A coupla years back, we had a pretty good start on an "Official Open Choke Drillinginfo Best Dives in the Oilpatch"... I think it deserves a rebirth! Send in your nominations! Here is how it started:
Welcome to late September and October, arguably the best time to be a fat, middle aged American male...like me. Hunting season is upon us... crisp mornings in a field looking to shoot hapless, unarmed birds that taste great when wrapped in bacon and jalapenos followed by televised colege football and beer and in the company of old buddies away from the civilizing influence of women. In a few weeks, it turns a little bloodier when we replace birds with hapless, unarmed deer that are truly culinary delights. Bambi backstrap is among the most sublime meat I have ever eaten, although the hams, in my mind, are best ground up as sausage for chili. The problem with deer season is that I miss the first half of the late morning games because dressing a deer is a bigger chore than cleaning dove. I love the stories and the comeraderie that comes from fall weekends. To quote a gimme cap I saw in a South Texas gas station recently..."the Older I get, the Better I was". In these 'back to nature' days, I try to put out of mind that none of us could really survive "back to nature" without greasy spoons, small town supermarkets, and satellite tv... and we are beginning to resemble Ned Beatty more than Burt Reynolds and thank you Gawd we don't have hillbillies in south Texas.
My all time favorite watering/hole greasy spoon for this time of year is Frank's (or Paco's) in Hebbronville in Jim Hogg Co., Texas. The restaurant/bar is located in an old store with 20' tin ceilings and is characterized by posters of marilyn Monroe all around the walls. Every bit of wall space has an ice cooler, with ice cold beer and soda. Call on the way in, and Paco, the owner, will run across the street and buy you a 5th of whiskey to go with your T-bone or mexican food. Finish up buy losing a game of pool to the local sharks. Go during hunting season, and I guarantee you will see half the Houston oilpatch and all the Corpus patch. Another treat was Paco's old man, Frank, who would shuffle around telling each table a different story... such as "You shoulda been here last night, boys.... I shot a man, just to watch him die". I wander if he is still around?
Joe Shepherd nominates El Sombrero in Big Wells----Where else could you see George Strait and friends pull up on their Harley's and come in and sit down at the next table. You could then order a frosty mug of your favorite cerveza, wolf down a mexican plate and be back at your camp by 10:45AM. If Sombrero is too crowded you can go to Minnie's Oasis a couple of blocks down.
Thank You Gene Ames III from San Antone for this superlative list of dives
"While you’re in the Wharton County area the best place for great steaks and salads is Greek Bros Oyster Bar in downtown El Campo (a great place to meet after drilling a dry hole - because their mixed drinks are strong...)
Down on the coast, Cotton’s Barbeque in Robstown is a quick beef fix while waiting on a logging tool to show up at the location...
The Country Store in Cotulla has great onion rings, a full bar and a television to watch the Texas/Texas A&M game. Browse the posted trophy deer pictures while you wait and buy some Rolaids at the store next door...
A trip to Maverick County would be unsatisfying without stopping in Batesville at Yomi’s Restaurant for an incredible cheeseburger (buy two, no three of them) or Carne Guisado tacos. Don’t let the façade scare you away and check out the fascinating artwork while you’re there...
If you have the honor of spending the day in Rio Grande City, Caro’s Mexican Restaurant is the only place to consider. Here’s another one that may make you nervous from the outside, but never fear, this is where the locals go – babies and all.
Bruce Swartz writes
"The Outback on highway 190 between Eldorado and Menard ,Texas. Great burgers and cold beer. No affiliation with the "Outback Steak House" this one is much older..."
Midland's John Nichols nominates Manuels in Midland..."outstanding tex-mex food with lots of grease - favorite among all highway patrolmen".
Scott Anderson writes "The Austin Chalk boom and busters recommend you eat the red enchiladas on the large mexican plate at Pancho Garcia's in Dilley.While you are chowing down Sec. James Baker may be next to you eating a bowl of menudo!"
Jim Dunkelberg writes "P2 in Wichita Falls, TX. An old oily hangout, where it was once said that if you drove a truck through the wall at lunch time, you'd wipe out most of the oil wealth in WF. This place has a pay phone inside, the only one, and when it rings the standard answer was, "Land Office." Beer so cold that you need dental insurance just to sip it. Steak and Garlic is the no.1 best seller, but has a great Mexican plate and chicken fried steak. Still has the old drive in the back where you can sit on the tailgate of your pickup after a softball game and drink you beer.
Bar-L in Wichita Falls, TX Legendary home of the Red Draw and the Humphrey (pronounced Umphrey) burger.
Louie's in Dallas, TX You know Louie's..... best thin crust pizza in Dallas.
Rose's in Dallas, TX It's rumored that Rose used to cook for Bonnie and Clyde at odd hours. Larry Hagman and Don Henley list it as one of their favorite hangouts. Great burgers, made to order, stuffed pepper appetizers, and ice cold cokes.
Caps in Houston, TX Great live music nightly with local talent... and I mean talent. Very good drinks, lot's of old oily's at late hours. Round the clock popcorn, a sign of a true bar, that is still a bar!
De-listing..... The Loon in Dallas, TX. Recently remodeled and expanded to make room for the "beautiful people," The Loon is nominated for official de-listing as a Great Dive. Don't bother going to the Loon anymore. It's been discovered!
OpenChoke writes Luake Steak House in Luake Texas (hell, I don't know if it is spelled right!) An incredible steak... maybe a roast if you do their KC for several. North of San Angelo and off the road to Ballinger. Falling down building and the garlicky central Texas steak I love. Other "Central Texas Style Garlic Steaks" of note are Zintners Daughter in San Angelo and the Sutton County Steakhouse in Sonora. Getting hungry thinking about 'em!
KRIS HARTMANN writes...
My family has been going to LOWAKE Inn/Steakhouse for years. We have a place between Salt Gap and Doole, and they have the best steaks anywhere around. Glad it got some recognition.
MARTY COX writes in....
In the Category of Current Best on the Planet:
**Bar-None Finest Hand-Made Tex-Mex Cuisine Cooked One-Plate-At-A-Time...Ever, Ever... With Absolutely Most Incredible Hot Sauce Ever Concocted by Human Hands: Lala's Cafe Mirando City, Texas [1 Mile South Hwy 359 between Laredo and Hebbronville on FM Hwy 649] **Word of Caution: Order a burrito here and they will browbeat you unmercifully as they kick your gringo butt out the door.
**Lowake Steak House first put together by old man Zentner. When I chased rigs with my dad down that-a-way some 30 years ago, Mr. Zentner still had a kitchen in Rowena. Ex-Rassler Phil Lorfing, ran Lowake back then. "Chief" Wahoo McDaniel, Fritz "The Iron Claw" Von Erich and others of that gentle ilk used to hold court there regularly...used to have a landing strip across the road. Mr. Zentner got a good-time kick out of my dad, a rockhound rounder of the Nth degree. Zentner must have been in his late 80's then and he'd always pan-fry my dad's steaks - "Yankee" style, then join us for a healthy helping of boot-top deep bulldung spread around generously.
**Ever wonder if the Trio over in Mingus, TX is still in full swing? That used to be great place to drink a few cold ones, do a two step with some trailer queen and then get a royal eye-gougin', hair-pullin', hope-I-make-it-to- my-truck, ass-whuppin' from a bunch of cerebrally-challenged cedar choppers. Ah! Those were the days...
**What about the Two Dogs Saloon f/k/a Happy Valley out at the "Y" west of Iraan, Tx for a few brews and a good catfight, or two...
Or, Horses' Inn at the old Best Western in Ozona to mix it up with some silverspooned cowboys... I used to head up the street to the VFW in for a good laugh with their dads too.
Or, howabout the Halfway Bar between Hobbs and Carlsbad, NM. - home of ice cold longnecks and overheated potash miners' mommas.
And, Hey! Lest we forget The Center up in Muenster, Tx...I cut my teeth up there. **As far as first-rate oil field fixin's go, Jack's Steakhouse up in Woodward, OK comes to mind...
The Barn Door in Odessa, too...
Or, howabout a real blast from the past: the late Charlie Wash's Rusty Nail in Big Spring, Tx.
**No shortage of good times in the oilfields...
GENE "DRYHOLE" POWELL writes...
I would like to nominate Hurd's Burgers in Jacksboro, Texas. Hurd's Burgers are synonymous with grease. Claude has been pounding those little round ball burgers into flat grease burgers for too many years now. They don't have fries - they have chips out of a bag. They don't have a soft drink machine - they have an old cooler with cans or bottles in it. They don't have chairs - they have empty Coke cases that you sit on. However, they do have ambiance - the one room kitchen and dining room have untold memories - quotes, photographs, and memorabelia on the walls, along with Hurd Burger T-shirts. The most popular burger is the double, double - double the grease, double the cheese, and double the round patties that have been flattened like an armadillo. You just can't beat them! Everyone in the oil patch knows Hurd's Burgers in North Texas.
JOHN GRIFFITHS writes in...
Ribs @ The County Tavern between Kilgore and Tyler. None better anywhere! and
HARVEY, ex FWA Derrickhand at the Dixon Ranch wrote in to send the link to the Lowake (see, I spelled it right!) steakhouse... http://www.lowake-steakhouse.com/
David McKim writes...
"...I have to add a few places, but I also have to add a twist to the old CFS found here in south Texas at El Paraiso in Zapata Tx. It is Called the Paraiso Special and with it you get a full plate of tender CFS with a white cream gravy with cheese (or queso) mixed into the gravy. Excellent!
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