Denison & Sherman, Texas

Well I finally made it to Denison, Texas.

Let’s just say that with the company I was keeping I didn’t have much choice in where I wanted to eat. Crackerbarrel and Applebee’s are big on their list of good restaurants and I actually ate at CB twice. I did not take pictures there because… well just because.

One day we had lunch at Pop’s Place on the Old Highway 75 in Denison. Guess it was because home was basically right across the street. From the outside I thought this place was promising. 



Sitting down I knew that we’d made it to my idea of a fun place. Homey, menu on a chalkboard and Texas cuisine!



I ordered the chicken fried steak that was served over white bread. I loved it. I don’t know why it needed the bread, but I found it nice for sopping up the extra gravy.



I didn’t take pictures of the meals the other’s got because they all got salads!

I liked Pop’s but it wouldn’t be a “have to go there” type of place. It’s just a nice home town diner of Denison.

I was in Texas and I wanted Barbecue! The ribs our host cooked in her oven for me did not suffice. Not even barbecue!

So, they took us to Jones Family Bar-b-cue somewhere in Denison. It was night time and I couldn’t see the names on the streets. Those backroads are dark at night!



Neat place! They had country/farmy types of things hanging all over the place. Real stuff, not the type made for all of the cookie cutter restaurants. Some one used this stuff in real life! Took pictures but they didn’t come out.

The ordering was sort of cafeteria style. I chose a combo plate with ribs and brisket. Two sides came with that so I opted for corn on the cob and peach cobbler.



The ribs were amazingly good. They didn’t need any of the sauce that was served in a cup because the barbecue taste of hickory was right there. See the smoke ring? They were excellent.



Not so good for the brisket. Can you tell how dry it was in the picture? The best analogy I can give is that the brisket could have doubled for the soles on my shoes. I was very disappointed in my first meeting with real Texas Brisket. DRY!

The corn was typical, over soaked diner corn but the butter was real. 
The peach cobbler was also a disappointment but I’m blaming that on being the last customers of the night. I had mostly crust and goo. The daytime customers must have had the peaches.

Next time I’ll just have the ribs!

I also wanted a good steak dinner before we left. We ate at a place in Sherman, Texas.

I didn’t take any pictures after reading the menu. I was impressed going in, but the place screamed out CHAIN to me. My final Texas meal was at The Texas Roadhouse. The menu stated that it began in Indiana! Maybe it was Illinois. I was so shocked that my memory isn’t working correctly.

I had a 12 ounce ribeye that was great but it wasn’t Texas! That’s that.

On our drive back to Los Angeles I saw it. I had to stop, never, ever being at this place before, even though it was on the wrong side of the highway!

There’s just been so much debate!

I didn’t mention it, but we ate at fast food places all the way to Texas because of timing and two cute Corgis in the back seat.

Nothing was stopping me from trying this place after hearing so much about it.

I was in Tucson.

Did you guess right?



I wasn’t expecting a limp waffle. I wasn’t expecting butter substitute. The waitress asked me if I wanted hot syrup. I’ve never had hot syrup so I said, “sure!” The waffle wasn’t good and the syrup was not hot but I really enjoyed the cup of coffee. Maybe it was the mug. I just love those heavy ceramic mugs. I asked the waitress if they sell them. I was going to ask her if I could steal it if they didn’t sell them. $5 got me my mug!

I also ordered the best over easy eggs I’ve ever had. They were perfectly done. Whites thoroughly cooked with the yolks remaining soft. If I could guarantee I’d get eggs done that exact same way every time I visited I’d go back just for the eggs! So why were the yolks orange?  

I also tried some of the WH salsa which would have been great on an omelet.



Can’t say I haven’t been, now.

Denison, Texas is at the top of the state, 75 miles above Dallas and just below the Okalahoma state line.

Don’t know if you’ll ever get there, but dems the places I ate!

Edited because I really do know the difference between begun and began.

  Very nice Marlene!  I've only been to Waffle House once myself, I got the all you can eat extravaganza...I remember saying how strange & wiggly the waffle was. Everything else was great, They should change the name to " Hashbrown House "   Love  "Crust & Goo" should be Hostess pie slogan! 

The Dallas Morning New lists this Denison place as one of the 100 best in the Dallas area ("out of over more than 10,000"):

http://www.huckscatfish.com/

This official Roadfood barbeque place is up that way:

http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/186/clarks-outpost
 
Oops, just noticed this is under trip reports, not where should I eat.

Just wanted to let you know that yes, Texas Roadhouse did start in Indiana.  As a matter of fact, I have eaten there several times (please no booing or egg throwing!!!)  The very first Texas Roadhouse is located in Clarksville, Indiana.  Just in case you were interested....  By the way, I LOVE THE WAFFLE HOUSE!!  Got to love a good pecan waffle and a good cup of coffee!!!

I ate at Huck's the last time I was in Denison.  

I'm not sure I like catfish.  Some of it was great and some tasted like dirt.  The others with me all loved Huck's.  I liked the feel of the place.  Lot's of wood if I remember correctly.

I visited Eisenhower's birthplace in Denison but remember little else about it. I like the potatoes at Waffle House and love to eat them with all 7 ways .

Honey, that is the thing with catfish.  The tender little ones seem to be good.

I'm sitting here smiling at your Waffle House description.  I have also never understood the draw of the waffles themselves; they're just kind of OK.  The WH does seem to be good at getting cooks who know their way around eggs and omelets, and the teensy little egg pans never cease to amuse me.  They also do have very good coffee.

It looks like you got an excellent plate of ribs out of the deal!

mar52, I'm sorry to hear that your first experience with Texas brisket was so disappointing. If you ever get back to the Lone Star state ( and you really should ), you must visit Louie Mueller's Barbecue in Taylor, which is a short distance northeast of Austin. The brisket there is heavenly, and I can't imagine the hot links anywhere else being as good as Mueller's. On top of that, the staff there is one of the friendliest that I've ever encountered in a restaurant. Highly recommended! 

Mar52- next time you are in that area, ask your hosts to take you to Clarks' Outpost in Tioga- awesome Q and not a bad steak either (have had both) and the sides are honestly really quite good!http://www.clarksoutpost.com/ and yes, they do ship to anywhere in the USA. 

Just a hint in case there's a next time and you want to take another shot at a Waffle House waffle -- a more crisp one: Tell them you want it dark.
 
Thanks for the report, but I'm sorry your eating experiences in Texas were less than wonderful.
 
Cracker Barrel, really? And twice?

But see, this is an excellent illustration of something I've noticed here on RF and in real life.

At least from my and Mar's experience here, ladies particularly on a trip with family will eat wherever it's convenient.  Men seem to be more likely to make the trip about the eating.  Or am I reading too much into the situation?

Sorry your visist to Texas was so lameo in regards to food.Around here we don't have any Waffle Houses that I have seen, but I don't get over to the other side of San Antonio much anymore.
Yeah, you really need to if you come here again go to Louie Mueller's.I have never been, but it gets good ratings here and at Chowhound.com. Taylor isn't that far from Lockhart and Lulling,so take yourself to Black's or Smitty's in Lockhart, or City Market in Lulling.Around my area there are small mom and pop places like Abel's Diner here in Schertz(get's really packed) and several other places around the town.There's also McBee's BBQ in Marion and New Braunfels. Maybe I'll try McBee's for dinner Thursday.They are supposed to shut off the water in my neighborhood to lay some new water lines on Thursday,and the water will be off for about 6 hours. Least I won't have to wash dishes if I go there.
Usually on trips we would stop for lunch at some chain.But for dinner find out where a good local place was to eat.
Don't know much on the food up that part of the state.But i know some places in this area I can recomend for next time.

Nancy is correct.  

We went to Denison so that Sharon could visit with her family.  She has a new 6 month old grand daughter that needed hugging!

It was my vacation and I drove so I had a list of demands.  It was a short list.  I wanted Texas barbecue, a Texas steak and at least a few Roadfood places.  

I thought I could hit some Roadfood places on the drive to and from TX but we didn't want to take the time.  That's a lot of driving!

At least I was able to fast food dine at places that I'd never been to like Whataburger and Taco Bueno.

The rest of the time was doing family stuff.  That meant home made (baloney sandwiches) meals and CB get-togethers.  

We also ate at a Mexican restaurant that Sharon's son was proud to take us to.  El Chico.  Crowded, noisy and mediocre Mexican food which I call TV dinner food.  But it was fun and that's what was important.  I ordered their new chili relleno enchilada which was strips of poblano chili and white cheese.  

Clarks' Outpost in Tioga is a must do on our next trip to TX.  When Sharon's mom lived in Sadler we passed it on the way to the airport.

At one time there was a bbq place in Inglewood, CA that brought in their barbecued meats from Clark's.  At least that's what they told everyone.  It was great, but didn't last.  I miss it!

So what'd you think of Whataburger?  I liked it but don't have any really strong memories of it, but it's probably been 12 years.

We went to the Whataburger in Pecos, TX.  I was first suprised that they pronounce Pecos as Pay Cuss.

I went inside to order and was surprised that the place was mobbed. Where did all those people come from?  

The burgers were decent.  Much better than McD's finest.  Everything was made to order so there was a wait.  They have a bun buttering (read oil) machine that butters the inside of the bun before it gets grilled on a flat grill.  Fresh lettuce, tomatoes and pickles.  I don't remember what kind of dressing they used, but they were perfect for the road.  

I'd go there again.

I'd also go to WH again to try some of the other offerings.

I'll never forget my visit to a Whataburger in Amarillo back in the dark ages. I ordered a hamburger and when the guy handed it to me I was appalled. It had shredded lettuce and a tomato slice on it. I'd never ever seen a hamburger with lettuce and tomato that you didn't have to ask for (it was called a Deluxe where I grew up), and pay extra for. For that matter, I'd never seen shredded lettuce in my life.

I told the guy I didn't want any lettuce or tomato on my hamburger and he said that was the only way they could make them. So I never did get to taste a Whataburger. I tossed mine in the trash barrel next to the window and went to the Trailways bus station where I was able to get a hamburger without any lettuce or tomato on it.

Nice pix and commentary, Marlene!

That waffle does look a little flabby.  All the BBQ brisket I've had has been dry (although often tasty).  The last that I had was all crumbled-up, like dry, overcooked potroast.

That egg looks perfect.

And I forgot to say, I totally get why you liked the white bread with your chicken fried steak, because that gravy is really not far off from gravy-and-biscuits gravy.  It needs a delivery system, and white bread works just fine. 

Glad there's a grandbaby to hug--that's the best!  Mazel Tov!

Thanks!

 Okay folks,don't take this the wrong way;But I feel that fast food doesn't count as fast food if you can't get it near home... It's just new & possibly exciting stuff to try...I remember my (then) husband"s mortification when I started shrieking CHICK-FIL-A!!!!Oh my god!! let's go, lets go!!!! We won't miss the plane ,I promise!!! 

"So, they took us to Jones Family Bar-b-cue somewhere in Denison. It was night time and I couldn’t see the names on the streets. Those backroads are dark at night!"

In case you are interested, here is the address, courtesy of Google:

Jones Family Bar-B-Que
1426 West Morton Street (FM 120)
Denison, TX 75020-1812
(903) 465-3446

From the reviews, their sauce and their stew seem to to get the best marks.

mar52


We went to the Whataburger in Pecos, TX.  I was first suprised that they pronounce Pecos as Pay Cuss.

Kinda like the way we mispronounce San Pedro.

Some say San PAY-DRO  and some say San PEE-DRO.  ...whatever works for you..

Good Job Marlene. Nice to get out and try something 'different', isn't it!

Most say San Pee-dro, even Latinos. It's a colloquialism.

Nancypalooza


But see, this is an excellent illustration of something I've noticed here on RF and in real life.

At least from my and Mar's experience here, ladies particularly on a trip with family will eat wherever it's convenient.  Men seem to be more likely to make the trip about the eating.  Or am I reading too much into the situation?

 
I would never travel to eat...
 
Clarke's is my favorite brisket in the USA!

Nancypalooza


But see, this is an excellent illustration of something I've noticed here on RF and in real life.

At least from my and Mar's experience here, ladies particularly on a trip with family will eat wherever it's convenient.  Men seem to be more likely to make the trip about the eating.  Or am I reading too much into the situation?

Nancypalooza , Statistically I think you are correct.  Except when it come to Ellen of course.



If I go to Philly with my wife.  From the time we arrive, my mind is on a cheesesteak, hers is on the Gallaria Mall.

Ooops, BTW, Thanks for the report and Pics Marlene

Carolina Bob


mar52, I'm sorry to hear that your first experience with Texas brisket was so disappointing. If you ever get back to the Lone Star state ( and you really should ), you must visit Louie Mueller's Barbecue in Taylor, which is a short distance northeast of Austin. The brisket there is heavenly, and I can't imagine the hot links anywhere else being as good as Mueller's. On top of that, the staff there is one of the friendliest that I've ever encountered in a restaurant. Highly recommended! 

 

I concur. Big time!

ChiTownDiner



I would never travel to eat...

:)  Your nose is growing, Gregg.  

Nancypalooza


So what'd you think of Whataburger?  I liked it but don't have any really strong memories of it, but it's probably been 12 years.

I was in Texas a couple of years ago and ate at Whataburger a couple of times and just didn't like it at all. I put up with the first burger because I had eaten in a while and it was there but the second time I tossed my burger in the trash and looked for another option. Maybe other franchises make whattaburger decent but not the ones I was at. My last day in San Antonio I stopped in a small chain called Chester's Hamburgers (or something like that) before I hit the highway home and thought it was pretty good. My friends who live in San Antonio think otherwise. 

Now the idea of a slice of white under a gravy covered chicken fried steak just floats my boat. I have a friend bringing someone from Texas over to show me how to make chicken fried steak and white gravy. And I'm going to have a slice of homemade white ready to go. Thanks for the idea.