Avinger – In the far northeastern corner of the Lone Star State, you’ll find Avinger hidden amongst the tall trees of Texas. But this tiny town in the ArkLaTex is able to bring in hundreds of hungry Texans thanks to one popular place to get the perfect cut of meat.
Darlene Jacobs is the owner of the 5D Cattle Company Steakhouse and Meat Market. Darlene’s parents, Doug and Demeris Jacobs, started this beef business back in 1997.
“Everybody for a hundred miles, because my mom and dad knew a lot of people, said, “You’re crazy. What are you doing? Why are you doing that in Avinger?” Because that’s home,” Darlene said. Being in the cattle business helped make this dream come true too. Doug cooked up this idea thinking the 5D would raise the beef it served but the place’s popularity made that a bit of a problem.
Dave, a frequent customer of the place, said, “You come in here on even a weeknight, every table will be full in a little town of 444 people.”
On any Saturday night, 5D serves approximately 650 people. The town plus some! It can be hard to find a parking spot, so much so that it almost puts you out of town on both sides! Considering town consists of only a few blocks.
If you’re wondering what makes the steaks in Avinger a cut above the rest, Darlene’s answer is “hand cutting, aging, in-house, making sure that quality steak is what hits the plate.”
And with 6 generations of Lone Star State lineage, Darlene likes to keep things in the family. She said, “All my children have done time working here. It’s a requirement to carry the name.”
We got to check out the famous porterhouse steak. It was hand cut and aged there, and Jacob, Darlene’s son, got it to the “perfect done ness.”
Not only do they have the tools, but they have the experience. With grill masters and people that have been doing this for over 25 years, Darlene and her team certainly know how to cook a steak. We didn’t even have to tell Jacob medium rare, he just knew exactly how the steak should be cooked.
“If they order it cooked more than what would be… medium. It’s not a problem, we want everybody to be happy,” Darlene said. “If they order a medium well or well done, we’re going to make sure that it’s taken care of, but we also want to make sure and serve it while it’s still juicy and going to carry the flavors of that aged and hand cut steak.”
The flames lick the steak just right and after several minutes of sizzling on each side, the steak gets plated up with a side of cowboy potatoes. Cowboy potatoes are a diced up potato, sauteed in butter, garlic, bacon, and onion.
The tenderness of the steak is what really sets it apart. After melting in mouth, it went down extremely easy and finish off with a fantastic flavor.
So, if you’re looking for a fine steak in the far northeastern corner of our state, coming to Avinger for the porterhouse or for that matter, any steak, is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“Texas is about eating a good steak and you’re not only going to get a good steak here, you’ll get a great steak here.”