BIG SPRING, Texas – At the crossroads of Interstate 20 and Highway 87, you’ll find Big Spring, Texas. Established as the county seat of Howard County in 1882, there’s one restaurant that’s been here for more than half the cities tenure, The Wagon Wheel Drive-In.
Owner Randy Crockett and his son Ben are exactly who you think they are.
“We are direct descendants from Davey Crocket,” Randy said. “Proud of it, man.”
But that’s not the only thing the Crockett’s have to be proud of. They have the task of carrying on a tradition that’s been the oasis of Big Spring since 1945. To own the quintessential Brig Spring thing is pretty neat according to Randy.
“I’m a baby boomer,” Randy explained. “I’m in my late 50s and this is definitely a part of what I did when I was a kid. It is definitely a part of a lot of really good memories that we’re trying to continue to keep going.”
Now the Wagon Wheel puts its own spin on several burgers including the British, Eddie, and the pizza burger. We decided to go Texas style with the pizza burger, which means a double at Wagon Wheel.
Cook Salittia Brehm has been on this trail ride for 13 years. She gets the patties prepared with seasoning and Worcester sauce, toasts the bruschetta bun, and gets the marinara heated up. The toasted bun gets covered with mayo, onions, lettuce and a tomato. The burgers get sauced, topped with parmesan cheese and finished off with mozzarella. With that this burger is finito.
It all combines together nicely. You get that marinara blending in there with the beef, but then the parmesan cheese sneaks in there and gives you that little kick. Then you’ve got the nice mozzarella cheese to finish things off really, really giving this a great taste all around.
Margarita is a regular at the Wagon Wheel who has a little advice for the rest of us.
“Get off the highway, come over here,” Margarita says. “You won’t be sorry.”
We happen to agree with Margarita. To get a spin on an old school flavor in the middle of Big Spring, Texas, The Wagon Wheel is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.