Woodville – Stashed away in a forest west of Woodville, you’ll come across the Heritage Village. At first glance you might think this unique collection of old buildings and artifacts is a simple museum, but in an old school house surrounded by a picket fence you’ll find so much more. “They say Woodville, and they’ll say the Picket House!” said Ofeira Gazzaway.
Ofeira has a unique heritage, but it’s not the lineage you’d expect to find in the Lone Star State. “I’m Polynesian,” said Ofeira. “Everybody thinks I’m from the Indian Reservation. I say, ‘Nope. I have my own village next door.’”
Ofeira moved to Hawaii when she was 18 and ended up in Houston when she got married. Despite not being from the country, she’s been serving up a country style meal for decades at the Pickett House. “Been here most of my life,” said Ofeira. “Longer than I lived where I was born. I’ve been working here, it’ll be 37 years in October. I’ve been here ever since the Tyler County Heritage Society purchased the Heritage Village and the Pickett House, so I’ve been here ever since.”
Now the first thing you’ll notice at the Pickett House will make you feel like a kid again. A smorgasbord of circus posters can be found on pretty much every available piece of wall around here. “It’s interesting to see some of them and see what some of the acts were and what was important, I guess, to put on a poster,” said Customer Laura Gazzaway.
The other thing you’ll notice is the meal here is family style and folks you might not know will probably be dining alongside you. “People share the table when they come,” said Ofeira. “We might put complete strangers on one table, and they just started talking to each other and making friends and enjoy a meal.”
And you’re gonna want to come hungry, because the food keeps coming. “We serve boarding house style,” said Ofeira. “It’s all you can eat. We serve in bowls, what we have, and then, it’s all you can eat. That’s how it started from Clyde Gray.”
Now Clyde Gray started the whole Heritage Village back in the 60’s and opened the Pickett House in 1965, and nothing has changed since then. “We are known for the best fried chicken in the world,” said Ofeira.
I met up with Ladonda Lee, who’s been at the Pickett House for 10 years, to see what kind of comida I’d be eating. Turns out there’s a whole team of ladies in the kitchen making food constantly to feed to the masses and nothing here is pre-made. “Oh, yes. Oh, yes. That’s what makes it so good,” said Ladonda. “We cook. We cook all day. We don’t cook when we get home. Sometimes there ain’t nothing left.”
And you can’t forget dessert! A dish proudly made by Ladonda’s daughter Selena. “And she makes a pretty good cobbler,” said Ladonda. “If I have to say so myself. I love it. I taught her.”
And with that we have a Pickett House feast with everything you could want in front of you. Starting off with the star of the show, that fried chicken is nice and salty without being over-seasoned. “Tender and juicy on the inside, but nice and crispy on the outside,” said Laura.
Moving on to the greens, you can tell that this is some real country cooking with thick pieces of bacon flavoring every bite. The sides are definitely up to par with the chicken, and the navy beans have so much flavor in them. It’s just a good smoky, salty, tasty bean flavor.
Well, if you’re looking for an incredible home-style, country meal featuring fried chicken and all the fixings, coming to Woodville and experiencing the Pickett House is well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “It makes me feel like, hey, we’re doing something good,” said Ofeira. “We can keep on moving forward, make sure the food is good because people love this place.”