Carriage House Cafe, Houston

Carriage House Cafe couldn't embody the spirit of Texas more if it tried. The decor evokes an 1880s-era carriage house, with barn-weathered lumber complemented by elegant brass chandeliers, antique carriages inside and on the porch, and an actual horse out back. Amongst the mismatched wooden tables and chairs sit antique cabinets crammed with leather-bound books, and beyond those are walls adorned with old photos of life in the 1880s, mounted deer heads, and an 1824 flag of the Texas Revolution. Also in the background are discarded local artifacts and country and Western music hits from artists such as Hank Williams.

The food is a mix of Texas barbecue, house-ground burgers, and chicken-fried steak. Try the 24-hour smoked brisket, fresh ground and seasoned burger, hand-cut fries, 10-oz. rib eye steaks, sirloins, and strip steaks. And because this is Texas, almost everything is oversized, but according to one article in the Houston Press, the 1-pound chicken-fried steak is "notoriously large." The reviewer deemed the dish both "splendid" and "magnificent."