Turning Point Café ― Lamesa, TX

EDITOR’S NOTE: Embracing our wanderlust in the summer of 2010, Chicken Fried Father and I set out on an adventure to traverse the “Amarillo Highway,” a stretch of road that runs from Port Lavaca to Texline (on the border of New Mexico) and immortalized in a song by Terry Allen. The following entries chronicle our trip, food-wise at least.

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Turning point indeed. As the textured fantasy of hill country gave way to the isolated beauty desert and plains, we strode into the Turning Point Café for sustenance. Several (old) locals were eating a late lunch at this café-come-diner which was rundown but not in a charming way.

CFS ($7.99) only came with mashed potato and a house salad. The CFS was very, very tough. There were times where I had to stop myself from eating to give a few extra chews. I certainly made for an uninteresting lunch companion as my mouth was constantly closed (manners, you know) to continue masticating. The gravy was unremarkable and without much flavor. Not enough salt, pepper or love in this dish.

The salad was a sad little offering, with store-bought lettuce and ranch dressing. The dressing had that acrid taste that defines store bought salad dressing. The mashed were under seasoned and without much flavor. It also had an odd soapy taste as well.

Overall, it was a sad little place, not unlike the rest of Lamesa which seems to be on hard times. It made us lament the decline of small towns like this, and the concurrent decline of little diners that we so love.

Texas Traditions – Port Lavaca, TX

EDITOR’S NOTE: Embracing our wanderlust in the summer of 2010, Chicken Fried Father and I set out on an adventure to traverse the “Amarillo Highway,” a perfect stretch of road that runs from Port Lavaca to Textline (on the border of New Mexico) and immortalized in a song by Terry Allen. The following entries chronicle our trip, food-wise at least.

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Right at the mouth of the Amarillo Highway, on “main street” don’t you know, is Texas Traditions. Big wood tables and chairs (with stars), gave a nod to the Texas style.

We split the CFS, unsure of how much food we'd be eating down the road, a southern style offering. The crust to meat ratio was perfect. The steak was tender and perfectly cooked. The gravy was excellent. Hearty, strengthened by chicken stock, the balance of salt and (white) pepper was top notch.

Mashed potatoes and green beans accompanied. Both were strong offerings, but neither was truly excellent. The mashed was lumpy and rich, and played nicely with the gravy. The beans, while presenting like canned beans, were actually stewed fresh with bacon and had a nice flavor. The “dinner roll” was an unfortunate site: small, clearly reheated and dehydrating, it was ignored in favor of other food.

The *killer* was the Jack Daniel’s pecan pie. A wonderful crunch from the pecans and a buttery, flaky crust made was outstanding. We considered adding a dollop of whipped cream to cut the sugar, but didn’t want to indulge so early in the trip. The perfect start to a long voyage.