Breaking Down The Austin Chronicle's 2012 Restaurant Poll: The Good And The WTF?

Finally, the Austin Chronicle's 2012 Restaurant Poll and Guide is here, giving Austinites the opportunity to bitch, moan and bicker that they've all been waiting for since, probably, last year's Austin Chronicle restaurant poll.

Readers and critics have taken to the tables to list the best food and drinks in Austin, and while some picks are sound--who's going to argue that the Noble Pig's chocolate pudding isn't the best in town?--others are fully what-the-fuckworthy.

Critic's Picks:

The Good
- Best Chocolate Pudding: The Noble Pig
Virginia Wood calls it "little Mason jars of heaven," and she's not wrong.

- Boffo Combo Real Meal Deal Packs Lunch Punch!: Kome
If the Austin Chronicle were a church, the congregation would holler, "Amen!"

- Restaurant We’re Glad Is Finally Open: El Naranjo
If you're not excited about the El Naranjo brick-and-mortar, you're probably in a coma at Brackenridge.

The WTF
- Best (and Possibly Only) Food Trailer with an Adjoining Air-conditioned Dining Room: Luke's Inside Out
The only food trailer with an air-conditioned dining room? What about any of the East Side King locations attached to bars? Or Via 313, which will actually deliver your Detroit-style pizza inside the Violet Crown Social Club? Or the Seedling Truck's residency at the Belmont?

- BBQ Worth Staying in Town For: TIE: Franklin Barbecue, JMueller BBQ, Live Oak Barbecue, Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew
It's got to be the first time Franklin Barbecue has ever been in a four-way tie for best anything.

- Meatloaf Orgasm: 3 Little Pigs
Sometimes, food-sex jokes are punny, fun and evocative. And sometimes, they are meatloaf orgasm.

Readers' Picks:

The Good
- Best Hot Dog: Frank
This downtown dog party definitely knows its meat.

- Best Salad/Dressing: Mother's Cafe & Garden
If we could bathe in the Mother's Cashew Tamari dressing, we would. And we would be delicious.

- Best Chef: Paul Qui at Uchiko
It's so awesome when the most popular kid at school comes by his reputation honestly.

The WTF
- Best Heat-Seeking Dish: Pluckers Wing Bar
Yeah, a hot wing chain definitely has the best spicy food in Austin, land of Tex-Mex and Thai.

- Best Enchiladas: Chuy's
Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

- Best American: Pluckers Wing Bar
To be fair, if "American" means "boring, yet obnoxious," the readers nailed it on this one.

· The 2012 Restaurant Poll And Guide [Austin Chronicle]

[Photo: Raymond Thompson/EATX]