As the seat of Crook County, Prineville is a ranching center and proudly blue-collar community whose kitchen preferences are apparently simpler than those of Bend, or even Sisters.

If restaurant menus reflect customer demand, Prineville has a meat-and-potatoes palate, with little call for culinary creativity or vegetarian desires. The best places to dine in this city of about 10,000 are restaurants and cafes that aren’t shy about serving quality beef and large portions of other food. Expect hearty breakfasts, good burgers and other sandwiches, Mexican cuisine and pizzas, all with family-friendly flair.

Since my last review visit, the town’s only Thai outpost and several other restaurants have closed, and at least three have changed location.

Carlito’s, a Mexican restaurant, has closed, and the old Arctic Circle is the new location of the Dawg House — which is more a fast-food restaurant than its Redmond relative, Dawg House II. The former Good Thyme, a breakfast-and-lunch spot in the heart of downtown, will reopen in May as Kairos Ranch Pizza.

Barney Prine’s Steakhouse has moved, and will be reviewed in an upcoming edition of GO!.

In alphabetical order, here are 10 spots to consider when hunger strikes in Prineville.

Brothers Family Diner

Formerly on the Madras Highway, Brothers has relocated to the heart of Prineville, where it shares a building opposite the Bowman Museum with the Cinnabar Lounge.

This nondescript diner seats about 80 patrons at tables and booths. Other than a large display case filled with knickknacks, ambiance is provided only by a parking-lot view from south-side windows. Portions are generous and a salad bar may satisfy vegetarians.

Scorecard: C+

Location: 121 NE Third St., Prineville

Hours: 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day

Price range: Breakfast $5.50 to $12.95; lunch $6.95 to $12.95; dinner appetizers $3.50 to $8.25, entrees $9.95 to $20.95

Alcoholic beverages: Full bar

Contact: 541-447-1255

Club Pioneer

Really the only place in Crook County for fine dining, this culinary institution at the east end of Prineville — it’s been a fixture since 1942, nearly as long as Bend’s Pine Tavern — blends country comforts with ranch rusticity for a wonderful dining experience.

Chef Troy Stauffer, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, has 20 years’ experience in Northwest kitchens. His nightly special is prime rib, straight from Washington’s Double R Ranch. Service is both casual and professional.

Scorecard: A-

Location: 1851 NE Third St., Prineville

Hours: 11 a.m. to close Monday to Friday, 4 p.m. to close Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday (brunch)

Price range: Lunch $8.99 to $16.99; dinner appetizers $8 to $16, entrees $15.99 to $26.99

Alcoholic beverages: Full bar

Contact: www.clubpioneer.com, 541-447-6177

Dad’s Place

A favorite of local ranchers and their families, this tiny Main Street cafe has rodeo posters and historic black-and-white photos on its walls, country music blasting from the kitchen. Open only for breakfast and lunch, Dad’s offers old-fashioned service at its long counter and 10 dining tables.

Portions are huge. I got a full breakfast for only $6.50; after coffee and a tip, I left with my wallet only $9 thinner.

Scorecard: B+

Location: 229 N. Main St., Prineville

Hours: 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

Price range: Breakfast $3.75 to $9.75, lunch $3.75 to $11.75

Alcoholic beverages: No

Contact: 541-447-7059

Dillon’s Grill

Dillon’s stays close to the Prineville ranch theme in a false-front, Old West-style building a couple of blocks off Third and Main. Inside, it’s very contemporary, with the main dining room to the left of the entrance, a spacious lounge to the right.

Barbecue and burgers are the specialties. Diners can get ribs three ways or indulge in one of 10 burgers, from the One Eye Jack to the Hang 10 Hawaiian. There is a good-sized salad bar along with several other salads. And talk about family friendly: Every kid gets a free ice-cream cone.

Scorecard: B+

Location: 142 NE Fifth St., Prineville

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Price range: Appetizers $5.95 to $8.95, salads $3.25 to $9.95, burgers and sandwiches $8.50 to $11.95, entrees $9.95 to $20.95

Alcoholic beverages: Full bar

Contact: www.dillonsgrill.com, 541-447-3203

Meadow Lakes Golf Club Restaurant

You don’t have to be a golfer to appreciate this casual but tasteful cafe. Friendly, professional service greets diners, who may sit in the main dining room (with two full walls of windows on the golf course) or the bar. There’s also a large, adjoining meeting room.

The main room seats about 50 beneath a cathedral ceiling, with four flat-screen TVs on the walls. I ordered a lunch of fish tacos — mahi mahi, double-wrapped in corn tortillas with pineapple salsa — and they were excellent, especially for the $7 price tag.

Scorecard: B+

Location: 300 SW Meadow Lakes Drive, Prineville

Hours: 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day

Price range: Breakfast $5 to $8; salads and sandwiches $5 to $10, entrees $7 to $16

Alcoholic beverages: Full bar

Contact: www.meadowlakesgc.com, 541-447-7640

The Sandwich Factory

One of the best sandwich stops in Central Oregon is located just steps — directly across the street — from the historic Crook County Courthouse. Drop in or call ahead to get a Loading Dock (turkey, ham, mozzarella, mayo, lettuce and tomato on an onion roll, $9.60) or a Time Clock (corned beef, pastrami, mozzarella and mayo, served hot on dark rye, $8.65). Half sizes are also available.

The Factory offers more than 50 sandwich choices, 10 salads, 10 “kiddie specials” and many vegetarian options. It seats 50 on two levels, with a seasonal patio upstairs.

Scorecard: A-

Location: 277 NE Court St., Prineville

Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

Price range: Sandwiches and burgers $6.45 to $9.45, salads $3.95 to $9.20

Alcoholic beverages: Beer, wine and limited full bar

Contact: www.bistro28.com, 541-447-4429

Solstice Brewing Co.

Don’t come to Solstice merely for its beer. Not just for the Prinetucky Pale Ale nor the Warpaint Red. Those are good brews, but I enjoy them even more with food — great burgers, such as the heavily stacked Steins Pillar; a roasted veggie sandwich, layered on a half baguette with roasted garlic and arugula pesto; a Tuscan pasta toss, with grilled Italian sausage and sun-dried tomatoes on bow-tie pasta.

Although it’s a brewpub, Solstice does right by families: In a designated play area, parents can keep an eye on their kids while enjoying their own food and beverages.

Scorecard: B+

Location: 234 N. Main St., Prineville

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

Price range: Appetizers $4.50 to $11.50, burgers and sandwiches $5.75 to $10.95, entrees $8.75 to $12.75

Alcoholic beverages: Full bar

Contact: www.solsticebrewing.com, 541-233-0883

Tacos Morales

Of several Mexican restaurants in Prineville, this is the one where I would be most likely to order my tacos and burritos. A cozy taqueria in the Ochoco Plaza Shopping Center, Tacos Morales has a menu that ranges from carne asada and chile rellenos all the way to fancy combination plates. Consider steak Tlaxcalteca, sliced pork and beef, with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and potatoes, cloaked in a Spanish red sauce.

The menu has a few vegetarian dishes, and the price is right — only one dish (with fresh shrimp) priced above $11. Decor is casual but festive, perfect for Mexican cuisine.

Scorecard: B

Location: 1595 NE Third St., Suite A-2, Prineville

Hours: 11 to 8 p.m. (until 9 p.m. in summer), Monday to Saturday

Price range: Individual items $2.95 to $10.50, combination plates $9 to $10.95

Alcoholic beverages: Beer, wine and tequila

Contact: 541-447-1274

Tastee Treet

If there’s one place every Prineville resident knows, it’s Tastee Treet, whose iconic, neon-lit ice-cream cone has flagged down drivers on U.S. Highway 20 since the 1950s. A burger joint, ice-cream parlor and breakfast cafe, Tastee Treet offers old-time ambiance.

The 14-seat horseshoe bar surrounds a rock-slab counter, and dozens of color photos of hot rods (from local classic car rallies) hang on its walls. A sign alerts patrons: “We are not a fast-food restaurant. We cook to order, so please be patient.”

Scorecard: B

Location: 493 NE Third St., Prineville

Hours: 7 to 8 p.m. every day

Price range: Breakfast $4.50 to $10.25, lunch and dinner $4.50 to $10.50

Alcoholic beverages: No

Contact: 541-447-4165

Tom & Charley’s Sub Shop & Pizzeria

If you’re a fan of pizzas or submarine sandwiches, Tom & Charley’s will take good care of you. The menu lists three dozen sandwich choices and more than two dozen pies, from the Ochoco (chicken, garlic, red peppers and mushrooms) to the 47 Miles to Mitchell (pepperoni and more pepperoni).

Ditto if you enjoy lottery games, as this bright, spacious and casual cafe has an entire side room — no minors, please — devoted to machines. The rest of the decor is pretty basic, but you just came to eat, right?

Scorecard: B-

Location: 1590 NE Third St., Prineville

Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day

Price range: Breakfast sandwiches $2.50 to $5.50, submarine sandwiches $4.25 to $7.50, pizzas $7.75 (mini) to $37.75 (huge)

Alcoholic beverages: No

Contact: 541-447-9858

— Reporter: janderson@bendbulletin.com