City: El Paso, TX

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (915) 545-2233

Address: 109 North Oregon St.

Description: One of El Paso’s most upscale restaurants, Café Central opened in 1918 in Juárez, Mexico, and quickly developed a clientele of gamblers and cabaret-goers who grew to expect an excellent culinary experience in the region at this chic nightspot. After Prohibition ended, Café Central migrated closer to the border, and finally crossed into downtown El Paso, at which time it became known as Miguel’s Central Café. Finally in 1991, V. Trae Apodaca III noticed the need for a chic bistro downtown and opened Café Central in its current location. With a chic black and cream interior that sets off Apodaca’s collection of original art, this restaurant is truly elegant, its centerpiece an ornately gated New Orleans style courtyard.Today’s Café Central is famous for its menu, which features dishes that are a combination of decades-old traditions and bold, innovative flavors. Seasonal menus are on offer here, so you never know what types of delicious surprises you’ll find and almost never have to eat the same thing twice. Many of the selections incorporate a Southwestern twist, with special attention to the inclusion of green chiles into the mix.A Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner twice and having received rave reviews from the New York Times, Café Central is definitely the place where high rollers go in El Paso. That said, the restaurant’s air of quality is ever present but not off-putting, and their wine cellar is as good as one might expect from a Wine Spectator award recipient, with particular emphasis on vintages from California and, unexpectedly, South Africa.