Dining News

This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston.

This has been the Diva's week for Fig and Olive . Last night we hit the trendy spot again to meet a friend from Newport Beach who was in town and wanted to get a heads up on the restaurant that is opening near him on December 20 at Fashion Island .

As a countdown to the Best of the Twin Cities 2014, coming April 16, the Hot Dish is serving up 100 of our favorite local dishes.

Photos by Andi Murphy The pineapple chicken and Mongolian beef Asian bowl at Cafe A Go Go are 8.95.

I'll admit it, I haven't exactly gotten caught up in the In-N-Out Burger hysteria, but now that the first Austin location is opening up mere blocks from the Chronicle offices on one of my regular travel paths, I will certainly be checking it out.

Any one of these spots would be enough good news for a month, but this season three celebrated Seattle chefs are all opening restaurants downtown.

I believe that the most important thing we can do for our community is support it.

Cuisine: You don't have to rub a lamp with a genie at this Magic Lamp to take a joyous journey back to old Beirut with a menu of Middle Eastern favorites served in a fantasy setting at very reasonable prices.

IF YOU can speak the international language of food, even the most simple and everyday of dishes can take on a glossy appeal.

Cuisine: If not the best Chinese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley, certainly one of the best, and certainly one of the most satisfying, and certainly one of the least expensive.

Antalya Gourmet // 52/14 Nevsky Prospekt // Tel. 331 9090 // Menu partly translated into English // Dinner for two without alcohol 2,580 rubles Despite the millions of Russians that vacation each year in Turkey, there is a surprisingly small number restaurants serving Turkish food in St. Petersburg.

Sandwiched between a gas station and a liquor store, Nola Po'boy and Gumbo Kitchen is one of those strip mall finds that you hesitate to reveal to friends.

Some restaurants are defined by that one special dish. For Carl's Deli, it's the Reuben; at Mai Lee, the killer pho ; and no one should leave Lombardo's without trying the toasted ravioli.

The Interior: When EVO opened in Old Town Scottsdale, it joined the ranks of some of our favorite area hot spots that offer late night eats.

The holidays are a perfect time to gather friends and family together for a good meal.

Ramen noodle bowls are expected to take center stage on the menu of a new downtown restaurant and gastropub that plans to open downtown next summer.

Firemen's finest: Nearly 20 years after brothers Robin and Chris Sorenson, both former firefighters, went into the sandwich business in Jacksonville, Fla., the 700-plus Firehouse Subs chain is finally making its way West.

Unusually for a restaurant in Chicago, where recipes tend to vanish once the doors are locked and windows shuttered, Ina's culinary legacy is being preserved by owner Ina Pinkney in a new self-published cookbook, "Taste Memories: Recipes for Life and Breakfast."

Rio West Cantina , the Vecchio Entertainment Group's Mexican restaurant in Riverwest, will close after service Dec. 17 for remodeling and will reopen as Milwaukee Beer Bistro in January, owner Russ Davis announced today.

The Wallace opened on November 30th in downtown Culver City, upping the ante in the neighborhood's burgeoning dining scene.