Bryce's Cafeteria

2021 Mall Dr., Texarkana, TX - (903) 792-1611

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Posted By Michael Stern on 4/29/2008 6:45:00 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.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

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"Entrees are served in the Roadfood-esque partioned plastic plate. This is the classic Southern version of chicken and dumplings along with macaroni and cheese and especially porky flavored green beans."
Cliff Strutz

"This ultra-rich piece of chocolate chess pie was way too alluring to pass up!"
Cliff Strutz

"With a crunchy crust and tender juicy meat, my cousin declared the fried chicken a winner."
Cliff Strutz

"As we say in the south, this is "an excellent sufficiency.""
Anne Ritchings

"Something I have never seen before; this chopped spinach salad is heavy on the mayo and includes cut up egg whites."
Cliff Strutz

"There is practically an endless list of pies to choose from. This piece of Karo-coconut pie especially caught my cousin's eye."
Cliff Strutz

"Tough decisions also need to be made bread-wise. The dinner roll on the right is nothing special, but the jalapeno cornbread has a mildly spicy delicious flavor."
Cliff Strutz

"If you asked me what a peach cobbler should look like and taste like, I would point you to what they serve at Bryce's Cafeteria. This is cobbler perfection!"
Cliff Strutz

"The most interesting part of the food line at Bryce's is the salad area, where lots of colorful options, many congealed, await you."
Cliff Strutz

"Light airy meringue, and a strong banana flavor; this is first-rate banana cream pie."
Cliff Strutz

"Standing in line is an essential part of the cafeteria experience. The switchback allows you plenty of time to preview the food."
Cliff Strutz

"The dining room is large, bright, and attractively decorated."
Anne Ritchings

"The quality of the food at Bryce's Cafeteria is no local secret. We spoke to a gentleman at the table next to us who regularly drives all the way from Hot Springs, Arkansas to eat here."
Cliff Strutz

"Bryce's originally opened in downtown Texarkana. The new location is convenient for anyone traveling I-30 at the Texas / Arkansas state line."
Michael Stern

"Day or night you can see this sign with no problem."
Anne Ritchings