Loaves of warm, crusty bread appeared with a dish of soft whipped butter.

Twin slabs of Braised Pork Belly were meaty and luxurious, served in a ginger broth with ong choy, seaweed and julienned carrots. The broth added flavor, but also limited the crispness that’s necessary in bacon.

Crab Deviled Eggs seem to be appearing on more and more menus. A recent version featured Dungeness crab folded with the egg. This version was more successful, spice-soaked crab meat topping the blended egg, with chopped chives.

Red Belgian Endive Caesar Salad was a new take on a classic salad, with garlic croutons and thin-shaved cheese.

Three out of for of us selected Tracht’s Signature Pot Roast with carrots and caramelized onions. This pot roast alone normally costs $22, but Tracht’s didn’t scale back the portion size, which added to the unreal meal deal. The meat was ultra tender, nice and browned on the outside. It came with a ramekin of creamy horseradish sauce, which was perfect for dipping the fries.

Char Sui Pork Chop had a nice char and was juicy from top to bottom. It was served with a roasted onion topped with crushed nuts.

Brussels sprouts were rich and tender, flavored with caramelized onions and a slab of bacon, then topped with crushed hazelnuts for added texture.

The French fries were some of the best ever, crispy outside, tender inside, and showered with garlic and parsley.

Creamy mashed potatoes were dusted with chives.

There was even textbook Creamed Spinach, not too watery or heavy.

The slice of Pecan Pie came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It wasn’t too sweet or syrupy, which are two potential pitfalls when making pecan pie.

Chocolate Pudding ultra-creamy, topped with dollop of cream and dusted with cocoa powder, kind of like tiramisu.

Tracht’s decision to offer such high-quality food for such reasonable prices is a public service. Every starter, side, entrée and dessert was good to great. Sunday to Wednesday night through Labor Day, you have the same dining opportunity. Do your stomach a favor and take it.

8 oz. is situated on the western fringe of the trendier-than-ever Melrose shopping district. The sprawling two-room interior is fairly sleek, with a pressed tin ceiling, concrete floors, mirrors on the wall, drop-down lanterns and wood tables, but better to grab a seat on the covered patio, which affords views of the passers-by with multi-colored hair, painted on jeans, tats and various forms of body modification.

Mini Kobe Corndogs (3 for $7) were a compellingly perverse use of premium beef. It might not be necessary to coat Kobe in cornmeal, but skewering meat on a stick always seems to magnify the flavor. The dogs came with a ramekin of purple mustard. Unfortunately, the unique color didn’t add much to the proceedings.

Fried green Olives ($6) contained spicy sausage, and their thin batter coats were scattered with fried thyme, mint and basil.

8 oz.’s Deviled Eggs (4 for $5) would have been easy to make at home, in minutes. If anything, these boring paprika-dusted deviled eggs should be called purgatory eggs.

Suds & Slider Sampler ($16) is clearly the way to go, since it offers the most variety. Three 5 oz. draft beers were paired with 3 sliders. The sliders change regularly, but tonight’s selections were wild boar, Triple Prime beef and lamb. According to the menu, “All burgers are served medium rare to medium,” which retains moisture, but still allows for a char. The beef burger was fine, but made the least interesting slider. Lamb meat was fairly mild, and the wild pig meat tasted best. Each burger came on a different bun. The potato roll that went with the pork was great, but the sesame and poppy seed rolls were less dynamic. Each burger came with a token amount of iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickle and white onion.

8 oz.’s beers are listed on the menu from light to dark. My three “suds” were served in a similar spectrum, from right to left: Telegraph Porter (Santa Barbara), Skyscraper Lug Nut Lager (El Monte) and Green Flash West Coast IPA (San Diego), three unique California selections. The IPA was nice and hoppy. The porter had nice caramel notes, but my beer-loving friend pointed out that a great porter has less carbonation. The Lug Nut Lager was balanced and paired really well with the high-grade beef.

For his 8 oz. Combo ($15), my friend Bryan partnered his 8 oz. burger with white cheddar ($1 extra), a glass of Telegraph Porter and summer truffled potato skins. The skins were crisp at the edges and aromatic from the truffle.

Unlike Father’s Office, which serves a single perfect burger, 8 oz. burgers are available with long lists of extras, condiments and cheeses (for a price). This is a democratic approach to burgers. Too democratic. More focus would have been better.

Estancia Grass Fed Burger ($9) was presented unadorned, which a good idea considering Estancia’s grass-fed Uruguayan beef has such a pronounced bovine flavor. The build-your-own-burger set up was strange. Why not serve the burger with escarole and roasted mushrooms (shitake, oyster, hen of the woods) already on the patty? Also, it’s easy to be suspicious of homemade ketchup. Malcolm Gladwell’s 2004 New Yorker article explored the reasons why Heinz ketchup is virtually unbeatable. Gladwell is terrific researcher and writer, so he made a convincing argument. 8 oz. went to a lot of trouble for no good reason. Their “heirloom tomato” version was fine, but they should switch to Heinz.

Crumbled Potato Salad ($4) was a solid version of a classic side, chunky potatoes folded with herbs and not too much mayo, which loyal Food GPS readers know is a four-letter word.

Banana Bread Pudding ($5) with caramelized bananas and caramel sauce was stellar. It was almost like a bready flan, with sweet bananas and a base of what tasted like gritty caramel-soaked brown sugar.

Vanilla Cupcake ($3.50) sported cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. It was fine, but the cake was a little dry.

Some of the starters were pretty strong, but 8 oz. advertises itself as a burger bar, so it should be judged on its burgers. Using that criteria, 8 oz. is a success, though they could use a more focused menu, and more balance, flavor-wise. 8 oz. is certainly a net positive for Melrose, but isn’t exactly redefining or elevating the burger.

Panchan (clockwise from top left) included tender zucchini slices, traditional kimchi, chile-slathered carrots tossed with chewy strips of what may have been jellyfish, and Jang-Ah-Chi – jalapeno slices pickled in soy sauce.

The rest of the panchan consisted of crisp pickled daikon, bean sprouts, and candied black beans that tasted like they were marinated in corn syrup. We also received bowls of bracing pickled cabbage soup and chilled radish slices.

The menu offers only 19 dishes. The only question was which cuts of beef to order. Matt knew to order Hye Mit Gui ($18.95), pink Beef Tongue cut thin and lean.

Chilmok Gui ($21.95) is The Corner Place’s House Special, similar to galbi (short ribs), delivered with sliced mushrooms. The meat was fairly lean, with a much richer color than the tongue.

The beef formed a nice char on our tabletop grill.

Almost every table in the restaurant hosted at least one bowl of Dong Chimi Gook Soo ($4.75) - Cold Noodle in Soup. “Gook Soo” means noodles in Korean. The thin white noodles were similar to vermicelli, floating with scallions, julienned cucumber, sliced tomato and jalapeno. The recipe is a closely guarded secret. Matt said an old woman arrives at The Corner Place early in the morning to make the broth. Adherents speculate about what goes into the soup. The only ingredient that’s pretty much confirmed is 7 Up. The other certainty is that the broth was habit-forming, which is especially impressive given the lack of meat.

The Corner Place doesn’t automatically include rice, since it just fills your stomach. The idea is to pair a piece of beef with a tuft of shaved scallion salad, dressed with sesame oil and chile flakes. Then slurp some soup for a cool palate cleanser and repeat.

Plenty of local diners now consider Park’s the gold standard for Korean barbecue in Los Angeles. That nearby rival may offer Prime cuts of beef and twice as many panchan, but The Corner Place is still very good, and more reasonably priced.

Haroutioun Geragosian began working at a bakery in Aleppo, Syria, at age 13 in order to supply his family with bread. Geragosian absorbed baking knowledge and opened his own Aleppo bakery in 1948, calling it Old Sasoon Bakery, named for a village in Armenia that his grandparents left after World War II. He relocated his family and bakery to Pasadena in 1986, selling just lahmajunes (ground beef flatbreads), cheese and spinach beorags (savory pies). Son Joseph Geragosian is now in charge of daily operations. Old Sasoon’s sign now reads “Abou Yousef,” which means “Joseph’s father” in Arabic.

Joseph is not the only Geragosian at Old Sasoon. He works alongside sister Caroline and mother Archalous. Joseph began baking at 15 and expanded Old Sasoon’s offerings to include 17 savory varieties of bread, a selection that’s unparalleled in L.A. County.

Two Daily Specials are available from 7 AM to Noon. Manaiesh Sandwich ($2) is truly special, and shockingly affordable, a zahtar-dusted flatbread lined with rows of mint leaves, tomatoes, green olives and crispy raw onions. The manaiesh is then rolled up, which makes for easy eating.

Old Sasoon’s other special is Khachapuri ($3.99), a mammoth Georgian flatbread topped with white cheese, seasonings and raw egg that’s baked to order. Allow ten minutes.

No matter what bread you order at Old Sasoon, it’s bound to have a winning mouth feel, soft inside and browned outside.

For Soujouk and Cheese ($2.50) bread, Joseph makes the garlicky, spice-flecked ground beef sausage in house. He likes use white Cacique cheese, a Mexican cow’s milk cheese that doesn’t turn to plastic in the fridge.

Joseph also fills bread with basturma, sheets of Armenian cured beef, which he buys as needed down the street at Garo’s Basturma.

Zahtar, Chile and Onion ($1.50) bread is basically a manaiesh with the added bonus of hot pepper paste and onions. The color is incredible, a rich burgundy, and the bread has a nice spice kick.

Another recent favorite was a crisp-edged pastry pocket filled with finely chopped Swiss chard (Panjar), tahini paste, onions and “seasonings.”

Two years ago, Joseph added sweets like baklava, walnut-filled cookies called mamoul, and cookies with no filling. This tray holds every kind of Old Sasoon baklava, including nut-crammed “fingers” and pistachio nests. Joseph limits the sweetness of his baklava. If you’re looking for lakes of sugar syrup, Old Sasoon isn’t the place.

With advance notice, it’s worth exploring Old Sasoon’s Special Orders. Joseph makes four different kinds of lahmajune: traditional ground beef with tomato, garlic, onion and spices. There’s also ground turkey, ground mushroom, and the rarely seen Debes Rmman Lahmajune, with ground beef, pomegranate molasses pine nuts and onions. If you’re especially ambitious, it’s possible to order a 45-pound lamb, stuffed with rice pilaf, ground beef, nuts and spices.

In the future, Joseph is scouting for a second location in either Glendale or the San Fernando Valley, a sit-down spot that would allow him to make more sandwiches on manaiesh or lahmajune. In the meantime, it’s well worth grabbing some baked goods to go at the Pasadena original.

Xanh means “green” in Vietnamese. No surprise, the bistro’s walls are green. The kitchen is also separated from the dining area with a row of green bamboo. Not everything is green. The east wall hosts a black-and-white photograph that Nguyen took in Vietnam.

Xanh Bistro’s food packed plenty of flavor, but they still supplied four condiments, including a homemade burnt-orange pepper paste loaded with roasted red pepper skins and seeds. The paste sported intimidating color, but imparted balanced flavor that wasn’t disabling. There were also containers of whole green chilies and two varieties of fish sauce, one a deep dark color, and a lighter-hued one floating with diced garlic.

Goi Hoa Chuoi ($7.95) - Banana Blossom Salad – featured a mammoth pile of banana blossom strands, julienned carrot, red pepper and pickled daikon. There were also sheets of grilled pork, firm shrimp, aromatic mint leaves, chopped peanuts and sesame seeds. The salad was tossed with house-made lime-cilantro dressing. The idea was to pile salad on crisp sesame-studded rice crackers, bite down and crunch. It was a refreshing salad on a hot summer day.

Bo Hoang Gia ($14.95) - 5-Spice Beef Short Ribs – were slow-cooked on the bone until fork tender (it’s a cliché but it was true in this case). The rich meat was decoratively plated over bitter garlic-slathered mustard greens and topped with fried carrot strands, which soaked up the meat jus.

Cá kho to ($12.95) meant whitefish fillets slow-cooked in a hot metal dish. The tender fish soaked up its bath of peppery caramel sauce. Our friendly waitress instructed us to pile on the steamed white rice, which cut the intensity of the sauce.

Our meal was flavorful, artfully plated and surprisingly affordable considering the generous portions. Xanh Bistro’s menu isn’t as deep as some better-known Vietnamese dining options in Westminster and Garden Grove, but those restaurants don’t have Haley Nguyen’s focus. The only downside: we didn’t have room for dessert.

Friday, May 16, 2008

The best Texas barbecue places typically limit their decor to mounted animal heads, and some spots don’t even bother with utensils, so the prospect of consuming Lamberts “fancy barbecue” was a little daunting. However, Louis Lambert and chef-partner Larry McGuire did print a pig-butchering chart on the menu, so it was worth giving them a chance. Crispy Wild Boar Ribs were a lot like Buffalo chicken wings, but there wasn’t nearly enough meat on the tiny bones. The brown sugar and coffee rubbed Natural Beef Brisket featured thick, juicy, oak-smoked slices, with a pretty respectable smoke ring. Oak-grilled meats sounded especially delicious, and were. Mustard and Brown Sugar Crusted Niman Ranch Ribeye was terrific, crusty on the outside, juicy within, sweet and spicy. Buttery Natural Hanger Steak was slathered with spicy Cholula butter. A blackboard special - Country Side Farms suckling pig porchetta – featured two wide slices of a sausage made from a de-boned baby pig. The tender, crisp-edged hog meat was plated with a dish of rosemary & fennel jam, organic arugula and grilled toast. We shared four of Lamberts Family Style Sides, highlighted by Baked Mac and 3 Cheeses, made with creamy cheddar made exclusively for Lamberts, goat cheese and spicy Mexican cheese, baked until crusty. For dessert, Chocolate Brioche Bread pudding was hot and buttery, not too sweet, crowned with vanilla bean ice cream and chunks of walnut brittle. The thick slice of Banana Cream Pie featured a thick layer of whipped cream, plenty of banana chunks, a flaky crust and candied macadamia nuts. Fried Blackberry Pie was a letdown, way too tart, especially when paired with tart lemon ice cream.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

We drove north out of Austin at 10:30 to begin our only full day of eating. In Texas Monthly’s 2003 round-up of the state’s Top 50 barbecue spots, Schoepf’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que scored a 4.5 rating out of 5, making it our first stop. Schoepf’s definitely lacks the history of Texas’ better-known barbecue establishments. According to the counterman, Ronnie Schoepf, Sr. opened the restaurant just fifteen years ago. Now Ronnie, Jr. and wife Staci run the show. The three of us purchased almost 4.5 pounds of meat for $46.49, an absurd amount of meat, especially considering we had three more lunches planned. The brisket had zero smoke ring and was both dry and bland. Highly disappointing, especially considering any Texas barbecue spot is judged on its brisket. Thankfully, we found more success with other meats. The half chicken was cooked for 2 hours and had a peppery crust. Pork ribs and the pork chop were similarly peppery, with nice lacquered skins. Sausages were available mild, medium or hot. We chose medium. The sausage was smoked for a paltry 30 minutes, and it showed. The meat was a little watery and the skin had no snap. Brick-sized slabs of plain and jalapeno cornbread were semi-sweet and moist. It was only the first of the day’s four barbecue stops, and though we would find better down the road, the Schoepfs do a respectable job with pork and have a deft touch with chicken.

Burnet County Barbecue had a disconnected phone number, so we flipped through two barbecue books and that 2003 issue of Texas Monthly to find an alternative. Richard K. Troxell rated Lucye’s an 8.75 out of 10 in “Barbecuing around Texas,” and it was nearby in Salado. Lucye’s had been replaced by a steakhouse, so we drove west toward Llano.

On our windy drive down two-lane blacktop, we passed through a small town about every fifteen minutes. One of them was bound to have decent barbecue, right? In Bertram, my father spotted a tan brick building that read “Bertram Smoke Haus.” He said, “Why don’t we at least take a look.” “Take a look” can only mean one thing in my family: Let’s eat.

We discovered an elaborate two-story restaurant with high ceilings and full service. Our waiter told us that the building was erected in 1904 as a lumberyard, and sat vacant for years until 1994, when Paramount Pictures transformed the space into the Omaha Hotel for “The Newton Boys,” starring Matthew McConaughey. In March 2008, Stan Hausenflock, son Erick and nephew Chris Reinhart moved their two-year-old barbecue establishment from across the street. Bertram Bar-B-Q Plates are named for famous movie bad-asses, ranging from The Eastwood (1/2 pound) to The Duke (3 pounds of beef ribs). We ordered the Good The Bad & The Ugly ($13.50) – 1.5 pounds of brisket, spicy sausage and pork spare ribs. Stan cooks the brisket for 10 hours out in the open, creating a smoke ring, then 2-4 hours more in foil, to retain moisture. Bertram buys their terrific pork sausage from Taylor Meat Company, which has been stuffing casings for over a century. The gritty dark sausages are seasoned with Cajun spices and green onion. Stan said the longer they cook the sausages, the spicier they get. Pork spare ribs were ridiculously tender, beyond fall-off-the-bone. After our meal, Stan was happy to show us his outdoor smokers and mesquite stack. Out back, Iron Star Hall features a stage that hosts country musicians, and a beer hall with picnic tables. On the drive from Austin, we commented that it had been five years since the last Texas Monthly Top 50 Barbecue list. As if on cue, Stan said that Texas Monthly just visited and he was told Bertram Smoke Haus was set to make the Top 50 in the June 2008 issue. They did. After our outstanding experience, the accolade was well deserved.

In Burnet, the book Texas Barbecue, by Paris Permenter & John Bigley, listed Hill Country Smokehouse in town, but we either couldn’t find it, or the restaurant had closed down. The book was over five years old, after all. On our way out of town, surprise, surprise, we drove by Burnet County Barbecue, which definitely hadn’t closed. “Food GPS my ass,” my dad said. Turns out the nearly 40-year-old establishment had a new owner and a new phone number. This tiny order-at-the-counter establishment somehow made the Texas Monthly Top 50 in 2003, with a 4.5 rating. It’s certainly a cool looking place, long and lean, with stonework on the outside, and a wood and corrugated-metal interior. A self-defeating message on the menu read: “We may not serve the best bar-b-que in Texas – okay – but we still serve good food – with a good attitude and a happy heart!!!” When we ordered at the counter, the demoralized owner literally couldn’t find a slice of brisket that wasn’t pure fat. It was incredible that he’d admit that, and that he’d buy such feeble meat. When asked what kind of wood he uses, he said, “Mesquite, but if you mix in pecan, it gives the meat a real nice flavor.” Why didn’t he use pecan? Not that it would have mattered. The Three Meat Plate ($8.75) - sliced beef, sausage and pork ribs - came with vinegary cole slaw and potato salad that was absolutely swimming in mayo. In case you don’t know, mayo is a four-letter word, so this was a disturbing sight. The brisket was so fatty it was impossible to eat, and the other meats were rubbery and bland. Strangely, after the new owner bought Burnet County in March, he kept the 2003 Texas Monthly article on the wall, as if it were still notable. It wasn’t.

We arrived in Llano, “the deer capital of Texas,” to find a row of motorcycles parked outside Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que and a line of customers near their impressive mesquite smokers. Seven or eight years ago, we ate at the revered barbecue restaurant and had an earth-shattering dining experience. Once again, we chose to tango with memories of great meals past, always a dangerous pastime. Each massive smoker held trays of spice rubbed pork tenderloin, lamb ribs, brisket, pork chops, sausage, chicken and ribs. We ordered half a sausage link, a thick slab of brisket, half a chicken and Cooper’s signature “big chop.” The pitman asked if we wanted “sauce.” We did, so he speared our desired chunks of meat and dipped them in a bucket of sauce before tossing them on a plastic tray. We took the heavy tray inside for weighing and carving. Walls held the requisite amount of deer heads, plus a lynx poised to pounce on customers dining at the picnic tables below. The walls also featured photos of famed Texans who have dined at the restaurant, including 43, UT football coach Mack Brown, and Governor Rick Perry, who evidently went to school with owner Terry Wootan at Texas A&M. Each slice of brisket featured a nice smoke ring, not too much fat and plenty of smoky flavor. The chicken was tremendous, lacquered and luscious. If the bird had crisper skin, it would have achieved poultry perfection. The big chop was similarly outstanding, peppery and moist. The sausage link featured nice snap, but could have been grainier. The finely chopped cole slaw was nice and crisp, without too much corrupting mayo. Cooper’s barbecue wasn’t as staggering as we remembered, but the food was still very good, probably still in the Hill Country’s Top 8. Of course it was tough to gauge after eating three other barbecue meals.

My father, brother and I capped four consecutive barbecue lunches with a pie stop in Marble Falls. Blue Bonnet Café is named for a local flower that lines Hill Country roads in the spring. The café has been open since 1930, the current owners are John and Belinda Kemper, and yes, they offer Pie Happy Hour. We were clearly in the right place. Most of the house-baked pies involve cream or high-top meringue. Peanut Butter Cream featured crumbled peanuts and a dish of chocolate sauce. My chocoholic brother selected Chocolate Cream, which was semi sweet and dusted with cocoa powder. Coconut Cream sported toasted coconut shavings. We clearly didn’t need a fourth slice, but in the interest of research, ordered one non-cream pie: apple. The crust was firm, pocked with cinnamon, and contained sweet strips of baked apple. We’ve eaten better pie in Texas Hill Country, but Blue Bonnet Café definitely delivered a sweet ending to our gluttonous day-trip.

Four hours later, we clearly didn’t need any more food, but we all had fond memories of Hoover’s Cooking, Hoover Alexander’s soul food spot in northeast Austin. Since we’re only in Texas once a year, might as well make it count, no matter how much damage we do to our stomachs. Hoover is a native Texan who credits his mother Dorothy as an important influence. He also seems to have a sense of humor. On his restaurant’s colorful sign, the apostrophe in Hoover’s is a green chile pepper, and he wears a sausage link necklace. We quickly received a complimentary basket of dry cornbread muffins and fluffy sweet potato biscuits. Glazed and charbroiled ham steak was succulent and smoky, served with a dish of “Jezebel” sauce, a mixture of horseradish, orange marmalade and pineapple. Hoover’s always offers a top-flight list of sides, plus blackboard specials. My accompaniments were spicy jalapeno creamed spinach and buttered cabbage. My father ordered meatloaf, a half-pound blend of chuck, onions, bell peppers and spices. His sides were fried okra and cinnamon-tinged candied yams. My brother also ordered the meatloaf, but since he’s a traditionalist, opted for mashed potatoes with gravy and smoky green beans seasoned with pork. The pitcher of lemonade was the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Was the dinner at Hoover’s Cooking worth the additional damage to our stomachs? Absolutely.

Incredibly, after all our consumption, my dad was craving ice cream, so driving back to the hotel, he swung the car by Amy’s and said, “If I can find a spot, we’re going.” Of course we found a spot out front. It was gastro-destiny. Coconut tres leches was tempting, but my stomach might have imploded. My dad got a small cup of coffee, and Eric got a small cup of chocolate. They skipped “crush ins.” Must have been watching their figures.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Before driving to the airport and heading our separate ways, we always stop at The Salt Lick BBQ, a now legendary barbecue restaurant that has reduced two family members to tears. The Salt Lick has become a Hill Country tourist attraction. As a result, they’re happy to usher diners (including me) behind the hand-built pit to take photos. We ordered family style dinner ($18.95 per person), all you can eat pork ribs, brisket and pork sausage. As always, the brisket was luscious. The ribs could have been meatier, but sported caramelized skins. The sausage had taut skin and massive flavor. We of course requested refills with burnt ends, the prized outside pieces of brisket that are caramelized and chewy from smoke-buffeted applications of sauce. The dinner comes with helpings of German potato salad (with mustard and onions), cole slaw (with celery seed), pinto beans and white bread. We received a bowl of the Salt Lick’s classic vinegar and mustard-based barbecue sauce, plus a habanero version that was a lighter shade of orange, with more kick. For dessert, my father insisted on ordering a peach cobbler. After downing burnt ends, I could only manage a bite each of cobbler and vanilla ice cream. After eating five other barbecue meals at some of the most highly lauded spots in Texas Hill Country, we still had supreme respect for The Salt Lick. Sure, the Lick has a booth in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport food court, but consistently high quality has kept the original location a deserving gastro-destination.

A week after we returned home, Texas Monthly published their latest Top 50. Turns out the new #1 barbecue joint in the state, Snow’s Barbeque in Lexington, is just an hour from Austin, and there are five other spots within easy driving distance of the state capitol that we haven’t eaten at, including Opie’s Barbecue in Spicewood, Mann’s Smokehouse Bar-BQ in Austin, Taylor Café in Taylor, Whup’s Boomerang Barbecue in Marlin, and City Meat Market in Giddings. On the trip, we debated the benefits of returning for a fourth state meal. With six new places to try, the debate is over.

Here are links to the full reviews of our two favorite stops on the barbecue trail:

Bertram Smoke Haus

The Salt Lick BBQ

Appleman named his Fillmore restaurant for the historic Latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus (”The Senate and the Roman People”), which appears on manhole covers in Rome. According to our waitress, Emily F., Chris Behr is Nate Appleman’s #2 in command, heading SPQR’s kitchen on a full-time basis. The menu changes daily. The space is fairly plain, with vintage Italian posters on the walls. There are no reservations, so arrive early.

We started with a bottle of 2003 Romeo Colli Piacentini, which had some decent spice.

Antipasti ($8 each or $21 for 3) are grouped under the headings Cold, Hot and Fried.

Fried Cauliflower looked dry because it was brown, but the florets remained moist with help from olive oil. To complete the flavor profile, the chunks were tossed with garlic chips, parsley, capers and lemon juice.

Wild arugula salad contained slivers of sweet black Mission figs, peaches and red onion, croutons and whisps of ricotta salata.

The house-made pork sausage patty was succulent, browned on the grill and ultra-juicy, plated with a “salsa” of sweet roasted corn kernels, cuts of green tomato and crunchy radish.

Fried Local sardines came with chunky mashed tondani beans (similar to white beans), cucumbers and pickled onions. The sardines contained bones, but they were whisper thin, and didn’t impede swallowing. A squeeze of lemon helped cut the sardines’ oceanic tang.

Emily said we should order at least one dish from each category, but we took her recommendations and doubled or tripled them. Our first Antipasti Grande - Lamb cacciatore ($18) - was basically juicy browned chunks of lamb tossed with rosemary, garlic and white wine. This dish was recently lauded in the Bon Appetit Restaurant Issue, for good reason.

Heritage pork porterhouse ($19) was plated with frisee, hazelnuts and lemon. Emily revealed that the pig was fed up to 2.5 pounds of plums per day, imparting a sweet flavor to the browned bone-in chop.

It was no surprise that each pasta was made in-house. We started with Cannelloni ($15) of beef sausage, ricotta, kale and pecorino. This was basically like Italian enchiladas, only with pasta sheets instead of tortillas. The sauce was vivid, naturally sweet.

Rigatoni Amatriciana ($14) was tossed with guanciale (cuts of pork jowl, similar to bacon), tomatoes, red onions, pecorino and chilies. The sauce was spicy due to the chilies, and the pasta was perfectly cooked.

Riso budino with apricots and pistachios ($7.50) was basically a terrific rice pudding, a little creamy, made with the precision of a fine risotto. There were crunchy chunks of crumbled pistachio biscotti, which added to the texture.

Honey granita with blackberries, candied fennel and ricotta ($7.50) was our second dessert. The tangy ricotta and tart blackberries paired well with the sweet granita. I could have done without the candied fennel, which didn’t quite reach “candied” status.

Chocolate panna cotta with cocoa nibs and cherries ($7.50) was incredible, bittersweet chocolate pudding with explosively sweet cherries and tart cocoa nibs.

Appleman is a busy man who isn’t satisfied with two top-flight Italian restaurants. According to Emily, he’s 6-8 months away from opening Urbano, which will be located in the Dogpatch neighborhood, near Potrero Hill. There’s little doubt that it will be crowded from day one, and there’s even less doubt that I’ll eat there as soon as possible.

Keller previously owned Bizou in the same location, beginning in 1993. In case you’re wondering, Coco is the nickname of Keller’s childhood friend Caroline, who makes all the restaurant’s olive oil, and 500 is the address on Brannan.

The space was sleek, with a light brown exterior and an interior with plenty of smooth wood, dangling lights that looked like white Roman candles, and a bar backed by a long rust-colored painting.

Our waiter told us that fried green beans are a signature starter. With good reason. Plump green beans ($7) were lightly coated with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale batter, delicately fried and served with a dish of wasabi crème fraiche.

Truffled Squash Blossom Flatbread ($12) was wood-oven baked with Parmesan. The “pizza” was crisp at the edges and soft in the middle.

The Catch changes daily, depending on market availability. Today it was sockeye salmon with summer squash risotto and mint oil. The rosy fish sported a nice seared crust.

COCOburger ($10) was topped with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese ($1 extra). The juicy burger came with house made potato chips, pickles and fire engine-red tomato slices sprinkled with salt and pepper. Bonus: the bun was nice and soft.

Marinated Grilled Chicken sandwich ($12) was rubbed with harissa, a spicy North African spice mixture, and came on a soft sesame-seed bun with tzatziki. The sandwich came with an arugula salad with orange segments and thin-shaved onion.

Prawn salad ($14) included spinach, bitter treviso (similar to radicchio), artichokes, bagna cauda (a “warm bath” of oil) and croutons.

The cocktail list was compelling, but it was lunchtime, so we went non-alcoholic. Limeade was stirred with jasmine-infused simple syrup. The lemonade was also well-received.

Everybody at the table enjoyed COCO500’s food. The ingredients were clearly market-fresh, most dishes featured a pleasant surprisingly twist, and we’d all be excited to return for dinner.

Original Dry Fried Chicken Wings ($9) were battered and deep-fried, with crisp coatings. The sweet, syrupy sauce was scattered with scallions. They were topped with diced garlic, ginger and whole red chilies, all of which imparted different facets of spice.

The half-dozen Potstickers ($6.50) were filled with a “tasteful blend of ground pork and Napa cabbage delicately seasoned with fresh ginger and garlic.” The ginger added some kick. Something was definitely lost in transit from San Tung to the apartment. The wok-fried dumplings were browned on the bottom, but weren’t crispy, probably because they got steamed in the takeout container.

Today, we stopped by San Tung after a hefty brunch. If the wings and crowds are any indication, it’s worth re-visiting the restaurant with empty stomachs.