Friendswood – In a part of Texas known for Tex-Mex and barbecue, there is a fancy fine establishment in Friendswood that feels a bit different than the rest. Brasserie 1895 is a can’t miss spot that infuses some fun flavors.

“We have a lot of people, foodies if you will, that come for the adventure,” Kris Jacob said.

Owner and Chef Kris is originally from Poteet. His wife works with him at this uniquely named  restaurant. They got 1895 from the year Friendswood was established, but Brassiere is a European thing.

“When you go to a brasserie in Europe, they don’t have suburbs, they have neighborhoods and each neighborhood has their own brasserie,” Kris said. “It’s the place you go to hangout, the bar, a lot of them make their own beer, cocktails and just simple food. But it’s really just a hangout.”

To complete the European feel, Christian Echterbille, also known as Chef Bill from Belgium, fits the bill.

“A lot of people ask me why Texas,” Chef Bill said. “So I tell them, ‘Why not?’”

These two have been at each other’s side since the mid 90’s when Kris went to culinary school.

“Everything that he did, he just changed my perspective of cooking, and I think at that point that’s when I fell in love with cooking,” Kris said. “I saw what he could do and I said, ‘I gotta know how to do that.’”

“Yeah, begins as a student, finish as my boss,” Chef Bill said.

With the assortment of incredible cooking knowledge, we couldn’t wait to taste their burger and chicken fried steak.

“We use a lot of different products that you may not be comfortable with, but when you actually taste them prepared correctly it’s great,” Kris said.

First, Kris prepared the burger. A simple beef patty is cooked with salt and pepper and topped with some unique cheeses.

“So we have Gruyère in here, we have some brie,” Kris said. “We’re gonna do a thing called gratine.”

Once the burger is cooked, it is topped with the cheese mix. Then a house-made onion raisin jam is added. With that, the creation is complete.

“They’re plumped up with Cognac,” Kris said.

On to the chicken fried steak which starts with beef cutlets marinated in buttermilk for three days.

“Then we go into what I call a cowdust,” Kris said. “On to the green beans, and the full foie gras gravy.”

Potato puree and the pieces of steak get stout side of foi gras gravy.

“The sauce, gravy if you will, is actually a white wine reduction, with a chicken stock reduction, with a heavy cream reduction, and then we finish it with foie gras and truffle,” Kris said.

Apparently, putting on the fancy sauce was the only way Chef Bill would allow something like Chicken Fried Steak on the menu.

“If you ask Bill to do a chicken fried steak he’d probably tell you, ‘Dude, we’re not doing chicken fried steak,’ Kris said.

Well, thankfully we are.

“You can eat it and it tastes great and the ingredients are really high end,” Doug Wrinkle said.

Having never tried foi gras before I was a bit surprised when it came to tasting.

“Normally, there’s no guy around here that’s gonna say, ‘Yeah man, sure dude, I’m up for the foie gras gravy,’” Kris said. “But once they taste it, it’s gold.”

With flavors from across the pond and a little bit of home cookin’ all mixed together, Brasserie 1895 in Friendswood, Texas is definitely well-worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“It might be the best meal you’ve ever had,” Doug said.

Marathon – The Gage Hotel is a must-see in Marathon and a few years ago, we checked it off The Texas Bucket List.  During our visit we spent some time with J.P. Bryan, the man who made Marathon what it is today by rebuilding the old hotel.

“Well it’s as close to heaven as you can get and still be in Texas,” J.P. Bryan said.

For over 40 years, his passion for the town of Marathon has produced an amazing place full of stops on The Texas Bucket List. During our first meeting, he put a little seed into our head.

“The Wild Buffalo Bar,” J.P. said. “It’s a unique little bar. You have that feeling of intimacy and coziness. It’s just an attractive little place.”

We returned to check the famous bar off the list and get a meal at its restaurant, the 12 Gage.

“It’s very small, it’s iconic, it’s in some ways, I think, it’s somewhat legendary,” Carol Peterson said. “It certainly fits in that…into the Far West Texas mystique.”

Since 2003, Carol has been Mr. Bryan’s go to woman, and she keeps the wheels turning at this West Texas destination.

“I’ve really enjoyed the ride for a part of it with him,” Carol said. “It’s been most interesting.”

The White Buffalo Bar gets its name from a massive mount in the middle of the room that serves as the centerpiece of this small bar with a sizable reputation.

“We’ve had discussions a few times about expanding it, and we always come up with the same feeling,” Carol said. “It would take away from what it is. And yes, it is, it’s very iconic Texas bar.”

Since we’re at the local watering hole, a bartender named Falisha Villanueva set us up with two of the most sought-after spirits here.  First up, the brush fire which starts with a spicy chili rimmed glass.

“It’s a good, spicy drink,” Falisha said.

Vodka, fresh squeezed lime juice, and orange liquor complete the mix that is shaken up with roasted jalapeños. This libation gets The Texas Bucket List seal of approval.

“You get that tingling sensation in your lips,” Falisha said. “It’ll be with you for a while.”

Next up, we tried the J.P. Margarita named after the man himself. We also had some dinner with Head Chef Joe Rodriguez.

“I’d say the hardest thing is sourcing products,” Joe said.

Apparently with two drinks, you get two meals. We got started with some game meat: Axis deer with a side of veggies.

“We’re gonna give it some grill marks and then finish it in the oven,” Joe said.

The deer gets finished off in the oven and another game meat gets added: Quail.

“It’s a cornbread-stuffed quail,” Joe said.

After a few minutes, we were game for some game.

“My expectation was totally surpassed,” Roger Tannery said.

If you’ve never had Texas quail, you’re missing out.

“It has just such a big reputation of great consistency,” Liz Rogers said.

The beautifully cooked axis deer was medium rare inside with the diamond grill marks all around it.

“We really have a great reputation for our food here,” Carol said.

It’s worth running a marathon for to say the least.

“A wonderful place to visit and a place you’d wanna come back to,” Judy Tannery said.

If you’re looking for food that is well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List, come in to the 12 Gage Restaurant and White Buffalo Bar in Marathon, Texas.

“The staff is friendly, and the food is great and the place is beautiful,” Liz said. “It deserves its reputation.”

Carthage – Southwest of Carthage and sort of between Clayton and Gary sits a shack literally in the backwoods. There’s not a whole lot on FM1970 to see but when you get a whiff of what’s cooking near the shores of Lake Murvaul, you’ll haul on over to see that smell is coming from Chuck’s Country Smoke House.

“People from East Texas will drive a long way to get good barbecue, I guarantee you,” patron Calvin Harris said.

Chuck Terrell has some Cajun lineage but grew up around east Texas. When it came to opening a restaurant, he had high hopes for his barbecue.

“I thought this is what could survive and thrive in this location,” Chuck said. “We’re out here.”

After he built, people started to flock to his restaurant. Not bad for the former pharmaceutical salesman who also used to close deals on copy machines.

“Yeah, who needs a copy machine, yeah,” Chuck said. “That’s pretty much what it was like.”

After years of grinding it out in the sales world, Chuck was ready for a change of pace, so he moved to out to his family’s homestead.

“Just kind of got it in my head that I wanted to try my own thing,” Chuck said. “First it was a gym, in high school, then in college it was a bar, and then after that that’s where the restaurant stuff came in.”

Chuck didn’t know how to cook barbecue prior to owning his place. He started from square one and refurbished this old shed on the property piece by piece.  While he rebuilt what was to be his restaurant, he practiced making barbecue.

“This is not the way to do it, but there was a smoker already here,” Chuck said. “While I was remodeling the building I was smoking, learning how to smoke, basically. Pulled off some rubber tires in the beginning. Yeah, that was pretty rough. Thinking, maybe I shouldn’t have left that job.”

He researched the craft of creating delicious brisket the way everyone researches just about anything nowadays.

“YouTubing,” Chuck said.“Yeah, yeah. Watching YouTube.”

Surprisingly, it worked. Now, people come from every corner of Panola Country for a piece of his perfectly cooked provisions.

“Man I tell you what, it’s like a legendary shrine,” Len Arnold said.

Chuck’s is known for a few things, and he wanted to showcase them all. He started off with a serious sandwich called the Susie Q.

“Everything up there has to do as this someone out here, but that’s like their little concoction,” Chuck said. “That’s Susie. Susie Cohan. Yeah, yeah. She was the first one that came in and like asked for it very specifically that way. It’s boudin, brisket and sausage chopped up on one of those jalapeno sourdough buns.”

The Susie Q isn’t their only unique dish. They also have a frito pie by the name of the Frito Bomb.

“It’s pretty much like a Frito pie, but just like a barbecue Frito pie,” Chuck said. “That’s kind of how we describe it.”

Chuck got to chopping a combination of brisket, sausage and boudin.

“Get that, get a good mix,” Chuck said. “Chopping up all this meat.”

All of that goodness simply goes on a bun. As for the Frito Bomb, it’s a combination brisket and sausage placed over corn chips with beans, melted cheese and barbeque sauce. Here we are with a twofer at Chuck’s County Smoke House: the Susie Q and the Frito Bomb.

“My favorite’s Susie Q,” Calvin said. “Best barbecue sandwich you’ll ever eat, by far.”

The sausage and boudin compliment each other very well, and the brisket gives it a nice flavor.

“It is finer than frog hair split four ways,” Len said.

As for the Frito Bomb, well, it’s well worth a trip to the woods.

“I’ve had the Frito Bomb, which is amazing,” Stacy Jones said. “It is the bomb. Very unique.”

You can never beat the crunchiness those corn chips provide. You throw that barbecue on there, the sauce, the cheese, the beans, and it’s just texture town with a whole lot of flavor.

“My daddy cooked barbecue,” Len said. “I worked for some men around town that cooked barbecue. Now I try this and I’ve never put anything like it in my mouth, man. It’s awesome.”

If you’re looking for some excellent East Texas barbecue, then Chuck’s Country Smokehouse is well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“The barbecue is top notch,” Chuck said. “I mean, I can say that very confidentially. I know the time and effort that I put into it, and I’m not going to put anything out that’s sub par, so it’s good stuff.”

 

San Marcos – San Marcos is home to Texas State University and all of those students like to eat.  Downtown is the best destination for some unique dining and that includes the Root Cellar Café.

“Like the old building it’s nice,” Alec Young said. “It’ s like, I don’t want to say authentic, but it’s authentic.”

Beth James is the General Manager here, and she’s worked here her entire college career. The founders of this fine establishment have found a way of keeping this college grad around to run the business that’s been around since 2005.  The food might have played a roll.

“Everything is a from-scratch kitchen, so we make everything fresh,” Beth said. “I describe it as a twist on Texas food. It’s just amping up good traditional meals.”

All of the food you’ll find here has roots in the Lone Star State.

“Most of our stuff that we get is either from Texas farm or local, and we support them and we always say that we started from the roots,” Beth said. “There’s this really cool board over here that actually has all the local farms in Texas that we support.”

While you eat your amazing meal you might feel inclined to discuss the design of your dish. Because down in the dining room, you won’t find any distractions.

“We don’t believe in having TVs in our restaurant because this is a place that you’re supposed to come and commune with the people around you,” Beth said. “So our goal is to make sure people are actually talking when they go to lunch or dinner, and having a good experience.”

Well we’re focused and hungry, and that’s a good thing because we’re in line for some good southern cooking with their cheesy shrimp and grits goodness.

“That was a big southern dish that we could bring that we knew we had the right twist on that people would like it, and they don’t have it pretty much anywhere else in town,” Beth said.

“It’s a southern thing,” Daniel Becnel said.

Chef Daniel gave us the lowdown on these incredibly gooey grits.

“When we put the chorizo, and the garlic, and the cheddar in there, it all comes together really well,” Daniel said. “I think it’s kind of something you don’t find around here. Everybody kind of wants to do real boring grits.”

Just like the wedding at Cana, you want to save to good wine for last.  Cook with what you’ve got.

“Nothing flames up like a little Cardboureux,” I joked.  

The house-made cornbread is grilled, and cheese gets added to the grits.

We don’t call ’em cheddar grits for nothin’,” Daniel said.

Well, here you’ll find southern food with a little kick.

“The chef knows what he’s doin’,” Duane Davide said.

If you’re looking for a hidden gem that’s pretty much hidden underneath a building, The Root Cellar in San Marcos, Texas is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.

“It’s on the bucket list you know…for a reason,” Alec said.

Houston – On the southwest side of the Third Ward and just a few exits from Downtown Houston, you’ll find a fine restaurant dedicated to flavorful foul that fills up rather fast called The Turkey Leg.

Nakia Price and her husband Lynn started the turkey business back in 2015.  The former University of Houston basketball player was working for a litigation firm when her and her husband decided to start selling food in their family’s parking lot across from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

“It was literally something that just happened,” Nakia said. “We started during rodeo season. We were shuttling people into the rodeo and we just had a barbecue pit on the lot. It was just something that happened.”

Now if you’ve ever been to a rodeo, you know the smell that these dreamy drumsticks can give off.

“It’s a great turkey leg, it’s not your average turkey leg,” Nakia said. “Literally these turkey legs fall off the bone. “

Nakia’s smoking hot turkey legs involve a secret seasoning that Lynn wasn’t too sure about.

“So he thought that we shouldn’t season the turkey legs and I told him that we should,” Nakia said. “So he was actually recording me seasoning the turkey legs and people started coming and they were like, ‘We want the turkey leg with the seasoning on it.’ And he kind of looked at me and I looked at him and and it took off.”

As if the incredible flavor of the food wasn’t enough,  Lynn took turkey to the next level by taking the perfectly seasoned provisions and piling things on top of it.

“He was like, ‘You know what slim?,’” Nakia said. “He calls me slim, ‘I think that we should put dirty rice in the turkey leg.’ And I kind of looked at him and was like, ‘Dirty rice?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, let’s just do it and see what happens.’ And there it happened and then after that came our number one seller, which is the shrimp Alfredo stuffed turkey leg.”

You heard that right, shrimp Alfredo stuffed turkey leg. It doesn’t stop there. You’ve got legs stuffed with dirty rice, Hennessy glazed, and Cajun crawfish mac and cheese.  

“It’s euphoric,” Letitia said. “You know what I mean? It’s just like you fill a guilty pleasure, which always makes you feel good, but it’s worth it.”

Turkey Leg Hut has a constant line of people waiting to get their hands on a turkey leg.

“On our busiest days we sell about 2,800 turkey legs a day,” Nakia said. “Yeah. On our non busy days, like during the week, which is maybe a Tuesday or a Wednesday, we still sell about 2000 turkey legs. It’s surreal. Never did I imagine when we started out that that would be the outcome. That people literally lined up to taste what we’ve created. “

It didn’t take long after trying one out to realize no one could ever quit this food cold turkey.

“All the different varieties of turkey legs,” Letitia said. “The lemon pepper, the Alfredo, the shrimp, the dirty rice. I mean, you can’t beat it.”

It’s the best of both worlds. Texas turkey and Gulf shrimp in the middle of Houston makes the Turkey Leg Hut well worth a stop on the Texas bucket list.

“To have this place to be so successful and so good, it only boost up the morale in the whole community,” Letitia said. “It really does.”

South Padre Island – When it comes to snacking on South Padre Island, there are all sorts of savory selections. But there’s a small restaurant sitting right on Padre Boulevard has built a big following thanks to a sought-after meal, ceviche and it’s simply known as Ceviche Ceviche.

“The hardest thing [about having a Cerviche restaurant] would be all the prep work,” owner Carlos Alaniz said.

Carlos Alaniz and his wife Alana are local high school sweethearts who have been married since 2006.  They built this business together and both credit each other for their ceviche success.

“She runs everything,” Carlos said. “She’s the heart of the whole business, really, you know. She’s a machine. She does it all day long. We go from 5:30 in the morning, we go all the way to 10 o’clock at night.”

Considering that the only cooking done here is more of a chemical process, called denaturation, the prepping is pivotal in the pursuit of perfection.

“Ceviche, technically, would be the process of curing the fish in lime, and salt, and whatever herbs and spices you want to put into it,” Carlos said. “As opposed to the fish being completely raw, as you would in like sushi or like sashimi style, you would see the fish looks cooked, and the shrimp looks cooked too. It’s completely opaque, so it looks like you boiled it, except we have a curing process that we follow, that we go through to make our ceviche. Since we got so many limes and we’ve got so much citrus down here, it was so easy for us to have a curing process to make our fish and shrimp that way. “

While the typical form of ceviche is the most popular, at Ceviche Ceviche you’ll find all sorts of ingredients to put with your selection of mahi mahi and shrimp.

“You’d be surprised as to how good like … everybody comes in with the same attitude, you know, ‘I’m used to the classic. I’m used to the pico on it,’ but we tell them, ‘Hey, you know, put a little bit of mango, or put strawberries on there, put some celery, or green onion. Pineapple in there. Melon,’”Carlos said. “Cantaloupes is one of my favorite ingredients to put in the ceviche.”

Fresh, delicious, and amazing, Cerviche Cerviche in South Padre Island is well worth a stop on the Texas Bucket List.

“We don’t want anybody to kick the bucket, right,” Carlos said. “We’re all about the good vibes. We’re just a fraction of what it is to come to the island.”