Critics’ choice: Country cooking’s latest evolution

Olenjack’s Grille Arlington, Texas

No one goes to Olenjack’s for the broccoli, said Sarah Reiss in D Magazine. Chef Brian Olenjack’s approach to char-grilling “embodies all the hat and cattle” that other high-end flame-tenders usually miss. But “hatch-marked meats” aren’t the only reason to drop by this “simmering pot of pure Texas,” located near Cowboys Stadium. The menu is actually “a gastronomic ramble,” thin only on green vegetables, and studded with such occasional surprises as quick-fried antelope ribs with jalapeño jelly and smoked-sausage grits. Olenjack’s sea scallops, served over grilled polenta and pan-seared until the centers just hit velvety, “showcase the mollusk in a way that is the stuff of fishermen’s fantasies.” Still, it’s the shrimp and grits—shrimp, bacon, andouille sausage, and bitter mustard greens over goat-cheese grits—that continue to hold their “hard-won spot at the top of the menu.” The grits alone are “as resonant as a Sunday sermon.” 770 Road to Six Flags E., (817) 226-2600

High Hat Cafe New Orleans

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In New Orleans, fried catfish is “almost as readily available as a pack of gum,” said Brett Anderson in the Times-Picayune. But High Hat is the kind of place that could inspire diners to make fried catfish part of their dream diet. Chef Adolfo Garcia prepares simple New Orleans classics with “uncommon care”: His hush puppies and hand-cut fries are far from mere filler, and the catfish is “sheathed in cornmeal crust so thin you can discern the ridges of the sweet-fleshed fillets.” But the influences of his hometown, Memphis, are what really distinguish this neighborhood place. He melts pimento cheese on a burger that now ranks as one of the best in town, for instance, and he serves his plump Delta tamales with a side of drippings from the pulled-pork stuffing, “like a French dip gone to Veracruz, Mexico.” Everything’s made with the best ingredients. You start to wonder why all coleslaws aren’t as cabbagey as the High Hat’s and all collards as crisp and juicy. Yet there’s nothing precious about a meal here. This is “a new restaurant with an old soul.” 4500 Freret St., (504) 754-1336

French Quarter Grille Austin

Austin may have a new local standard-bearer for New Orleans–style cuisine, said Virginia B. Wood in The Austin Chronicle. Chef Davey Gore and co-owner Scott Stolle had a long history with Cajun/Creole restaurants in the city before opening the French Quarter last spring and raising the bar. Start with the fried green tomatoes—thin tomato slices lightly coated in a crisp batter and topped with a cool crab rémoulade. Move on to the blackened rib-eye Pontchartrain, which arrives perfectly medium rare and topped with a “mantle of plump shrimp and flaky crabmeat in a sophisticated mushroom cream sauce.” Desserts are more than worth pacing yourself for, whether you opt for the decadent croissant bread pudding or the kitchen’s signature meal-closer—an orange-infused crème brûlée. “The delicate floral aromas” of orange and vanilla perfume “each addictive bite.” 13000 N. I-35, (512) 832-9090