Eating Texas Style
I have been MIA for a bit but can't blame my hectic schedule. I was in Texas attending my 30th high school reunion. I graduated from a dinky town that I moved to three months before graduation. I really didn't know these people very well but they are linked to my childhood memories forever. I was surprised to see that not much has changed since I was with them in 30 years. Those who have bonded during childhood, are friends still to this day. It was tough trying to wiggle into those circles. And pretty much I never got in them. I was told (30 years later) I was a threat. I had to chuckle. I was overweight, short and very freckled faced. They precieved this as a threat?? Is that just sad or what?

Since I eat not so healthy things when I go home I took pictures to document this fact. Have I lost my mind or what. Who does this...bloggers armed with thoughts of how they post something for the next blog entry.

Okay, this is not for the week of heart or those who don't eat meat or anyone who eats healthy. I went over the edge in my search for the world's more unhealthy meals and I think I did a great job! LOL! Those of you who read this blog, know that I am a Chicken Fried Steak nut. I don't usually eat this amount of red meat, gravy or fried food in general, but since I only make the trek home once maybe twice a year, I figure I can rationalize my reckless actions.

My first downfall was breakfast with my brother and his wife at the Peacock Cafe. I always look at any Southern menu to find my favorite red meat dish. By golly, there it was. What could clog your heart more than this??

Notice the gravy does not look like my gravy when I made Paula Deen's Country Fried Steak. There is nothing that gets a day started like hash browns swimming in butter, 2 eggs over medium and a fried piece of red meat somthered in gravy. I live for this stuff once a year. I swear, I do not eat like this at home!

I did manage to eat some really good meat that I would consider more healthy. As we drove from my mother's town to the town where we had hotel reservations, we stumbled on to this place. I didn't care if I hungry or not (I really was) and we stopped on a dime. Hubby loves this stuff. Although we differ in our choices or beef over pork.
I know this is hard to see but I remembered while we were driving away that I didn't get a picture of the sign. It's a bit hard to see but the name of the place is Hard Eight Pit Bar BQ. It's a neatest most downhome place to eat BBQ I have ever seen. You don't order from a menu. This is how you order your meat.
You stand outside underneath a metal corrigated roof where there are at least six smokers that are smoking the meats. Then you walk along a metal rail and there is the cutting station where you place your order. There are three weathered signs that are hanging down from the metal roof that state what kind of meats they offer and that meat is priced by the pound. Yes, by the pound. The meats are all lined up on the grill. You can get a baked potato for the side outside. Then there is beef sausage and jalapeno sausage (which I had that was wonderful). Next is brisket which they will either slice for you or chop so that you can eat it on a bun or two slices of bread at the table. There are pork ribs and then you can have chopped pork butt for a sandwich. And of course, there is the ever faithful BBQ chicken buy the half. The blurry guy on your right is the cutter. To his right there is a stand where he has those plastic lunch trays all stacked up. Those are your plates. Each tray has a piece of white butcher's paper. You tell the guy what kind of meat you want and about how much. He cuts what you want and then plunks it down on that tray. Then you go inside and have your food weighed. As you move along the line you can get your sides and desserts cafeteria style. At the end of the line there is the cashier and she rings you up. Just beyond the cashier ther is the Texas (and southern) favorite, Iced Tea, both regular and sweetened. There is also a soda machine with Dublin Dr. Pepper (that will be another entry about this later).

There are long tables (click on the link above and then click on Fun Photos to see the inside of the palce ) and some elevated tables with stools and they face the TVs that are playing any current sport that is on. Each table has a huge and I mean huge jar of jalapeno peppers and a loaf of bread. There is no charge for that. Any hot sauce and BBQ that you might need are in bottles that fit into the old glass bottle carrying cardboard cases. Those of you are older will remember when soda came in glass bottles six to a cardboard carrier. It's a trip down memory lane when you see those card board carriers.

So a trip home for me means eating, Chicken Fried Steak, BBQ and Mexican food. I ate at this place when I was right out of high school 30 years ago. After driving around to see how much the town has changed imagine my surprise when I saw that this place was still in business!

Honestly, their portions could feed a family of four in one sitting. That is more food than any one person should ever be allowed to eat! I had the Mexican Lasagna. It's a stacked enchilada and the plate is loaded with pinto beans and rice.

Then hubby ordered seafood. Now I have no idea why anyone would order seafood in a Mexican restaurant in the middle of land locked Texas. It's totally beyond me. He orders seafood at every Mexican place we eat no matter where we go. Drives me completely nuts. Hubby ordered Seafood Fajitas. I have never seen them prepared this way and thought it was a clever idea. The seafood was shrimp and catfish. The catfish was grilled while the shrimp was skewered and then grilled. Hub said the shrimp was a little over grilled but the catfish was perfect. His meal came with hot flour tortillas and of course the sides of rice and beans.

And last but certainly not least was our guacamole order. We just loved their presentation of a colored chip in the middle. The guacamole was piled up high for $5. We could not eat all of it so next time we there it's a small order for us. I hate wasting guacamole!!!! Sorry I can't load the photo for the guacamole but blogger thinks you've seen enough of my food adventures! All-in all, I ate exactly the way I wanted while being in my most favorite place in the world...home!