Mineola - East Texas Hamburger Company

During our July 4th weekend trip to Louisiana, my wife and I decided to spend the night in Mineola Texas, on good ol' Highway 80. It is a beautiful part of East Texas, with small hills and abundant trees and creeks. The oil-man H.L. Hunt said that a person could grow anything in East Texas, the land was so rich. He even bought a pecan farm in Winona many decades ago.

Unfortunately my wife and I arrived in Mineola later than I wanted, so we had less than an hour to shop before all the antique stores closed, and the following day was the 4th, so most of the shops would be closed. It is a beautiful little town, with the antique stores, restaurants. It has everything except a Walmart and a hospital.

I have driven through Mineola many times, but never made a major stop until this weekend. I also heard a lot about the East Texas Hamburger Company, and since my wife and I were in the mood for a hamburger, we decided to try the ETHC. It claims to be the oldest eating establishment in Mineola. The inside has great atmosphere and a funky decor, everything is casual. You place your order at the counter, and they will bring it to your table when done. Both of us ordered the burger, and fries. After all, that is what it is named after.

I was somewhat disappointed with my burger. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't extra good. I prefer my burgers to have some extra flavor in them, hickory, garlic, BBQ. For this burger, the flavor is in the meat, which is good, but not to my taste. My wife had the same opinion. All-in-all, it was just an average experience.

However, I plan to come back to ETHC and try out other items on their menu, like the CFS, or catfish.

The Best Chicken Fired Steak in Texas

It has been a few months since I stopped at Mary's Cafe in Strawn, Texas. But Mary cooks, in my opinion, the BEST CHICKEN FRIED STEAK IN THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS. The CFS is cooked on a griddle, not deep-fried. The CFS is HUGE! The town of Strawn and the surrounding area is well known for Mary's, and if you don't get there early or call in ahead of time, expect to wait a little longer for the food. It is all homemade and fresh, and it is worth the wait. Since it is well known for CFS, that is about all that I have ordered. Once I ordered a regular hamburger which was large and tasty, and calf-fries, which are also the best that I have tasted. Perhaps one of these days I will try something else, but it is hard to say no to the CFS. Several times I have scored points with the wife by coming home with the CFS or calf-fries. Whatever item you order, I am sure you will leave stuffed and happy.

The last time I was there, I had fun watching Mary go to a table, take an order, go to the kitchen, come back and deliver someone else's order and repeat the process again. This lady definitely works hard to make her customers happy.

Mary's is located a few miles north of I-20, about halfway between DFW and Abilene.

Terrell Cafe

July 3, 2009. Lunch

On the way to a family reunion in Lousisana, we drove through the town of Terrall, TX during lunchtime and stopped at the Terrell Cafe on old Highway 80, on the east side of town. There seemed to be a lot of vehicles in the parking lot, and that is always a good sign. It is an older building, with a non-smoking area. The interior was "old-style" but clean. The waitstaff was attentive and prompt.

The menu was extensive with American homemade classics and Tex-Mex food. I ordered the chicken-fried steak, and my wife ordered the combo fajita's. My chicken-fried (deep-fried) was "average" not bad, not exceptionally good. On a 1-10 scale with 10 being the best CFS, Mary's Cafe in Strawn TX, I would rate this a 5.5. The flavor and meat was good. But one of the features that I don't care for in a deep-fried CFS is crust with no meat inside - nothing worse then biting a delicious crust with air inside. This CFS was guilty; there were a few small bites like that. The vegetables with the CFS were good, and there was a good-size selection of sides. I also ordered the chicken tortilla soup for an appetizer. It was a little different that the CT soups that I am used to, it had a lot of vegetables in it. But it was very delicious!

My wife bragged about how great the fajitas were, she let me have a few bites and I agreed, the seasonings were great on both the chicken and steak.

Even though the CFS was not near the best, my wife liked her lunch, we enjoyed the experience.

Welcome

Welcome, I am Plano Mark, and I have started this blog to discuss my travel trips in Texas, the state that I live in, and love. I will discuss cities and towns that I visit, interesting stops, and naturally, great cafes to eat at.