Rowlett

The menu here is unremarkable, but food is secondary when it comes to watching sports for the folks who visit Sports City Cafe. The big-screen TVs are what attract the patrons.

Lake Ray Hubbard provides the perfect background for this always-crowded sushi/hibachi-style restaurant that also serves Kobe beef.

It started out as a bakery, then added sandwiches and table service. The owners are French, which explains the gorgeous pastries and desserts.

Baker’s is a local chain that recognizes the value of using 100 percent hickory smoke; the restaurant has a Bewley wood-burning barbecue pit in the kitchen to prove it. An order of either fatty or lean brisket (or a combination…

Things are so good at this castle-shaped slip of a children’s shop that owner Ginger Phillips recently opened a second location. Find Lipstik, My Vintage Baby, and Petunia Pickle Bottoms diaper bags at both locations.