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Where to eat now 2008.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

WHAT'S UP, WHAT'S DOWN? WHAT'S IN, WHAT'S OUT? I GOT DIZZY TRYING to tease out the trends in the 2008 edition of our annual roundup of the state's new restaurants. At first I thought I saw a seafood restaurant fad; two good ones opened last year, one in Dallas and one in Houston. Just a coincidence? Two worthy Italian restaurants also popped up, but Italian has become the default cuisine of American restaurants, so nothing significant there. What does seem worth noting is the energy and quality in the classy-comfort-food genre: Three promising newcomers--Lamberts Downtown Barbecue, in Austin; the Porch, in Dallas; and Max's Wine Dive, in Houston--all fit that description. In fact, I'm tempted to throw this year's top pick, Fearing's, in Dallas, into the mix, although that megasaurus has such an eclectic menu that it's hard to decide on a dominant theme. And why would comfort food be so popular? To steal a quote from a chef I know: "People like what they can pronounce."

A quick word about the rules: To be included, a restaurant needs to either be new or have a new chef, a new name, and a new idea. Our culinary year of eligibility traditionally ends on November 1 of the last year and begins on November 1 of the year before that, but I am allowing a three-week grace period for the Grill at Leon Springs, an excellent restaurant that opened in San Antonio on October 10, 2006. It was a crime for me to overlook it last year; it would be a sin for me to ignore it this time around. (And I am herewith instituting the Grill at Leon Springs Rule, which will provide a legal basis for consideration of any restaurant opening within 21 days of Where to Eat Now's official parameters; after all, this is my kitchen.)

Here then are our ten winners and four runners-up. Try' em while they're hot.

DALLAS

1. Fearing's

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL HAS NOTHING ON DEAN Fearing's venture at the new Ritz-Carlton. I wouldn't even blink if a woman descended from the ceiling in a flaming feather dress, singing like a trumpeter swan in the middle of dinner. The drama, ambition, and culinary range of the six-month-old restaurant are Wagnerian, and it was easily the best to open in Texas last year. I like being there. I like lolling on a cushy banquette in the main dining room, amid the acres of tawny onyx and African...

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