CenTex GuyGood Eats
November 26th 2008 01:51
Texas Monthly magazine has now put out a list of the Top 40 small town cafes.
It has to be both a blessing and a curse to be put on this list. Everyone wants free advertising, and what better advertising is there than to have a state magazine call you one of the best?
Only problem is once you are on the list you have a lot to live up to. Customer count will increase which automati-cally puts a higher stress level on you and you staff. That's kind of happened to several of the barbecue joints the magazine previously listed and I talked about in an earlier article. Snow's Barbecue in Lexington is a prime example. They already were only opened one day a week (Saturday mornings), which in itself gave them a unique niche. People would arrive before the doors opened at 8 a.m. (yes 8 a.m. for barbecue) and they'd serve until they ran out of food. Used to be that was an hour or two into the afternoon. Now they (or rather the customers) are lucky if they are open until noon.
I haven't seen the full list of cafes yet, but I know I have been to one: The Texan Cafe in Hutto. What a great place. Nowadays the prices are a bit higher than many small town cafes, but still reasonable. And then again, Hutto isn't exactly a small town anymore. Hutto is east of Austin and is perhaps one of the fastest growing area in the state (Away from Austin traffic, yet close to Austin life). Back to the cafe. You can go there for fried pickles, hamburgers, even seafood and classic American Fare. But the real treat here (other than the fried pickles) is happy hour. From 2-4 everyday you can get a slice of Pie and a drink for just under the normal cost of a slice of pie. The cafe does serve drinks, but they didn't when they began this promotion.
And don't think that just because the pie is cheap, the quality isn't so good. Happy Hour is sometimes the Cafe busiest time. The pies (and the variety, like the vegetables, changes daily...or at least they used to) are great.
If you are ever in the area, this is one place I would tell you to check out.
It has to be both a blessing and a curse to be put on this list. Everyone wants free advertising, and what better advertising is there than to have a state magazine call you one of the best?
Only problem is once you are on the list you have a lot to live up to. Customer count will increase which automati-cally puts a higher stress level on you and you staff. That's kind of happened to several of the barbecue joints the magazine previously listed and I talked about in an earlier article. Snow's Barbecue in Lexington is a prime example. They already were only opened one day a week (Saturday mornings), which in itself gave them a unique niche. People would arrive before the doors opened at 8 a.m. (yes 8 a.m. for barbecue) and they'd serve until they ran out of food. Used to be that was an hour or two into the afternoon. Now they (or rather the customers) are lucky if they are open until noon.
I haven't seen the full list of cafes yet, but I know I have been to one: The Texan Cafe in Hutto. What a great place. Nowadays the prices are a bit higher than many small town cafes, but still reasonable. And then again, Hutto isn't exactly a small town anymore. Hutto is east of Austin and is perhaps one of the fastest growing area in the state (Away from Austin traffic, yet close to Austin life). Back to the cafe. You can go there for fried pickles, hamburgers, even seafood and classic American Fare. But the real treat here (other than the fried pickles) is happy hour. From 2-4 everyday you can get a slice of Pie and a drink for just under the normal cost of a slice of pie. The cafe does serve drinks, but they didn't when they began this promotion.
And don't think that just because the pie is cheap, the quality isn't so good. Happy Hour is sometimes the Cafe busiest time. The pies (and the variety, like the vegetables, changes daily...or at least they used to) are great.
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