Mario and Alberto

For more than three decades, Filete de la Casa, a filet mignon stuffed with garlic and hot peppers with a cheese ranchero enchilada and potatoes, has been a house specialty at this Dallas original. While the restaurant's original location is history, the name and cuisine is legend. The same goes for the interior design at Mario and Alberto's, which, to put it plainly, is like a box of pastel chalk exploded, with an inordinate amount of pink in said box. Owner Mario Leal, the man behind another standard-bearer, the former Chiquita's, knows how to make a splash. The tacos al carbon plate is also crowd pleaser. Of course, for those diehard Tex-Mex lunchers, there are combination platters, named after women, galore. No Tex-Mex restaurant worth its salt is without combos -- or fajitas. The restaurant has those, too