Where to Eat in Denton, Texas

Denton's dining runs through its historic courthouse square, where independent restaurants and bars fill the old storefronts. LSA Burger Co. — short for Lone Star Attitude, built as a tribute to Texas music legends — serves creative burgers, including the peanut-butter-bacon-and-banana Elvis Burger, with a rooftop patio overlooking the square.

Barley & Board, in the historic Texas Building, was Denton's first gastropub, pairing an upscale burger and a seasonal menu with an extensive beer list. Together they anchor a square that eats far better than its size suggests.

No trip to the square is complete without Beth Marie's Old Fashioned Ice Cream & Soda Fountain — a vintage parlor with checkerboard floors, an antique soda fountain, a jukebox, and more than 60 homemade flavors churned in a machine from the 1920s. There's a second location at Unicorn Lake in southern Denton.

It's a genuine institution, and the kind of nostalgic spot that gives Denton's downtown its character.

With the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University in town, Denton has the diverse, affordable, independent restaurant mix a college town breeds — coffeehouses, taco spots, international kitchens, and late-night eats, much of it clustered around the square and the campuses.

The music culture bleeds into the food scene too, with plenty of spots that pair a meal with live performances. It's a deeper, quirkier scene than most suburbs, and it rewards wandering.