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Best Sushi

Zen Sushi

Chef Michelle Carpenter turns sushi into performance art with her omakase dinners, which lets her indulge her whims. Such whims may include Southwestern strokes—cilantro, lime, jalapeño—or a specific "market-fresh catch" of the day. The sushi is fresh, smooth and silken: racy strips of Spanish mackerel, bright fluffy tobiko; rich uni over rice. Zen Sushi is a raw fish respite blazing trails in Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District.

Best Sweet & Raw

Hail Merry

It's hard to know what kind of food we should be the most terrified of. One minute we're avoiding carbs and loading up on eggs and steak; the next minute we're cleansing our cupboards of trans fats. Next thing you know, it's E. coli-laced spinach and bovine growth hormones. And to further confuse us, there are companies like Hail Merry that dare to suggest that some fats are healthy! Developed by Dallas raw food chef Susan O'Brien, the Hail Merry line of treats—including macaroons, granola and chocolate tarts—are raw, vegan and organic and were created under the philosophy that plant-based fats are actually beneficial. Some of the treats may even help lower your cholesterol with oleic acid. So now chocolate macaroons are health food? Bring on the cookie revolution!

Best Taqueria That's Not in a Gas Station

Taqueria El Si Hay

Comparing Fuel City's tacos with those from other taquerias in Dallas is like comparing The Dark Knight to any other movie that came out this summer. But Taqueria El Si Hay in Oak Cliff holds its own against the big, bad bully. Though it doesn't offer the heavenly potato-and-beef picador taco that elevates Fuel City into a class all its own, El Si Hay's tacos al pastor, or pork tacos, are even better than Fuel City's version. They're garnished with fresh diced onions and cilantro and presented with a generous cup of green salsa and halved key limes, which will try in vain to extinguish the jalapeño-fueled salsa fire on your tongue. At $1.30 apiece, you can stuff yourself and still have money leftover for a Mexican soda—which complements El Si Hay's tacos almost as nicely as Fuel City's overpriced beer complements its.

Best Thai Restaurant

Royal Thai

Royal Thai, a great place for lunch or dinner, combines a full menu of fresh, elegant Thai dishes with rich décor and flawless service. Most of the time the uniformed waiters here write nothing down when you order and forget nothing when they serve. Pad Thai, the universal favorite, is perfect, with spices blended to just the right savor. Spicy noodle is another treat—wok-tossed flat noodles with ground chicken breast, tomatoes, onions, jalapeño peppers and basil leaves. You may run into a wait for lunch, but Royal Thai provides for that with a comfortable waiting area and bar. Still, it's best to call ahead.

Best Tiramisu

Olea Mediterranean Bistro

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Now that's dessert: The soft, sodden cake easily releases its layers of coffee, marsala, rich mascarpone and chocolate, the flavors radiating outward from the spongy texture like bicycle spokes, reassembling in the mouth, dressing and undressing all the way down. The best? We dare you to find a better one—and then please tell us about it.

Best Tuna Roll Transfiguration

Loft 610

Forget the rice or the ribbons of seaweed binding tight around the precious little bands of meat. Loft 610's rolls are loosely bound in long, thin ribbons of cucumber with generous strips of tuna, as dark as a blood blister, woven with slivers of carrot to slip in some sweet. Cucumber is the air conditioner of the culinary canon, thus this composition is cool, moist and revitalizing. Plus it crunches. Use them to smear the dribbles of sweet soy on the plate. Refresh with fresh ginger shavings. Repeat. Lofty.

Best Unlikely Campaign Hub

Texas Caribbean Foods

This locally owned nook in the shops of South Side on Lamar seems an unlikely place for a campaign hub or monument to black political history. Yet the bright orange walls are covered with framed paintings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X as well as local art that portrays black history. Owner Jan Gore, who was born and raised in Dallas and once worked for Ann Richards, was a passionate Barack Obama supporter during last spring's primary and turned the place into an unofficial campaign headquarters. No matter your political leanings, though, you'll enjoy the inexpensive food in a bright, casual atmosphere. There's a quarter jerk chicken served with salad and side for $8.50, spicy grilled shrimp for less than $7 and smoked jerk turkey legs for $5.50. You can even order whole jerk turkeys and chickens to go, and we can't forget the hallmark of any Caribbean place: the delicious baked plantains.

Best Unusual Side Dish

Houston's Restaurant

A staple in Israel and North Africa, couscous has long been a side dish at Middle Eastern restaurants, but now it's making its way onto menus at places like Houston's. The weird thing is, Houston's does it as well as anyone (like a lot of things the restaurant does). With sliced radishes, golden raisins, almonds, tomatoes, green onions and parsley, it's a perfect side dish to a plate of chicken.

Best Use of a Tuber

Jake's Hamburgers

The decision to upgrade to sweet-potato fries with your next meal at Jake's Hamburgers is not one to be taken lightly. Not so much because they cost a buck or so more than french fries, but because plain old french fries will never hold quite the same appeal after you've experienced Jake's sweet potato fries. Dusted with a mixture of sugar, salt and cinnamon, they're a wonderful balance of sweet and salty, crispy and soft. They hold up whether you dip them in ketchup, Tabasco, ranch or your chocolate malt, or even if you eat them dry. Sure, Burger House's seasoned fries and Steak 'n' Shake's crispy thin slivers make a case for the traditional french fry. But there's no going back after grabbing a handful of yam at Jake's.

Best Vegan Adventure

New Start Veggie Garden

We love seitan. We also love tempeh, tofu and textured vegetable protein. But occasionally, we do feel the need to break out of the stir-fry and pasta dish routine. So we head to New Start Veggie Garden, which offers an all-vegan buffet that's a mix of veggie favorites (fried rice, tofu lasagna) and offbeat Asian food. The lunch buffet begins with "mountain-grown mushroom" tea, and then it's on to miso, veggie sushi, broccoli tempura and two kinds of veggie burgers. The more adventurous will want to try the wild fern, sesame greens and a bibimbap bowl topped with seasoned seaweed and kelp powder (and washed down with sweet rice drink). For dessert, expect fruits, tofu cheesecake or cookies with flaxseeds. And as far as adventures go, this is a pretty inexpensive one—two can eat for less than $20.

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