Food in The Gulch

Jonathan Waxman's restaurant in a converted automotive garage on McGavock, named for his mother. The wood-fired oven runs the menu and the JW Chicken is the dish people come back for. It is a sit-down meal, so give it time.

Lunch and dinner daily, kitchen closes around 10pm

James Beard American Classics winner since 2009. Cafeteria line since 1982: pick your meat, pick your three sides, pay cash. Kahlil Arnold runs it now. Monday through Saturday until 3pm, closed Sunday. Leave time to get where you’re going next.

Mon to Sat until ~3pm, closed Sun

The 100 Layer Donut is the thing here, a croissant-dough donut cut into squares. There is also coffee and a few breakfast items. They close when the donuts run out, which happens some days before the posted time.

Mon to Fri 7am to 8pm, Sat and Sun 8am to 8pm, or until sold out

Po'boy bread flown in from New Orleans. The chicken and andouille gumbo is the anchor; the debris fries are worth knowing about. This is the real Cajun thing.

Open through dinner

One of the most extensive Jamón Ibérico programs in the country. Get the bacon-wrapped dates, croquetas or pulpo. Dim lighting, marble and tile.

Dinner hours

Chef Julio Hernandez started making tortillas during the pandemic from his garage, masa milled from nixtamalized corn his family has grown in Tlaxcala for generations. James Beard semifinalist before the restaurant even opened. The tortillas are the whole deal. Get whatever's wrapped in one.

Dinner hours

$1.50 oysters at happy hour Monday through Friday, 5 to 7. Gulf Coast seafood with Brack May in the kitchen.

Dinner until 10pm

Ramen on Division, with tonkotsu and a few rotating bowls plus small plates. The counter seats fill first. They break between lunch and dinner on weekdays, so check the clock.

Mon to Fri 11am to 3pm and 4pm to 9pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 9pm

Carey Bringle named the restaurant after the leg cancer took when he was a kid. Texas Monthly called the dry-rub pork ribs the best Memphis-style in the country. That's the order. Don't skip the pimento cheese.

Open til close

Tacos, tortas, and a long tequila list on McGavock. The patio faces the street and fills up on warm afternoons. Weekend service starts at ten in the morning.

Mon to Fri 11am to 10pm, Sat 10am to 10pm, Sun 10am to 9pm