Ranking It

2 surprising Austin restaurants rank among America's 100 best places to eat

Boteco Food truck Brazilian food meat dish

Boteco comes is No. 18 on Yelp's list of Top 100 Places to Eat in 2017.

Boteco Food Truck/Facebook

Two Austin eateries are on Yelp's fourth annual list of Top 100 Places to Eat — and they may surprise you.

The rankings were determined by the number of positive reviews from Yelp users around the country, and this year the website narrowed in on the most recent ratings, which allowed a new crop of restaurants to rise to the top. (The 2016 list was based on more than a decade's worth of reviews.)

"On our past top 100 lists, you would be likely to find some of those 'famous' restaurants with thousands of reviews, over many years, holding steady at 4.5 stars. This year, those places were crowded out by other businesses that performed spectacularly in the last year. This list is proof that you can find truly amazing food and service just about anywhere," says Yelp.

Brazilian food truck Boteco, the highest ranking Austin spot, comes in at No. 18. This hidden gem on the east side serves up some of the most authentic Brazilian cuisine in the city.

BackDraft Pizzeria, an under-the-radar find in Bee Cave, is No. 39. In addition to fresh-baked pizza with hand-stretched mozzarella, this little spot offers specialty waffles every Saturday.

Joining these destinations are several other Texas hot spots, including Tony's Italian Delicatessen in Montgomery, which is the No. 1 place to eat in America.

Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe in Grapevine (No. 21); The House of Gyros in Mesquite (No. 49); Irie's Island Food in Port Aransas (No. 53); and Le Pam's House of Creole (No. 60), Yoyo's Hot Dog (No. 83), and Las Tortas Perronas (No. 89) in Houston also make the cut.

rankings

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.