When it comes to burgers, sometimes smaller is better. Sliders allow you to order a variety of flavors without indulging in one burger the size of a Big Mac. At SoB, locally raised organic wagyu beef from A Bar N Ranch raises the sliders a step above. Traditional sliders are offered, but we love the PB+J Wagyu, which is cooked medium rare and topped with a blackberry jam, bacon, crunchy peanut butter, American cheese and caramelized onions. It's the perfect combination of sweet and savory. And if chicken is your thing, the Nashville Hot slider is amazing: hand-battered fried chicken tossed in Nashville sauce and topped with pimento cheese, hot sauce and pickles.

Terry Black's has everything a modern barbecue restaurant needs: a family name with Central Texas bona fides; a dining room with plenty of space for you and your friends; a full bar that serves beer, bottles of wine and its own specialty cocktail; and some sublime barbecue to boot. Consider Terry Black's beef as a must-order despite the hefty price tag, as the salty bark that encases luscious fatty beef underneath is damn near barbecue nirvana. Best of all, you can get some of the city's best barbecue every day of the week, lunch or dinner, when many other shops are closed.

At Zavala's, Texas barbecue is prepared with a hefty side of Mexican influence. Sure, all the usual adjectives apply to Zavala's brisket. But there's that extra-fiery zing of spicy heat in the rub that immediately tells your mouth this is no ordinary brisket. Tuck a slice into a tortilla, drizzle some cilantro salsa on top, then take a bite into something magical, a blend of Texas and Latin traditions melded into barbecue that tastes classic, yet new and unique.

In a city full of glitzy and glamorous dining experiences, one of our favorite meals comes out of an old Subway restaurant with a home-casual vibe in East Dallas. At Cry Wolf, chef Ross Demers wouldn't have it any other way. Demers' fare includes takes on upscale dishes — think oysters, foie gras, duck eggs or perhaps an exotic protein — but served in a restaurant that shuns the snobby trappings of traditional fine dining. Every chef is a leader whether they like it or not, and Demers has assembled a team in the kitchen that shares his passion for dishes built on exquisite ingredients and assembled with artful grace. Demers puts the pomp and circumstance on the plate, then surrounds the guest in a modest venue that is comfortable, cozy and all-welcoming.

Part of the appeal of Prego's chicken-fried steak masterpiece is that it's not exactly listed on the menu. Prego's is an Italian restaurant at heart, so ordering a secret chicken-fried steak might feel rude. But if Prego's magical 14-ounce New York strip, pounded thin, battered and fried to a golden brown, is wrong, we don't want to be right. The entree swallows both the plate it's served on and the cottage fries beneath it and comes with a side of cream gravy made with drippings of ham roasted earlier in the day.

Jon Alexis already has a full dance card of restaurants in TJ's Seafood, Malibu Poke and Escondido Tex-Mex. But at Ramble Room, Alexis' newest spot in Snider Plaza, the goal was to create a restaurant you go to when you don't feel like going out. The menu is chock-full of smartly executed classics, like fresh made pastas available in half or full orders or an array of steaks, chops and fish dishes that make you feel at home. Plus, the restaurant space is casual and inviting, with top-notch service that doesn't feel overbearing. Ramble Room's menu may not break new creative ground, but sometimes we just want a great meal without the fanfare, and therein lies the Ramble Room's charm.

Be they service charges, credit card processing fees or surreptitious auto-gratuities, the add-ons that appear on more and more restaurant guest checks are a trend that we hope ends sooner rather than later. In Dallas, one restaurant shunned tipping and surcharges seven years ago and hasn't looked back. At Gorji, chef-owner Mansour Gorji did perhaps the unthinkable by raising prices across the menu by about 15 to 20 percent, then began to pay his small staff a living wage. It still works. The steaks and Mediterranean fare make for a delightfully intimate evening without relying on tips to provide the staff with pay and benefits that many of us outside the service industry take for granted.

Coming to Roots Southern Table and skipping the duck-fat fried chicken borders on sacrilege, and chef Tiffany Derry may source the most duck fat of any restaurant in Dallas to keep turning out her showstopper family-sized bowls of succulent fowl. But the truth about Southern cooking is that it's not just grease and fried food. At Roots, fresh seasonal produce is also a star, and as the seasons change, so does Roots' menu. With Derry's restaurant empire continuing to grow, we were concerned that dinner at Roots might suffer. A recent visit has assured us that any concerns were thankfully misplaced.

Dallas loves its steakhouses, and Brass Ram is restaurateur Nick Badovinus' nod to the classic prime rib joint. Opulence abounds, whether it's the luxurious interior full of leather seating, wood tables and mid-century vibes, or the spectacular steaks and chops. The go-to is prime rib, available in 12-ounce normal portions or a behemoth 28-ounce bone-in cut with a behemoth price to match. Or pop into the bar and order the wagyu burger, which comes with bacon, red onion and melty raclette, and a cocktail to go with it. Yes, a meal here is a splurge, but if it's steakhouse style with a modern touch you desire, Brass Ram delivers.

Uptown's Las Palmas has been banging out Tex-Mex favorites for years, and the queso blanco is some of the best in the business. Not content to warm up a bowl of processed cheese, Las Palmas puts some real effort into its concoction. There are layers of flavors here, from slivers of garlic that are sautéed to extract their profiles to the real chunks of peppers that give an acidic bite when one lands on your tongue. The freshly chopped herbs that top each bowl show the level of care that went into the dish. And Las Palmas serves up each bowl with house-fried tortilla chips, plus a salsa verde and a salsa roja that are good enough to stand on their own. Thanks to the decadent queso, they don't have to.