Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

Simmons Bank

The Texas Bucket List – The Place in Normangee

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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.

The Texas Bucket List – Cowboys and Indians in Houston

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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.

The Texas Bucket List – Brantley Creek BBQ in Odessa

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Odessa – Finding craft BBQ in west Texas is not always easy to find. So when I heard about a BBQ trailer in the middle of an Odessa parking lot, I wasn’t sure if it would be a big hit.

We happened to be in Odessa when I saw the barbecue truck with a really long line, so we figured it was time to see what Brantley Creek BBQ was all about. We came to understand why this place has such a good reputation!

Brandon McPherson is the owner and pitmaster that wears his Texas pride on his sleeve. Growing up in Odessa, he started off his career working on the pumpjacks but always had barbecue in the back of his mind. “It’s nice to bring something to Odessa that hasn’t been around, a craft barbecue,” said Brandon.

He grew up with his grandfather always barbecuing in his backyard and loved the smell, taste, and the work it took. “I feel like it was a challenge,” Brandon said. Being in west Texas, a challenge it is.

Brandon got started making BBQ after losing his job in 2019. Despite the pandemic, Brantley Creek BBQ boomed. “Opening a food truck during the pandemic really helped us out. Being COVID, nobody wanted to go inside anywhere. We had lines all the way to the fence back there,” Brandon noted.

One of the big hurdles Brandon must overcome is finding where to get the wood from. There aren’t many trees in Odessa, so it can be difficult to find a good wood source. He gets his wood from the other side of Abilene because the little bushes near by won’t cut it according to him.

Brandon has another small disadvantage. He’s never tried any of the big-name BBQ joints across the state, so he doesn’t have much to compare his food to.  “There’s so many places I want to go try and people I want to talk to, but I’m a lone ranger out here,” he mentioned. “It’s a little bit scary. I was a little leery, but we just keep fine-tuning it and going with it.”

It was time to put together a platter! Brandon sliced up his prime beef brisket that he cooks on a 1000-gallon offset smoker using mesquite and oak. Then ribs are were added to my plate. Brandon’s family recipe of pinto beans is a popular side, with a subtle tone that goes perfectly with the barbecue. The mac and cheese is another popular side dish. It’s ooey, gooey, and gushy, making it the perfect addition to your plate. Add in a Texas twinkie with the jalapeno and cream cheese that provides a little sweetness, and all that adds up to one massive plate of meat.

“This gives that true barbecue and everything. You can order it for a good, decent price and eat some good food,” says patron Brandon Watts.

I could tell by the aroma in the air that it smelled just like some of the best, because at The Texas Bucket List, we set the bar high when it comes to barbecue across the great Lone Star State. We’ve had some of the best, and if you’re wondering if Brantley Creek BBQ measures up, yes, it does!

“Good, very good. It’s awesome. Good stuff,” said customer Sai Tavarez.

Despite his incredible BBQ, Brandon is a humble man of few words. When asked why coming and trying Brantley Creek BBQ is something every Texas must do before they kick the bucket, Brandon answered, “Man, I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Well, because it’s the best barbecue out here,” says Sao.

“Good people, good barbecue. It’s just good,” notes Elizabeth.

The Texas Bucket List – Flippers Tavern in Lubbock

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Lubbock – When you come across a place called Flippers, you’re not sure exactly what’s flipping folks’ lids in this place. That is until you walk in to see the plethora of pinball.

“The first day that I walked in here, I was just like, “This is like the coolest place ever,” said customer Ashly Ponce.

“It’s such a cool thing,” said another customer Kylie Dixo.

The sound of flippers at Flippers is a normal thing around here. “It’s like white noise. I don’t even know it’s there anymore,” said General Manager Simone Cee.

Simone has been flipping tables at Flippers since 2015, she’s originally from Seminole but has worked in restaurants around the country, including what some consider the happiest place on earth, Disney World. “I worked at the German restaurant in Epcot,” Simone said.

Simone came back home and found Flippers, a fine establishment known for two things. “Have you seen this place,” joked customer Andrea Stone.

We’ve already pinned down one of them. The other? “Our hot dogs, of course,” stated Simone.

“A pinball restaurant with gourmet hot dogs. Where do you hear that,” said Ashly.

“I was super intrigued, because from the get-go it was gourmet bratwurst,” stated Simone.

“When I first came here, I was like, ‘Wow, these are fancy hot dogs.’ I mean, I had had hot 7-Eleven hot dogs. I thought that was top notch. But this place does something else,” explained Chef Briana Upton.

“The gourmet hot dogs, and you can’t get better than that,” stated Ashly.

“The things that this kitchen has come up with have been out of this world. Does not belong in Lubbock, at all. So it’s nice, coming from a culinary standpoint, to do fun stuff and not just a plain chili cheese dog,” said Briana.

With so many out of the ordinary offerings at Flippers, I was flipping out trying to figure out which one I should try, but once Simone told me about the “Take Bahn Me” dog, I was like, A-ha! “I don’t know what Bahn mi stands for, but it’s a big hit,” said Briana.

Brianna got us started on this curious creation that’s not your average dog. “We all put our creativity, ourselves into it. We collaborate. We’re all fun people having fun,” Briana explained.

And so am I, especially when you can throw in some 80’s references.  Unfortunately, Brianna didn’t understand my references to the 80’s classic, “Take On Me” by A-ha. I am officially the old guy in the room, because that A-Ha moment may not hit everyone. “Oh. Well, it just went over my head. I’m too young for that,” joked Briana.

Let’s make a hot dog. Briana then gets some large hoagie buns and toasts them to perfection. Then comes the weenie which happens to be a combination of, green curry, coconut milk, and pork. “People come in and we tell them, ‘It’s Thai coconut curry.’ And they’re like, ‘Eh. I don’t think so. We’ll bring one out, test it out. If you like it, we’ll make you a dog with it. If not… And it’s always a yes,” joked Simone.

Back in the kitchen, Briana finishes preparing my hot dog by topping it with pickled vegetables, jalapenos, sriracha sauce, and some Thai basil mayonnaise. Quite the list of flavors that I cannot wait to taste.

The smell on this is unreal. It smells like the freshest hot dog I’ve ever smelled in my life, and I am going in for a bite. The sausage has a sensational flavor. It’s not overpowering at all. It is clean. It is fresh, and it’s perfect for the palate. The jalapenos add a great little hint of spice, but then those pickled vegetables, along with the cilantro, really blend together perfectly with that green curry brat, bringing out some bold flavor.

“I’m a picky eater. So I started slow with some of the more, just basic ones. And it’s actually made me open up a lot more and try new things,” said Kylie.

We need more pickled vegetable hot dogs. Well, besides sauerkraut.

“That’s my favorite. Just the pickle. Everything. You get the sour. You get the meat. It’s awesome,” said Andrea.

Those jalapenos are starting to kick in. That’s when you know they’re hot and spicy, when you start getting the hiccups… the spicy hiccups.

“Oh, yeah. That would probably tear up my stomach. That’s a lot of spicy,” joked Ashly.

Yeah, this really shouldn’t be in Lubbock.

“Any time anybody comes in, they’re like, ‘Oh, this belongs in Austin.’, you’re like, ‘It could go to Austin, but it belongs to grand Lubbock, so.’,” explained Simone.

“So, being from Lubbock, everything’s kind of the same, and just here, it’s just so different. You don’t feel like you’re in Lubbock. It totally has that Austin vibe,” explained Andrea.

Well, if finding unique flavors is what you’re fond of, look no further than Lubbock for the Take Bahn Mi, an incredible take on an incredible hot dog. And well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“When people go out of town, they don’t want to go to restaurants that they have in their own town. They want to see something different, and this is definitely the place to go,” said Ashly.

The Texas Bucket List – Gaido’s in Galveston

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Galveston – When it comes to playing in the surf and sun of Galveston Island, one eventually has to find time for some seafood and for a lot of folks, that stop is Gaido’s.

“We absolutely love the seafood, the absolute best in town,” said local Michele Ballard.

“You know that service going to be good. You know the food is going to be good,” said diner Betty Chandler.

“I hold our restaurant as it is one of the best in Galveston,” said Nick Gaido, the 4th generation of G men that have operated this family restaurant that’s been a part of Galveston Island since 1911.

“Growing up, I never really thought about it. To us it was just kind of the family restaurant,” said Nick.

Nick’s great grandfather San Giacinto Gaido opened the doors to the restaurant originally in part of Murdoch’s bath house. And in the 1930’s they situated the restaurant on the side of the seawall and have never left.

“It’s actually pretty crazy, I’ve never been to a restaurant that’s been here for this long, and to have seafood that fresh being served for that long. And it’s just a great place to come. Love it,” said Michele.

“Well, we’ve been coming since 1970 off and on,” said longtime customer Steve Letbetter.

The key to keeping customers hooked? Consistency. “My grandfather and my dad taught me the expression, ‘Find out what the guest wants and then serve it.’,” said Nick. “That same cup of bisque that you’re eating today, it’s the same recipe and procedure that was made 60 years ago,” said Nick.

Being a Gaido, Nick wasn’t a big fish when he got caught up in the family business. He had to learn things from the seafloor to the surface and that all started when he was a boy. “My first summer I was 12 years old, peeling shrimp, washing dishes, busing tables, eventually graduating to be able to grill food, fry food. So I’ve spent a lot of weekends and spring breaks and summertime here,” explained Nick.

With so much history and lore here, there is one Texas sized tale I wanted to try to reel in, the gigantic blue crab sitting on the roof of the restaurant. “We get phone calls about it. You’d be surprised, but we get phone calls about it, but I’m sticking to my story. It was caught in Galveston Bay. I’m going to stick to that. We haven’t had anybody try to tell us otherwise,” said Nick.

Considering just about everything served here is caught out in the Gulf, I’ll allow it. Keeping things fresh is what kept Gaido’s such a go to on Galveston for so long and I was ready to get a taste so Nick first got things started on their Oyster Deluxe Combination, a dish that features all of their famous oyster preparations.

As that dozen bake, Nick prepares a few oyster brochette. “What else is better to cook oyster than bacon fat,” joked Nick. And then a few fried oysters. As the oysters are fried, this station always brings back memories for Nick.

Nick puts the massive amount of mollusks on a dish and we start preparing the red snapper. “They were cutting this snapper here at the bar this morning,” stated Nick.

After being seasoned with a parmesan crust, a little bit of butter is put in a pan to sauté the snapper. Once finished, a beurre blanc sauce is added with jumbo lump crab meat on top. As the fish finished up, Nick plates it up and I’m ready for a meal featuring the spoils of the sea. Well, with a deluxe combination platter, it’s safe to say we are eating like a king down in Galveston!

First up, a dozen oysters with six different sauces, asiago style being my first bite. Then baked, which combines butter and cracker crumbs. Wonderful oyster with a delicate finish. That is very good!

“We do love the oysters,” said Michele.

Onto the Beanville. Shrimp, mushroom onions, white wine, seasoned breadcrumbs, cayenne pepper, and Parmesan cheese. It’s a whole lot going on in this one. Very unique flavor. Monterey has shrimp, cream, sherry and cheddar cheese. That is like old school oyster flavor right there, Sherry and oysters man.

And then Ponzini. And that just might be the tastiest scheme I’ve ever been a part of.

Finally, go to baked oyster, the Rockerfller which does have a hint of jalapeno. Amazing, oh my goodness gracious, great balls of fire. And finally, a little bit easier work with the oyster brochette. Great bacon flavor on that one.

As for the redfish, the beurre blanc sauce just comes off that fish and tastes sensational.

Well, if you’re looking for a great place to take a date down on Galveston Island, just guide her on over to Gaido’s, because it’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“It’s fresh. It’s delicious,” stated Michele.

“It is a perfect way to end a day, enjoying great, fresh seafood,” said Steve.

“You need to come down and experience the Gulf. You need to see the water. You need to enjoy this experience and go back home and appreciate where you’ve been,” stated Betty.

The Texas Bucket List – Czech-American Restaurant in West

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West – Whenever we stop in West, Slovacek’s is where we gas up and get our favorite kolaches. Now the BBQ is divine at Slovacek’s but if you’re looking for something a bit different in this town known for its Czech heritage, then the Czech-American Restaurant is the check mark you seek.

“I love to make people happy when it comes to food,” said owner Janene Gueringer.  The Czech-American is a laid back eatery that’s been in Janene’s family since 1980. “This has been my only job. I’ve been here forever,” said Janene.

So has some of the help! Her friend Malorie has been with her for over 20 years, Marcy the cook has spent 25 years here, so Janene definitely has a camaraderie of people who are proud to work alongside her! “It’s an amazing feeling, because I think they kind of like me. I’m a great boss,” joked Janene.

That’s because Janene has done it all! For as long as she can remember, she has been washing dishes, busing tables, and putting pivo in pints. “Oh, I could barely see over the bar, like reach the bar. Yep, my dad and all his buddies would be sitting at the bar drinking, having a good time and dad would holler at me, ‘Janine, go grab us a beer.’ So I ran back there. Barely set it on the bar, but…And then I would go run back around the bar and stick my hand out and they’d all give me quarters to go play the video games in the back,” said Janene.

Her mother Patsy was the patriarch of this place and was well known for her perfect pies. Thank God for her, because she has taught me everything I know. So it’s all up here,” said Janene while pointing to her head.

When Patsy passed away in 2015, Janene was adamant about keeping that tradition alive. “It hurt my feelings to make my first pie. It was kind of tough. She took such pride in making them pies and meringues that tall and everybody’s like, ‘Well I don’t like all that meringue.’ Sorry, that’s the way I was taught, and I’ll never change that recipe. I’ll always be a mile high meringue,” explained Janene.

The other popular dishes here consist of anything Czech. Seriously anything. “A lot of Czechs still live here. You have all your Czech last names, and have to feed people what they’re used to,” said customer Eric Kostecka.

“Just the way that it’s made, it’s not the same everywhere and I think that the way they make it is from their family tradition, a good Czech recipe and you can’t beat those kinds of foods,” said customer Stephen Nesrsta.

Well when it comes to Czech food, you know sausage and sauerkraut are going to be involved. “I do like the sausage and kraut sandwich,” stated Eric.

I’m getting it sandwich style with something called the Bohemian. Marcy gets my sandwich started by buttering the bun. While the bread grills up, Marcy throws on some pepper jack cheese and then goes for the pot of gold, a big boiling vat of sausage on the cooker. Once Marcy slices the sausage and slides it onto the sandwich, the sauerkraut comes into the equation and mustard is added as well.

Once the sandwich is ready, Marcy whips up some Czech fries which start with sliced potatoes, and are topped with special Czech fry seasoning. “Cannot tell you what’s in it. That’s my secret,” said Marcy. And now my meal is complete.

As I sat down with this behemoth Bohemian sandwich, it was steaming fresh off the grill from Marcy. The smell coming off those potatoes and that seasoning is sensational and I couldn’t really smell a difference in the kraut, but we hear you can taste a difference.

After one bite, it is absolutely amazing. The kraut definitely has a little sweeter tinge, but it’s not overpowering. It actually compliments everything very well.

“We never leave here with anything left on the plate,” stated Doug.

“It’s a pile so high. Oh yeah,” said Eric.

Well, at least you only have to go all the way to West,Texas for this sandwich, and not all the way to west Texas.

“It’s different than my grandmother’s, but yet it’s their own flavor and every now and then I like the taste of it,” explained Eric.

You know I married a Czech girl, because I figured she could make an Irishman some potatoes like this, but I’ll have to ask her, where are the potatoes like this?

“Czech fries are really good, it’s my favorite,” stated Eric.

And of course you have to finish things off with a little bit of pie which is of course homemade and fantastic.

Well, if you’re looking for the perfect check mark, coming to the Czech-American Restaurant in West is well worth a stop. Thanks to the Bohemian sandwich, those Czech fries and that incredible coconut cream pie, definitely a filling and fulfilling stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“Knowing they’re going to get something good to eat, makes me happy,” expressed Janene.

 

The Texas Bucket List – Zeitman’s Grocery Store in Bryan

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Bryan – Downtown Bryan is booming in the Brazos Valley. With an assortment of watering holes and restaurants, it’s hard to pick just one. But if a grocery store with a bakery and deli is what you seek, Zeitman’s Grocery is a great stop!

“It hits home. It’s good. You can tell they’re fresh,” said customer Jacob Palat.

“It means a great deal to downtown Bryan,” said Brandi Lampo.

“I love downtown Bryan. The community is hyper-local. They support each other, which I think is amazing,” stated owner Blake Zeitman.

Blake was born in Houston but he spent his high school and college years in the northeast. One fateful trip to the Brazos Valley changed all of that.  “My mom made the mistake of bringing me to a Texas A&M football game and I had a bunch of friends that were here and there were dollar beers and beautiful women. And I was like, that sounds like a good deal to me,” joked Blake.

He grew up Jewish and that kept certain kinds of foods off his plate for a time being. “We didn’t eat pork. We didn’t eat shellfish and then I turned 14 after my bar mitzvah. They let me do what I wanted to do and I became a Texan. So, I ate all the things,” joked Blake.

Take bacon for example. It’s big here and Blake didn’t get to try it till later in life. Now he loves it and so does his stepfather. “He and I both share love for bacon, two Jewish guys from the east coast, eating bacon. He likes to say it’s not pork. It’s bacon. It’s its own thing. It’s a direct gift from God,” joked Blake.

And what goes better with bacon than bread? At Zeitman’s Grocery, you’re in luck because Blake bakes everything in house!  From rye bread to bagels, it’s a smorgasbord of buns. “They make the fresh bagels. You can’t get a good bagel here in town. There are other places that have them but it’s a good New York style bagel,” said Brandi.

“I call it a garlic bagel for a reason. It’s got garlic all over the top, onion bagel, onion all over the top. They’re not kidding,”said Jacob.

“Well, I’m super excited because I’m from New Jersey and Philly was right across the way. So the fact that they have Philly cheese steaks and good bagels, I am enthralled with it,” stated customer Kelsey Evancho.

You heard that right too. Blake’s sandwiches are what take this place to a whole other level. “We just amp them up a little bit,” stated Blake.

“Good local spot to get some really good sandwiches,” said Jacob.

“They’re tasty, they’re delicious, they’re hearty,” said Kelsey.

Well Blake didn’t just want to feature one or two sandwiches, he wanted to feature three! So Blake got started on a couple breakfast bagels and one of his signature Reubens.

First up was the Lox bagel.  It starts with a toasted sesame seed bagel that is made here in house. Once toasted, it gets smeared with double whipped cream cheese. A tomato slice and 1/3 of a pound of salmon swims right on top. Topped with red onions and capers, that’s all she wrote.

Sandwich number two is The Richie Rich. An onion bagel starts this one off. Then while that bagel is toasting, it is topped with over easy eggs, Vermont cheddar and bacon. Lots of bacon! Seven slices of bacon!

This behemoth of a breakfast sandwich is as messy as you’d imagine.

“When you speak of the quality of the ingredients, the bacon tastes better. You can tell they’re putting some good bacon in there,” stated Jacob.

And finally, the New York sized, I mean Texas sided Rueben.  It starts with three slices of seeded rye and a silly amount of sauerkraut and Swiss! Then comes the pastrami that’s cured in house and smoked in house. This sandwich sure is a double-decker! “And then we’re going to take our anti-Putin dressing. We’re going to stack this bad boy. Just like that,” explained Blake while finishing off the sandwich.

Well, now we have the two other sandwiches here at Zeitman’s Grocery and the first one, The Richie Rich, obviously incredible. So now we’re going to move on to the lox, a little bit of a healthier breakfast option, I guess you could say.

First things first, the cream cheese obviously gets everywhere, but it is amazing cream cheese. The sesame bagel brings out so much flavor, but it’s all about that salmon. Absolutely fantastic.

“It’s hard to find a lox, bagel. A true lox, New York style bagel,” said Brandi.

A sandwich with salmon on it might be a fish out of the water here in the Lone Star State, but you want to dive in for this one! “It’s just such a great mix of flavors. It’s smokey, you have the cream cheese, which is just delicious and all of it together. It just works,” explained Kelsey.

Onto the gigantic Ruben, our third sandwich on this trip of The Texas Bucket List. But Blake just has that many amazing things to try here.

“It’s probably one of the best Reubens I’ve ever had,” said Brandi.

I’ve had this sandwich in New York City and this is better!. Normally, I don’t have to eat this much sandwich on camera, but we’re just making sure we got it.

Well, if you’re looking for a bountiful breakfast, full of bacon or salmon, or just one of the most incredible Reuben sandwiches I’ve ever had, come into downtown Bryan and trying Zeitman’s Grocery is definitely well worth a stop, on The Texas Bucket List!

“Texas is a melting pot of cultures and people, we all came from somewhere and we got here as quick as we could and we’re serving up great food. The size of Texas pallet,” stated Blake.

“To have a place like this, that I think is so unique and so different. It opens Texans up to a whole different realm of food. Again, I think it’s incredible,” expressed Kelsey.

 

The Texas Bucket List – El Perrito in Austin

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Austin – When it comes to being a food cart that makes the cut in the Capital City, you’ve got to have something creative and that’s exactly the case at El Perrito.  Here they’re not serving up your typical Tex-Mex, it’s more of a west Texas way of doing things. “The first week I ate every day for five days,” said customer John Bomhardt.

“To be honest with you, it’s the most work I’ve ever done,” said owner Ivan Enriquez. Ivan may be dog tired, but his creations are keeping foodies from a particular part of our state extremely happy. Being from El Paso, his creations are homages to that city’s finest offerings. “It’s awesome. Well, I mean, for me at least because I get to bring like a little piece of home,” said Ivan.

“If you want a taste of El Paso, this is a good start,” claimed customer Roman Grijalva.

“What, like 90%? I think my customer base is 90% El Paso, maybe 10% everyone else, for sure,” said Ivan.

“I come, I try it. I cried. I cried. I had found home. That is a God honest truth,” expressed customer Cathy Lowenberg who also hails from El Paso.

Yes, you’ll find tacos with a little twist on the menu but the signature specialty is their ELP Tacos. “ELP tacos, standing in for El Paso or El Perrito tacos, whichever you want to call it,” joked Ivan.

Very similar to Chico’s Tacos in El Paso, a place we featured a few years back on The Texas Bucket List, the ELP tacos tend to have the same cult following as their counterpart’s way out west. “It’s the same style, you’re drowning or already drowning in nice spicy broth, and it just hits home. It just hits like home,” stated Ivan.

If you’ve ever talked with anyone from El Paso, they’re truly unique Texans thanks to their incredible isolation in the far reaches of our state.  And trust me, there’s nothing that people from El Paso like to debate more than the food.

“Being from El Paso, we complain a lot. We like to say, ‘Oh yeah, our food’s the best.’ or we always want to complain about something like, ‘Oh, out here, they don’t have this. Oh, wow. This is missing.’ So it was one of those things I better stop talking and better put up, so I’m like just, ‘You know, I’m going to open up a food truck out here.’ And, yeah. That’s how I just started with that mindset, ‘I’m just going to do it myself. I’ll figure out a truck and just go from there.’,” explained Ivan.

“Not only are people coming here and learning a new way to eat good tacos, but the family of El Pasoans, we have finally found our El Paso people. I’ll tell you,” said Cathy.

Ivan and I squeezed into his trailer to drown some tacos and the Tour of El Paso.

“We’re going to start first with our ELP tacos, which are El Paso tacos, our version of the other guys. So pretty much it’s just our drowned taquitos. People can get them in order of three or they can get them in an order of six,” explained Ivan while preparing the dish.

Ivan pops the taquitos in the fryer and adds in some bonus items. “We’re also going to do some shredded beef flautas. A lot of people don’t do them out here in Central Texas, so this is something I definitely wanted to bring over here. Pretty much what I use is brisket,” said Ivan.

After rolling them up and adding them to the fryer, tacos also got put on the menu. “Old school style crispy tacos, just like if you’re back home in West Texas, like your mom or your grandma was making for you at the house,” joked Ivan.

As those finish up on the flat top and fryer, the ELP Tacos start coming together. Ivan poured the delicious sauce, topped them with Mexican cheese and they were ready to go! And if you like the sauce enough, you may not even need a drink!

The flautas then get topped with red sauce, green sauce, crema, lettuce, tomato, avocado, queso fresco.

Well, when it comes to the tour of El Paso, I start things off with the crispy tacos.They seem to be the least messy of all the offerings, so I guess we’ll just go to town on this taco and it is truly a terrific taco.

From there, we find the flautas. These massive offerings filled with that shredded beef, it’s like the tastiest cigar you’ve ever had. The shredded brisket has a very unique flavor, almost a sweet tinge to it on top of that smokiness, with that incredible tortilla wrapped around there. Delicious and different!

And finally, the star of the show, the ELP tacos. You might have seen these once before on The Texas Bucket List. A little bit different here with the green salsa on top of it. And the first thing you notice is they’re not as soggy as some of the other ones I’ve tried before. They’re actually still crispy. After a few bites, I was back in El Paso but this time, much closer to home. I know it’s a big debate, but I love them.

“It’s a clone. I mean, it’s maybe a little bit thicker sauce, which is really delicious,” said Roman.

“I slept that night like my abuelita was patting my back. That’s how good these are. I’m telling you,” said Cathy.

“It does have a little bit more of a bite, but it has a richer flavor. This has been what I’ve been eating for forever,” explained John.

“It’s like they know me. They looked me up in the book and said, ‘I’m going to make a taco just for Chatty Cathy.’,” joked Cathy.

There’s only one test left for this famous El Paso dish, drinking that amazing sauce and it’s pretty darn good. Not as soupy and much thicker.

“You got to try at least once before you kick the bucket,” stated Roman.

“Everybody always gets close, but just never gets to the king, who I would like to call him back home,” said Ivan.

Well, if you’re looking for a taste of the West Texas town of El Paso and you happen to be stuck in the Central Texas town of Austin, you can find it here at El Perrito. Well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List!

“You leave and you’re happy. And you go home and you’re like, ‘I’m going back tomorrow.’,” joked Cathy.

The Texas Bucket List – Nana’s Taqueria in Weslaco

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Weslaco – Considering the countless number of cultural cuisine stops we have in the Lone Star State, it’s not often I run into something I’ve never heard of before. But over at Nana’s Taqueria, that was exactly the case with the lonches. “It’s like an everyday thing for us here in the valley. You say ‘lonches’, where at,” said customer Christy Flores.

“Lonche is not a hamburger. Lonche is not a hot dog. Lonche is not a taco, lonches is lonches,” said Alfredo Trevino, co-owner and the one behind the infamous lonches.

“At the beginning, they were like, ‘What’s lonches? What’s lonches?’ Now a lot of people here in the valley know what lonches are. Yes, it’s very original from Progresso,” explained co-owner Roxanna Trevino.

Roxanna and her husband Alfredo have been together 30 years and started Nana’s Taqueria back in 2010. “He’s a very good cook. So his love for tacos and then my love for lonches, click together,” stated Roxanna.

The couple used to own a pottery business in Progresso, unfortunately the perpetual problems in the border town forced them to make the move to Weslaco. “Since a lot of people didn’t go to Progresso anymore, because of the violence during that time, everyone was like, ‘Oh wow, you have the lonches here!’ So we started getting famous because of our lonches,” explained Roxanna.

“We have a hard start, but it’s more beautiful,” expressed Alfredo.

“It was very hard to start from the bottom again, but nothing is impossible,” expressed Roxanna.

Now their thriving restaurant brings that taste of Mexico into Texas thanks to their fantastico food and asombrosa atmosphere. “If it wasn’t for the family, they wouldn’t have this, a dream. And it’s a beautiful dream. Just look around,” said Christy.

“Everything’s really sensational about the place,” stated customer Derek Alanis.

“Total experience of the food, the beautiful environment, the fresh air,” said another customer Jacque Webb.

As if starting over wasn’t hard enough, Roxanna recently battled breast cancer and finally returned to work after a year of treatment.  “I had a lot of support from my family, from my husband, and from my daughters. So thank God that helped me go through it too, because it was very hard. Those treatments are devastating. They’re very hard. And here I am. Here I am, back to work. It feels great. It feels great. The moment I came back, I was like, ‘Oh, thank God. I’m back to work. Another opportunity. Thank you, God,” expressed Roxanna.

Alfredo is also happy to have his wife back in the building. “In this wonderful country. The boss is the woman. You know, I am a strategic associate,” joked Alfredo.

Well I was ready to get a whiff of something new so Alfredo took me to the back to give me the lowdown on lonches. My first question, what goes into making the lonches? “The most important is the bread,” stated Alfredo.

Similar to the bread I had in east Texas with the pistolettes, the little loaves are fried up to get it all warm inside. “Not too long, because remember we need to protect the skin,” stated Alfredo.

Alfredo pulls them out before any oil can sneak inside. Then comes the uncomplicated ingredients. “The next step is the vegetables. We use cabbage, some tomatoes, and some cilantro. And this part, well in Mexico, is very important, the avocado. And then finally we need to fill Mexican cheese. This is a typical order, the lonches,” explained Alfredo while putting the lonche together.

Now when you dig into one of these, you can smell that fried bread on top of all those incredible ingredients.  I’m told putting Nana’s homemade green salsa on each lonche is the way to go. After one bite it’s safe to say that they are dreamy.

The flavor is on point. The ground beef has got great seasoning and then you put in those fresh veggies on top of it. And then once you take a couple bites that steamed bread just rolls on in, that’s pretty good. “The way they fry and puff up that bread is delish,” said Jacque.

On to lonche number two. This time I try the spicy sauce, another homemade salsa made at Nana’s and this one is supposed to be extremely spicy. After taking bite, the flavor of the salsa is fantastic but after a while, the heat kicks in.  This salsa even gave me the heat hiccups! “I like a little spicy. I’m a spicy person,” stated Derek.

Each one of those sauces definitely brings up something different in each lonche and I’m a glutton for punishment! “Everyone should try a lonches. They’re really good. They’re really, really, really good,” said Roxanna.

Well, you may have to go way down to Weslaco to get a little lunch of lonches. but if you happen to be in the area, Nana’s Taqueria, it’s well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “Always trusting in God that we’re going to make it, and we’re going to get this going. And I thank God that we’ve been together, and all of this has been possible because we’re together,” expressed Roxanna.

The Texas Bucket List – Hatch in Bulverde

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Bulverde – In the central Texas town of Bulverde, Hatch is a happening hot spot. “This is my home away from home right here. It’s my little happy place,” said customer Susan Smith.

Catalina Ortiz owns Hatch. “It is important that it’s good because I like good and I like food,” said owner Catalina Ortiz. Originally from Monterey, Mexico Catalina came to Texas after living in California for a few years with her family. It’s safe to say she likes Texas. “We came to Texas all the time and California is too far. I don’t want to say too much about California, but it’s too far,” said Catalina.

Catalina came across an opportunity when her family moved to Bulverde and hatched a plan to become a baroness of brunch. “I bought the business. The business was called Hatch 5 because the former owner had five kids. I just have four, so I didn’t want to move it to Hatch 4, so right now it’s Hatch,” explained Catalina. “It’s unbelievable to me that I have something on my own. Never thought,” stated Catalina.

Catalina also never thought about how much work owning her business would be. I mean this ain’t no wine mixer. “Well, it was very exciting, but then I didn’t realize how much work it could bring in. Sometimes I just have two people, I just have two hands. Whatever I can do with these two, I’ll do,” stated Catalina.

Well, those hands have created some amazing flavors including a sandwich that’s stacked with ham and brie. “I love cheeses and I like brie, and so I start just browsing around, things here and there, and I put it together,” explained Catalina.

Catalina got things started with some fresh bread that is freshly baked in house. Once mayo is added, Catalina spreads on a unique pesto made out of jalapenos. “The traditional pesto is with basil, but there’s one, it just came, we roast our jalapeno, fresh jalapeno, and then we blend them with olive oil and walnuts and garlic and spices, and then we spread that on the sandwich,” explained Catalina.  “Then I’m going to add a few apples. Oh, you’ll see it. It’s very nice. And then this is the jelly that we make in house. It’s a pineapple jalapeno jelly,” explained Catalina as she put together the sandwich. As the sandwich starts to toast, you can’t help but notice the brei begs for mercy under the heat.

The first thing you notice when you sit down with a ham and brie is the brie just filling up the air, along with that warmed up ham.  For my first taste, I want to make sure that I get bite full of brie and I did!  As you bite down into that ham and brie sandwich, the flavors just start to explode. From the brie to the pineapple jalapeno jelly, the ham, the bread, it all just explodes. And then you have the apple on top of it. Just amazing flavors!

“There’s a whole cornucopia of flavors going on there,” said customer Alan Whiting.

It’s awesome, as you get into that soft cheese and you get that brie flavor and then out of nowhere, you’ll bite into that apple and it’ll be crunchy, and just add a little bit of sweetness. And then there’s the jalapeno pesto. There are so many flavors in this sandwich.

“You always just expect sweet with ham and brie, and then that kick just comes in and slaps you,” said customer Anna Hepp.

Well, if you’re a big fan of big flavors, the ham and brie sandwich is right up your alley. The jalapeno pesto, that jalapeno pineapple jam makes such an incredible, big flavor, and that’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“You’re not going to get any better food anywhere. I don’t care what you pay for it,” said Susan.

“More than proud, I’m happy, because at the end of life it was given to me, this opportunity,” expressed Catalina.