LaGrange, Texas eats and foodie feats according to Neil and Rhonda. #roadtrip #foodfam #foodie #restaurants #texasfoodie #smalltownusa #smalltownlife
Neil and I have been spending some quality time about an hour west of Houston in LaGrange, Texas. This land is rolling with hills, wineries, country roads, and lush greenery. The views are stunning for an "any day" drive. And we hit a few eateries along the way.
If you are coming to LaGrange for a fine dining or momentous meal, then you'll definitely want to go ten miles north to Round Top. Most of the eateries you find in LaGrange are fast food, convenient store counter service, and hole-in-the-wall type places. But there are some unique casual dining experiences here that we feel needs a spotlight for one reason or another. Here is our list of the good, the bad, and the best that LaGrange, Texas has to offer.
We are staying at a beautiful Airbnb in Fayetteville. The hostess, Rinn, gave us several wonderful places to check out during our stay. The first one we tried was Texas One Stop. This is a BBQ counter inside a Shell station on Hwy 71. They also have fresh baked goods pre-boxed in the counter as well. We tried the pineapple upside-down cake, sliced sausage sandwich, and a 2-meat plate of brisket and pulled pork. If you are on 71, looking for something quick and made fresh, this is a good stop. The cake was very light and moist. The sausage could have been smoked longer for me but the flavor of the seasonings was amazing. There was just enough sausage on the super-soft bun to keep meat from falling out when I ate it. The brisket and pork were flavorful but not the best BBQ execution in the hill country. There was no smoke ring on the brisket and the pork was more of a crockpot cooked texture.
Did y'all know I like my chicken fried? And I have two words for ya, White Box. The White Box II is off the main road, E Travis, and is a white box-shaped building. They have been in business since 1972 and even deliver. We are not talking about some third-party delivery either. They have a huge menu with chicken, fish, burgers, livers, gizzards, sides, and more. The menu is a little pricey. But they do run chicken specials on the weekend. Everything is served in... a white box... or a white bag. We did not try the fish or the burgers. But did have the chicken and some sides. Of the sides, we do not recommend the onion rings or the fried okra. The okra had no flavor. The batter from the onion rings completely separated from the onion during cook time and fell off before we could eat it. However, the mashed potatoes and gravy were some of the best we have had at a chicken place. And then there is the chicken, this was amazing. I could eat this chicken every day if I knew my heart could take it. As a matter of fact, we first went on a weekday and went back on the weekend for the chicken special. If you are looking for fried chicken, this is your place. Go here to check out this menu. https://www.whitebox2.com/menu
We are staying smack dab in the heart of kolache country. We found the oldest bakery open in these parts. It's called Lukas Bakery and it is located on N Main St in the town square. Yelp has 12 reviews and all reviewers gave this place 5 stars. Parking and walking up to the storefront is incredibly charming. We were impressed by the assortment of danishes, cookies, and kolaches. The building is a historical building and the inside of the bakery smelled like grandma's house. One thing about old buildings is when bread rises in them, the building will absorb the yeast. Then the building gives off the yeast for new batches of bread as they rise. This place has been in business for 70 years. And the yeast in the bread across the board tastes like it. The prices are dirt cheap. You can get a massive cinnamon roll for 80 cents. We walked out with bags full for $9. We thought we got a steal until we started eating. If Granny always made your favorite bread, go here. If her bread tasted as her house smelled, then I recommend driving by and even stopping in for photos. It's really a cool historical bakery with super sweet people working there.
Up until this point, the only thing we had found that was bangin and a must-try was fried chicken. Then we go to a sports bar in a strip center in the Wal Mart parking lot. Jay Dee'z Sports Grill not only has friendly service but it also has the best sports bar food I have ever had. It is run by a young chef who takes bar or pub food to the next level. Here we had the best fried mushrooms we have had in decades, some of the best onion rings ever, more than decent mac and cheese, and haricot verts. Haricot verts are delicate sweet French green beans. We found all of this in LaGrange at a sports bar. Of course, they have burgers, big massive beautiful burgers. They have a Ranch Chicken Sandwich that I swear is at least six inches tall. However, our favorite part was the chicken fried meatloaf. Nothing could have prepared us for how sinfully delicious or how huge this serving was. They have a happy hour. Sundays have happy hour all day and a brunch menu. And they have daily and lunch specials. There is plenty of seating area at the extra-large bar top. There are enough TVs to watch every NFL game that week at the same time. We can hands down tell you that we found the best in LaGrange, and possibly in the hill country when it comes to bar food.
If I missed anywhere that you all think we should go within the city of LaGrange, please let me know and we will make a stop the next time we are here. Thank you for reading and please subscribe. Please come back every Monday to see what's new at our foodie zoo.