Any hankerings for pad thai or noodle soup in town can be satiated at Thai Ocha. It’s yellow curry and tom kha soup earn raves, as do the Thai dumplings made with ground pork and shrimp. It is BYOB, so grab a bottle of wine and go.

This family-owned Italian restaurant, which is inside a remodeled home, serves house-made food, including it’s freshly made pasta, focaccia, and gelato. The menu changes daily, with a focus on what’s fresh, local, and in-season. It’s not unlike the way Italians in small towns run their family restaurants — hidden gems full of farm fresh and handmade bites.

Those seeking brunch or a good charcuterie board to pair with an excellent selection of beers are well advised to visit this gastropub. The burger earns raves, but go for the Cuban with its mix of roast pork and ham. Build your own meat and cheese board. And finish it all off with a cookie board.

Breakfast, lunch, or an early dinner? Cartwright’s is the answer. This is the place to go in Denton for chicken fried steak, but the fried catfish meal and fried chicken with mac and cheese are gratifying comfort food orders as well. Looking for a fab plate of pancakes? This is the spot.

This Asian fusion restaurant is Denton’s go-to for sushi and ramen. The combination of Asian and Latin flavors shows up all over —  in the Loco Eggroll (a chorizo, pineapple, kimchi, and cream cheese filled eggroll), the Southern Smoke ramen (smoked pork combined with adobo chili broth), and Yo’s Poke Tostadas (all the tuna poke bowl elements you expect on a tostada). Sushi can be straightforward, great cuts of fish or fusion speciality rolls, including the beef fajita and Cow-A-Bunga. It’s funky, and it’s just the right fit for this town.

Get a taste of this college town at Hoochie’s — it’s Cajun and Creole-forward seafood in a funky, unpolished atmosphere. Looking for plate of oysters (raw or fried) and a beer to pass the afternoon? Go here. And while one can get almost any kind of fried seafood and French fries plate that can be imagined, the shrimp cocktail and ceviche are excellent and worth trying.

If the day begs for a taco stop, this is the place to be. The Denton outpost of this Texas-based taco shop (which started in Carrollton) is all about traditional tacos — barbacoa, chicken al pastor, chicharron, and lengua are the go-tos.

This family owned and operated Mexican restaurant is a delight in the Golden Triangle Mall Food Court. It’s house-made corn tortillas are all over the menu, including the tacos, birria, huarache. And the Mexican comfort foods, from carne asada loaded fries to a mega-torta, will do an insatiable appetite right.

If pizza is what the heart wants, then it wants to order from Pizza Capri’s. It slings New York style pies, with hand tossed thin crusts that makes for oversized slices. This spot sticks to the classics, with a few modern pizzas thrown in — and if those don’t do it, there is an option to build from the full menu of options. The fried cheese is worth adding to an order.