East Side Cafe

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin; it also appears regularly on the Austin Chronicle's best-of poll. The restaurant is in an old house with a patio and a garden out back; not only can you peruse the garden, but many of it's contents regularly appear on the menu. The atmosphere is Austin casual, and the menu is veggie-heavy, but not vegetarian. Some of my favorite dishes include the goat-cheese and shrimp quesadillas, the mushroom crepes, the stuffed pasta shells, and the veggie plate, which includes your choice of three of the veggies of the day, salad or soup. The "house" feta cheese salad dressing is so good, they bottled it, literally - you can buy it at Central Market. The jalepeno corn muffins are just a little spicy, and usually served warm to melt the butter evenly. The food is fresh and delicious, with some nice variations on standards as well as new dishes. East Side prides itself on buying locally (what they don't get out of the back!), and the freshness really shows. I can take my young neices there with no problem; they have some kid dishes, and the garden is a great place to explore while others linger over dessert. They have a yummy brunch on the weekends, too. I never hesitate to reccommend this restaurant. Make reservations if you know you want to go - there's usually a wait at peak times.