The staff at Texas Monthly has shared some of their favorite local restaurants in a new list. Published this week, “The Good Place” covers 31 restaurants across the state that have stood the test of time.

Of course, these restaurants cover a broad range of cuisines. Classic American comfort food is represented, but the list also includes Tex-Mex, Mexican, Indian, and more. After all, modern Texans are as likely to crave sag paneer as chicken fried steak.

The magazine offers some insight into how it selected these specific establishments. “What each of the restaurants on this list has is a strong sense of place, an abundance of hospitality, and a lack of pretense,” the magazine writes in an introductory essay. It continues, “most important, these restaurants share an intangible vibe, a know-it-when-you-feel-it quality.”

All of Texas’s major cities score spots on the list. San Antonio and Houston each have four spots on the list, while Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth claim two each.

The representatives in San Antonio are:

• Cappy’s, a colorful cafe serving upscale dishes very casually
• Chatman’s Chicken, a self-serve shack for crispy fried chicken
• Josephine Street, a rustic steakhouse defying the contemporary standards of the genre
• Spechts, a ballroom with classic Southern fare

Digital deputy editor Sandi Villarreal writes that Cappy's is a favorite date-night spot — something that sets it apart from most of its overwhelmingly divey list fellows. Chatman's Chicken received praise from editor in chief Dan Goodgame both for its well-executed homestyle menu and its welcoming environment.

"Eddie Chatman is famous for working the waiting line during busy periods, handing out fried riblets and chatting up customers. ... (When Chatman calls out an order to the cooks, he calls the livers “ladies,” as in “I need eight ladies, spicy!”)," writes Goodgame. "When I go there alone, odds are someone will strike up a conversation and invite me to join their table."

He also writes up Josephine Street, mentioning that on top of top marks in good food and atmosphere, there are bargains galore, especially for service members. Finally, Villarreal also covers Spechts, which she lauds as having even better food than she remembers growing up — a super rare compliment.

"Now housing developments inch closer, and the stars feel farther away. But Spechts is still Spechts," she writes.

The list includes a few other picks close-ish to San Antonio: In New Braunfels, Clear Springs Restaurant received praise for its catfish, very crispy onion rings, and banana pudding. In Hunt, The Hunt Store makes an appearance for its community gathering power as a convenience store and more. In Blanco, Redbud Cafe serves up refreshing sandwiches and more than a dozen beers on tap.

More highlights from each restaurant and write-ups from around the state are available without a subscription at texasmonthly.com.