Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

The Texas Bucket List – Anthonie’s Market Grill in Simonton

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Simonton – On the outskirts of Houston in the small town of Simonton, you’ll find a fine restaurant sitting in the middle of some wide-open spaces. “It’s my living room,” said Anthonie Dekker. “I live here most of the time.”

Anthonie is the proprietor of Anthonie’s Market Grill, a sort of a city comes to the country kind of restaurant with a down home, classy feel to it. It’s very hard to explain unless you see it for yourself. “Literally, people come out on horseback here,” said Anthonie. “They park them right here.”

Anthonie isn’t from these parts, but he still fits in perfectly. “I still have an accent,” said Anthonie. “I think personally, I speak like John Wayne, but I don’t.”

He hails from Holland where he had an infatuation with the Lone Star State as a boy. “Me sitting between my brothers on the couch watching all the gunslinger movies,” said Anthonie. “So it was for me like, you know what? I’m going to go to Texas, and I just did what Davy Crockett did. I came as soon as I could. I came here in 1990. January 11th of 1990. It’s the best thing I ever did.”

When he came to the states, Anthonie didn’t exactly have a plan, but some things will take you further in life than a plan. “I remember I wanted to work,” said Anthonie. “I wanted to work hard because hard work pays off.”

Anthonie started at a country club, made his way to major culinary positions in Houston and Kemah, and was even the Executive Chef for the Houston Texans before becoming a private chef at a South Texas ranch where he fed folks like George HW Bush and George Strait. “Texas has done so much for me,” said Anthonie. “It’s an amazing state. If you cannot make it in Texas, then forget it.”

Anthonie’s Market Grill is known as a steakhouse, but the menu has much more than that. “A lot of the dishes that we create are comfort dishes,” said Anthonie. “Dishes that most Texans are used to.”

That includes a down-home favorite that’s done with a twist here, meat loaf. “When I said, ‘Guys, we’re going to do a meatloaf,’ everybody’s looking at me,” said Anthonie. “’Meatloaf?’ I said, ‘yeah, because everybody in America grew up on meatloaf. Everybody likes meatloaf.’”

The biggest difference here is that instead of using regular old ground beef, Anthonie’s showcases livestock that happens to live nearby. “We have our own herd with cattle, Wagyu, and the hamburger meat of it we use for our meatloaf,” said Anthonie. “Always make sure it’s fresh and the best quality.”

They say don’t knock it till you try it and if it’s Wagyu, I have no problem trying it. “We serve it with collard greens, mashed potatoes, and then we put a little gravy on it and it’s just delicious,” said Anthonie. “In order to make a meatloaf right you got to have onions and bell peppers. Green bell peppers and garlic.”

Anthonie makes massive meat loafs to feed the masses and it all starts with cooking up the veggies that make their way into the meal. “We got fresh ground Wagyu, akaushi beef,” said Anthonie. “Amazing meat. So we’re going to transfer this nicely into the bowl. We’re going to take the milk with the egg wash, fresh eggs and milk. We dump it in there. We put some black pepper in there. We get it going real slowly. We are massaging the beef. We are making the meat real happy here. We’re making the beef great again.”

Once all mixed up, the mixture is mashed into meatloaf pans and Anthonie makes sure there aren’t any air pockets, or one other ingredient. “A lot of us have grown up with it where we put a red sauce or ketchup,” said Anthonie. “We don’t do that. We just put brown gravy and mashed potatoes, and then our famous collard greens.”

After being baked, the meatloaf is sliced. “Some beautiful slices right there,” said Anthonie. “Almost looks like a pate.”

And sent to the flat top to finish it off. “We let it get happy for two minutes on each side,” said Anthonie. “Happy. It’s all about happiness. We’re in Texas.”

Add collard greens, mashed potatoes and brown gravy and good gravy we’re almost ready. All that’s left is a side of the crab ranchero dip. A mixture of avocado, roasted corn, pico, ranch, and of course, fresh crab. “Voila,” said Anthonie. ““Wagyu akaushi beef meatloaf.”

Now that this marvelous meatloaf is completed, it’s time to try that crab ranchero first. The freshness of the pico, the smokiness of that corn and that fresh crab, that’s amazing. From there, we move on to the main attraction, the meatloaf. That is not meatloaf like mom used to make. Never thought I’d say meatloaf is decadent, but that meatloaf is decadent. “The meat, it’s Wagyu and that gives it a special flavor,” said customer Tim Kelly.

“The meatloaf is fantastic,” said customer Moses Rangel. “The Wagyu in the meatloaf makes it just right.”

Of course, we got to try these potatoes. When an Irishman says, ‘Oh my gosh, the potatoes,’ you know they’re good. Those are the creamiest potatoes I’ve ever had. “Everything that they make here is awesome,” said customer Jeff Cook.

And finally, we got to get into these collard greens because they look beautiful and amazing. Don’t even taste like collard greens. Just tastes like a fantastic vegetable dish with a little kick. I mean, you do eventually get the earthiness of those collard greens, but those bell peppers and that spice come through real nice. “He’s always bringing in something fresh, something new, being creative about the way he does it,” said Tim.

Well, if you happen to have a hankering for a home-cooked meal with some serious Texas roots that happens to be cooked by a guy from Holland, coming here to Anthonie’s Market is definitely well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “I get very emotional about Texas because I love Texas that much,” said Anthonie. “It gave me the American dream. It made me the man I am today.”

The Texas Bucket List – Mi Cocinita in Odessa

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Odessa – Over the years of The Texas Bucket List, the food scene in Odessa has grown leaps and bounds. Adding to that list is a little food trailer called Mi Cocinita, thanks to their birria balls that have a big following. “Oh my gosh, this is like a flavor bomb,” said Yvette Hernandez. “Just burst in your mouth. This is amazing.”

Yvette created these big balls that are bountiful with birria, rice, and cheese. “My birria is different from anybody’s I could say in this town,” said Yvette.

But it’s the incredibly complex layers of her life that got her to this point. “Because of the way my life was, I didn’t think I would see my kids get big,” said Yvette.

Growing up in Odessa wasn’t easy for this single Mom of seven and she took the wrong path at an early age. “13, 14 years old I was already in the streets hanging around with people I shouldn’t be hanging around with, doing drugs and I was horrible,” said Yvette. “I think I was horrible up until I had my first kid.”

Despite having children, Yvette’s troubles continued over the years. “I battled and I mean, it got to a point to where my car got stolen and all these things were happening, and I was like, ‘all right, God, I’ll stop,’” said Yvette. “And then I hung around in a trap house down the street and I didn’t ever, ever pay for it. I would just sit there and people would come in and buy it. ‘Hey, you want to smoke?’ So I would smoke and I would all over again and all over again. I mean, I would come home and my mom would be in my driveway at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning and I was like, ‘What are you doing here?’ And she’s like, ‘You left the kids home alone.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m getting high.’ I didn’t care. My brother was like, ‘Yo, what is wrong with you? You got all these kids and you’re still acting a fool.’ And I was like, ‘I know.’”

Yvette’s family tried to help but Yvette couldn’t break her habit. Then, she decided to give faith a fair shot and attended church with a friend. “Man, I felt like the pastor was talking to me and he just literally said, somebody in this room is involved in something so dark that it stops today, that it ends today. I knew it was me,” said Yvette. “So when I went to the front, he literally pinpointed everything. And when I walked out that church I remember the sun being so bright and I was just like, okay, it’s a new day”

Connecting with her faith and her brother Gilbert were both big inspirations in helping Yvette turn the page and start her food truck but before she could get clean, a brain aneurysm took her brother from this world. “I just got really involved in church and my food,” said Yvette. “And so I was like, okay. And then not even a couple of weeks later, my brother passes away. So after that I really was like, you know what? Enough is enough.”

Yvette has now been clean and sober for six years, and people in her community have noticed the positive changes in her life. “I’ve seen her out in the streets just struggling and trying to survive to being so successful and growing into a greater business,” said Leanna Brito. “I mean, it’s just amazing to see her. It’s a blessing.”

Yvette’s birria tacos were the talk of the town, and she feels like she was divinely pointed to a new recipe that would take her business to the next level.  “So I’m laying in bed one day and I’m struggling,” said Yvette. “So these birria balls come across my screen and I’m like, oh, that’s cool. Well, then I see it cross my screen again, and I’m like, okay. I had just made birria tacos the night before, so I had birria meat in my fridge and then I made the boudin and cheese balls before. So when they came across my screen the third time, I really felt like God said, ‘Get up. I’m giving you something new.’ So I went home, put it together, turned the fryer on and got to frying and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this is it. This is it.’”

These balls are filled to the brim with some of the most flavorful things you can think of. “So it’s birria, our amazing, delicious birria and cheese and rice,” said Yvette. “So everything has to be cooled down because if not, it’ll melt the cheese. Because you want the cheese to melt in the fryer.”

Yvette took a few birria balls, battered them up, and covered them in hot Cheetos. After they get fried up, they get another layer of hot Cheetos. Throw on some onions, some cilantro, and some consume and we’re good to go.

So here we have the famous birria balls of Odessa, Texas. You may have seen pictures or videos, but tasting these is the only way to get the real experience. If that doesn’t look ridiculous, I don’t know what does. “So much flavor,” said customer Tania. “She seasoned the meat so good that you can still taste it and it doesn’t get lost.”

Well, the birria and the cheese is a fantastic mixture. The rice you don’t really get too much of, and then you get into those hot Cheetos, which provide the crunch and a little bit of an extra spice from that Cheetos flavor that everybody loves. “Tasty, birria of flavor, that juicy meat, cheese,” said customer Alan. “It’s like it’s happening right there.”

Well, if you’re into Birria and cheese bound together by hot Cheetos in a big ball, coming to Mi Cocinita in Odessa, Texas, it’s definitely well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List. “I just want people to know that she really has come up from nothing to this and God is blessing her tenfold,” said Tania. “She’s doing amazing.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – The Yardarm in Corpus Christi

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Corpus Christi – The sparkling city by the sea is a no nonsense stop for seafood in the Lone Star State, and finding fried shrimp is as easy as can be. But if you’re looking for something different, something with a little French pizzazz, the Yardarm measures up. “We’ve met some terrific people over the years, and still,” said owner Diane Tsaousis.

Diane and her husband Constantine opened the Yardarm back in 1975. “I would say we have not changed very much,” said Constantine. Constantine is the consummate host.  Originally from Greece, he’s known for his friendly banter and signature hat. “He’s never without the hat,” said Diane. “That is his signature hat. He hasn’t taken it off in 50 years.” “I need to protect my sensitive instruments, and I put this hat on, then and it stays with me ever since,” said Constantine. Secretly, Diane is fond of it. “I like that hat,” said Diane. “He wouldn’t be that person without that hat.”

“I guess you can say I am a person of habit,” said Constantine. “If I find a hat that I like, I keep it. If I find the food that I like, I do the same policy too.”

Well Constantine has liked the food since 1975 and so have the customers. While the menu changes, there are a couple of constants that have stood the test of time while still being a blast from the past. And it’s all thanks to their original chef. “In walked the second day this old crusty guy, a chef, who was fabulous,” said Diane. “And nobody could get along with him, but he was wonderful. So, he was a Master Chef, and he took over and set up the kitchen and set up the menu. A lot of his original recipes are still with us.”

The recipes themselves have stayed the same this whole time as well, and that comes from consistency in the kitchen. “They’ve been the same since I’ve been around and before, and I think we’ve only had four or five chefs since we started in 1975,” said Chris Owen.

Chris has been the head chef here since 2012, but he’s been working here longer than that! “He’s been the heart of this place,” said Diane. “He’s an interesting character. He’s very good with people. Chris is a very kind, very gentle fellow everywhere, inside the kitchen and out here. And he has a great interest in the restaurant.”

“Started as a busboy,” said Chris. “I slowly worked my way up to head chef.”

Chris wanted to showcase three dishes at the Yardarm, some old, some new, so we started with Oysters Rockefeller. Fresh gulf oysters are topped with bacon, spinach, onion and garlic and placed in the oven. Then comes the fresh flounder. “This was probably right around yesterday, or the night before,” said Chris. “Been gigged right here, you can tell.”

Fresh fish is a big deal here, especially when your patio sits on Corpus Christi Bay. “We have one fish fellow that we get all the fish from,” said Diane.

Chris shows off what a tenured chef can do deboning a flounder. “Probably do a few thousand of these a year,” said Chris.

Chris stuffs with the flounder with crab stuffing and tops it for baking. “A little butter, a little white wine,” said Chris. “Nice in-house seasoning we make.  Put that right there. Give that about 10 to 12, 14 minutes.”

Up next is the papillote. “We use an orange, a bay leaf, nice piece of black drum,” said Chris. “I’m going to season that up. We’re going to put another scoop of the crab stuffing right on top. You can’t go wrong with crab stuffing. We’re going to top it with a piece of saffron butter. Shallots. We dip it in oil so it doesn’t burn. We’re going to pop it on in a pan with butter.”

And just like that, the feast is ready for plating. Oysters are up first. “Top it with Hollandaise, paprika, and, of course, some parsley,” said Chris. “Serve that with a lime. Now, it’s ready to go. One down.”

Now the flounder. “So, what I do now is I douse it with some fresh lime juice, a ladle of some butter,” said Chris. “Drowned it in that a little. Top that with some fresh parsley, and she is good to go.” Beautiful.

And the papillote remains a mystery as it’s opened table side! This recipe can be traced back to Antoine’s in New Orleans back in 1840 and here it is in Texas all these years later.

It’s always good to get out of your shell when you try a new restaurant, so why not start with oysters. The elements of the Rockefeller fit together perfectly but there was an added bonus of some sherry, giving it a more traditional taste. These are true to form, with a fantastic old-school taste.

Onto the giant stuffed flounder which looks absolutely beautiful. It smells incredible, and the flavors are fantastic. “I think the crab-stuffed flounder is a signature, remarkable dish,” said customer Daryl. “Really, really delicious.”

Well, the fish is fine. It’s fresh. You pair it up with that crab stuffing, and even the butter and lime are playing a big part in bringing out all the flavors of the fish. It’s fantastic. “I haven’t found anything I really don’t like here,” said customer Robin.

From here, we move on to the Papillote, a unique take on a dish that you don’t see too often, an old-school thing with a fresh drum. Once again, straight off the boat. It, too, is beautiful. “It’s really fun to bring your kids and get that bag and get to cut it open, and the aromas escape,” said Daryl. “It’s a process and it’s a presentation, and I think that’s a fun thing.”

I never knew you could get fish more tender than baking it in the oven, but cooking it in that bag made that drum tender. Such an old-school flavor with that bay leaf and orange soaking into the bottom of the fish, and then all that crab stuffing on top. Every layer of this thing has got something to really pique your taste buds. “You can’t get fresher drum than here,” said customer Dean. “It’s right in Corpus Christi right here on the bay. It’s fantastic.”

Getting seafood down on the coastal bend is a no-brainer, but if you want some traditional dishes that have stood the test of time, coming to the Yardarm in Corpus Christi is well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “We enjoy all the people that we know, the people that come here,” said Diane. “We love our staff. It’s been a way of life. What would we do? Sit at home and look at each other? What would we do?”

The Texas Bucket List – Tex Miller’s in Cameron

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Cameron – Since 1937, Tex Miller’s has been a hot spot for hamburgers in Cameron. “It brings back a lot of memories,” said Gwen Howard. “I will say that.”

Gwen Howard is the current caretaker of Tex Miller’s and only the 3rd person in history to claim that title. The hole in the wall hamburger joint was started by Tex Miller, who sold it to Sandra Terry in 1989. When Sandra passed away in 2020, Gwen got her shot to own the business, and she didn’t change a thing. “It means the world to me to continue this tradition. It’s like it’s a part of history. Like I am a part of history,” said Gwen. “This is all passed down from Tex Miller’s. The way he did it, the way she learned to do. It’s the way she taught me how to do it. Just the way they do it. And are you going to change? No. Why change? You don’t change perfection. It’s working. Why change it?”

That includes the same coke box, the same seats, and the same grill! “That grill right there got put in in ’56,” said Gwen. “You can get over there and make that burger and I believe it’s going to taste the same because the grill, it’s seasoned. It’s in the grill.”

It’s also the way the burgers are made. Gwen was taught when she worked for Sandy and she’ll never forget it. “I want to make it the best I can make it,” said Gwen. “And she wasn’t no joke. She told me one day I was here working. It was like, ‘you are making that burger wrong.’ I said, ‘Miss Sandy, I don’t think you can make a burger wrong.’ She said, ‘yes, you can move over. Let me show you.’ So she came back there. ‘You put the lettuce, then the onions, then the pickles, then the tomatoes, and that’s the way it goes.’ Some people make it differently, but she wanted it that way. So now that’s the way I make my burgers.”

After a lesson on the history of this burger business, it was time to get cooking. While the chili cheese dog bun got to toasting, Gwen got started on the OG burger.

“We’re doing the double-double,” said Gwen. “So we got two patties. What are these, a quarter-pound apiece? Somewhere like that.”

Once the hot dog bun was ready, Gwen toasted to the hamburger bun and showed off Tex Miller’s unique way of making chili cheese dogs. “This is the Tex Miller’s famous chili,” said Gwen.

Their chili dogs aren’t a hot dog on a bun topped with chili, but rather cut up hot dogs mixed into the chili and piled onto the bun. Once that’s loaded on, it’s time to finish off the bun with some veggies. “We go with lettuce and then we do onion and then we’ll do pickles,” said Gwen. “Then we’ll go with the tomato and jalapeno. Then she’ll salt and pepper, mustard and ketchup.”

And with that, you have an old school meal in an old school setting, getting ready for some old school flavors and we are going to dive right into that chili dog, because that is what Ms. Gwen suggested and it looks fantastic. “The chili is amazing,”  said Gwen. “The chili dogs are amazing. It’s not really anything here that you wouldn’t want to eat.”

It’s one of the best chili dogs you’ll ever taste, not just because of the incredible flavors, but also how easy it is to eat without biting into a giant hot dog. Onto that double-double, and it is just absolutely beautiful. That flavor is unmistakably old school and delicious. To think the only seasoning on this burger is salt and pepper is unreal because it is full of flavor. “It’s nice to be able to have that same, everything look the same and feel the same and be able to come over and have that great burger,” said customer Dannette. “Because they’re amazing burgers.”

Well with that greasy bun, cold veggies, hot meat, and perfectly melted Velveeta cheese, coming to Cameron for Tex Miller’s is definitely well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “God has a plan for me,” said Gwen. “I want to keep it going. I’m trying my best to keep it going and as long as God let me, I will keep it going.”

The Texas Bucket List – GW’s BBQ in San Juan

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San Juan – When it comes to finding food down in the Rio Grande Valley, there’s so much great seafood and South Texas cuisine that BBQ might not be on your radar. But when you get your first whiff of the wood smoking meats at GW’s BBQ, you won’t want to miss out. George Watts runs this place with his family in tow and that includes his Dad George Jr., One in a long line of guys with the initials GW. “My dad, Junior, my grandpa, Senior, and now my son’s the fourth,” said George.

Now George wasn’t always big into gourmet food. In fact, his first love was football. “I always wanted to play football,” said George. “I was big on sports, baseball, football. My family’s really big in sports. And then once we, my junior year of high school, I tore my ACL and I was a lineman. I was a bit on the heavy side and I decided I wanted to lose weight. So I started cooking for myself and I started eating healthy, but I started liking the cooking part of it.”

Cooking turned into his passion but to support his family, George spent three years serving and protecting before firing up the pits at GW’s. And he started this with zero restaurant experience. “I knew this was what I wanted,” said George. “I always wanted to cook. So it’s been fun.”

While people line up now, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing showcasing Central Texas style BBQ to a population that wasn’t too used to seeing it. “People are coming in and they were like, ‘Let me get a pound of fajitas,’” said George. “And I was like, ‘We don’t got fajitas’. “What do you mean you don’t got fajitas?’ And then like, ‘Well, let me get some rice and beans.’ ‘We don’t have rice. So we got beans, but they’re baked beans.’ ‘What?’ So yeah, it took a while for people to figure it out.”

Figure it out they have, and it’s not just your typical smoked meats. There’s duck, pork loin, and lengua. There’s also a showcase of unique sides and these didn’t come out of a can. These handmade sides take a whole crew to create. “Right now on staff we have five, including me,” said George. “For where we want to be, that’s what we need to do.”

After watching George prepare a few things on the pit, it’s time to sample a tray that could feed a family of 8. “Yeah. We’re going to put all the meats for you guys right here,” said George. “A little bit of lingua, a little bit of brisket, ribs. Show you our sausages. So we’ll start with the king, which is brisket. These cook on average of 12, 14 hours.”

Next, George moves on to some more fan favorites. “Well these will be the burnt ends right here,” said George. “It’s what everybody likes. Super soft. That should be butter.” This is our lasagna Bolognese sausage. Every element of a lasagna is in this sausage; mozzarella, Parmesan, red wine, everything. It’s all in here.”

Up next is some lengua served up in a special way. “Normally they take off all that outer membrane and you just get the meat on the inside,” said George. “We want it to have a bark and seasoning on it. So we take all that off beforehand. We smoke it, we get a bark on there, and then it gets confited, which means cooked in its own fat, like braised in fat. And then we do that until it’s sliceable. We want to slice it. We don’t want it shredding apart. It’s super juicy. But this is very soft still.”

Pork lion, Cajun turkey, and pork ribs are piled on before we get to another unique offering. “Something new this month that’s on the menu is our char siu duck,” said George. “So these are duck leg quarters. They’ve been marinated in a char siu sauce that we make here ourselves, and right before we come off, we dunk them in that char siu glaze so it could tack on there. It has Chinese five spice, different hoisin sauce. Very, very different. But it’s good.”

Throw in a dino rib and that closes out the massive meat tray, but we’re not done yet. “You still need a tray of some of our scratch-made sides,” said George. “Yeah, you have to. You can’t come to GW’s and not get sides.”

8 sides later and you’ve got your meal, and it’s sure to be one of the most beautiful you’ve ever seen. Dubbed “The Texas Bucket List Special,” there’s plenty here to try, but that lengua just calls your name. It’s tender, flavorful and fine, and it puts trust in the rest of the creations on the plate.

Up next is the duck, and it’s absolutely amazing. Smokey like Texas BBQ with an Asian kick, it’s simply delicious. The next unique offering is the lasagna sausage, which combines two of everyone’s favorite food groups into one spectacular sausage.

Moving onto the sides, the mac & cheese is impressively tasty. Their golden beet slaw is also super flavorful and coated in a vinaigrette. Both of these dishes work great with all the incredible meats that share the plate.

Well, if you’re looking for one the best barbecue joints in Texas, coming to San Juan and trying GW’s barbecue is definitely well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “So we want people to come in and to be able to sit down with the tray and eat it and be like, ‘Wow, this is good barbecue,’” said George.

 

The Texas Bucket List – Pickett House in Woodville

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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.”

The Texas Bucket List – El Alamo Cafe in Hearne

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Hearne – At the crossroads of Texas, the roads are usually so busy that not a lot of folks take the time to explore downtown Hearne. But for folks from across the Brazos Valley, downtown is their destination because they remember El Alamo, a restaurant with a half-century of history.

Rosie Blankenship and her sister, Carmen Vargas, have been working at El Alamo since the 70s. While these ladies have poured their hearts and souls into the salsa here, they’re not even the owners. Despite being 90 years old, their mom, Mary, still runs the place. Rosie said, “Mother’s still the boss. She’s always checking on us, making sure it’s done right. Even though we’ve been here forever, she still checks on us.”

Mary no longer slaves over the stove at El Alamo but since 1972, it’s been the place to go for some good Tex-Mex in Hearne. In fact, Mary’s whole family has worked at El Alamo. There have been 20 in all. Four kids, eleven grandchildren, and five greatgrandchildren.

“El Alamo has always been the rock of the family.”

But it’s not just the family that’s kept this place afloat. It’s also the food. El Alamo is known for their enchiladas, but Mary has kept her enchilada sauce close to her chest, even though she doesn’t have a recipe!

Considering the enchiladas have been the go-to since Nixon visited China, who am I to say no to trying some! Rosie got a plate of beef fajitas whipped up for me with one cheese enchilada for good measure. Petra, the head cook, knew that this was going to require a big plate.

Once she got the fajita meat up to temp, Petra put the beef in some tortillas, threw some shredded cheese in another, and rolled them up to get dressed up. Then she covered them with Mary’s homemade enchilada sauce. After several minutes in the oven, I was ready to give them a taste.

Technically, what I got to try was two plates in one, but I was told that it’s now going to be called The Texas Bucket List Special. If you take a trip to El Alamo, that’s what you want to ask for. It didn’t take long to understand why Mary’s restaurant has stood the test of time. The enchilada sauce was thick, flavorful, and complimented the beef fajita perfectly.

If you happen to be heading through Hearne and are looking for some tasty Tex-Mex, come into Mary’s El Alamo. This is a tasty stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“It’s like coming home for a meal,” Rosie said. And for Mary, that’s exactly what El Alamo is all about.

The Texas Bucket List – Katie’s Seafood House in Galveston

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Galveston – When it comes to getting a bite to eat down on the Island, lots of folks head to the seawall. But if you venture to the strand side of Galveston, you’ll come across Katie’s Seafood sitting on famous Pier 19, the same spot where Jean LaFitte’s Pirate Ships and the Texas Navy sailed from. “Katie’s my mom,” said Rick Gutirrez.

Rick’s family owns this restaurant that his Step-Dad Buddy named after the biggest catch he ever brought home, his wife Katie.  “You don’t want to mess up your mom’s name,” said Rick. “Yeah, there’s a little bit of pressure in that you don’t want to mess your mom’s name up, right? You don’t want to run something that your mom’s not proud of.”

Now Rick and his family didn’t start off in the restaurant business. They were originally fishermen and first opened the fish market next to Katie’s where you’ll find Rick’s brother Nick selling fresh fish. The catch is, all the fish you’ll find at Katie’s come straight from here. “It’s a pretty unique thing to have your own boats, especially for a restaurant, and it makes a difference in the quality of seafood that we’re selling here,” said Rick. “Once it comes to shore, they’re cutting it and they’re getting it ready for this restaurant.”

Since all this fish is fresh as can be, don’t expect to find fish from a different sea. “We got a rule here that we’re only using Gulf seafood,” said Rick. “So, we don’t use farm-raised fish, so you won’t see red fish on our menu.”

General Manager Brett Otteman has been with Katie’s since they opened in 2019. “I asked Buddy in our interview, I said, ‘What kind of fish do you want me to write on the menu?’” said Brett. “He says, ‘Well, I won’t know until the boat comes in.’ That was like a Cupid’s arrow to my heart, man. I can say I’m selling the freshest fish in town.”

Well I was ready already hooked on getting some fresh fish and the sizzling grouper platter has a trifecta of Texas gulf seafood. “So, the sizzling grouper platter, it’s going to have eight ounces of grouper,” said Rick. “It’s going to be topped with crab meat, and then they’ll have jumbo shrimp and they’ll have some tortillas and they’ll have some Mexican street corns and rice and beans.”

Brett got things started by getting the fresh grouper and gulf shrimp ready for the grill. “We’re going to baste our fish with a little garlic butter just for the flavor,” said Brett. “And then, we’re going to season with our lemon herb pepper. It’s got a lot of herbs in it that bring the flavor out versus adding flavor in, and we’re going to char grill it just like you would a nice fajita or a nice steak.”

Veggies and crab meat get sauteed while Brett throws in one of Katie’s specialties, the Snapper wings. “The story is that those things came from the early 1900s on the end of this pier right here, and all the rich people from Houston would come down and go snapper fishing,” said Brett. “The guys that would come from Galveston to fillet the fish for them, would cut the throats off and the heads off and throw them in a bucket, and the people would take their fillets and go back to Houston. As soon as they left, those guys would pull those snapper heads out and cut those little throats off, and now everybody across the Gulf coast is serving them everywhere.”

The snapper is seasoned and deep fried while the grouper plate comes together on a sizzling platter. It gets one last table side touch, a house made butter concoction gets drenched over the grilled seafood. “That’s a little Worcestershire butter that we pour over the top of it,” said Brett. “It’s almost like a New Orleans butter, but it’s got a little Galveston kick to it with our own seasonings.”

I didn’t waste any time when it came time to sample the snapper. The snapper wing is fried perfectly with a fantastic crunch, and the meat inside stays soft and delicious. The tortilla is a perfect vehicle for a smorgasbord of grouper, crab, shrimp and buttery vegetables, and that all comes together to create something truly beautiful. No matter if it’s a grouper or the crab or the shrimp, you get each flavor profile when you bite into that taco, and it is amazing.

Well, when it comes to getting some of the freshest Gulf seafood here on Galveston Island, coming to Katie’s is definitely well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “We’re really proud to sell Texas Gulf shrimp and sustainable fish that we’ve caught,” said Rick. “That’s the goal, is to make our economy work here in Texas and to provide people fresh seafood.”

The Texas Bucket List – Wright On Taco in Marshall

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Marshall – In the northeast corner of our state, you’ll find the town of Marshall with its majestic old courthouse overlooking the center of Harrison County. It’s a big draw to town, but so is the food you’ll find at the Wright on Taco Shop. “East Texas has it going on,” said Julie Wright. “We can hang with the big cities.”

Julie and her husband Brian own the Wright on Taco Shop but don’t let the name fool you, this place offers much more than just tacos. They also smoke some serious meats. “Tacos and barbecue,” said Julie. “It’s the Texas way to eat.”

Now BBQ wasn’t originally on the menu when Julie kicked off this eatery adventure with a taco truck, but when the couple decided to take that next step with a brick-and-mortar building it happened to have a little bonus. “In that restaurant, it was a barbecue shop, so there was this old pit that was there, and we added that to part of the deal,” said Julie. “Keep the pit there and let’s see what we can do with it.”

They did very well. “We did not know what we were getting into with the restaurant business, and you probably hear that a lot, but we really just took it as our responsibility of, let’s bring our best so that we can serve our best,” said Julie. “Craft barbecue takes a ton of time. It takes a ton of prep time, a ton of attention, and just the actual process. And then the tacos, we don’t take that for granted, either. We make as much from scratch that we can.”

When faced with this conundrum, there’s only one thing to do; get both! Assistant pitmaster Josie Bib gave me a preview of our first treat, the Texas Twinkies. “It’s a jalapeño,” said Josie. “It’s wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cream cheese and brisket. They’re delicious. Those sell out pretty much every day”

In the kitchen, Austin Foust got to work on a special sandwich called the Porkstrami. This piece of pork is brined for 7 days before getting smoked and it smells amazing. “We are really trying to think of ways that we could use pork shoulder a little bit more, just due to the cost of things, but also how great pork shoulder is,” said Julie. “I think it’s overlooked in several barbecue applications. It’s just so good.”

Austin takes half a pound of the pork, stacks it high on a toasted potato roll and tops it off with honey mustard BBQ sauce, onions, and cilantro. “That porkstrami is that nice little pink color,” said Austin. “Now, that’s not the smoke ring. That’s the brine color.”

The tacos start off with freshly made tortillas. “We press these every morning and we go through them like a fart in a windstorm,” said Austin.

We get the thunder rolling with the Hannah, a simple taco with barbecued chicken, bacon, and queso. The Texican starts off with chopped up brisket, gets topped with coleslaw, jalapenos, and BBQ sauce. Finally, there’s the Employee of the Month. Not to worry, it’s only fried shrimp with some fried avocado, lettuce, cheese, pico, and aioli. No employees harmed in the making.

With a plate full of food in front of you it’s not easy to decide what to go for first, but that Texas Twinkie certainly isn’t a bad place to start. The smokiness of the brisket goes great with that peppered bacon, and the jalapeno and cream cheese cut through the richness of the meat perfectly.

Up next is the Hannah taco, which features nothing but meat and cheese. The chicken is tender and the bacon is crispy, and that cheese just pulls everything together. The Texican features that same awesome brisket from the Texas Twinkie, with a fresh slaw that keeps everything nice and moist. Finally, the Employee of the Month is a lighter fare that is packed with flavor.

Finally, if you have any room to spare, it’s worth using on the monstrous Porkstrami. The classic pastrami brine works wonders on a pork soldier to make a sandwich that’s worth running all the way to Marshall for a taste.

Well, whether you’re in the mood for some terrific tacos or a particular pork sandwich that’s put together perfectly, coming into the Wright On Tacos shop  is definitely well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “I just say, ‘Come on, give us a chance,’” said Julie. “Try it out and we’ll show you what we got.”

 

 

The Texas Bucket List – Juan in a Million in Austin

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Austin – As Austin continues to grow, it’s getting harder and harder to find staples of the Capital City, but Juan in a Million has stood the test of time. “At the beginning, it was tough, man,” said Juan Meza. “The neighborhood was a little bit different.”

Juan has taken over the operations of Juan in a Million from his dad, Juan, who opened this one of a kind restaurant back in 1980 when things on the east side of Austin were a bit sketchy.

“It wasn’t an easy start,” said Juan. “A lot of people are like, ‘I had my door’s locked on the way over here.’ But now it’s nice. Now it’s not so bad. We knew there was change coming when we started seeing people riding their bicycles at night. And I was like, ‘That’s not normal. Are they sure this is the right neighborhood?’”

Today, Juan in a Million is so close to downtown that it’s becoming a part of it, and that’s making it easier for folks to come get a popular taco, the Don Juan. “I like my tacos hefty,” said Juan.

This huge offering has become a pilgrimage for hungry folks who may or may not be seeking a cure for the ol’ college hangover. “It started off as a college dish,” said Juan. “It was a college student that came over. They wanted something together. My dad said, ‘Let me put this together for you.’ They wanted something big. They were really hungry. And my dad was trying to make it affordable, so he put these ingredients together. And from there, man, it just took off.”

It’s hard to describe this meal that’s technically just a taco but comes with enough filling to stretch into a few. “It’s a plate of food, but it comes on a tortilla, but then it comes with two or three more tortillas to make more tacos out of it,” said customer Ines Guevara. “But yeah, it’s delicious, but it’s huge. It’s huge.”

Now, tortillas aren’t the only thing you’re going to want with your taco. Juan in a Million is also known for their salsa which might hit 6 digits on the Scoville scale. “Most people, they start off, ‘Ah, it’s too hot,’” said Juan. “And then they just can’t put it down. You can’t put it down. They’ll get that chip in their mouth, mouth’s burning, sweating profusely, and they just can’t put it down, man. Like, ‘More, give me more, give me more.’ And of course, we go through a lot of tea and a lot of water.”

Considering Juan the Don has brought in actors, politicians, and other TV show hosts, anyone would be ready to get their hands on a taco, so it’s time to seek out out the jedi master of making them, Maria. With 35 years of experience making this taco, Maria is all business when it comes to cracking the eggs. “Oh yeah, yeah. It’s her world back here,” said Juan. “We’re just living in it.”

This recipe ain’t rocket science calling for potatoes, bacon, and eggs. Throw on some cheese and that’s it. “She cooks it to perfection, puts it in the tortilla,” said Juan. “Then they put it over here on the line, then add cheese to it just to top it off.”

After being presented with a giant plate of breakfast taco fixings, the first step for any seasoned veteran at Juan in a Million is to pull out a tortilla and load it up to your heart’s content. The smell of bacon and melted cheese hits your nose like a delicious train before you get a kick of that spicy sauce, and you’re ready to go to town on this taco. “It’s daunting,” said Ines. “I think I only had a third of it, but it was really good.”

As soon as you take a bite, you get every single flavor from the potatoes and the eggs. And the salsa is extra important, especially in the taco. But man, that bacon and cheese. The bacon’s crispy, the cheese is salty. Both of them come together to make a great flavor in a taco. Well, for a Texas tradition that’s one in a million, come into Juan in a Million in Austin. It’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “For a pound of food, you’re paying seven bucks,” said Juan. “Yeah, you can’t get that anywhere.”