ORANGE, Texas – Just 4 blocks from the banks of the Sabine River, you’ll find the very popular lunch lounge south of downtown. David Claybar became the caretaker of this southeast Texas eatery, the Old Orange Cafe, when he bought it back in 2004. But since 1990, the Old Orange Cafe has provided this unique town with some flavorful food all from a building that used to house a local diary.
“This was a pasteurizing dairy. All the area dairy farmers would bring their milk here,” David said. “They would wash their bottles in what is now our kitchen. They would come into this room. There were three pasteurizers here. They would actually bottle the milk in this room.”
The pictures of those days gone by hang as reminder of how things used to be in Orange, something David’s family knows very well being a multi-generation of locals.
“My family is steeped in his town’s heritage and history, and that I would have this is kind of my way of giving back to the community and letting everybody see where we’ve been and where we came from,” said David.
The thick walls of this old dairy have stood the test of time. Built in 1941, with thick walls to insulate chilled milk, the building seemed indestructible. But then Hurricane Ike hit in 2008.
“That was a mess. I planned on staying here, originally. And as the week progressed, our scenario got bleaker and bleaker and saw that the prediction was ten to twelve feet of water in downtown Orange,” David said. “We pulled up here the day of the hurricane in a boat, actually. To see that it was only three feet of water – it might as well have been twelve, it didn’t make any difference, you know. It was trashed. Everything was a mess.”
David rebuilt his business all the while providing meals for local law enforcement and relief crews during the clean up. With so much grit and determination we knew David would have one heck of a burger and when he said Fiesta, we said “si”.
“Fiesta Burger has a spicy sriracha mayonnaise,” said David. “It comes on a jalapeno cheese bun, has spicy sriracha mayonnaise, pepper jack cheese, a breaded and fried fresh jalapeno, fresh avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, and then a half pound patty.”
We angled into the kitchen where David got things started with the half pound 85/15 beef that gets seasoned.
“You know, for lack of a better term, if it’s got a good fat content, burgers need to be nice and moist and juicy and I think it does very well,” David said.
The jalapeno cheese bun gets grilled while pepper jack cheese and sriracha get bestowed on the beef. Some sriracha mayo is put on both sides of the bun with lettuce and tomatoes and a freshly fried jalapeno is added. When you throw in the fried jalapenos, that’s when the party starts. Add some avocado and the fiery fiesta gets finished at a fever pitch.
Mixing the sauce with Thailand roots, with Texas beef, on the border of Louisiana, with some fried jalapenos, in a burger named the Fiesta, it’s hard not to love everything it has to offer.
Well, if you’re not a big fan of spicy things don’t worry. It’s not incredibly spicy. The jalapenos and that sriracha give it more of a flavor spice than a real spice to the tongue.
Remember, if you make it to Louisiana, you’ve gone too far. And, if you’re coming in, just take the first exit. You’re here.
The Old Orange Cafe in Orange, Texas, well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. Orange you glad we came here?