, meanwhile, spent hours honing the mixology of the eatery’s Cuba--evoking cocktails, such as the Cuban daiquiri and the mojito with a decorative island floating in it.

In the eatery’s sunlit dining room or on its patio, patrons feast on meat marinated in Cuban spices—such as the pork steak with onions, the rib eye, and the fried chicken—or vegetarian dishes brimming with plantain chunks, okra, and other tropical vegetables. Alternatively, sandwich-powered lunches include traditional pairings such as roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, and pickle sandwiched between pressed bread or plantain slices. Monday through Friday happy hours, held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., foster a joyful mood by serving discounted appetizers and beers, rather than populating the bar with laughing hyenas.

Today's deal treats you to pizza made the way the 19th-century gangs of New York used to make it (before getting into vicious street brawls over the proper way to cook a pizza). For $20, you get $40 worth of coal-fired pizza, pasta, and Italian subs at Tony C's in the Hill Country Galleria. This cozy bare-brick eatery's pizza is "easily one of the top five in Austin," according to My Fox.Follow @Groupon_Says on Twitter.

Over 150,000 sandwich combinations await customers at Spicy Pickle, a restaurant with quick, casual meals crafted from healthy, artisanal ingredients. Diners can grab a specialty sandwich such as a roasted turkey and mozzarella panini, or build their own using 10 different cheeses, 21 premium toppings, 15 spreads, and one team of Lilliputian construction workers. For lighter appetites, Spicy Pickle carries fresh salads loaded with vegetables and soups such as broccoli cheddar and green chili bisque.

Behind TenOak’s 120-year old doors, walls of polished oak wink and glint beneath the glimmer of sturdy metal chandeliers, while sparse branches stretching across sleek lighting fixtures border the bar stocked with small-batch whiskey. The warm and naturalistic ambiance complements TenOak's menu of classic southern cuisine, which cooks up dishes with ingredients such as oak-smoked bacon and bourbon-maple butter. While filling up on a tempura-battered sandwich of peanut butter and banana, patrons can enjoy the breeze at the outdoor patio, ponder over the evening’s endless possibilities, and call grandma to invite her to upcoming events.

In early 2010, small business owners David Ansel and Matt Shook both happened to grab a midday bite at the same local bakery, according to the Austin Chronicle. As David lamented the summer lags at his soup shop, Matt commiserated with recollections of wintertime dry spells at his smoothie business. The solution suddenly became clear: they would combine their seasonally oriented enterprises and together enjoy thriving business year-round.

Matt and David’s joint enterprise, Juicebox & Soup Peddler, launched in a small, rehabbed shed. There, the duo began to dispense their largely vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free soups and sandwiches through a food window, as well as appease patrons with fruity juices and smoothie blends that are easier to throw in rivals’ faces than wet cement. In June of 2012, their venture expanded to include a storefront splashed with an orange hue and a mural of veggies, as well as a booming delivery branch that drops ready-to-heat soups and sandwiches on doorsteps or down chimneys.

Chef John Haug knows that Louisiana culture is more defined by its food than by all of the region's jazz, Mardi Gras beads, and Huey Long bumper stickers combined. He showcases the tasty fruits of Cajun living at Cypress Grill, spotlighting the classic New Orleans dishes such as étouffée and jambalaya that help the restaurant consistently place as one of Austin’s top 35 restaurants in the Austin Chronicle's readers' poll. On Thursdays, live Cajun or jazz swing music enlivens the funky neighborhood joint, which is more than likely already filled with the aromas of the fresh Gulf seafood that populates plates of barbecued shrimp and crispy oysters. Chef John also brings his down-home touch to weekend breakfasts, which combine Creole influences with locally-sourced organic eggs plucked from pasture-raised chickens. The restaurant also celebrates seasonality; during the spring and early summer, cooks haul in 300 pounds of fresh crawfish for the restaurant’s weekly boil.