One crunch of a chip and you know the food at an Austin Grill (and South Austin Grill) is far above ordinary gummy Tex-Mex cooking. These chips taste of corn, they're light, and they're fried in fresh oil. The two salsas on the table are not just hot, but flavorful.

But while all the cute stencils on the walls, the down-home decor and can't-keep-still music might lead you to expect that these are nothing more than taco palaces, the menu will convince you that an Austin Grill is more serious than that. Along with the inevitable fajitas, burritos and enchiladas, the Austin Grills serve awfully good grilled fish (though I'd skip the little dish of sweet orange tequila butter), as well as shrimp and scallops. There are chili-and-garlic-marinated pork chops adobado and a rib-eye version of carne asada. And some days you might find posole among the specials.

For me, though, the stars of the menu are the crabmeat quesadilla, which is delicate and subtle, and the green chili, a wonderful, slow-burning stew with roasted poblanos and cilantro fighting for prominence and plenty of diced chicken and potatoes to keep them in line.

If you go for the quesadilla, a side order of guacamole certainly will be in order once you've scraped up the bit that decorates the plate. Then perhaps another order just to make sure it's as good as you thought it was. Surely you won't have room for an Ibarra chocolate brownie.

Editorial Review by: Phyllis C. Richman