Here’s an email I received recently from a friend and reader.
Hey David, this is the Kidd in Odessa. Where can a REAL TEXAS HUMAN BEING find a place to eat the best chicken fried steak in Texas? Me and two other buddies are going to spend 2010, sacrificing our time, money, and taste buds trying to find that one place that will satisfy our lust for the best chicken fried steak.
I enlist you for 2 reasons. One, I know you and your bride appreciate good food. And two, you have a large readership. This would help our search for the holy grail of the best chicken fried steak.
We would appreciate it if one of your readers might write in and suggest a cafe, resturant, bistro…..whatever.
Here is my reply:
What a noble endeavor! I can think of no better quest for three Real Texans from Odessa than to search out the very best chicken fried steak in the Great State. Now that is a goal that is worthy of any good Texan in the year 2010. And three Real Texans from Odessa are automatically qualified to be the very best of judge of what is and is not a good chicken fried steak in any Texas Cafe or restaurant.
As a certified 5 year survivor of quadruple by-pass surgery no doubt brought on by a lifetime consumption of prodigious platters of chicken fried steak, I also have an informed opinion on this matter.
Two good places to start that are in semi proximity (by West Texas standards) to you and your friends would have to be:
Grandma’s Kitchen – Big Lake, Texas. Grandma’s make as good an all around chicken fry as you would ever want to eat. Make sure you get it fresh made.
The Hitchin’ Post – Ozona, Texas. Their batter and crust is a little different than some you have had, but still good.
My disclaimer: Times change, restaurants change, and cooks change so what used to be best a few years ago might not be best today. However, a great chicken fried steak is a thing of beauty to a Real Texan.
Here is a link to a series of articles on another connoisseur’s search for a good chicken fried steak. The author can recognize a frozen patty CFS (chicken fried steak) a mile away and he gives some really good tips on what an outstanding chicken fried steak should look like and taste like. And he explains some of the criteria used to judge an outstanding chicken fried steak.
Every young athlete in Real Texas knows what it is like to eat a chicken fried steak after a sporting event in a neighboring town. We all grew up on chicken fried steak and we’ve had the good, the bad, and the ugly of this Real Texas dish.
What say you Readers? Where should three good ole’ boys from Real Texas go to start their search for a great chicken fried steak?
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Dang Dale…since 1914 is a mighty long time. I’m dang sure gonna try out the Woolf’s Den if its that good! Glad to hear from you and also to get another recommendation on a good chicken fried steak.
Hi David, I’ve written a haiku about chicken fried steak that I’d like to post on my Haiku Nation blog within the next couple of days. Do you mind if I use the photo on this page in my blog post? Of course, I’m happy to give you full attribution by name and link.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Jeff
Jeff, please use this reply as permission to use the photo. Hope to read the chicken fried steak Haiku in the near future.
David Werst
David, the CFS has celebrated its 5th birthday. I appreciate you keeping this string alive and apparently doing well. I too have enjoyed the comments of Real Live Texicans as they write in even after we had spent our year going all over the state. The Three Amigos have since eaten at some of the other places that have been mentioned. All of them have been good places to dine
. However, just as King Arthur looked long and hard for the Holy Grail…..so goes the quest for the best “Grilled” CFS
One of my favorite subjects is chicken fried steaks! I give the many hundreds of chicken fried steaks with cream gravy and greasy french fries from Grandma’s Kitchen credit for at least one of my four by-passes 10 years ago. Totally worth it.
Now I’m starting over with new arteries and a good appetite. Lots to choose from on this list here started by you, Mr. Kidd and your Amigos.
David it has been 5 years since we started the quest for the best CFS in TEXAS. That is a long time and a lot of cfs have been consumed by everyone who has contributed to honoring the steak of Texas. I have tried some of the places that others have mentioned and found them to be a tongue pleaser. But like King Arthur and his quest for the Holy Grail, the search/quest goes on for the best place to have a great chicken fried steak in this great state we all call TEXAS.
HI David,
Behold the chicken fried steak haiku on my blog featuring your photo (and one other):
http://www.HaikuNation.org
I hope it awakens your Buddha nature as it has awakened mine.
Thanks for the use of your photo,
Jeff
Back in the seventies I lived on tom green ave and went to a place in Odessa a Japanese restaurant 🍴 called sukoshies hosnest to god the most melt in your mouth stEak and the cream gravy you could ever dream of please if anyone else. Has had this.dream on a plate email me
Hey Jeff – – I’d wager a bet I have been to Sukoshies in Odessa. Back around that time I had a driving school in Odessa and knew every single road, street, and place in town. Can’t say the same today, but back then, I drove kids around from 5:00 a.m. till dark thirty. I do remember Tom Green Avenue, for sure.
Sukoshis in Odessa TX Japanese restaurant in the seventies bprobably doesn’t exist anymore but it was a dream come true best cream gravy you could ever imagine
If you make it to San Antonio go to LuLu’s Café down town. Check out their website or yelp for the pictures of the CFS. Or try the Maverick Grill, U.S. 181, just before you get to Floresville, Texas. This is a subject near and dear to my heart. Love CFS and have made several trips around Texas just for the CFS and to follow the BBQ trail. Love LuLu’s but the Maverick is my all time favorite, their CFS plate is about the size of your computer screen and all the side come on a separate plate cause the steak takes up the whole plate.
Mike: Thanks for two more great Chicken Fried Steak places to try….will have to eat at both places and will let you know my favorite of the two
Thanks Mucho!!
The Red B in Idabell might b best I’ve ever had……
Thanks Bill!
Are you a resident of the O-place? Idabel is in far north Texas isn’t it. Doubt I will ever leave the paradise of Texas and make it past the Red River…but if I ever do…I WILL stop in Idabel just to see if Okies know what a chicken fried steak really is. Thanks for the advice of another Chicken Fried Steak place!!
My husband and I just moved to the area in the fall! We have loved it so far, there is so much to do! We’re remodeling our kitchen right now, so it’s a mess and we have a big dumpster rental in our driveway. We’re always looking for great places to eat, and since we aren’t from here we haven’t ever had a traditional chicken fried steak dinner. Thanks for these great suggestions, can’t wait to try them!
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