Restaurants
Velvety veal a la normande in Castroville, juicy Southern fried chicken near Woodville: A smorgasbord of eateries with the bite stuff.
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Dove’s Nest, Waxahachie
WITH ITS BOLD BLACK-AND-WHITE-CHECKERBOARD FLOOR, twinkling lights in the dining room, and walls painted with stylized birds and trees, the four-year-old Dove’s Nest has a French Country air. It’s pleasant for soup and fancy sandwiches at lunch and lovely on weekend evenings, when the room glows with lamplight. Under the direction of the 26-year-old chef, Eric Bellamy (who cooked at Sipango in nearby Dallas), the kitchen turns out a dinner menu of New American Cuisine. My salad consisted of assorted lettuces with apple-smoked bacon, candied pecans, and blue cheese. The balsamic-maple dressing was a little harsh, but the cheese and nuts made great little flavor nuggets. For an entrée I ordered the wild game plate. Two of the three meats were excellent—the coffee-and-spice-rubbed quail was juicy, and the pan-seared medallions of venison (in a blackberry demiglace) were full of flavor. Only the commercial-tasting wild boar sausage seemed less than subtle. Best idea of the evening: a bread pudding made of fluffy cubes of bread sweetened with a light custard and interspersed with blackberries, accompanied by vanilla ice cream. 105 Jefferson (972-938-3683). Lunch Monday through Saturday (entrées $5 to $7), dinner Fridays and Saturdays only, reservations required (entrées $13 to $22). AE, DS, MC, V. PATRICIA SHARPE
Hennington’s Texas Cafe, Granbury
PERPLEXED BY AN INTERESTING BUT ODD lunch dish at Hennington’s, a popular restaurant in a former Victorian hotel in this town southwest of Fort Worth, I decided to go back for Sunday brunch the next day.
Whoa! And wow! The broccoli-Gruyère tart was like a refined, thin quiche with a great crisp crust; the grilled vegetables—red bell peppers, mixed squash, green beans—were beautifully herbed; the fruit salad contained not just apples and pears but dried apricots, figs, and cranberries in a lightly sweetened fruit syrup; the roast beef was pink and tender; the fluffy miniature biscuits were a dream; and the “smashed turnips,” made with reduced cream and a touch of sugar, may be the best thing I have ever put in my mouth. Despite the sophistication of the menu—devised by 42-year-old chef and co-owner Brian Hennington—the cafe is casual and comfortable. I’m looking for an excuse to visit again. 121 E. Bridge (817-573-8400). Lunch (entrées $6 to $10) and dinner (entrées $10 to $25) Thursday through Saturday and Mondays, Sunday brunch ($11.95, $6.95 for children). AE, DS, MC, V. PATRICIA SHARPE
Hill Top Cafe, Near Fredericksburg
SOME PEOPLE WOULD ARGUE THAT THE HILL Top Cafe is a roadhouse, not a cafe. But it thrives on visitors and tourists from Fredericksburg and has become in its eighteen years of existence one of the Hill Country’s must-visit attractions. If anyone could give lessons in how to run a Texas country restaurant, it would be the Hill Top’s owners, Brenda and Johnny Nicholas. To begin with, the place is fun to be in, with everything in the world hanging from the ceiling; if Johnny, 50, is there, and in the mood, he might even play the piano and sing some bluesy tunes. The servers treat you right (and a few are real characters). Finally, the food—everything from burgers to cajun and Greek specialties—is always good and often very fine indeed. The last time I ate there I had a great Greek salad with toasted almonds and a heady balsamic vinaigrette and good, thinnish but strong East Texas shrimp gumbo. The baked flounder stuffed with shrimp and crabmeat was spicy and remarkably fresh. My only gripe is that the place is so popular on weekend evenings you have to make reservations several days in advance—but that seems a small price to pay to visit a legend. U.S. 87, ten miles northwest of Fredericksburg (830-997-8922). Lunch Wednesday through Saturday (entrées $5 to $10), dinner Wednesday through Sunday (entrées $8 to $19), Sunday brunch (entrées $3 to $10). AE, MC, V. PATRICIA SHARPE
Joe’s Jefferson Street Cafe, Kerrville
I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK THAT CRISP vegetables were the exclusive domain of city restaurants when I stumbled into Joe’s Jefferson Street Cafe, a casual Hill Country place. Owned by Joe Sanders and his wife, Becky Priour, who are in their forties, and set in a picturesque Victorian house with comfortable dining rooms, high ceilings, and an attractive semicircular porch, the restaurant boasts a pleasantly informal atmosphere and a staff that is efficient and courteous without being overbearing.
Whereas most Texas small-town restaurants fall squarely into either the down-home or the gourmet category, Joe’s lies happily in between. The menu ranges from fancy-named specials such as salmon Oscar—a delectable construction of a grilled salmon filet topped with blackened crabmeat, asparagus, and a fiery béarnaise—to simple, wholesome side dishes. Firm, hand-cut glazed carrots, tender new potatoes with sweet onions and green beans, honest-to-goodness mashed potatoes with cream gravy, and perfectly al dente cabbage stewed with bacon-infused tomatoes made my four-vegetable plate a refreshing option on a day when another piece of protein was out of the question. 1001 Jefferson (830-257-2929). Lunch Monday through Friday (entrées $5.95 to $7.95), dinner Monday through Saturday (entrées $7.95 to $14.95). MC, V. PATRICK EARVOLINO
La Normandie, Castroville
TO SAY THE LEAST, I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THE FOOD at La Normandie to be so scrumptious. The restaurant, in this little town west of San Antonio, is unprepossessing—and its modest exterior, well-intentioned but inexperienced servers, and staid decor (complete with a map of the D-day invasion) all led me to expect a gastronomic flop. But although I had managed to restrain myself at the four other restaurants I had visited that day, my self-discipline was proving no match for the culinary skills of Edwin and Suzanne Lewalski, La Normandie’s husband-and-wife owner-chefs, who are in their fifties. The couple’s signature veal à la normande, in a velvety sauce combining cream with shallots and mushrooms that had been flambéed with Calvados, astonished me, and by the time my dessert arrived, my resistance was shattered. I picked up my spoon and considered the Lewalskis’ coup de grâce: two delicate crêpes filled with sautéed apple slices atop a pool of crème anglaise. I promised myself a stern reprimand later, then dug in. 1302 Fiorella (830-538-3070, 800-261-1731). Lunch buffet Monday through Friday ($5.99), lunch menu Saturdays and Sundays (entrées $7.95 to $9.95), dinner Wednesday through Sunday (entrées $12.95 to $18.95, $65 for chateaubriand or rack of lamb for two). Personal checks accepted; no credit cards. PATRICK EARVOLINO
The Range at the Barton House, Salado
THE SIGHT OF THIS 1866 TWO-STORY limestone house made me groan: Food served in such settings is frequently as dated as the buildings themselves. But one glimpse inside the Central Texas establishment—with its open kitchen and its large, colorful drawing of a maniacal chef surrounded by kitchen utensils—let me know I wasn’t in for anything outmoded.
Opened not quite two years ago by Temple native Katie Hermann, 28, and her 27-year-old husband, Dave (both graduates of and former teachers at New York’s Culinary Institute of America), the Range is as contemporary as its food is sublime. With our very first bite, my dining companions and I knew we were in for something special; mmms and ahhhs greeted appetizers that included an aromatic wild mushroom pizza and a luscious roasted-tomato soup with subtle flavors of smoke and cumin.
Standouts among our entrées were succulent, crisp-skinned roast chicken that had been marinated in lemon, garlic, and thyme, served with garlic mashed potatoes, and a deliciously understated pan-seared salmon filet in a tangy mustard sauce. We found only one small misstep: a tasty but slightly overcooked and limp-skinned roast breast of duck. For dessert, the deep-flavored, creamy-centered chocolate pudding cake was otherworldly. By the time we left, we had learned again the lesson we cannot learn enough: Never judge a restaurant by its facade. 101 N. Main (254-947-3828). Lunch Saturdays and Sundays (entrées $6.95 to $18.95), dinner Wednesday through Sunday (entrées $14.95 to $18.95). AE, DS, MC, V. JIM SHAHIN.
Honorable Mentions
Here are some restaurants around the state with specialties that deserve a try:
Blue Bonnet Cafe 211 U.S. 281 South, Marble Falls (830-693-2344). Legendary pies served with bona fide smiles.
Bon Ton 2359 Texas Business Highway 71, La Grange (409-968-8875). Cafeteria atmosphere, great crisp-crusted fried chicken (bypass the steam table and insist that you’ll happily wait for your order of chicken to be cooked fresh).
Cafe Cenizo Gage Hotel, 102 U.S. 90 West, Marathon (800-884-4243, 915-386-4205). Maximum New Mexico chic and fine Southwestern fare.
Cypress Grill 433 Water, Kerrville (830-896-5577). Deft fusion of Southwestern, French, Italian, and Asian cuisines.
Po-Po Family Restaurant 829 FM 289, seven miles northwest of Boerne at Interstate 10 Exit 533 (830-537-4194). Famous fried chicken and walls practically upholstered with 1,500 commemorative plates.
Reata 203 N. Fifth, Alpine (915-837-9232). Cowboy cuisine like nothing you ever had around the old campfire.
Royer’s Round Top Cafe on the square, Round Top (800-866-7437). Cozy cafe with primo pies especially the apple.
Specht’s Store Bulverde (830-980-7121). Historical knickknacks and terrific fried catfish in a great old general store. Directions: From San Antonio, go north on Blanco Road, which becomes FM 2696, then east on Specht Road (look for the Texas flag).
Steve’s Market and Deli 110 E. Chandler, Brownwood (915-646-5576). Tiny storefront with ambitious weekend dinners lit by candles and a recycled traffic light.
Volare 205 S. Baylor, Brenham (409-836-1514). Little Italy meets the home of Blue Bell ice cream.
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