Bryce's Cafeteria - Texarkana, TX

Posted By Michael Stern on April 29, 2008 6:45 PM

Conversation overheard while waiting in line at Bryce’s cafeteria:

“This is the finest food in Texarkana.”

“No,” a stranger up the line turns to reply. “This is the finest food in Texas.”

“I say it’s the best in all the South,” a third customer pipes in.

It is hard not to wax rhapsodic waiting at Bryce’s Cafeteria, because the waiting line takes you past an array of swoonfully appetizing food, the likes of which has made this place famous since it opened for business, some sixty years ago downtown.

There are more vegetables than most Yankees see in a year: purple-hulled peas, fried green tomatoes, red beans, turnip greens cooked with chunks of ham, and a full array of potatoes, cheesey macaroni casseroles, rice casseroles, buttered cauliflower, sauced broccoli, etc., etc.... Among main courses, fried chicken is stupendously crunchy and big slabs of sweet ham are sliced to order. For dessert, we like Karo-coconut pie, hot blueberry cobbler with an ethereal crust, and banana pudding made with meringue and vanilla wafers.

The entire experience is a culinary dream, including a smartly-uniformed dining room staff (to help old folks and invalids with their trays, and to bus tables), and servers who address all men as “sir” and ladies as “ma’am.” It is virtually impossible to spend more than $10 on a meal.

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Posted By Juliana Murphy on November 21, 2011 12:09 PM

This place is a little slice of heaven on my frequent road trips between Austin, TX and Poplar Bluff, MO. I've rarely ordered an entree, because I'm so in love with all the veggies (although the fried chicken is crunchy and delicious!). The mini-plate (one entree and two sides) is plenty of food, but my heart belongs to the veggie plate. They change veggies every day, but if you arrive on the day they have spinach casserole, just thank your lucky stars and don't even THINK about not ordering it!

The mac and cheese is creamy and delicious, and seems to involve more chicken flavor than one typically encounters. Anything involving the word "casserole" is a sure delight. Folks rave about the cornbread, but I've never been able to pass up the yeast rolls. It's hard to go wrong at Bryce's!

Overall Rating

Macaroni & Cheese

Spinach casserole

fried chicken

turnip greens

Yeast Rolls

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Posted By Anne Ritchings on May 1, 2009 10:15 AM

I'm not customarily a fan of cafeterias. Multiples of food behind glass covers bring back not so pleasant memories of school cafeterias and unappetizing food. But Bryce's could make a convert out of me. Here, everything looks so good that it is hard to make a choice. We were hungry so it was tempting to order one of everything. As it was, we selected a gracious plenty.

The fried chicken is very good and still crisp even though it has been sitting under a heat lamp for a while. The turnip greens, black-eyed peas (purple hull peas), squash and coleslaw are well-seasoned and delicious. The coconut cream pie is not as light as it could be; still, it is quite respectable. We didn't have any problem finishing it.

The dining room is large and attractively appointed. Waiters appear as you come through the line, and take your tray to whatever table you would like. They also place all the food on your table. An unexpected and gracious touch.

If we ever find ourselves in Texarkana again, we will definitely revisit Bryce's.

Overall Rating

fried chicken

Black-Eyed Peas

Coleslaw

turnip greens

Coconut Cream Pie

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Posted By Jeffrey Spencer on July 2, 2004 9:36 AM

Bryce's is a throwback in modern surroundings...it's what great cafeteria food was before the days of frozen prepared everything. Before the days when the word "cafeteria" conjured up images overcooked, overbreaded filets of frozen whitefish. It's such a throwback that the uniformed servers and busboys could have stepped right out of 1948!

One look at the folks lined up tells you everything you need to know. Here, everyone knows everybody. And from red-haired little kids to blue-haired old ladies, the patrons are diverse but have one thing in common: a desire for great homemade pies! Nearly every tray I saw had at least one piece of pie on it. Mine tray had (ahem) TWO...a delectable chess pie, and a tempting slice of banana cream loaded with fresh bananas. I would like to say that I just had a bite or two of each. However, I semi-guiltlessly ate both pieces. You would do the same. Really!

The fried fish was crispy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside and the vegetables were nicely cooked--not overdone. For lovers of pickled beets, this is the place. Lightly spiced and vinegared, they are homemade. Just as everything else is. Like the green pea salad, this one firm, not mushy, with just the right amount of dressing.

Now, I may have gone a bit overboard, but I found it VERY easy to exceed $10 for a meal. Like most cafeterias, you pay a premium for all that variety. At Bryce's however, you get what you pay for.

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