Guero's Restaurant   

While it may look a bit more like an artists studio apartment than a prime spot for genuine Mexican munchables, Gueros is known among fajita aficionados as one of the best spots in Austin for supremely orthodox south-of-the-border fare. Take a seat and youll be presented with the obligatory basket of chips as well as a not-so-obligatory selection of three different types of salsa. Lay off these as much as possible and instead start with a tortilla cheese soup consisting of avocados, jack cheese, pico de gallo and corn tortillas; move on to a supple entre of black bean tamales, or perhaps fish tacos liberally lathered with tequila, chipotle and a thick mayonnaise sauce. A glance around the multi-chambered restaurant reveals several individual bars dealing mostly in some rather intriguing margaritas; one of these is home to the celebrated Tejana Dames, a spicy little song-and-dance outfit that never fails to bring down the house with its ultra-raucous salsa numbers. -- Barrett Brown