Restaurants in The Colony

With green curries, vibrant orange shrimp, and a rainbow of veggies, Sawadika—the Thai word for “hello”—introduces eyes and mouths to the beauty and flavor of traditional Thai cuisine. Past polished wooden booths and earth-toned walls that alternate between a laddered wood pattern and a sea of pinks and creams, past paintings of sailboats and gardens, past a granite-topped bar with wine glasses dangling above, the chefs combine their spices and herbs like artists, dappling plate canvases with a menu of curries, noodle bowls, and seafood. They sauté salmon and catfish in coconut milk and curry, and they stir-fry meats in housemade sauces such as fragrant lemongrass and tangy sesame, creating balanced meals and edible portraits of their customers dressed in royal costumes. They also celebrate the sweeter side of Thai cuisine with desserts such as mango sticky rice and coconut ice cream.

Instead of trays, waiters at Brazilian Cowboy Steakhouse & Grill carry swords that skewer such offerings as top sirloin, garlic picanha, grilled pineapple, and bacon-wrapped chicken, chauffeuring the slabs directly to tables where diners can indicate their preferred cuts. As the mesquite-grilled meats circulate throughout the room, customers can load the remaining space on their plates with the cheese bread, beans and rice, fried bananas, and salads that fill the restaurant’s full buffet. An easy-listening band headlines Brazilian Cowboy's stage each Friday and Saturday, and the concert’s addition of music to the meaty masquerade creates an atmosphere reminiscent of that at a butcher-school prom.

Inside Main Grill’s kitchen, a French chef infuses new life into classic American dishes. Burgers with the diner's choice of a quarter-pound or a half-pound patty come in 10 forms, including the Texan, topped with bacon, fried onions, cheddar, and barbecue sauce, and the bison, whose lean meat supports pickled onions, danish blue cheese, and smoky red-pepper sauce. Chicken breasts arrive at tables between slices of bread, grilled and blanketed in creamy garlic sauce, or snuggled inside of pot pies. For breakfast, diners can dig into sweet or savory crepes, or reminisce about the ocean breeze with a seafood omelet and a tableside fan.

Chefs Chris Sanchez and Patrick Ortiz founded Simply Fit Meals on the belief that food should simply be itself and not have to hide behind flavor-disguising sweeteners, preservatives, and sham marriages. Meals are portioned by calorie count to fit everyone's specific dietary guidelines. The adobo pork tenderloin, for instance, arranges chipotle-rubbed cuts of pork beside crisp green beans and caramelized carrots ($6.50–$7.75). Likewise, the trio of summer roasted salmon, asparagus, and mother-grain quinoa ($7.50–$8.75) leaves few chambers of the food pyramid unplundered. Snackable items are also available, such as fluffy, whole-wheat pitas and hummus ($3.75) or the all-natural, home-style applesauce ($3.50). In an effort to coordinate with in-season freshness, the menu rotates often and with the stately grace of a novelty bowtie.

Affectionately dubbed "a little piece of France" by Christina Rowland of Real Frisco, Cafe Trottoir et Patisserie transports taste buds with Parisian-style bistro fare for lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. Dishes feature simple, elegant preparations, with numerous sauces and vinaigrettes drizzled across seared tuna steaks and roasted duck breasts. Mimicking money-booth contestants, pear and goat cheese step into a salad arena, where they compete to snatch the most pecans out of a slippery shower of lavender-honey vinaigrette. The steak frites' Black Angus terres major is pan-seared with red-wine pan jus and laid on a plate of pommes frites and baby greens.

Indoor meals unfurl under brass chandeliers bearing clusters of golden lamps. In fair weather, the sun-dappled outdoor terrace surrounds tables in tall trees bookended by stucco walls and a large outdoor fireplace.