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All-Star Mexican

Tacos: This hospital district hot spot has a flavor profile somewhere between French and Mexican. The delish tacos come in beef fajita, pork carnitas, roasted chicken, red snapper, and vegetarian versions. Paco and John's, 1116 8th Av, FW.

Tamales: Made by hand in what looks like your granny's kitchen, in many flavors. Aguilera's Café, 2005 N Grove St, FW.

Enchiladas: The chicken mole enchiladas are the perfect combination of homey and comforting, spicy and flavorful. El Asadero, 1535 N Main St, FW.

Ceviche: Tangy and fresh at all of La Playa Maya's four locations in Fort Worth.

Chile relleno: Gigantic, superbly messy, and swimming in tortilla soup. Benito's, 1450 W Magnolia Av, FW.

Breakfast: A choice between burritos that you build in your own flavor combinations and the thick Mexican-style oatmeal accented with cinnamon. Fernandez Café, 4220 W Vickery Blvd, FW.

All-Star Barbecue

Sausage: A mouthful of peppery, juicy flavor. Smokey's Barbecue, 5300 E Lancaster Av, FW.

Brisket: The readers got this one right. Railhead Smokehouse, 2900 Montgomery St, FW.

Ribs: Fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy ribs, bursting with flavor from a secret rub that the Jones family has been using for 33 years. Hickory Stick Bar-B-Q, 900 E Enon St, Everman.

Chicken: Full of smoky flavor, but still tender and juicy. Smokey's BBQ.

Turkey: They say the food is "so good you'll moan," and when it comes to the smoked turkey, that's not far off.  Daddy Joe's Smokehouse Barbecue, 5220 State Hwy 121, Colleyville.

Salad: The tomato-onion salad, made with fresh, ripe produce from the surrounding Ridgmar Farmers Market, is tart and refreshing. 900 Alta Mere Dr, FW.

Sides: The skinny fries with "Riscky Dust," tossed with crisp-fried jalapeño wheels and near-caramelized onion strings. Multiple Riscky's locations.

All-Star Home Cooking

Soup: The rich chicken stock and cream in this wild rice soup will blow you away. Sandwich Shoppe, 3129 Handley Dr, FW.

Appetizer: Chicken livers are an acquired taste, but if you like 'em you're going to love 'em at Massey's Restaurant, 1805 8th Av, FW.

Entrées: A three-way tie: chicken-fried steak at Old Neighborhood Grill, 1633 Park Place Av, FW; pork chops with balsamic dressing and caramelized onions at the M&O Station Grill, 200 Carroll St, FW; and chicken and waffles, the signature dish at A.J.'s Chicken and Waffles, 6513 Brentwood Stair Rd, FW.

Sides: Ask them to bake the top on your rich, well-seasoned mac 'n' cheese at Hatch's Corner, 6950 Forest Hill Dr, Forest Hill.

Dessert: Chocolate mousse is just one of the heavenly pies that will make an all-star ending to your meal at the Paris Coffee Shop, 700 W Magnolia Av, FW.

All-Star International

Drink (Alcoholic): Tuaca shots seem to be all the rage these days, but we sophisticates prefer this martini'd-up version with limoncello and a sugar rim. Ciao Baby at Sushi Axiom, 4625 Donnelly Av, FW.

Bread and Appetizer: It takes an entire loaf of butter-drenched garlic bread to scoop up every morsel of this decadent lobster/crab/cheese dip, extra-heavy on the lobster - ruining your appetite for the rest of the meal, but well worth it. Lobster dip at Margie's Original Italian Kitchen, 9805 Camp Bowie Blvd W, FW.

Appetizer: Bite on these bad boys, and they'll bite you right back. Rude Boy jerk chicken wings at Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine, 1020 W Arkansas Ln, Arl.

Salad: Cucumbers, feta, green olives, and ripe tomatoes help, but it wouldn't be a Mediterranean salad without the finishing sprinkle of fresh-from-the-garden oregano. At Piola, 3700 Mattison Av, FW.

Sides: The lunch deal at this Korean spot is already one of the best deals in town, and then they start piling on the veggies: tempura-fried sweet potato, udon noodles, two kinds of kimchi, sautéed broccoli, and more. You'll find a lot to love. Samwong Garden, 5201 McCart Av, FW.

Entrée: A Salvadoran best-of: chicarrón (fried chunks of pork meat and fat) tossed with yuca frita (like steak fries) plus a juicy chicken tamal, grilled sweet plantains with crema, and a crisp queso-stuffed pupusa. Plato tipico at Market Latina, 3309 N Main St, FW.

Dessert: Flaky, nutty, melt-in-the-mouth baklava from Istanbul Grill, 6204 S Cooper St, Arl.

Coffee: Brewed-to-order qahwa (Lebanese coffee with a hint of cardamom) served on a pretty brass platter at Al Wadi, 2712 Brown Tr, Bedford.

All-Star Chain Dining

Seafood: Crab Alfredo: The alfredo sauce is rich, the crab meat plentiful, and the plate heaped high. Red Lobster.

Bread: Buttery rolls at Logan's Roadhouse, 948 NE Loop 820, Hurst.

Burger: The sirloin burger is big, juicy, and you can get it with grilled onions and actually melted Swiss cheese. Jack in the Box.

Fries: Seasoned fries at Denny's.

Entrée: It may not be authentic, but the Southwest Chicken Casserole is rich and tasty. Black-Eyed Pea.

Desserts: C'mon, can you really beat the selection of great pastries here, many of which you can't  get anywhere else in town? La Madeleine.

Steak: Signature smoked sirloin at Texas Land & Cattle.

Late-Night Dining

The late-night category used to mean choosing among slim pickings. These days, thank goodness, it's getting more crowded. Take Hemphill Street on the South Side: It's lined with taco trailers and stands catering to the after-bar crowd. Best bets on the street are El Mil, which stays open until 3:30 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on weekends, and, not far away, Ernesto's and Juanito's, both of which stay open until past 3 a.m. on weekends.

A little farther north, Benito's on Mad-nolia Avenue, serves until 2 a.m. on weekends. Perennial reader-favorite Fuzzy's Tacos on West Berry Street outdoes that in the how-late-can-you go competition, staying open until 3 a.m. on weekends. But La Playita, near the corner of Berry and 8th Street, outlasts them all. It's cookin' until 4 a.m. on weekends.

If you're going for a milder heat quotient, you don't get to stay out as late. Baker Street Pub and Grill serves traditional English pub food, and Snookies on South Hulen Street goes the Americana route until beer o'clock (that's 2 a.m. to you civilians), Piranha Killer Sushi keeps it raw until 1 a.m. on weekends. And Sammy's in Sundance Square wins the wee-hours pizza prize: They make pies until 3 a.m. on weekends.

Pioneer Parkway is Arlington's equivalent of Hemphill in Fort Worth, in terms of multiple places staying open late, but there's a lot more variety on the 303. In the Asian subcategory, King Chinese BBQ on Pioneer Parkway is king, serving fresh seafood and poultry dishes until 2 a.m. on weekends. Farther west on 303, Palms Café and Grill and Narah Café offer Mediterranean fare and hookah hits until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends, and Al Amir serves Lebanese until 2 a.m. every night.