Steak and a Smoke?

Lone Star Tavern

4713 Bellmead Dr

Waco, TX 76705                        

254-799-0027

Mon- Thur – 11:00am to 9:30pm

Fri – 11:00am to 10:00pm

Saturday – 4:00pm to 10:00pm  Closed Sunday

            This place is a local, family, owned and operated steak house that has been around for decades. Apparently my grandfather really enjoyed the joint and would take family and friends there rather often…. Which is always a good sign, since he really enjoyed his food (meat and sweets primarily).  I had heard of them before, but just never really got around to trying them out, never really crossed my mind in the past. After reading an article from WacoFork on them and having talked to a few friends about the joint, I figured it was about time to give it a try.

            When I first pull in, around 11:40, they weren’t real busy but I was pretty early. As I walk in I notice a sign posted that says they do allowing smoking inside, but OF course no pipes or cigars, just cigarettes. I’m not exactly a fan of dining and having to deal with stale or fresh cig smoke, but okay I here so lets eat. Next as you walk in, to the right there is a long row of different menus. Apparently instead of telling your wait-staff what you’d like and having them write it down, you circle what you want on them and then hand them to the staff. A totally different approach, but it seems to work, and it might actually make placing ordering more fluid when busy. Their menus are pretty basic and simple: plenty of steaks, potato items, and fried items.

            After sorting through all the menus I decided on going with Thursday’s lunch special: Chicken fried chicken with a salad and some yellow potato salad. We sat over in one of the corner booths, which obviously been under excessive use… a good thing though. One of the first things I noticed once sitting is a bottle of “butter” and a shaker with BACON bits! This is AWEsome… bacon makes everything better. I ended up putting it on my potato salad, salad and some in my pepper gravy…. Mmmmmm Mmmmmm. 

            The first thing I try is the CFC. It’s got a nice crunchy batter that sticks to the chicken breast. The chicken is tender and juicy, with plenty of flavor from both the chicken and batter. It was definitely one of the best CFCs I’ve had in a while. The cream gravy was very light on pepper, so I had to add some more for kick but it still had good flavor and consistency. The salad was alright and I liked their 1000 island dressing, it had a nice tanginess to it. The potato salad was my least favorite item of theirs. It had good consistency but it was a little light on the mustard and was too heavy on the onions. All I could taste after my meal was the onions from the potato salad… ugghh. Not a fan of that. They did  have nice freshly hot rolls, which is always a great addition to most meals. After finishing my lunch I stole a bite of my dad’s steak. It was fairly decent; it was tender and had good flavor, was cooked as asked, and I could taste the season salt and Worchester sauce they used to marinate it with.

            Over all, it was a decent lunch and by the time we left they were really filling up. If you are the type of person who likes to go out for a decent steak (from a Filet to a big ole T-bone) and potato, this is probably just the place for you. They have plenty of experience in the area and they have fairly decent prices. I’d also recommend the joint for a good CFC steak that’ll fill ya right up. I think I’ll go back again to try their combination plate; that way I can try their CFS and their sirloin steak with a baked potato, and some poppers.

 But eaters beware…. There is a good chance you will leave smelling like a raunchy ash tray.

If that doesnt bug you, then go for it.

I Can Now Die Happy

     Jack In The Box

     I must admit, I love bacon; I put it on most of my burgers. I use bacon in my mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, pasta salad, regular salads, baked potatoes, on and on. When we released out BLT Burger at work, my boss asked me if 2 pieces was enough- my reply "there is no such thing as too much"... so we added another slice of bacon to it for good measure. I definitely ran over to Capt Billy when he released his new bacon burger. I love the smell of freshly cooked bacon... I have yet to find something bacon wont/cant improve.... and I'm not afraid to cook it naked either... ;)

     Earlier last week one of my co-workers informed me of a Bacon Shake he snagged from Jack In The Box. I had saw a blurb on the new, limited, item while browsing yahoo earlier that morning but failed to see what place was carrying it. He badgered me all week, about how I needed to go try one.

            It wasn’t easy getting myself to go try one. I was very curious about it; but it carries around 700 calories and I’ve been hitting the gym most days of the week trying to get in shape. But my co-worker made a good point in that, trying stuff like this is my job. So after a week of stalling I finally went by and grabbed one today.

            When I went by to grab one the cashier found it amusing that I had come just to try it out and not grab any of their food… what can I say, not of a fan of the Jack (heck, when I was a child I used to bad mouth them and give full support to McDonalds. Many of you might remember their feuding commercials… like political ads). She told me how she was really surprised when they started carrying it and that she has yet to try them, but her other two coworkers had both dived in and enjoyed it. I got mine with the whipped cream, but no cherry.

            I take it out to my car and I start thinking to myself- What Did I Get Myself Into?

But I dived in and took a big ole scoop.What can I say; it definitely tasted like Bacon. Obviously you get the cold and vanilla flavor from the ice-cream that is used. You get a hint of salty and savory, even a very slight hint of the fatty greasiness flavor; all of which that adds up to a, non-overpowering, nice after taste of BACON. It was interesting to say the least.

 I won’t say it tasted like the bacon you get from the super market, as most of that is cold smoked, giving a smoky flavor to it. This flavor was much more similar to pure basic unadulterated bacon. Believe it or not, the whipped cream was a nice touch to it as well… who would’ve thought. Hell, who would’ve thought of making a Bacon Shake. If you are a Bacon lover, I’d say take a chance and go snag one of these for yourself before they are off the market. You only live once, and one day… years from now, you can hold your head high and claim you had a BACON SHAKE.

After words you can go grab one of Capt Billy's New Bacon Infused Burgers and make it a Bacon Kinda day.

Did I mention I love bacon?

Ah me! love can not be cured by herbs.

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon the people! Another date that has become greatly associated with FOOD. More specifically candy, other sweets & sometimes (if you are lucky) a nice dinner. I’m sure most of y’all have the majority of your stuff picked out and your reservations made; but I’m bored, so I decided to jot down some nonsense. 

            Most people will buy their sweets a sweet at the local grocery or general store, like HEB or Target. A few will splurge to buy their sweets from locally owned joints, like What About Cupcakes, The Olive Branch, Collin Street Bakery, Bakery Wiseman Chocolate House, or Texas Cheese House.

-What About Cupcakes carries a great selection of freshly made cupcakes, that is pre-ordered can be customized. They are also currently selling their cupcake pops, which are a nice little treat or dessert.
-The Olive Branch also sells their own special cupcakes and occasionally other dessert bars.

-Collin Street Bakery has a wide assortment of baked sweet bread and cookies to choose from.
-The Wiseman House is a sweets candy factory out in Hico, which specializes in chocolate but also carries candies like Peanut Brittle, cookies and such.

Even fewer will order their sweets from a distant place, like Two Dumb Dames or heaven forbid 1-800-Flowers. I’ve actually visited Two Dumb Dames a few years ago while on vacation. Walking in the place you are just smashed in the face with sweet fudgy aroma. They make some of the best fudge and salt water taffy I’ve ever had, and ordered both from them at least once a year just for the hell of it. I only use 1-800 for flowers, not chocolate of candy…. I don’t trust it.

Then there are the brave (and awesome) few who decide to venture out and make their own sweets; chocolate covered strawberries, fudge, cookies, crème brulee, special ice cream, and such. One of my favorite V-Day dishes to prepare is the Crème Brulee with fresh fruit and a simple syrup made from a slightly contrasting fruit. Last year I made French Vanilla Crème Brulee with strawberries inside, topped with strawberry slivers, vanilla sugar, along with blackberry simple syrup. It was her second time every eating Crème Brulee and she loved it; the first time she had it was up at a restaurant in Dallas, and I recommended that she try it, she fell in love with it then. So it was only common sense to make her some for V-day. It can be a little tricky to make, but you can find some simple recipes on the net… I believe Alton Brown has a pretty good one.  

Chocolate covered strawberries are a stand by and very simple to make. But its also cool to mix it up and prepare some other fruits like; blueberries, blackberries, apples slices, pear slices… and if they like peanut butter, throw on some chocolate covered Bananas topped with crunchy PB. Be sure to use high quality chocolate and keep an eye on the heat when melting it… if you can, make a double boiler.

Cookies, cake and pies are pretty self-explanatory, along with rice crispy treats, fudge, divinity, and such. At least in my opinion… then again, I’ve made most of this stuff several times and I can/will answer any questions, if they are asked. Gotta love those last minute plans or even better… last minute emergency’s that can pop up. (same goes for the later)

            For dinner, there are several great options going on around Waco. I know that Salty Dog is a doing a V-Day dinner special with a really awesome looking menu. The same goes for The Olive Branch, who is taking limited reservations for theirs. Other great places that work kill the wallet; Baris Pasta and Pizza, Shorty’s Pizza Shack, Buzzard Billy’s, Bangkok Royal, Cathay House, and a couple others. But if you really wanna kick some ass, make something yourself.

            You can go all out and do a salad, entrée with sides and a dessert. But I prefer to go with the K.I.S.S. method for this occasion. Last year I made pizza from scratch. Pizza is a very simple dish, easily customizable, and who doesn’t love some za? I mean come on, you can make it the pizza into several different shapes- triangle, square, circle, even a cheesy heart(get it?). Then you can pop whatever toppings fit your mood; even write a message in it… cause who doesn’t love food with a message. Last year I went with a square shaped pizza, topped with fresh ham and pineapple, and a couple of smoked cheeses from local makers. With some spare dough, I threw on some special apricot chipotle cheese (from Texas Cheese House) and sprinkled cinnamon for a sweet treat.

            Now I won’t give you MY pizza dough recipe… but I will give you the recipe that we used in culinary class. It’s a classic stand-by.

Home-Made Pizza, some crème brulee, a nice bottle of sparkling sweet wine and a couple of god Horror Movies and we had a set night. Though the best part of this was having her help me make the pizza. She had never made pizza from scratch, and it was really fun to kneed and mix the dough together… by hand…. Fight over how much and where the toppings should go…. Throwing food scrapes at each other… you know, the usual. The crème brulee was my own doing and a surprise for her.

This year I’m flying single and my kitchen floor will not be available to walk no due to remodeling. So I don’t have to worry about any of this hub-bub, but I’m still gonna enjoy some good ole food at my cousins place and it sounds like a plan to me.