Wings in Dallas

This Austin-based chicken-wing chain clucks its bucks thanks to folks who come for the deals and the family restaurant/sports bar hybrid feel. This location, in the Old Town Shopping Center, shares real estate with many fast-casual brands, but none has wings doused in Fire in the Hole sauce. Break the record for most eaten and you get a photo on the Wall of Flame. For the faint of heat, there are 15 other sauce options, from the traditional mild buffalo and the fan favorite Baker's Gold to Dr Pepper and Teriyaki. The signature waffle fries seem to dot every table. The menu, however, is only a suggestion. Items ranging from The Marley "Buffalo Soldier" sandwich to the salads and boneless wings can be customized by the continuously chipper staff. It's probably something in the sauce.

Southside Steaks and Cakes first popped up on many a radar when the family-owned restaurant in South Dallas — situated within 1,000 feet of Fair Park — was added as a concessionaire to the State Fair in 2021. Then, in 2022 fireworks went off when its prison-food-inspired Peanut Butter Paradise won a Big Tex Choice Award. The more we got to know the owners, Chris Easter and Nicole Sternes, the more we were enthralled by not only the food but also their infectious spirit and ambition. Southside has a big party vibe inside. The Philly cheesesteaks are two-handed sandwiches overflowing with meat and cheese. The wing menu has more than two dozen dry and wet rubs. For variety, get a Dime Bag, one of many menu items that play on cultural colloquialisms of a trap house, which the owners nickname the spot.

Top Pick: If you drove to Southside just for a honey bun, there'd be no judgment here. The Peanut Butter Paradise is worth the hype. It's a honey bun injected with caramel, then deep-fried and topped with peanut butter and candy. It just may be the best single bite we had all year.