After the writers of SFR’s Restaurant Guide tirelessly taste our way through the best restaurants in the city, we get to stretch our vocabularies to describe not just how the food tastes, but how the dining experience makes us feel. Even wordsmiths can’t find enough words sometimes. We counted no fewer than 20 instances of the word “perfect” in our first drafts. We chose new phrases, but that didn’t really change our minds about the meaning.


ALEX DE VORE Never much of a fan, Alex always figured it was too late for pesto to work its magical powers on him. Pizzeria & Trattoria da Lino may have just changed his mind. GWYNETH DOLAND The cheese tots at Bouche reminded SFR food writer Gwyneth that a dish doesn’t have to have a fancy name or cost a lot in order to make her toes curl. MARIA EGOLF-ROMERO Culture staff writer Maria wasn’t a fan of Indian food until she tried the fermented dough at Paper Dosa. What was she thinking? JULIE ANN GRIMM The fried jalapeños saltaditos at Blue Corn Brewery made Southside dining dreams come true for Julie Ann, SFR editor and publisher, happily dining out on the paper’s dime since 2013. STEVEN HSIEH SFR’s newest staff writer runs marathons and eats too many green chile cheeseburgers from Shake Foundation. He once got mustard on his shirt. ELIZABETH MILLER Elizabeth still can’t even think the name “Raaga” without plotting when next she can indulge in the gobhi satay, cauliflower dumplings covered in peanut cream sauce, and the tandoor-grilled cheese and bell peppers of the basil paneer tikka.
ALEX DE VORE Never much of a fan, Alex always figured it was too late for pesto to work its magical powers on him. Pizzeria & Trattoria da Lino may have just changed his mind. GWYNETH DOLAND The cheese tots at Bouche reminded SFR food writer Gwyneth that a dish doesn’t have to have a fancy name or cost a lot in order to make her toes curl. MARIA EGOLF-ROMERO Culture staff writer Maria wasn’t a fan of Indian food until she tried the fermented dough at Paper Dosa. What was she thinking? JULIE ANN GRIMM The fried jalapeños saltaditos at Blue Corn Brewery made Southside dining dreams come true for Julie Ann, SFR editor and publisher, happily dining out on the paper’s dime since 2013. STEVEN HSIEH SFR’s newest staff writer runs marathons and eats too many green chile cheeseburgers from Shake Foundation. He once got mustard on his shirt. ELIZABETH MILLER Elizabeth still can’t even think the name “Raaga” without plotting when next she can indulge in the gobhi satay, cauliflower dumplings covered in peanut cream sauce, and the tandoor-grilled cheese and bell peppers of the basil paneer tikka.