Tapatío Grill & Cantina is a Mexican restaurant in Elkview that opened in 2024. It is a family-owned spot inspired by the flavors of Jalisco, Mexico, and run by a husband-and-wife team with decades of restaurant experience. Atmosphere-wise, it’s casual and welcoming, with a cantina-style vibe, friendly service and generous portions. Of course, you can enjoy a sit-down meal, buy I chose takeout because I was on the go. I started with corn riblets, which is corn on the cob, cut into rib-like strips, cooked until slightly crispy and curled, and eaten like ribs. These are topped with mayo or crema, lime juice, chili powder or Tajín, cotija cheese, and cilantro. A little messy, a lot tasty. Arroz Trio is a solid, filling dish with steak, chicken, and shrimp over rice, all covered in cheese dip. The meats are cooked well enough and give you a mix of textures, while the cheese adds a creamy, salty layer over everything. It’s not anything fancy, but it’s satisfying and does the job if you’re hungry. Grade: B

Home Slice Pizza in Terra Alta is a small, local pizzeria right along East State Avenue, operating as a casual, no-frills spot focused on straightforward, affordable pizza. Inside, it’s low-key and functional rather than designed — more of a small-town pizza counter feel than a sit-down restaurant. The menu centers on build-your-own and specialty pizzas, along with calzones, hot and cold subs, and basic sides like breadsticks and mozzarella sticks. You’ll also find a few salads, simple desserts, and standard drinks. I ordered a small pizza with mushrooms. The cheese pizza leaned into a pleasantly chewy crust, offering just enough resistance to give each bite some substance without feeling dense. The mushrooms added an earthy depth that balanced the richness of the melted cheese. It was a simple combination that delivered on texture as much as flavor. Have you been? Grade: B

I stumbled upon Olivia's in Terra Alta recently. It's a tiny meat shop and deli on a small farm. This is not a constantly staffed spot. Rather, I made my way in to look around and after a minute or so, a gentleman who had been outside working came in to see what I needed. I was traveling, so I wasn't keen on driving around with raw meat. But, the cheese was calling my name. I took home a small slice of the smokehouse onion. Now, this isn't a housemade cheese. But, wow, was it tasty. Mildly tangy and creamy. Smoky with an almost umami finish. Grade: B

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, let's talk about Hagy's Irish Pie Pub -- a restaurant and bar focused on Irish-inspired food and drinks. The interior of the pub features a traditional layout with a prominent bar, wood accents, and tin ceiling that all reflect the Irish theme. The menu features shepherd’s pie, handheld pasties with unique options like steak & mushroom and spinach & leek, and elevated pub starters like beer cheese soup, pierogies, and fondant potatoes with smoked salmon. Pasties are especially interesting to me because they're similar to pepperoni rolls. Pasties are handheld meat pies that originated in Cornwall, traditionally filled with beef, potatoes, and onions and made for miners as an easy, portable meal. The thick, crimped crust acted as a handle so miners could hold and eat them without contaminating the filling, and it was often discarded afterward. My friend Angelica and I started off with the Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms - oven roasted mushrooms stuffed with onion, garlic, blue cheese, & topped with buttery panko. Next up: A Flight Of Deviled Eggs - Three Deviled Eggs with different flavor profiles: 1 Jalapeno, 1 Smoked Salmon, & 1 Mustard Dill. Both of these appetizers are right up my alley - creamy, tangy, umami. I ordered the Spinach & Leek pasty - spinach, leek, Boursin cheese, parmesan cheese, potato with Celtic mushroom gravy. It's like an Irish calzone, and it's delish. Sticky Maple Carrots - Oven roasted carrots covered with a maple glaze. These were like candy. Broccoli au gratin - Baked broccoli with Fairy Glen White Gravy topped with sharp cheddar & a buttery panko. I would pass on this next time. Grade: B

Pho King Store is a small Southeast Asian restaurant and market in downtown White Sulphur Springs. The specialty grocery shop portion offers a variety of products, like sauces and soup bases, instant noodles, crackers and candies, and other Southeast Asian pantry items. The restaurant portion offers items like pho, sisig, pancit, lumpia and more. But the menu rotates frequently, so it's best to call. Side note: The name “Pho King” is a pun based on pronunciation. The Vietnamese soup Pho is pronounced roughly “fuh.” When you say “Pho King” quickly, it sounds like “fuh-king.” So the name is a tongue-in-cheek joke that reads innocently on paper but sounds ... interesting ... when spoken aloud. I ordered pork adobo, which comes with white rice and lemon slices. It was deeply savory, tangy, and salty. The tender pork was braised in a combo of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns. I also ordered lumpia, which are minced pork spring rolls with carrots, onions, and spices wrapped in a thin, crispy, deep-fried wrapper and paired with a sweet chili dipping sauce. Have you been? Grade: B

Whistle Stop Cafe is a charming downtown Grafton café and coffee shop serving specialty coffees, teas, smoothies, baked goods and daily lunch items like soups, sandwiches and salads. The interior of Whistle Stop Cafe feels comfortable and familiar. Soft lighting, mismatched tables, and cozy seating give the space a lived-in charm, while small details and local touches nod to Grafton’s railroad roots. They serve hot, iced and frozen coffee drinks alongside smoothies and specialty espresso favorites, plus breakfast sandwiches and sweet morning staples like yogurt, muffins, scones and cinnamon rolls. Lunch features fresh sandwiches and rotating specials, and there are always grab-and-go treats like cookies, pretzels and popcorn to round it out. One of my favorite drinks is a frozen hot chocolate. I know it's a bit of a misnomer, but it blends rich cocoa with a wonderfully light, icy texture. Next up was a berry muffin. It had a fresh, natural berry flavor that was pleasantly tart. The crumb was tender and slightly dense. The tartness of the berries balanced the sweetness. I had a breakfast bagel with sausage, egg & American cheese. The only thing missed was a sauce to bring it all together for me. What's your favorite thing to get here? Grade: B

Every town should have at least one good local pizza joint. In Grafton, it's Capri Pizza Parlor. It’s a modest, no-frills restaurant with an old-school interior and straightforward menu: pizza, hoagies and salads. I ordered a small cheese pizza, which had a semi-thick - but crisp - crust. It was topped with a generous layer of melty mozzarella that stretches beautifully and delivers that classic, creamy cheesiness without being overly salty. Simple and comforting, though I would've loved some more zip in the sauce. Grade: B

Rise + Restore Coffee Co. is a family-owned coffee shop in Mineral Wells that also offers dine in and drive-thru service. Drink options include lattes, refreshers, smoothies, teas and more. I ordered a peach sunrise refresher, which features peach, pomegranate and orange juice. This had a great mix of sweet with tangy tartness. For snacks, they offer several kinds of bagel sandwiches: chicken salad, egg salad or buffalo chicken on an original, everything or jalapeno bagel from Box Bagels. My buffalo chicken everything bagel checked all the satisfactory boxes - some punchy sauce or crumbles of blue cheese would have pushed this into "exceeds expectations" range for me. Grade: B