The second edition of The Fearless Critic Austin Restaurant Guide is now on all the best local bookshelves, and no Austin home library should be without it, if only to provide endless material for argument. The original edition has been in constant use, especially when guests are to be entertained.

This compilation of reviews has gone from 390 to 480, and the cast of contributors is different. The scoring system leads to some odd results. These can be seen most often when comparing the scores of two or more restaurants side by side. This edition is inclusive of all price ranges. I’ve read the first edition from cover to cover and will in time read the entire new version. It’s tantalizing and like a dictionary or encyclopedia: a quick look into it on some specific matter leads in all sorts of directions, and it’s very difficult to put down.

Two aspects that I love are the lively prose descriptions and also the slicing and dicing of data up front, sorting dining establishments into various categories: price, locale, type of food (including vegetarian), hours of service, family-friendliness, Wi-Fi availability, and many more. The Fearless Critic Web site promises, and has so far delivered, new reviews, and it welcomes comments.