Eagle Pass – Anytime we visit a border town on our travels across Texas, tacos and tortas are usually our first go to. But over at the Wagon Wheel, it’s all about Texas grub. “We’ve created a beautiful thing,” said owner Selena Buentello Price.
Selena is known around these parts as Selly. She grew up in Eagle Pass and her dad Hugo hitched his horses to the Wagon Wheel back in 1994. “Every weekend, we’d barbecue and he’d try something different, and he decided one day that we were going to go into the barbecue business,” said Selena.
Selly’s job in those days was being the pitmaster. “I never left his side,” said Selena “As much as I hated every morning getting that barbecue pit lit and smelling like wood every single day. And they’re like, ‘You’re the barbecue lady.’ And I was like ‘Yeah.’”
While it may have been a drag getting up before dawn to tend the pits every morning back in the day, Selena is now thankful for everything she learned from her dad in the early days of the restaurant. “I think it was worth it because you learned to not take anything for granted,” said Selena.
Today she runs the place with her son Paco and daughter Paula. “I would give a lot of the credit to the kids because Paola makes sure that she makes things happen for us,” said Selena. “Paco handles the meat and so forth, and I just make sure all the bills are getting paid.”
On the pits nowadays you’ll find Brian and DeShon doing some magical things. “Those boys in the pit, those two pitmasters that we have are dedicated to that pit,” said Selena. “They man that pit 10 hours a day, easy.”
Selly’s hard-working crew and family are attributed the work ethic her father instilled in all of them during his time on this great earth. “We don’t take anything for granted, and we know how to work, and we were raised that way, and so we know what it’s like to get that pit going in the morning, to set up our tables in the morning, to fill our barbecue sauce containers, to clean our floors, our restrooms,” said Selena. “It doesn’t take anything away from us. It’s not demeaning whatsoever. It’s very gratifying, and we take a lot of pride in everything we do. Whether it’s wiping windows down or doing sides or getting refills, it’s nice.”
“Our food is great. Our barbecue is great,” said Paco. “Our family is great. More than anything, I owe it to my employees. You know what I mean? The employees is what makes the Wagon the best.”
Paco grew up around this place and wanted to add something to the menu since the BBQ would always sell out, so he put another Texas food fixture on the menu, a chicken fried steak that happens to be Lone Star State sized. “When my grandpa used to cook for me and one thing that always stood out was whenever he would make the chicken fried steak backstraps or the chicken fried steak that he would cut out of the deer, and it just was amazing,” said Paco. “You know what I mean? I wanted to make something, keep the legacy alive, and kind of bring something that he would do.”
Selena knew that this impressive addition to the menu would make for a better dining experience for the Wagon Wheel customers. “We added that two-and-a-half pound chicken fried steak so we could accommodate more people and stay a little longer and give them more options,” said Selena.
“I have done the chicken fried steak, granted it took me three days to finish,” said Ronnie.
Paco takes the preposterously sized piece of tender top sirloin, puts some south Texas seasoning on it, and douses it with flour, egg wash, and breading. “You don’t want to add too much breading on it,” said Paco. “You know people, especially in Texas, when they’re nice and big, they try to say, ‘Oh, it’s too much breading. Too much breading.’ Man, they’ll eat you alive. You know what I mean? They want a nice chicken fried steak with a light breading, more meat.”
Then it gets fried up. “Here at the Wagon, we try to make quality over quantity. You know what I mean?” said Paco.
Once plated on a pizza platter, Paco puts on the gravy. “If we put it on a regular plate, it might break or bend,” said Paco. “Some people say it’s not enough gravy. Some people say it’s too much gravy. I don’t think it’s ever enough gravy.”
The chicken fried steak comes out fried to perfection, and the beautifully seasoned thin layer of breading perfectly complements the tender and flavorful steak. As if this wasn’t enough, Paco comes back with a tray of their barbeque. “Our barbecue’s smoked every day,” said Paco. “Our brisket takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours every day. Cut in half, I mean, nice prime brisket.”
The brisket is tender, smokey and delicious, all the things you look for in classic Texas barbeque. “Flavor on it is great,” said customer Humberto Garza. “It’s very tender. It’s not tough. It’s really good food.”
Well if you’re looking for Texas home cooking down by the border and you happen to have an eagle eye on Eagle Pass, coming to the Wagon Wheel is well worth the stop on the Texas Bucket List. “Anybody that comes through Eagle Pass, make it by the Wagon Wheel,” said Humberto. “I mean, you can’t go wrong.”