Amarillo:
TheBig Texan Steakhouse,
7701
I-40 East (exit 175), Phone (800) 657-7177 We ate dinner here simply
because we didn't feel like unhitching the truck and the restaurant
offers free limo rides to campers and hotel guests along I-40 in
Amarillo. The interior decoration is half saloon, half hunting lodge
but the staff is eager and friendly. Unfortunately, the cuts of meat
aren't all that terrific and the prices are pretty high. I'm sure
Amarillo has a lot more to offer in a steakhouse. Not recommended.
(5/2007)
Aransas
Pass: ,
The Big Fisherman Restaurant, 510
Hwy 188, Phone (361) 729-1734 Everyone in Rockport has to go to
the Big Fisherman at least one time to try the Tuesday special of all
you can eat chicken fried steak for $2.25 (up from $1.99 last year).
That's all you can eat chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, cole
slaw and dinner roll--as many plates as you can eat. Denny ate
two. I had the lunch special of fried fish (pollock) and french
fries which had five pieces of fish on it. Very good. The
service could have been better; Denny actually had to chase down our
waitress to remind her to bring tartar sauce and others at our table
had similar problems with her. But the food is amazingly good
for the price. $1 margaritas don't hurt, either. (2/2011)
Columbus:
Becky's
Cafe, 1237
Bowie St, Phone (979) 732-5553 We had breakfast here, as do some of
the locals. My ham and cheese omelet was good as was Denny's ham and
eggs although the ham slice was off a processed shaped ham. The
breakfast menu is a bit limited. Decent. (3/2011)
Los
Cabos Mexican Grill,
2543
Hwy 71 South, Phone (979) 732-9744 Reasonably priced Mexican food. I
had the Guadalajara Special, which was a chicken enchilada and a beef
taco smothered in queso with a side of beans and a cup of tortilla
soup. Delicious. Denny had the Texas burrito which he also enjoyed.
There's an ice cream machine in the lobby so I guess that means it's
free for the taking as you leave. Nice margaritas, nothing
special.(3/2011)
Nancy's
Steakhouse,2536
Hwy 71 South, Phone (979) 732-9700 We were prepared to enjoy this
restaurant which is decorated in a full out Western/cowboy style.
Denny had a Hickory Burger which had bacon, BBQ sauce, button
mushrooms (hard to keep on the bun), lettuce, onions—so much stuff
that he could hardly get his mouth around it. The hamburger,
unfortunately, was relatively tasteless. I had the soup and sandwich
special with chicken tortilla soup and half a Texas steak sandwich.
The steak pieces were very tender but the chipotle mayo was hard to
find so the sandwich was a bit dry. The chicken tortilla soup's
texture made me think the cook had added a piece of bread in the pot
to stretch the filling—the soup had an odd, thick, grainy texture
to it. Not my favorite version by a long shot. We'd pass this one up
for lunch. (3/2011)
Schobel's
Restaurant,
2020
Milam St, Phone (979) 732-2385 This is the winner, winner chicken
dinner restaurant for this town. We ate here four times in two weeks;
breakfast, lunch and twice for dinner. The restaurant provides a
breakfast and lunch buffet at a very reasonable price as well as
offering menu choices and then at dinnertime there is a large salad
bar to go with your meal. We had the jalepeno schnitzel and the
sausage and sauerkraut (Denny thought the sauerkraut was too mild but
he grew up in a family that made their own in huge crocks in the
basement) as well as their burgers. Friendly, pleasant staff, full
bar, good food. Recommended. (3/2011)
Emory:
Y'all
Come Back Cafe, 659
W. Lennen Drive, Phone (903) 473-2224 We hit this place for
breakfast, as do most of the locals. There's even a “Table of
Knowlege” here, which back home we call “The Liar's Table”.
Denny enjoyed his chicken-fried steak, I enjoyed my Western omelet.
The sour dough bread is good, although like so many places, this
restaurant simply slaps the bread on a grill for a couple of moments
instead of using a toaster. I wish restaurants would toast bread
because I much prefer “toast” to “heated bread”. Reasonable
and good. (4/2011)
Fulton:
Alice
Faye's Restaurant,
106
N. Fulton Beach Rd. Phone (361) 729-6708 Breakfast here was mediocre.
They made a boring omelet and had no substitutions for the potatoes
and toast. Smeary windows obscured the view of the bay. We were
disappointed. (4/2006)
Charlotte
Plummer Seafood Restaurant,
202 N. Fulton Beach Rd. Phone (361) 729-1185 We were pleased to be
seated near a window overlooking the fishing boat fleet but that was
the best thing about our experience here. They do have an excellent
chicken tortilla soup and a nice salad bar but all the shrimp in my
shrimp sampler were badly overcooked as were the shrimp in Denny's
shrimp linguini veracruz. A seafood restaurant should NEVER overcook
shrimp, no matter what the form. We were disappointed. Very good
bread pudding. (1/2011)
M
& M Express Cafe, 3501 Hwy 35N, Phone(361) 727-0498 The
proverbial greasy spoon with a great oversized fish sandwich and a
small order of onion rings that was more than enough for two of us.
Their hamburgers looked and smelled wonderful. Prices on par for the
area. (4/2006)
Panhandle:
Buffalo Grass Steakhouse, 200
Main St. Phone (806) 537-1010 Norman says they have great buffalo
steaks (2006)
Harlingen:
Gem's Pancake House, 1925 E. Harrison, Phone (956) 423-7977
Fluffy scrambled eggs, good tender chicken fried steak, quick and
efficient service, reasonably priced. We would return. (2/2011)
Judy
B's Cookhouse, 1101 S. Expressway 83, Phone (956) 423-4117 Good
tender chicken fried steak, fluffy scrambled eggs, crisp bacon. The
toast was simply bread slapped on the grill for a couple of seconds
so I take points off for that. Reasonable. (2/2011)
New
York Deli, 122 N. A St, Phone (956) 425-3500 Great sandwiches,
all three of their soups are terrific and while we didn't have the
burgers, those we saw looked delicious. A funky little place just off
the main drag in downtown (read old) Harlingen. Try it. (3/2011)
Sun
Palace, 1610 Midlane Dr. Phone (956) 412-3000 American and
Chinese buffet, plus oysters on the half shell and other seafood
selections. The sizzle heat is strangely tame for this part of the
world, although the hot and sour soup is very good. There is a
selection of sushi, salads and desserts also, all for $9.95. If you
like basic, non spicy Chinese food then this place is for you.
(2/2011)
The
Pizzeria,
1610 E. Tyler, Phone (956) 465-1477 Great garlic knots, good pizza.
New York or Sicilian style, by the pie or by the piece. There are
also calzones, strombolis and Italian donuts. We liked this little
place. (3/2011)
Rockport:
Golden Gate Chinese Restaurant, 2005 Hwy 35 N Phone (361)
790-8223 If you like spicy, try their hot and sour soup. I had the
Szechuan Triple Delight, Denny had the spicy Shrimp and Mushrooms and
both were great. Very reasonable, very good. We went back for the
lunch special and both our choices were good. (4/2006)
J
J's Burger Works and Cafe, 302 Hwy 35N, Phone (361) 729-8787 A
favorite with locals, we had breakfast here which was quite good and
the experienced was enhanced when the owner shared some of his
homemade spicy salsa for our eggs. (1/2011)
Jalisco's
Restaurant, 1701 Hwy 35N, Phone (361) 727-0555 The menu is in
Spanish with the English translation following. Great chicken fajita
chimichanga, great beef fajita burrito, good corn tacos, great rice.
Took home leftovers. Would return. (2/2011)
Panjo's
Pizza and Pasta, 2744 Hwy 35N, Phone (361) 729-1411 Reasonably
priced pizza. We would wish for a little more sauce but that's an
Ohio thing. Nice thin crust that was crispy without being dry, decent
side salad with a good house dressing. (1/2011)
Ken's
Diner (formerly The Diner), 205 Hwy 35 N, Phone (361) 729-4985
Very popular on Sunday for breakfast. Ours was good with the
exception of Denny's sausage which was badly overcooked. The waitress
adjusted the cost of the meal for that and the price overall was
quite reasonable. We'd go back. (4/2006) Edited
1/2011. We tried this place for breakfast again; Denny loved his
chicken fried steak, my scrambled eggs were dry which is a major sin
in my book. French toast was okay, the bacon was excellent. Very
uneven meal.
San
Benito: Sabor de Mi Tierra, 415
N. Paso Real, Phone (956) 399-7671 The problem with going back to a
restaurant where you experienced your first plate of huevos rancheros
is that after ten years it's just not going to be the same. And it
wasn't. The decor hasn't changed (although it's very clean and bright
inside) but the food is more Americanized. Ten years ago the eggs
were poached and laid over over a bed of refried beans that had been
covered with fried potatoes and served with salsa and wonderful
homemade flour tortillas The tortillas are still wonderful but
now everything arrives on your plate side by side. Sigh. Good, but
years ago it was excellent. (2/2011)
The
Longhorn Cattle Company,
3055
W. Expressway 83, Phone (956) 399-4400 Very popular with the Winter
Texans here. Chopped and sliced brisket. Denny had a po-boy
with briskey and sausage, I had the chopped brisket sandwich. Once I
spooned on some of the BBQ (which we had to ask for) the bottom of my
sandwich bun became soggy with grease. The sauce itself was pretty
tasteless. Sides are extra with the sandwiches, although you do get a
cup of soup beans which is good. Not to my taste. (2/2011)
South
Padre Island: Dirty
Al's,
1
Padre Blvd. Phone (956) 761-4901 There are two Dirty Al's, one on the
island and one just before the bridge in Port Isabel. We went to the
original restaurant on the island. The sign on the door says
"sorry--we're open" but it's all in good fun. The decor is
frumpy/funky, the view is of the marina and the fish is great. The
shrimp is huge, looking at other people's meals but the fish tacos
were also more than I could eat. I finished one and took one home for
the next day's lunch. Everyone enjoyed their flounder and you can
also buy fresh fish and shrimp as you are leaving. Noisy, jam-packed
with Winter Texans when we went, good food. (3/2011)
Parrot
Eyes Restaurant,
5801
Padre Blvd., Phone (956) 772-9040 Great happy hour margaritas priced
at $1.75 and three times as good as the ones we paid $4.50 for at
Boomerang's Bar down the street. Happy hour dinner specials at $5.95
were simply okay. I had the fish and also shrimp (long story). There
were only 4 shrimp on the plate and they had an odd taste from the
seasoning. Lots of fries, mediocre slaw. The fish was decent. The
fish sandwich was flounder which Denny said was very good (the fish
and fries plate was pollock). A friend's burger was very thick and
nicely cooked although the fries weren't cooked as she requested. I
don't think we'd come back except to have the margaritas and maybe
try some appetizers. The meal also took a long time to arrive.
(2/2011)
Study
Butte: Big Bend Motor Inn & RV Park, FM 170 & TX
118. Small restaurant is the only game in town, priced accordingly.
Burgers, etc. Lots of interesting stuff on the walls to read.
(3/2001)
Willis:
Pizza
Shack ,115
W. Montgomery St. Phone (936) 856-9780 We visited this restaurant
twice over two years and somehow I neglected to add it, which is a
shame, because they have terrific pizzas and what we saw of the
various Italian dishes that other diners were ordering looked
wonderful and smelled terrific. If they still offer bread pudding and
the tiramisu, get it. Yum! As long as the restaurant is here, we'll
go back there. (2001 and 2003) Added
2/2008. Edited 12/2009: The food is still good, the desserts divine.
