Babe's - Roanoke, TX

Name: Babe's
Location: Babe's, TX
Price: Not real sure - My in-laws bought dinner
Service: Great service - friendly and fast
Food: 4 Stars
Would I Go Back: For Sure - a once every couple months kind of place

So the town of Roanoke, TX completely surprised me. The downtown, or at least where Babe's is at, was extremely busy for a Wednesday night. There are several restaurants in the area but you can tell Babe's is the one drawing the crowd. Due to its location, and the abundance of people, parking was hard to find and we ended up needing to go down the street a bit. Nothing ridiculous, maybe 100 yards, but farther than I expected. Despite a few people waiting outside we were able to get a table in about 5 minutes. Although it seemed busy to us, we were informed that it was actually slow for them so I can't say what the normal wait would be.

Right after sitting down we were greeted by the wait staff and informed of the options. You can either choose fried chicken or chicken fried steak. Then mash potatoes, gravy, corn, salad, and biscuits served family style. The food came fairly quickly, I'm sure it helps that they only have a limited menu, but seemed like it had just been fixed. The salad came with a sweet and sour vinaigrette dressing that I expected not to like but it turned out to be good. The sides came in smallish size bowls (each contained 2-3 servings I'd guess) but they were refilled quickly. I had the chicken fried steak and it was a good size piece. Overall the sides were good and the chicken fried steak was excellent. However, if you are one who is used to "good home cooking" it may seem ordinary. Personally, Whitney and I don't fry that much so it was a nice change of pace.

Overall, we'll likely go back (I'd guess a once an every two months kind of place). With a better idea of how parking is, I'll make sure to drive the more maneuverable car. The service and atmosphere more than make up for the drive and wait.

Babe's of Roanoke, TX

Name: Babe's
Location: Roanoke, TX
Price: About $10-11 per person
Service: Excellent service
Food: 4.5 Stars
Would I Go Back: Most Definitely

The family ventured down to Roanoke last night for dinner, which surprisingly, has a very nice and cute downtown. Although parking was a disaster (apparently everyone had the idea to eat out in downtown Roanoke last night), the food at Babe's was delicious. I am typically skeptical of "homestyle" cooking, because "homestyle" is relative. For example, although Cracker Barrel is tasty, frozen biscuits from a bag aren't really "homestyle" in my book. Well, the first indication that the meal was going to be very yummy was the fact that the biscuits at Babe's were homemade and fluffy.

Don't be fooled by the small storefront...Babe's is a rather large restaurant once you step in the door, and tables turn pretty fast. The decoration is primitive. Old wooden tables and chairs are crowded throughout the restaurant. Warning:t he chairs roll, be careful...I would say that many people have been dumped in the floor by them. Apparently, the people of Babe's are fans of chickens, because there are chicken (not live ones, thankfully) decorations all over the place.

You won't spend long agonizing over which dish to choose, because there are two meats -- fried chicken and chicken fried steak. Once you've selected the meat, your job is done. The tasty salad comes to the table with the house dressing (a sweet and sour vinaigrette), the biscuits keep rolling in, and the sides come standard. Everyone gets a family style, free refill helping of mashed potatoes, gravy and corn.

I had the chicken fried steak, since from what I understand, it is a Texas staple. YUM! The meat was tender and the breading was crispy. Jeff also indulged in the chicken fried steak...the servings were so large, we could have shared if that was allowed. Mom and Dad chose the fried chicken, and it looked delicious as well. On top of the Mmmmhmmm good food, the service was excellent. My drink never emptied, and our family style sides were refilled as soon as we needed more.

To say the least, I felt like this meal was every bit worth the 15 minute drive down HWY 377 to Roanoke, and I plan to do it again whenever I have the chance.

Whitney's Take on the Old West Cafe

I have to agree with Jeff on the Old West Cafe in giving it 4/5 stars. The food was great, but the wait to get in felt pretty long in the heat. The host with the three hickeys was somewhat interesting and a little gross all at the same time. I would characterize him as "fun loving." Once we got seated, though, the service was pretty good,fast and clean. I've attached a picture of the almond crunch french toast I had. It is a basic french toast dipped in the usual egg/sugar mix, but what makes it really special is its almond crunch coating that appears to be some kind of crushed almond cereal. That with the bananas on top, is a real treat. The bacon was pretty much cooked perfectly...just the right spot between floppy and crispy and the scrambled eggs were good. Of course, the portions were huge, so don't plan on being able to eat your entire serving unless you're ridiculously hungry.

I tried a bit of Jeff's cinnamon roll french toast, and would have to say it wasn't my type of breakfast food. I'm not a big fan of cinnamon rolls to begin with, so dipping a gigantic one in batter and calling it french toast was a bit much for me. Although I found the cinnamon roll french toast disappointing, the hashbrowns he ordered were delectable!

Overall, we'll definitely go back, although probably a little earlier next time to beat the crowd.

Carolyn's Old West Cafe

Name: Carolyn's Old West Cafe
Location: Denton, TX
Price: About $10 per person
Service: Good service - nothing bad but nothing spectacular
Food: 4 Stars
Would I Go Back: For Sure

For our first week in Texas we decided to try out "Carolyn's Old West Cafe" in Denton. Whit ate there during her interview trip so she provided a little bit of a preview. Since she had ate breakfast there and liked it, we stuck to breakfast as well.

The first thing you notice when you pull up is that this place is busy. Parking is somewhat limited so we had to park next door. We had about a 30 minute wait but I expect that was a result of trying to go at 9:30 on a Saturday morning. Whitney said during the week it wasn't that bad. The place isn't very big inside so you kind of get a small town kind of feeling.

I decided to get a french toast dipped cinnamon bun with a side of hashbrowns. Whit ordered almond crunch french toast with bananas on top, scrambled eggs, and two pieces of bacon. I will admit there were many other items on the menu that looked good (particularly something called a "Panhandler" that consisted of an open face biscuit with fried potatoes, sausage gravy, and eggs on top.) Service was fast and we had our food in about 5 minutes or so.

Mine was really good, although the cinnamon bun was slightly different than expected. It was kind of like a piece of french toast with cinnamon inside and a cream cheese icing on top. I think they made it by dipping a cinnamon bun in batter and flattening it on the griddle. The hashbrowns were nice and crispy on top which is the way I like them. I also tried Whitney's and it was definitely good as well (the bananas on top were a nice addition).

Overall, real good food but expect to wait to get a table if you go on a busy Saturday morning.