Kicaster – Just a quick 30-minute drive from the San Antonio Riverwalk you’ll find Kicaster, an unincorporated community out in God’s country. It’s also where you’ll find the Kicaster Country Store and Grill and it’s owned by Scott Hudson.

Scott moved to Texas with his family when he was a young boy back in 1981. Prior to creating the Kicaster Country Store in 2017, Scott created fancy burgers for a big time Texas burger franchise.  So coming up with unique concoctions is nothing new for Scott.

The first step is getting his meat is sourced locally and considering this beef comes from a local rancher right down the road, these burgers check that box.  “I pick them out while they’re on the hoof and we know where that’s been the whole supply chain until we grind it and put it in the patty and serve it to our customer. And it makes a huge difference.” Those cows get nervous when they see you show up. “Yeah, I guess they do, although they only meet me once,” said Scott.

The freshly ground burgers are a big draw, but there’s something else around here that Scott is also known for and that’s the Spicy Ahi Tuna sandwich. “Tuna was basically customers saying, ‘We want a fish option,’” Scott said. “I love a good piece of sushi grade tuna, so we decided to do ahi.”

There’s another popular dish that’s quite a conundrum out in the country which is poutine. Poutine is a pretty simple dish made up of French fries, Wisconsin white cheddar cheese curds, and brown gravy. Scott said the main reason it’s on the menu is so they can utilize more of the animal.

It’s not often we travel across Texas and go to county stores and see ahi tuna and poutine. Scott’s cook, Aubrey Stewart, got to work on whipping me up these two exotic offerings. Finding the perfect piece of fish, Aubrey cooks it and adds some spices, then finishes off the sandwich with some toppings.

Next, the poutine, a traditionally Canadian dish, is put together by topping the fries with the homemade gravy. “It’s Texas gravy. We like our gravy thick. We like stick to your ribs gravy. The poutine up north is going to be a little bit more runny. We do Texas style because we’re serving Texas,” said Scott.

With so many different smells coming off the plate, my nose didn’t know what to expect and neither did my mouth. I went straight into the gravy made in-house. Thick and delicious, not too salty, with the addition of the cheese curds made for a sensational dish. I then bit into the ahi tuna sandwich which had a lot of spice that lingered. Such fantastic flavor that made a nice, lighter sandwich.

“You can’t knock it until you try it. That’s all I got to say about that,” said customer Elaina.

If you’re looking for some far away flavors like poutine from Canada or a fantastic ahi grilled tuna sandwich, visiting the Kicaster store in the middle of Kicaster is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!

Dallas – When it comes to French food in Dallas, there are a few options. But if you’re seeking a serious soufflé, a stop on the edge of the Park Cities at Rise is where your journey takes flight.

“Once you taste it, you will find that it’s an addiction,” said owner Hedda Gioia Dowd.  Dowd is a self-proclaimed Francophile all thanks to several summers in France visiting her grandparents when she was a little girl. Hedda would hang out in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother making soufflés, and that’s when a serious love set in. The only problem was, Hedda couldn’t find soufflés in the Lone Star State that were anything like the ones her grandmother made, so she created Rise.

“There were a lot of people that thought, ‘That is not going to work, and it certainly will not work in Texas,’” Hedda said. But the biggest hurdle she had to face was showcasing soufflés that offered a more satisfying purpose than just something sweet.

“Many folks are used to a dessert soufflé, chocolate, Grand Marnier, or a fruit soufflé, but not many people have been exposed to savory soufflés,” she said. “It’s a category that we have really taken and expanded.”

These soufflés are so sought after that even heads of state seek them out. For George Bush, eating here is like getting a W. Hedda said that he and Laura have been so supportive of Rise ever since they left the White House. They come in as if they were eating at their own home.

With so much variety, from crab meat to ham and cheese to cauliflower and brie, Rise has it all. Melinda, a loyal customer, said, “It’s like nothing else. You’re never going to find anywhere else like this.”

Hedda was adamant that I try two savory soufflés, one with chili and cheese and another with ceviche. “You happen to be the recipient of the Texas Frito Chili soufflé that no one on this planet has ever seen or tasted, but Shane, you are about to.” Oh, that’s exciting, “It’s very exciting.” I don’t know if putting chili and Frito’s in a soufflé is bringing things down or taking things up a notch. “Oh, it’s going to take them up a whole notch,” said Hedda.

Chef Alberto Solis has been whipping up soufflés at Rise since 2015 and it all starts with egg whites and a pinch of salt. Once it’s whipped up, Alberto mixes in the other ingredients for the particular soufflé – in my case, chili and cheese for one and shrimp, cheese, cilantro, and more for the other. While those were baking, I got the chance to make a dessert soufflé, but Alberto whipped my behind.

Once they were done, I got to enjoy each soufflé. The flavor was fantastic! Pillowy and perfect, rich and filling. All around sensational.

So if you’re looking for sensational flavors that come from across the sea that happen to have a little Tex and a little Mex in them, come into Rise to get the soufflés. This is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!

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.”

 

 

 

 

 

Galveston – With a name synonymous with Galveston history, The Maceo family keeps the family business alive and well, 100 years since it became so entrenched with island lore.

“When I was growing up, the Maceo history, the past of Maceo’s on the island was something that they kind of wanted to put behind them. So they didn’t want me to really know, and I’m the youngest of all the cousins,” said Concetta Maceo-Sims, owner of the Maceo Spice and Import Company.

Concetta has a family connection to Sam Maceo, the man who ran things on Galveston Island from the 1920s until the 50s. Gambling, bootlegging, and organized crime were a few of his endeavors. “My grandfather’s generation, he was the last of anyone that had anything to do with the Balinese Room. So it was like hush hush, we didn’t talk about that stuff,” Concetta said.

But Concetta’s father, Ronnie, knows.  While she can tell you all about spices in the food and the place, she refers them to Ronnie when people come in wanting to talk about the history of the Maceos. “He’s a wealth of knowledge about the island, about our family history. He’s a great cook. He brings such a cool aspect to this place that not many places have,” said Concetta.

Ronnie’s grandfather, Frank, immigrated from Italy to New Orleans in the 1900s and Sam brought him to Galveston to help out with the family business. Ronnie said his grandfather was born on Bourbon Street, and they lived on the corner of Royal and Du Main with Tony Lavoi. Tony is Ronnie’s great great uncle, and he believes Tony invented the popular muffuletta sandwich around 1901, not the popular New Orleans eatery, Central Grocery, which claims the invention of the sandwich in 1906.

While we’ll never know for sure, the one thing I do know is the Maceo’s use an olive dressing that is a family recipe, as is the bread. But the most important part to Ronnie. “It’s made by Maceo,” he said.

The Maceo Spice Company was started in 1944 by Ronnie’s father, Rosario, who got tired of slinging spice in the 80s. Ronnie said Rosario wanted to quit, and that’s when Ronnie started coming down every day to work with him. That’s when Ronnie convinced his father to bring the family’s sacred sandwich back to the menu. “There’s a lot of Cajun cuisine influence on our family and our style of cooking,” Concetta said. “The red beans on the menu, that’s my mom’s recipe. The gumbo is my dad’s recipe but we had to bring in a little bit of something other than Italian.” It’s a unique combination.

Then I got the chance to see how the Maceo muffuletta is made. First the bread, which is Tony Lavoi’s recipe, was cut nice and level and Ronnie added some olive oil and a mixture of Maceo seasoning. The first layer is Maceo’s famous olive salad. Four layers of polish ham and Geneo salami get placed on top of that. Ronnie adds some more olive oil, provolone cheese, another layer of olive dressing, and heads for a streamer that toasts the bread. While the sandwich finished up, Ronnie combines the muffuletta with homemade gumbo.

The bread, the olive dressing, and all that melty cheese creates a heavenly smell. I’ve been to New Orleans many times for the muffuletta there, but this one blows it out of the water. The gumbo was incredible. I didn’t know you could get gumbo like this in Texas.So if you’re looking for a find sandwich, a delicious cup of gumbo, come into Maceo’s Spice Company here in Galveston Island. It is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

Normangee – If you’ve never been through Normangee, you’re not living outside the norm. Located a few miles off I-45 in between Dallas and Houston, this town of 772 folks moves slower than most. But right on the edge of town is The Place, which has become a popular destination for folks to eat in town.

Candy Tinkham owns The Place and has lived in Normangee since 1996. When Candy purchased this old house in 2018, she did something she sometimes can’t even believe.  She opened a restaurant.

Candy had the faith it would work out. Candy said, “if it wouldn’t have been for that, I would’ve quit or maybe never even started. It was a process that God just took all the way through.”

One of the most unique aspects of The Place is that it doesn’t look like any place at all. It simply looks like an old home on the side road, and some people in town still think that’s all it is. “It’s amazing how many people in town still don’t know because they don’t go any further than the grocery store,” Candy said. “We’re on the edge of town.”

Fortunately, Candy has a great support staff of local women that always keep things positive and uplifting. “We have a lot of fun and if it gets stressful, Lynn makes us stop and pray, like this morning. If it gets crazy, we’ll turn on the radio, start singing, dance a little bit,” Candy reflected. “We pray every day. That’s a must, yes.”

Daisey Garner is one of the cooks at The Place and she put together two sandwiches that this place is known for – the chicken bacon ranch and the pimento cheese.

Daisey got going on the chicken bacon ranch by toasting a sub roll while grilling marinated chicken and bacon. Mozzarella is melted onto the sub roll, and then comes the ranch. Bacon, avocado, and sliced chicken complete the Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich assemble.

This sandwich is probably their most popular, and I can see why! It was awesome with so much flavor and it even smelled amazing. The mozzarella was extremely cheesy and combined with all the other ingredients, it made for an incredible sandwich.

Next, the Pimento Cheese sandwich starts off with a toasted jalapeno sourdough bun that gets topped with a large helping of homemade pimento cheese. Throw on some bacon and avocado and that puts it all together.

The pimento cheese was everything you’d expect – salty, gooey, and delicious. Another great sandwich!

“It’s hometown good,” said customer Mary.

If you’re looking for a place that’s got the perfect pimento cheese sandwich or a nicely sized chicken bacon ranch, coming to The Place in Normangee is the right place to be, right here on The Texas Bucket List.

Houston – In a town known for its cultural diversity, it’s no wonder you’d find a restaurant like Cowboys and Indians.

“Classic Texan cuisine, authentic Indian cuisine, the Houston way,” owner Imran Khan said.

Imran is the man who has brilliantly marketed this fusion food restaurant.  He was born in India, but grew up in Ohio and moved to Houston in 2000 for a career in oil and gas. 22 years later, he now owns a restaurant too.

Walk into his restaurant and you’ll find all his family working there. “My uncles work in the kitchen. My mom and my aunts created recipes, and we’ve added different folks to the family. And it’s just great to be able to see all that,” says Imran.

Alongside Chef Jamil Bhutto, the family cooks up creative dishes that pay tribute to two cultures on opposite sides of the world. Imran noted, “we’ve put together a great menu set-up that doesn’t have too much Indian food and doesn’t have too much Texan food, but it creates a unique concept.”

I had the opportunity to get in the kitchen and meet his uncles while also cooking up three unique dishes at this awesome restaurant. The first dish we made was a traditional Indian dish known as Beef Nihari which also happens to be Chef Jamil’s specialty.

Cooked 7-8 hours, Chef Jamil starts with a pot of sauteed onions and adds ginger and garlic. Then the Indian spices are added, and next is the beef shank. Then, more unique herbs and spices are added.

While that was cooking and simmering, Uncle Akbar got started on the Naan-chos which is a fusion dish that is similar to nachos but made with Naan bread instead of tortilla chips. It’s layered with mozzarella cheese, chicken, and a house made topping called the 65 sauce which is like an Indian barbecue sauce, according to Imran.

Our last dish was a unique take on chicken fried chicken which is prepared the same way you’d find at any old café in the Lone Star State. When it comes time to top it, you can get it with the butter chicken sauce which is unique to Cowboys and Indians.

Each of these dishes had an incredible, unique flavor that I’m sure you can’t find anywhere else.

“You can get nachos everywhere, but you can’t get Naan-chos, I don’t think, any place, but here,” said customer Don.

“It’s really got its unique flavors. And I think once you try it and you aren’t so intimidated by it, you’re hooked,” said another customer, Linda, when talking about the chicken fried chicken.

“The different flavors, the different everything. It’s just something absolutely brand new,” Don said about the Beef Nihari.

If you’re looking to travel the world and try a little Indian cuisine along with some classic Texas favorites, Cowboys and Indians is well worth a stop!

“Something I’ve always loved about Houston is whatever you’re in the mood for, you can find it,” noted Imran.