I finally got by the Smokestack Resturant a couple of weeks ago on I-20 between Abilene and Ft Worth to try the Fire recommended famous Chicken Fry on the 9 hour drive to E Texas to camp and hunt squirrels, deer and wood ducks.

I was sorely disappointed to say the least. It was a little thin piece of, i guess, what some call chicken fry for about $13.50 with a tiny saucer of nondescript "salad". Small and thin crust and had a slight flavor of meat on the edge of sour.

A year ago i also tried the same meal at the great chicken fry place in Brady while headed to Buchanan to fish a werk. It was ok but I've been by the place several times since and never got the feeling i needed to go in though the meal had been pretty Ok but nothing more.

I finally realized i had been spoiled and woefully unappreciative of the chicken frys i was used to at the Shrimp Boat Restaurant in the Elegante Hotel just north of I - 20 on the east end of Odessa.

Im used to good food because I can and do cook, however, after the 2 incidents related above i realized i had often been scarfing down what most would consider a heavenly chickenfry meal.

The place has an unreal salad AND soup bar that comes with the meal. After stuffing myself on the unlimited salad with too many accutriments to list and freash baked rolls, i managed to get two bites of the tender, delicious steak before calling for the tab and to go comtainer.

I will post a oic of the plate below and recommend that if any are passing through on I 20 and like the things or great hamburgers or Chicken Monterrey with a big pile of brown rice and veggies and a big salad salad bar you can revist as much as yiu wish, you owe yourself a stop at this wayside.

Now, im fixing to go stuff myself again on the left overs.

Dr Mercola would kick your ass up between your ears

😂😂😩😩

Jag wearing punk kid white frame oakleys

hahaha

Hat on backwards?

Is your truck lowered in the ass-end?? 🤣

Jag,

Funny thing is some of the best I have had is in north Idaho. The Hoot Owl in Sandpoint to name one.

Kelley's Country Cookin' in Pearland, Texas used to fix up a helluva good chicken fried steak.

RC, you tried the wrong place. The best Chicken Fried Steak in TX that everyone brags about and several here on the Fire, including myself, have recommended is at Mary’s Cafe in Strawn, TX
It’s about 30 miles NWvof the Smoke Stack. You take the Hwy 16 exit, right Past Ranger Hill, and go about 10 miles N.

The Smoke Stack sucks, IMO. Overrated, and Overpriced is what I thought of it.

Next time your headed that way, let me know. I’ll meet you there and buy you a real Chicken Fried Steak Dinner.

Looks like a good appetizer.

Not near enough there to have had anything left over.

Somebody should have their ass kicked for putting that slice of what is supposed to be a tomato on your plate too.

I was gonna say something about the tomato. The white frame oakleys stole my thoughts. 😃

Good eatin' right there. Add a pitcher of Coors for a table of friends and it's the Best Damn Friday Lunch in Texas.

Them steamed veggies cancel out that fried steak?😉

I mourn for the passing of the "Good Earth Cafe" in Fruitland Iowa.

The general menu was great, and the chicken fried steak was the best I ever set fork to.

Soups...
Pies....
Meat Loaf to die for.....

The smoke stack was a darn good place 20 years or so ago but it has gone down some over the years.

Mary's in Strawn will leave you wanting a room to sleep it off,it's that good.

They also have other good eats like calf fries and steaks.

Yep. And the biggest hamburgers I’ve ever seen.
Their breakfasts and Mexican food is damn good too.

This is the Chicken Fried you seek. Be thoughtful on size. The small fills a hole dinner plate.

I figured beings as how it's in Texas it would fill the back of a pick up.

Unreal. I hunted a couple of times out of Trout Creek and Thompson Falls, Ed, and main street down town T Falls had a nice cafe on the south side of the street. I told the gal i had been hunting there a week and needed a Southern Chicken Fried Steak with cream gravy. She didnt know what i was talking about so i described it. It came back with a slightly greenish translucent gravey. Hahaha. Blew my mind.

Wish youd go by there some time and educate them.

Thanks, pal. Cant wait.

The best CFS was in the early 1980's at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the north end of Main Street in Grapevine, TX. On Friday's we would hit it for lunch and we got out the door for less than $5/person and that was with a couple of pitchers of Coors for all of us.

Thanks, Plains.

https://www.hootowlcafe.com/

Point taken. They arent too tender.

White Oakleys? Huh.....

Always heard the smokestack was good. Never ate at it or Mary's. Driven by about a million times.

^^ THIS ^^

...but I would say it's been in decline for at least 12 years. It used to be great - no longer.

You should have driven a bit farther East and stopped at the Railhead Smokehouse in Fort Worth. Excellent BBQ at I-20 and Montgommery, as is Angelo's on White Settlement, but Angelo's is not right off the hwy.

Looking good.

Hey, i was on the road, man.

I always swing by Chicken Express in Eastland if I'm a travel'in...

That was a country fried steak, and yes the original owners did it right, less than ten miles from my house

Man, 10gaugemag, these Texas boys got me hungry for some Strouds. If I wasn't heading out to Cottonwood Falls, I'd be gettin' some chicken fried with gravy and cinnamon rolls!

http://www.stroudsnorth.com/

Only ever had fried chicken there once. Thinking livers too. Wasn't too bad of a place.

I think it was the original, in a huge old house off of Bannister if I remember correctly.

My next stop for CFS is the Reata in Fort Worth:

https://www.reata.net/reata-fort-worth/menus/dinner/

"Reata's Chicken Fried Steak with Cracked Pepper Cream Gravy."

Shady Lawn restaurant, exit #6 on I-65 just north of the Alabama state line. It's about 5 miles from our place, and it used to be a regular stop for us. Their chicken fried steak needed its own plate- - - -the sides came- - - -you guessed it- - - -on the side! My wife and her sister who made a yearly visit from Ohio would order a single entree' and split it. Sadly, the place changed owners and the quality and quantity of the food went downhill. Now it's just another greasy spoon truck stop restaurant, even if it does have a 12 foot tall statue of a chicken out front.

As others have mentioned, Mary’s in Strawn for chicken fried steak. The chicken strips at the smoke stack are pretty good.

OK Cafe has a good one if you ever have the misfortune of driving thru Buckhead in Atlanta.

When we lived outside Andover my wife required Strouds fried chicken monthly. I had their Salisbury steak. Seem to recall killer cinnamon rolls as the wrap.

Jag, you got bad directions. CHL is correct on Mary’s.

Be it books, movies, eateries, attractions, or any of a myriad of things, I have left a life-time trail of disappointment from following recommendations. I have had the best luck with simple, quiet, "I like(d) this." comments and the worst luck with effusive, loud, "There's no way you won't like this!" declarations.

Nice we have choices, right?

Did I mention the pies they made?

Been a few years now. I traveled the country some working powerhouses. Never found a better place to eat.

I like the homestyle chicky fry steak with ketchup.



Speaking of steak, I should start a stray cow report...

'Bought ready to start a gofundme.

And that we are allowed to make them.

Smokestack CFS was good, but I don't see how you could beat Billy Gene's in Kerrville.

The best CFS I've ever had was about 20 years ago in Big D at a restaurant owned by Larry North, in the Quadrangle. It was constructed out of a filet mignon, pounded flat and was so enormous that it draped over the sides of the dinner plate. Truly spectacular. Unfortunately that restaurant disappeared long ago.


Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken fried steak.

- Larry McMurtry

[quote=High_Noon]
Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken fried steak.

- Larry McMurtry
Who knewTexas was 1500 miles wide!!!

I gotta get down there and buy some of your alls measuring devices.

Indeed.

N. to S.

Like I said.

This^^^^^ Mary's Cafe. There was a cafe in downtown Rusk that was very good but I have not been there since 1979. Also when I worked in Dallas in the mide to late 1980s the best chicken fried steak was at the Bishop Cafe on Bishop Street in Oak cliff.

In reality, N - S driving distance is about 900 miles, but that's what he purportedly said.

Texas is 801 miles across W - E.

Maybe it feels like 1500 miles?

When I was a kid we drove to Houston 1 time to my grandparents. I was probably 6-8 years old. Glad we took the super bird from then on although I probably wouldn't mind the drive now.

When they moved back to MO I stayed here and dad flew down, rented a big Ryder, loaded all of their stuff and drove it back.

Fuu.uuck that noise.

Far be it for me to alter a quote by Larry McMurtry.

Hell, the drive from EP to Big D is long enough.

Back in '92, I drove from Dallas to Fairbanks. Now that was a long drive.

ketchup is for fries and meatloaf, doesn't belong on anything else.

Schitt!

Yep. Mary’s Cafe in Strawn, TX is an iconic place. Here's a photo of my daughter there from a few years ago, and a photo of their chili burger:

The Koffee Kup in Hico, TX is also a great place, but I haven't been there in years.

It's damn frustrating that we can't get a proper breakfast here in Boerne short of Denny's... We used to head to the bowing alley in Blanco but it seems Covid killed it.

What was the name? I am from Grapevine.

Last time there it was same as always but that was pre CV19. We hunted S of there in Avant in Hamilton County. KK had great food but more so the greatest varieties of pies I’ve ever seen. Outstanding.

How many jabs, ya have now?

Come on this is embarrassing that came off the kids menu right ????

880 miles across Texas on I-10 Louisiana border to New Mexico border.

A little North for you Texans but Lauren Boebert’s Restaurant in Rifle Colorado has the best Chicken Fried Steak I’ve had. The servers at shooters Grill are packing heat but the food is the highlight. We make a point of stopping there on annual elk hunting trip.

I can't remember, too many moons ago. It was on the west side of Main, right where city hall is sitting now.

There is a place just north of Walton, KY that has one of the largest menus I have ever seen for a small diner. On it, I found country-fried steak, country-fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, and steak-fried chicken. It was close to work, so I managed to get there and eat all 4 delicacies. My favorite was the fried goetta.

I found it: Brooks Meats. It's south of Kelly Q's Dairy Whippers. I highly recommend this place.

If you are on 20, and going to Ft. Worth, might as well just hold on and go to Massey's in Ft. Worth. Worth the ride up on the North Side for their chicken fried.

Mmmm last time I was there Babe's in Cedar Hill was pretty good.

The best CFS I ever had was at Bubba's in Jackson Hole Wyoming.
My mouth waters just thinking about it...👌

I’ve had chicken fried steaks all over but the best by far was from the Tip Top Cafe in the tiny town of Lockesburg, Arkansas. Sadly, it no longer exists.

Honorable mention goes to Talley’s on 11th street in Tulsa.

I have been suckered in to order the CFS in I don't know how many places and been severely disappointed in all of them. There's a place near here in Heber, Utah called Chick's Cafe. "Renowned" for their CFS, said the guy who took me there. I left half of it on the plate.

Someday, somewhere, I may stumble upon the Holy Grail of Chicken Fried Steak joints - and never know it because I ordered something else.

Im not saying the CFS at the place i reported on is astounding. To me, it's just fairly close to what a CFS is supposed to be. Throw in a huge, all you can eat salad AND soup bar and you can end up with two good meals out of the deal.

Blue bonnet cafe is suppose to have good CFS, I haven’t tried it.



Now I know what’s on tonight..

P.S.

Jag always rocks Oakley’s

All different colors. 🙂

Bluebonnet in Marble has become a tourist dive. I had a CFS at the River City Grill this past monday when I went into town to pick up a load of T posts. Wasn’t bad at all. And not near as crowded at Bluebonnet.

Caught my eye, too. Do we have any pics of the jag?

Thanks KW, I’ll try it. I don’t care for the burger at the river grill but that’s normal for me.


Only time I eat at blue bonnet is breakfast.

Yeah probably a crapshoot. Try burgers at Doublehorn brewery over next to where Burnham bros. used to be. They aren’t bad.

Best chicken fried steak, EVER: Dallas Petroleum Club...

I know the place.

Bill’s burgers was good, damn Covid apparently forced them to shut the doors. There’s still one in Burnet open.

Head down to Johnson City to Fat Boy’s burgers on east side of 281!!! Damn good burgers. Worth the short drive.

Oh. And Pecan St. Brewery on square in JC has pretty good CFS

Just made that trip on 281 yesterday. I intended to stop at In and Out to see if it was better than Whataburger, but missed the exit and just kept going.

It’s not hard to be better than the Whataburger in Marble.

To be honest, most I have had at restaurants cannot compare to what I make at home.

My family went to california a few years ago to see the main national parks, etc... when there my son was intent on visiting an In & Out to eat since he had heard such wonderful things about it... All of us ended up not even finishing our food... Terrible... threw most away and went somewhere else. It stuns me so many people find it good....

Crinkle cut fries?


Looks like he is prone to ordering the Mac n Cheese bites too.

Saved me some money then. Thanks

+1

Alamo Springs Cafe inconveniently located in the middle of nowhere between Fredericksburg and Comfort makes pretty good burgers. Right next to the Old Tunnel State Park (bat cave).

I ate at Fat boys, just remembered.

Wife said I ordered a fajita salad. 🤣

👍👍👍

Why not cook it a home?

Rodgers , Minnesota at the truck stop has great chicken fried steak .

I do! All the time. Last batch was some bison meat I brought home from Colorado ranch I found in the freezer.

What about good Mexican food? I haven’t found it around here,

Prefer Green Chile, not tomatillos

Taco wagon at Hollingsworth corner make damn good tacos!!

Who eats fries w cfs? Imo it’s an entree best served w mashed potatoes.

Betos tacos? Yes they’re awesome,

Food trucks count too I guess. 😂

And didn’t even stop in to say high


No www for me in those days, it’d been my pleasure to meet you.

Bartley's BBQ used to be in that spot, right next to the snow cone stand.

He is on a Keto diet.

😂

Simple, im on a low carb kick and havent had fries with catsup in 3 freaking mo.
Try it some time, you wont like it.

Drive over to Burnett and get the Triple Meat Cheeseburger a Storm’s. I believe they call it the “Storm’s Special”
Damn good fries and milk shakes & malts too.

It’s highly overrated. Their breakfast is pretty good though.

We used to eat a really good breakfast at the Caverns Inn Restaurant & Motel in Boerne. It’s probably not even there anymore.

Been thru Burnet several times in last couple of weeks. Picked up big load of barb wire about two weeks ago up in Goldwaithe for a ranch project.

Ok, I’m in Belton today. Where is a good CF in Belton or heading back north from there?

Belton Missouri?

Not a "proper breakfast", but Mary's Taco's is not too shabby for breakfast tacos.

Texas

Si

Maybe someone that knows for sure will chime in but the Googler says The Gin at Nolan Creek or maybe Fry’s.

Not fair, the rest of us can't get in that place

Try Jodi's or The Cotton Patch. Freddy's hamburgers. (2nd hand info from my Bud). Look 'em up.

Had a hamburger at the Gin last night. It was okay.

Ok. I think it’s a package of nilgai cutlets I found in the freezer. But I got the hot lard a going for lunch!!!

I feel a big dump coming on.

Too much gravy porn

lol

Looks excellent. I’m thawing…

Bubble guts?

The old woman makes deer finger steaks like that.

I think at this point...knowing past posts on the matter...it would be classified as simply "guts".

Sort of an Ops Normal situation.

Mmmmmm!!! Deer fingers!!!!


Mmmmmm!!!!!
Triple Mmmmmm!!!!

That’s not very respectful.


It’s old lady.

And past pictures. 🤦‍♂️

Damn right! I've never seen one that looked that good, usually it is thin as a pancake.

Crinkles are the best. Not sure about m&c bites.

Ate there once - very disappointed. Won’t be back

Just did a search. There really is a porn category called gravy porn. Leave it to Slum to educate us all...

Best I ever had was at a nondescript looking little eatery in Myakka County, Florida. Wish I could remember the name, but it was 10 years ago.

Nephew has a small ranch there for rescued horses.

Jag- didn't figure you for a white oakley man.

Jag, take a selfie while wearing the Macho Man Randy Savage shades and post it here.........

Double Dog Dare.

Ok. Later. Meanwhile



post a picture

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/SRf0dDN8/

[url=https://postimages.org/]



With Hataris gift

Jag, the restaurant on the hill across the Interstate from Smokestack
there at Thurber\Mingus has good T-bones and Buffalo. Mary's at Strawn
Has plate size CFS and big beer mugs.

Mary's the best I've ever had! We have a place in Cisco and hit Mary's every chance we get.

Thanks, Poboy.

Must have changed owners.....it was some of the best.

That used to be a huntin club? Don't remember a sign there.

Jacksons Family Restaurant is pretty dang good. Its downtown Atoka, Oklahoma.

Ditto. Fantastic place.