Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hometown Dish
208
Chicken-Fried Steak
The Taste of West Texas
Strawn, Texas
Like many regional specialties, chicken-
fried steak (CFS) was born out of neces-
sity—and in this case, the challenge was
to make an inferior hunk of beef worthy of
a Sunday ranch dinner. Historians specu-
late that the solution came from the Ger-
mans who settled large parts of Texas:
Pound the meat into submission, bread or
batter it like a Wiener schnitzel, and slap in
into a sizzling cast-iron skillet (West Texas)
or deep-fryer (South Texas). When it's
done right, the meat turns astonishingly
juicy and tender, playing off against the
flaky, crisp crust in every bite. With a side
of mashed potatoes and topped with spicy
cream gravy, it's a country taste that's
hard to beat.
Folks in Dallas praise the CFS at the
aptly named
All Good Café
in the Deep
Ellum neighborhood (2934 Main St., Dal-
las;
&
214/742-5362
), while Houstonians
are partial to the
Barbecue Inn's
(116 W.
Crosstimbers St., Houston;
&
713/695-
8112
). But for the most part, the art of
making chicken-fried steak—also known
as “country-fried steak,” for obvious rea-
sons—thrives away from the big cities, in
small-town cafes across the hill country
and on north.
No other town is as blessed in this
regard as tiny Strawn, a
Last Picture Show
sort of West Texas town about halfway
between Abilene and Fort Worth, just
north of I-20. In deer hunting season, you'll
notice a host of pickup trucks in the gravel
lot outside a converted service station,
now
Mary's Café
(119 Grant Ave.;
&
254/
672-5741
); on weekends, it's just as likely
to be a flock of Harleys. That's the sort of
unpretentious spot this is, a much-added-
onto series of simply furnished dining
rooms with plenty of space between the
tables and neon beer signs on the walls.
Portions are legendarily huge—order a
medium-size steak unless you're abso-
lutely ravenous. Owner Mary Tretter cooks
her pounded-thin steaks the West Texas
way: dredged in seasoned flour (a secret
recipe) and fried on a flat-iron griddle;
don't expect fast service, because every
order is cooked from scratch.
Yet while the crowds pack into Mary's,
right across the street is another cafe
where, locals insist, the chicken-fried steak
is equally good—
Flossie's
(120 Grant
Ave.;
&
254/672-9201
).
When Mary's
started up in 1986, in fact, its business was
largely overflow from Flossie's, which was
already famous for its CFS. Like Mary's, it's
got lots of Mexican specialties on the
menu, including a superb Frito pie, but it's
smaller and homier, and it's also known for
its hand-cut french fries and juicy ham-
burgers. Only trouble is, meals at both
cafes are so hearty, you can't sample both
in a day.
(
Dallas-Fort Worth International (85
miles/137km).
L
$$$
Stockyards Hotel,
109 W.
Exchange Ave., Fort Worth (
&
800/423-
8471
or 817/625-6427; www.stockyards
hotel.com). $$
Etta's Place,
200 W. 3rd
St., Fort Worth (
&
866/355-5760
or 817/
255-5760; www.ettas-place.com).
