Top Five

I had an inquiry about why I have not been more specific about what are the top places to eat in Waco. I can make numerous excuses but the fact is I just have not wanted to go to all the trouble that this complicated question produces.

The Top Five restaurants in any community can be defined in a lot of ways. I really don't consider chain restaurants the equal of chef/owner establishments. Yes, chains do occasionally have professional chefs that prepare excellent dishes but most of the time the food is prepared to exact recipe standards by a skilled cook who has been trained to follow specific instructions for those items on the company menu.

Some where back in Omaha, an executive chef is designing these dishes right down to the last cut. At some places, all the sauces and ingredients are prepared in advance and shipped to each location where they are combined according to plan and laid upon your table.

In my book, the food may taste just fine but this is not in the same category as a restaurant that allows a professionally trained chef to design a menu, select fresh meats and vegetables, and prepare the food according to local tastes and preferences.

Waco and surrounding area (10 miles)
Top Five Restaurants
Top Five Chain Restaurants
Top Five Hole-in-the Wall Restaurants
Top Five Barbecue Joints
Top Five Tex/Mex
Top Five Burgers

Top Five Restaurants
135 Prime
1424
The Green Room Grille
Diamondbacks
Elite Circle Grill

Top Five Chains
Cheddar's
Outback Steakhouse
Pei Wei
Logan's Roadhouse
Cotton Patch Cafe

Top Five Barbecue
The Rib Crib
Rudy's
Uncle Dan's
Dickey's
Michna's

Top Five Hole-in-the Wall
El Tapatio
D's Chicken
Park's Buffet
Tony DeMaria's
Clay Pot

Top Five Burgers
Kitok Restaurant
Dubl-r Hamburgers
Kupps
Fuddrucker's
George's

Top Five Tex/Mex
Ninfa's
El Tapatio
La Fiesta
Siete Mares
El Chico

It is all opinion.