December 15, 20214 yr 53 minutes ago, DoobieWah said: Has anyone said “Black-Eyed Pea” yet? Is that the safe word? You gonna keep going?
December 15, 20214 yr Black Eyed Pea, sort of like Chilis was at one point not "low brow". Then they both expanded rapidly, got down with the Sysco and became teh suck. Maybe I hold that opinion only because I grew up in Dallas and remember them from being a kid/teen in the 80s. Edited December 15, 20214 yr by Surly Bevo
December 15, 20214 yr 14 hours ago, Surly Bevo said: Black Eyed Pea, sort of like Chilis was at one point not "low brow". Then they both expanded rapidly, got down with the Sysco and became teh suck. Maybe I hold that opinion only because I grew up in Dallas and remember them from being a kid/teen in the 80s. The original Chili’s, just north of Walnut Hill, east of 75 on Greenville, was like a religious experience in 79 or ‘80 or so. You could drink your way to the table (line ran around 2 sides of the building, bar the whole way) and never be out of handshaking distance with a bartender. Their chili was actually pretty good. I’ll still hit a small town (Brownwood, Plainview, etc.) Chili’s for a salad. The last Black Eyed Pea I ate at, in Fort Worth on Hulen, was pretty awful.
December 16, 20214 yr 8 hours ago, Horn Draoi said: The last Black Eyed Pea I ate at, in Fort Worth on Hulen, was pretty awful. UPDATE: Still sucks donkey balls, which is unfortunate because as mentioned upthread, at one time (80's-90), the pot roast, cfs, meatloaf, and my favorite, southwest chicken casserole (similar to King Ranch casserole) were as good as you would find anywhere.
December 16, 20214 yr 20 minutes ago, pch said: UPDATE: Still sucks donkey balls, which is unfortunate because as mentioned upthread, at one time (80's-90), the pot roast, cfs, meatloaf, and my favorite, southwest chicken casserole (similar to King Ranch casserole) were as good as you would find anywhere. I think BEP was the first place I encountered mashed taters with the skins in them. I'm huge on food texture. That is, certain foods should have certain textures, if they do not, I do not like them, Sam I am. Mashed potatoes with the skins in them violate my texture rule. Mashed potatoes should have few lumps, creamy, smooth. Bits of skin = lumps. For those nostalgic, Street has a new joint with some menu similarity to BEP. https://www.streetsfinechicken.com/menu-cedar-springs Edited December 16, 20214 yr by TwiceHorn
December 16, 20214 yr 26 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said: For those nostalgic, Street has a new joint with some menu similarity to BEP. https://www.streetsfinechicken.com/menu-cedar-springs I still miss his Snookie's joints, especially the Oak Lawn location. You could get his Grandma's CFS, Burgers, and other great fried food right up until bar closing time. Very popular with food industry folks coming in after their restaurants closed. Rusty Taco has taken over that Oak Lawn location and it always looks dead. Maybe the landowner is just waiting for redevelopment of that site? Edited December 16, 20214 yr by DalTxHornFan
December 21, 20214 yr On 12/15/2021 at 8:29 PM, DalTxHornFan said: Rusty Taco has taken over that Oak Lawn location and it always looks dead. Maybe the landowner is just waiting for redevelopment of that site? "The Rusty Taco"? Dude, I know you're trying to be all clever and cryptic...but South Austin reads this thread. He knows who you're talking about. not cool so close to Christmas.
December 21, 20214 yr One of the first meals we had moving to Austin late 70s was at the Holiday House on Ben White. They had a great AYCE breakfast back in the day, good burgers also from what I remember.
December 21, 20214 yr 2 minutes ago, Underdog said: One of the first meals we had moving to Austin late 70s was at the Holiday House on Ben White. They had a great AYCE breakfast back in the day, good burgers also from what I remember. My mom likes to reflect on the pandemonium whenever they brought out a fresh tray of food. Lot of running and pushing and shoving. We were pretty poor, so this was a treat and a way for my mother to feed her kids. Good times.
December 22, 20214 yr Used to see TJ Ford and James Thomas at the Gatti's buffet on MLK all the time when I was at UT. TJ would go in hard on the chocolate pudding like myself. Mack and Cleve Bryant would go to the Pizza Hut a few blocks down.
December 22, 20214 yr On 11/19/2021 at 8:59 AM, tx 3 putt said: Mr Gattis or Chinese buffet was as good as it got in Victoria. Casa Ole fajita buffet on Sundays was damn good too
December 22, 20214 yr 23 minutes ago, leaf said: Casa Ole fajita buffet on Sundays was damn good too My mom always cooked on Sundays
December 22, 20214 yr I’m 63 so going back many years. Restaurant scene has changed so much since I was a kid. My first TexMex memories go to three places that shape my hankerings. My first is El Fenix, the original in downtown Dallas, with my aunt and uncle. Next is the original El Chico, which was fantastic back then. The Cuellars knew how to run a chain. And then Joe T Garcia’s in Ft Worth. It was little when I was a kid and you went in through the kitchen. I remember a mama dog laying there with a litter of pups and I wanted one. I loved Pancho’s and in Little Rock Casa Bonita. My parents hated it but took me as I liked the flag thing and the sopapillas.Pizza Hut was great in most places and you went there and ate it. As was Pizza Inn and Mr Gatti’s.Griff’s Burgers. Still one or two around.Sambo’s. We always went there after peewee football games. Pancakes for dinner. Sambo was portrayed in store as a quasi-Indian Sikh-like kid. Red Lobster when it started was high end eating as most inland folks didn’t have good seafood. It was such an upgrade over the fish sticks, tuna patties, and frozen fried shrimp most of us got. And a trip to Steak and Ale had to be a birthday or anniversary.
December 22, 20214 yr 16 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said: I’m 63 so going back many years. Restaurant scene has changed so much since I was a kid. My first TexMex memories go to three places that shape my hankerings. My first is El Fenix, the original in downtown Dallas, with my aunt and uncle. Next is the original El Chico, which was fantastic back then. The Cuellars knew how to run a chain. And then Joe T Garcia’s in Ft Worth. It was little when I was a kid and you went in through the kitchen. I remember a mama dog laying there with a litter of pups and I wanted one. I loved Pancho’s and in Little Rock Casa Bonita. My parents hated it but took me as I liked the flag thing and the sopapillas. Pizza Hut was great in most places and you went there and ate it. As was Pizza Inn and Mr Gatti’s. Griff’s Burgers. Still one or two around. Sambo’s. We always went there after peewee football games. Pancakes for dinner. Sambo was portrayed in store as a quasi-Indian Sikh-like kid. Red Lobster when it started was high end eating as most inland folks didn’t have good seafood. It was such an upgrade over the fish sticks, tuna patties, and frozen fried shrimp most of us got. And a trip to Steak and Ale had to be a birthday or anniversary. In the early 80's, El Fenix on Forest Lane had an all you could eat buffet at lunch which was OUTSTANDING. And Griff's still thrives in Ft. Worth with several locations, my favorite being in River Oaks. I miss going through the kitchen at Joe T's when it was a great place to eat, and worked a block south of their location for 21 years until retiring in January. Their best days are behind them sadly, imho.
December 22, 20214 yr Anyone mentioned Po Folks yet? There was one on Spring Valley in Richardson. We used to get the beans n rice in a jar. There's a couple left in the Southern Alabama/Florida panhandle. We're planning on stopping there on the way to Disney in June.
December 23, 20214 yr 7 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said: Anyone mentioned Po Folks yet? There was one on Spring Valley in Richardson. We used to get the beans n rice in a jar. There's a couple left in the Southern Alabama/Florida panhandle. We're planning on stopping there on the way to Disney in June. Yes, several posts.
December 23, 20214 yr I saw it mentioned a ways up thread but Tony Romas will always have a special place in my heart. We lived in Japan for 2 years in the 80s and we would hit the one in Tokyo every time we went there. My old man doesn’t eat seafood but had to eat sushi for work meetings. Wouldn’t hesitate to crush a rack of baby backs at any opportunity.
December 23, 20214 yr 12 hours ago, pch said: Griff's still thrives in Ft. Worth with several locations, my favorite being in River Oaks. Used to hit the one in Hurst on Hwy 10 quite regularly when I lived near there. Place looked run down, but the burger slammed and went hard.
January 5, 20223 yr Anyone watching The ‘80s: Top Ten on NatGeo? One of the episodes is Fast Food, Wendy’s SuperBar makes the list. Available On Demand now.
January 5, 20223 yr On 12/15/2021 at 8:29 PM, DalTxHornFan said: I still miss his Snookie's joints, especially the Oak Lawn location. You could get his Grandma's CFS, Burgers, and other great fried food right up until bar closing time. Very popular with food industry folks coming in after their restaurants closed. Rusty Taco has taken over that Oak Lawn location and it always looks dead. Maybe the landowner is just waiting for redevelopment of that site? Used to hit that Rusty Taco very frequently. Gringo shit but cheap and pretty damn good if you knew your way around the menu. After leaving a job I had had for awhile across the street I had a couple drinks there with a coworker that I very much wanted to be involved with but never got the chance to. At least - haven't gotten the chance yet. I know she still thinks about me.
January 5, 20223 yr Man, this whole thread is a walk down memory lane. Everything’s been mentioned above but living far from Texas now, I miss all cafeterias. Miss the Turbo Tman. Gattis, Cicis, Panchos, El Fenix (which was maybe a little high end given there was one in Northpark Mall growing up), LJS, Popeyes, Gumby’s (extra ranch), AYCE pepperoni rolls, BOGO CFS on Tuesdays… and one I haven’t seen above but Souper Salads buffet had all kinds of good shit. Also brings up a fond you-probably-had-to-be-there moment at a Jim’s (south congress maybe?) in the middle of the night. Five or six of us staggering in…Guy 1: I’m gonna eat biscuits and gravy like it’s nobody’s business. Guy 2: What does that even mean?Guy 1: I just told you, it’s none of your business. Group: Guy 1: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
January 5, 20223 yr On 12/21/2021 at 3:08 PM, Deej said: I miss Holiday House. #5 Flameburger ftw. Anyone remember the Barn Restaurant on wnat is now MoPac just south of 183? That was the THE place to take a date in the mid 1960s. My gf got a job there as the girl in the swing above the bar. Then sometime in the late 1970s a place called Country Dinner Playhouse opened somewhere way up ithere on the far north outskirts of town. A stage was in the middle of the restaurant that featured road shows with some B-list TV of film actors. It only last a few years. Heady big time stuff for provincial Austin.
January 5, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, ohchaucer said: Man, this whole thread is a walk down memory lane. Everything’s been mentioned above but living far from Texas now, I miss all cafeterias. Miss the Turbo Tman. Gattis, Cicis, Panchos, El Fenix (which was maybe a little high end given there was one in Northpark Mall growing up), LJS, Popeyes, Gumby’s (extra ranch), AYCE pepperoni rolls, BOGO CFS on Tuesdays… and one I haven’t seen above but Souper Salads buffet had all kinds of good shit. Also brings up a fond you-probably-had-to-be-there moment at a Jim’s (south congress maybe?) in the middle of the night. Five or six of us staggering in… Guy 1: I’m gonna eat biscuits and gravy like it’s nobody’s business. Guy 2: What does that even mean? Guy 1: I just told you, it’s none of your business. Group: Guy 1: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Username does not check out.
January 5, 20223 yr Username does not check out.Hey, I made the caveat “you had to be there!”Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
January 5, 20223 yr 30 minutes ago, Armybrat said: #5 Flameburger ftw. Anyone remember the Barn Restaurant on wnat is now MoPac just south of 183? That was the THE place to take a date in the mid 1960s. My gf got a job there as the girl in the swing above the bar. Then sometime in the late 1970s a place called Country Dinner Playhouse opened somewhere way up ithere on the far north outskirts of town. A stage was in the middle of the restaurant that featured road shows with some B-list TV of film actors. It only last a few years. Heady big time stuff for provincial Austin. "Girl in the swing" brings to mind The Old San Francisco Steakhouse" on IH-35 near 290. I remember going there for special occasions with the family back in the day. Big blocks of cheese on the table for appetizers. I think it must have closed 15-20 years ago though.
January 5, 20223 yr 2 minutes ago, Native Horn said: "Girl in the swing" brings to mind The Old San Francisco Steakhouse" on IH-35 near 290. I remember going there for special occasions with the family back in the day. Big blocks of cheese on the table for appetizers. I think it must have closed 15-20 years ago though. When I moved to Austin as a poor young student, I 1) had no money and 2) didn't know much about the town other than the near-campus area and stuff I'd seen from I-35. So, a couple of months into my freshman year, my old man came to town for a meeting and offered to take me out to dinner. I said I wanted a steak (which I couldn't otherwise afford). He asked where, and I named literally the only steakhouse in town I knew about -- Old San Francisco. It was pretty damned good. And, chunks of cheese and pretty girl on a swing, so, winning.
January 5, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, Native Horn said: "Girl in the swing" brings to mind The Old San Francisco Steakhouse" on IH-35 near 290. I remember going there for special occasions with the family back in the day. Big blocks of cheese on the table for appetizers. I think it must have closed 15-20 years ago though. We boycotted that place because when it opened in the mid-1980s they took over the street for their valet parking. We had been using the street parking for several years while our kids played at the Northland LL baseball fields on the other side of the street where the Chevy dealership is now located.
January 5, 20223 yr 12 minutes ago, Native Horn said: "Girl in the swing" brings to mind The Old San Francisco Steakhouse" on IH-35 near 290. I remember going there for special occasions with the family back in the day. Big blocks of cheese on the table for appetizers. I think it must have closed 15-20 years ago though. Elaine was my gf who got the swing gig at The Barn restaurant..
January 5, 20223 yr 5 minutes ago, Armybrat said: Elaine was my gf who got the swing gig at The Barn restaurant.. She seems to have been well qualified for that gig!
January 5, 20223 yr 9 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said: She seems to have been well qualified for that gig! She has been married to a psychiatrist for 53 years now. Lives in Georgia.
January 5, 20223 yr On 12/10/2021 at 10:54 PM, DougO said: I had family in Brownwood, frequent visits, much legend about Underwoods. The big Underwood sign was like the official welcome mat for the town. Yet, after eating there I never really understood what the big deal was. Take me back to Luby's. Us locals would skip over to Section Hand for food in Brownwood
January 5, 20223 yr Just adding that I introduced my son to Luby's the other day. He had been before but too young to really remember. This time we went and I made sure to get a big ol' piece of chocolate pie. He loved it. I was sad. It definitely had the feel of a restaurant about to close. Salad bar was just pre-packed salads in plastic containers. No more green cloth napkins holding silverware, but instead paper napkins. And I don't think there were the tiny swords for the olives, etc. Still, food tasted like Luby's, so I was happy with that part. Kid keeps asking for it because of the pie. Edited January 5, 20223 yr by FirstTimeCaller
January 5, 20223 yr 34 minutes ago, Armybrat said: She has been married to a psychiatrist for 53 years now. Lives in Georgia. I love that you know all of that.
January 5, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, Armybrat said: She has been married to a psychiatrist for 53 years now. Lives in Georgia. Is that her second marriage? I heard the piano player who was a Texas law grad married either your former ex or one of the swing girls. She left him shortly after for someone better. He's now a retired partner of one of the largest cpa firms in Houston.
January 5, 20223 yr What exactly do we mean by "the swing" girl? As in "to swing"? Edited January 5, 20223 yr by Lobo
January 6, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, Armybrat said: Elaine was my gf who got the swing gig at The Barn restaurant.. Thigh.
January 6, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, Lobo said: I love that you know all of that. I went to their wedding, after Mrs. Brat & I were married.
January 6, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, RollLeft said: Is that her second marriage? I heard the piano player who was a Texas law grad married either your former ex or one of the swing girls. She left him shortly after for someone better. He's now a retired partner of one of the largest cpa firms in Houston. No, she didn’t get married to the psychiatrist until 1968. That was her first, and only, husband. she truly was a good girl and not “loose” like most of the UT coeds then.
January 6, 20223 yr 5 minutes ago, Lobo said: You’re into some kinky shit man. Not judging. Elaine was actually a Doris Day type. Had another another UT gf, an art major. That one also had a gf at the same time... which turned out pretty kinky. Edited January 6, 20223 yr by Armybrat
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