The steakhouse is located in one of Winchester’s former grocery stores. The town post office still operates inside the same building. The tin ceiling, brick walls, wood floors and mirrored bar came with the building. The salad bar sits in a little hut next to a giant pot of beans. The menu is pretty basic and definitely affordable. It’s all pretty utilitarian stuff – red plastic cups, melamine dishes and cheap silverware but maybe it’s the lighting or the decor but it just feels cozy and down home but a little elegant too. Not so elegant you can’t wear your jeans and sweatshirts of course but it’s the kind of place that would work for an anniversary dinner or a place to go after you burned the roast at home.

The food is pretty basic too. No frills, no random green leafy stuff to make the plate look pretty. But that ribeye was melt-in-your mouth delicious. Seasoned with just the right amount of salt and other spices to bring out the flavor, juicy and tender. The dinner roll? Homemade. So delicious. The fries were fine, nothing too outstanding there.

The burger was the same thing. Juicy, well seasoned, nicely grilled. On a homemade bun. Murphy’s offers up good, homemade food at reasonable prices. My steak, which had the salad bar included was $9.99. The half-pound hamburger, with fries and beans was $5.99 (plus .39 cents for cheese). Murphy’s is definitely worth the trip to Winchester. They are open Tuesday-Saturday for both lunch and dinner.

Opened in 1945 as an ice house to store meat, the Smokehouse began smoking meat using a traditional German smoking method as a way of preserving.  The curing of hams and sausage attracted customers far and wide, including travelers on the highway between Austin and San Antonio.  For many years, the Smokehouse survived by word of mouth and catalog orders from patrons who had previously stopped at the Smokehouse “tasting room”.  Over time, the meats and sausage made at the Smokehouse became more than just a tasty treat along the journey from Austin to San Antonio.  The mail order business grew, customers returned repeatedly, and a Texas legend was born.

Today, the Smokehouse stays close to its roots by offering great smoked meats and sausages to its guests.  In the Smokehouse, the best place to start your visit is at the tasting table.  Here you can sample locally produced beef jerky, smoked sausage, and other products produced by the Smokehouse in New Braunfels. Refrigerated cases along one wall of the shop display all of the locally produced meats.  From smoked Canadian bacon, to applewurst, to rich beef and pork sausage – you can browse the wide variety of products offered by the Smokehouse.  A new restaurant, added within the last year, makes this a great place to not only sample the smoked meats, but also stop for a meal.
If by the end of your visit you are hooked and want to take home some sausage here is an important tip – bring along a cooler and you can take advantage of one of the bulk sausage specials.  Chris and I have visited the Smokehouse twice, and both times picked up multiple packs of sausage and Bratwurst at a discount price.  The items are hard frozen, so they will keep in cooler for hours with a little ice.

The New Braunfels Smokehouse is a really great stop for families, RV travelers, or anyone with a big appetite.  Ample easy to maneuver parking is available just off of the main parking lot for big rigs or towed campers.  Weekends during the summer and Wurstfest are popular times for the Smokehouse so consider a visit either earlier in the day or between the lunch and dinner rush for a low stress visit.  Once you have tried the variety of delicious food at the New Braunfels Smokehouse, we are sure you will add the Smokehouse to your list of favorites!

Fredericksburg was the first German settlement in Texas and still shows many signs of that heritage today. There are signs around town for “the best burger in Fredericksburg” or wine tastings, hot coffee and all manner of food. But there was no way I was leaving Fredericksburg without some traditional German food. We quickly settled on the Old German Bakery & Restaurant. Full of delicious looking pastries and breads on one side, and restaurant seating on the other, we knew we were in for some treats.

Schnitzel, bratwurst, spaetzle – it was all on the menu. And while perhaps not the best meal ever or anything, it was well prepared, reasonably priced and a good taste of Germany if you are looking for that. On the bakery side there were Christmas stollen breads, pastries and dark, dark German breads.

There are also several biergartens around town. It’s basically a bar and restaurant with a large outdoor seating area. Those in Fredericksburg offer a host of German beers as well as other beverages of both the adult and regular variety. If you’re lucky you may get to drink your beer from a stein in the traditional German way. They are also nice if you’ve brought your dog along. At Altdorf for sure, and possibly at the others (though we didn’t check) you can bring your dog along to the outdoor seating area.

We also found a lovely cheese shop on Main Street that had a wide variety of specialty American cheeses as well as imported cheeses available for tastings or to buy by the pound and take home. Fredericksburg Winery is located on Main Street also and there are several other wineries located in and around Fredericksburg.

We did not have time to stop and sample all of the food in Fredericksburg, but I also saw a chocolate shop, a few BBQs, and some places offering coffees and desserts. You can definitely find something interesting while you are in Fredericksburg. If you’ve never tried German food, give it a go at the Old German Bakery or one of the biergartens. If that’s old hat to you, try so Texas BBQ, some yummy Tex-Mex or make it a wine and cheese tasting trip. There are so many options it would be hard to go wrong.

Just down Highway 5 E&S Bulk Food Store surprised us with more varieties of local foods.  E&S carries bulk foods like pastas, dried beans, lentils, soup mixes, and all sorts of grains.  The store is unique because all of the food items in the store are packaged in clear plastic bags – there are no flashy wrappers, cartoon icons on a cereal box, or advertising signs or banners in the store.  The focus of the store is the food, and what great food they have.  Locally grown and milled whole wheat flour, graham flour, unbleached white flour, oat flour, semolina, and probably ten other varieties of milled grains were available in quantities from ½ pound to 50 pound bags.

At Yoder Meat & Cheese next door, freezers from floor to ceiling stored packaged beef, pork, buffalo, chicken, and turkey in packs with single cuts up to bulk packages suitable for your home freezer.  Natural casing sausages, dozens of cheeses, locally produced jams and jellies were available for tasting during our visit.  The quality of everything we tried in the store and purchased to cook at our campsite was excellent.  Each aisle we visited revealed new and amazing food finds.

The best of locally available meat and produce also means the best in dining.  Restaurants throughout town produce comfort food favorites like fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, and hearty rich meat loaf.  There are no commercial mass market eateries in town, instead visitors will find restaurants like the Blue Gate that serves family style meals complete with mashed potatoes and fresh in season vegetables in shared family sized portions.  To top off a delicious meal at the Blue Gate there are dozens of varieties of pie available.  These crispy crunchy baked goods filled with fresh fruits and other delicious surprises taste like an army of grandmothers must be at work in the kitchen to turn out these magnificent desserts.

When you visit Shipshewana, Indiana you will want to eat your way through town.  This is a paradise of fresh locally produced food.  From the grocery to the restaurants and cafes in town there are many delicious food adventures awaiting discovery in Northeast Indiana.

When thinking of Mexican cuisine, white linen table cloths and decorative candles on the table do not always come to mind. Mexican restaurants are typically more austere with a focus on intense flavors and making the most of expensive ingredients like beef or pork. Traditional Mexican dishes like menudo and barbacoa exemplify this approach of using every bit of what’s available to create a spicy and delicious meal. For Chris and I, eating well prepared flank steak or rich and hearty beans is as much of a treat as a fancy dining experience.

For our dinner tonight, however, we are visiting the Iron Cactus in Downtown Dallas. This restaurant serves upscale Mexican cuisine, which is a departure for our normal dining experience. Within walking distance from the Dallas Museum of Art and other attractions downtown, the Iron Cactus makes for a great dinner to accompany a night out at the museum or theater performance. The restaurant is decidedly well appointed without being stuffy. It is apparently a favorite of locals who recommend it highly. On our visit, the rooftop bar was filled with locals enjoying the beginning of autumn with a cocktail and a fabulous Mexican inspired meal.

To start dinner, Chris and I enjoyed the ceviche. Made with sashimi grade tuna, onion, avocado, fresh tomatoes, and cilantro marinated in citrus this appetizer was dazzling. It combined the freshness of the tomato and cilantro with the silky smooth tuna and creamy avocado. Eating the ceviche was a textural symphony, each bite well orchestrated into a harmonious blend of crunchy onion against creamy avocado and silky tuna. We ate every last bit of this appetizer and would do so again in a heartbeat.

Our main courses consisted of a roasted pork tenderloin and vegetable fajitas. In Mexico slow roasting of meat is a fine art. When I used to travel to Reynosa or Monterrey, you would see racks of cabrito, whole hog, or whole chickens roasting over an open fire in the windows of restaurants throughout town. This process of slow cooking ensured the meat was extra tender and flavorful from the cooking process. The pork tenderloin served this evening was a strong reminder of the patiently prepared meals I used to enjoy visting Mexico. The pork was tender and moist, served with a rich demi-glace and covered in sweet red onions. The savory pork and sweet onions blended perfectly. Cheesy mashed potatoes accompanied the pork along with roasted broccoli. I’ve never been much of a fan of broccoli, but I certainly enjoyed the preparation of these green florettes.

Chris ate the veggie fajitas with roasted zucchini, squash, bell peppers, onions and portabello mushrooms. The star of the vegetable mix, however, was the smoky and delicious poblano peppers. They combined with the other vegtables to bring a hint of spiciness to the dish without overpowering the other vegetables. It was nice that the vegetables retained some of their crispness in the cooking process or overwhelmed with some sort of spicy salsa or sauce. The use of portabello mushrooms gave the fajitas body and made the dish hearty. Served alongside amazingly creamy refried beans, this dish earned great accolades.

We finished the evening with tres leches cake. This sweet creation was a prefect end to the elegant evening. The freshly prepared cake was light and had just the right amount of sweetness from condensed milk and strawberries.

The Iron Cactus earns 4 tacos out of 5. It is an elegant Mexican dining experience that brings the flavors of Mexican cuisine into an elegant setting. Meals are a bit more expensive than traditional Mexican dining but well worth it for a splurge. We hope you’ll stop by when you visit Dallas.

This week the Taco Travelers headed to Georgetown, Texas where we spotted Dos Salsas.  Although, we were in town for the Williamson Museum Chuckwagon Cookoff, we could not pass up the opportunity to try some Mexican food.  We drove past Dos Salsas on Main Street several times as we went between San Gabriel Park and our campground.  Every time we passed Dos Salsas the parking lot was full and the restaurant was packed.  This is always a good sign of a restaurant worth a try, and so Chris and I made plans to visit Dos Salsas for Sunday lunch.

The meal we enjoyed today started with the name sake appetizer – dos salsas or two salsas.  We were greeted at our table by a tomatillo salsa and pico de gallo served along crispy light tortilla chips.  The tomatillo salsa was flavorful and delicious with a nice amount of spice without being overpowering.  The real star of the “dos salsas”, however, was the pico de gallo.  The pico had a great mix of rich tomato flavor that contrasted well with bright cilantro and lime flavors.  Each bite had heat from the Serrano chilies that was well balanced with sweet from the onions and citrus.  As we enjoyed the chips and salsa, I commented to Chris that I was really excited to try the main course – I was excited by the possibilities.

For our meal, Chris ordered the cocktail de camarones and I selected the chicken poblana.  The shrimp cocktail was served in a tall and generous margarita glass.  The goblet was loaded with small shrimp swimming in a bright red cocktail sauce topped with slices of avocado and accompanied by slices of lime.  The shrimp were well cooked and the avocado topping provided the perfect smooth and creamy texture to match the shrimp and balance the saltiness of the cocktail sauce.  At first it was a delightful dish.  As the avocado disappeared, however, we realized the cocktail sauce was thinly disguised spicy ketchup.  The creative and fresh approach to shrimp cocktail that we were hoping for evaporated, leaving a less than satisfying meal.

The chicken poblana arrived at the table topped with grilled poblano peppers, onions, bacon, and jack cheese.  The topping on the chicken was creamy, rich and smoky from the melted cheese blended with the poblanos and crispy bacon.  The chicken alone was a little surprising.  It was well cooked and moist, but lacked seasoning.  A delicious lime and cilantro marinade for the chicken or some chili lime seasoning would have improved the flavor a great deal.

Dos Salsas did put a unique spin on the meal we enjoyed today by adding grilled vegetables to the plate instead of beans and rice.  While Chris and I both enjoy good refried beans and Spanish rice, the ubiquity of these dishes often leaves us longing for other side dishes.  Today we enjoyed a delicious mix of grilled squash, zucchini, and button mushrooms on the side.  The vegetables were gently cooked until they were tender with a little vegetable crisp still in tact.  The grilled vegetables melted in our mouth and were a beautiful contrast to the typical Tex-Mex accompaniments.  We would go back to have a plate of the grilled vegetables alone.

Overall, Dos Salsas is worth a visit if you’re in Georgetown, Texas.  It is obviously popular with the locals and has a few unique items that made it worth the visit.  The taco travelers give Dos Salsas three tacos out of five.

The restaurant is attractive and well kept in its exterior presentation winning recognition from the city for their efforts in revitalizing the downtown square.  Inside the décor is plain with tile floors, simple wood tables and predictable Mexican art on the walls.  The atmosphere is friendly and the staff inviting, but a crowded Friday night could be very noisy with all of the tile and nothing to absorb the sound inside the dining room.

Overall we found  Casa Grande to be a mixed bag.  Chris ate the Guisado de Res which garnered much praise for its rich and delicious beef stew in a fresh tomato and cilantro broth.  We both loved the slow cooked beef, silky texture and strong steak flavor on top the tomato and onion base.  Sweet peppers in the stew served to balance out the saltiness of the beef.  The counterpoint between the beef, onions, peppers and tomatoes was rich and delicious giving this dish a satisfying complexity.  We both agreed that this dish was worth driving out of the way to eat.

Both of us enjoyed the rich and creamy refried beans and home made corn tortillas.  These fresh accompaniments were a welcome addition to the plate.  Unfortunately these are often skipped at other Mexican restaurants in favor of mass produced alternatives.  Fresh, warm corn tortillas lend a unique flavor and texture to any Mexican dish that cannot be replaced by a machine.

I ate the Pollo Parilla which was over cooked and under seasoned.  The dish was served as a chicken breast topped with Jack cheese on a bed of grilled onions and peppers.  The “mesquite grilled”  flavor promised in the menu did not make it into the chicken which was dry.  A squeeze of lime, table salt, pico de gallo, and a spoonful of guacamole were required to make the tacos made from the chicken more interesting.  The dish had potential but ended up as a disappointment.

The taco travelers give Casa Grande in Jacksboro, Texas three tacos out of five.

Having lived in Texas for more than 19 years, I am a fan of dry rub beef barbecue.  Tender smoked brisket is what I’ve cooked and eaten for years.  For those that have tried Texas beef barbecue, it is a slice of heaven on a plate.  Unlike Texas barbecue, Memphis barbecue is typically pulled pork or ribs.  The pork is slow cooked with a dry rub in a wood fired smoker until it is fall off the bone tender.  Memphis pulled pork is typically served with a tomato and vinegar sauce that combines the richness of the tomato with the tart taste of vinegar.

Payne’s defines this Memphis style barbecue.  Located in an old gas station away from Beale Street and other Memphis tourist areas, the restaurant is a classic “hole in the wall”.  Inside you will find an austere environment that might leave you wondering if you have found the right place.  Inhaling the rich smoky atmosphere, however, will confirm you have arrived at Memphis barbecue heaven.  Payne’s offers ribs, hot links, and pork shoulder (sliced or pulled) on its menu with a variety of sides such a baked beans, potato salad, and fries.  The quintessential expression of Memphis barbecue is found in the pulled pork sandwich.  The sandwich is served on a toasted bun, piled high with heavenly pulled pork and either mild or spicy barbecue sauce.  Alone this combination of bread, meat and sauce would be a compelling reason to search out and enjoy Payne’s, but they take it one step further by adding tart and crispy slaw to the top of the sandwich.  The mix of flavors and textures is intoxicating.  This sandwich will blow your mind.

Without a doubt, Payne’s is the place to stop for Memphis barbecue.  Regardless of your favorite barbecue style – Texas beef, Kansas City wet, Carolina vinegar, Jamaican jerk, or Indonesian satay – don’t stroll, don’t walk, run to Payne’s when you next travel to Memphis.

Chris and I have a passion for Mexican food.  There are an endless combinations of tacos, enchiladas and seafood that make us happy when dining out.  It’s especially a treat when we find an unexpected gem like Abuelita’s.  The restaurant is simple and unassuming from the outside – it looks like any other Mexican restaurant among those that have flourished with the influx of Hispanic immigrants to the United States.  The inside of Abuelita’s, too, reflects a simple low maintenance decor like any of a hundred other restaurants we have dined in before.

The uniqueness of Abuelita’s, however, is the fresh well prepared Mexican staples inside.  Everything we ate in the restaurant from the salsa to the refried beans to the main course was handmade with care.  The flavors were bright and truly delicious.  Chris chose the Mexican tacos that included tender grilled flank steak.  It was a symphony of perfectly grilled and seasoned beef accompanied by a chorus of cilantro, onion and lime.  I ate the pollo con chile verde that included an amazingly smoky and rich chicken breast and roasted poblano peppers.  I enjoyed every bite with the silky cheese mingling with the smoky grilled chicken.  The flavor combinations were outstanding.

Mexican food is frequently cheap and easy to prepare.  The ingredients are simple and preparation does not always take a lot of effort.  It is easy to produce mediocre food at a Mexican restaurant.  Our experience at Abuelita’s was anything but mediocre.  This is one restaurant that’s worth driving off of the Interstate highway to find.  Abuelita’s food will resonate deliciously in your mouth and make you want to come back for more.  The Taco Travelers give Abuelita’s Mexican Restaurant 4 tacos out of 5, it is highly recommended.

Usually as we’re driving along I’ll pull out the book and look through the listings for the state we are in and see what sounds interesting or what will be along the way. As I paged through Louisiana I saw Natchitoches and it went something like this -

“There’s this town in the book that sounds cool but I don’t know how to say it and we just drove past a sign that said it is coming up. I think we should stop.” Robert, always up for adventure said ok and exited when I pointed out the correct exit. Neither of us had a clue how to say the name of the town at all.

As we drove along the streets looking for a good stopping place, we saw beautifully landscaped yards, not prim and proper landscaping but lush, almost tropical plants and lots of vines trailing along intricate wrought iron railings. We found a place to park on a side street (we were towing the camper) and set off to explore. We had Daisy on her leash so we tag-teamed going into stores so someone could always stay outside with her. The main street is just cute and has the balconies and wrought iron of New Orleans without the bars and beads of Bourbon Street getting in the way. Natchitoches is Louisiana’s oldest town and that rich history is apparent all over the buildings. And with the main street right along the river it’s just a beautiful place to hang out. It feels relaxing, even when there’s some hustle and bustle about.

Robert just walked around taking pictures of every interesting building that he saw and I enjoyed popping in and out of some cute shops. I enjoyed the Louisiana Purchase store full of Louisiana made goods and Louisiana-themed goods. They also made their own pralines, fudge and ice cream. Include some ice cream mixed with some of the homemade fudge or some of the pralines that is just the best. I didn’t really care that is was barely 10am, I ate some anyway! We walked around just enjoying looking at all the historic buildings for awhile and then headed over for some of the famous Natchitoches meat pies.

I again stumbled at the name – obviously those High School French classes didn’t stick – but the locals all know Lasyone’s – at 622 Second Street – is the place to go so they can get you there even if you butcher the name as I did. Let me tell you. Those meat pies were GOOD. We only made one mistake. Lasyone’s is apparently a dine-in type restaurant so when Robert went in asking for two meat pies to go it took a little bit to get our order. There was a little garden next door between the restaurant and a museum with some benches that were a perfect place to eat. We couldn’t dine in since we had Daisy along but it all worked out. The pies had the tastiest outer dough that was fried to a crisp. And inside the meat was flavorful and well spiced and had a perfect texture. It was ground meat – beef I’m assuming – and all almost completely uniform in size, no awkward chunks or anything. And the filling was juicy but not greasy. It was seriously good. I found a recipe online for these, but I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t tell you if it is as good as the original. We did bring home a spice packet to make some but haven’t had time to try it yet either.

Natchitoches is where the movie Steel Magnolias was filmed and you can take Steel Magnolias tours and such, but that isn’t really our thing so we didn’t even look into it. It would be the perfect town to escape to for a nice weekend in a bed and breakfast. A little shopping, walking by the river, maybe seeing some of the nearby plantations, eating some meat pies and maybe even taking a horse-drawn carriage ride. It’s the kind of town where that feels right. It would make a perfect romantic getaway, or a great history trip. I don’t think kids would hate it, but young kids might get a bit bored if they aren’t used to the shopping, walking, looking at buildings thing.

Away from the town in the rural area you can visit several plantations. We didn’t have time to do much more than just a quick look at a few of them, but it is definitely on our list of things to revisit. I’m thinking a B&B, late fall with some plantation tours might be just the thing. And if you go, it’s called Nack-i-tish. At least, I think that’s right.