Eating Local
Growing up, my family was pretty big on chain restaurants. McDonald’s, Chili’s, Outback, Pizza Hut. These were all our primary source of food not cooked at home by my mother. We were a pretty stereotypical middle class 80’s family.
I’m not really sure when things changed for me. But sometime in college, I started exploring local cuisine. Some places were still chains but not national ones. The first places I remember trying and really enjoying were the Copper Monkey and Leonardo’s By the Slice. Both of these places were right off campus in Gainesville. Easy access was probably the primary driver.
Leonardo’s was really good pizza. It was also completely different than Pizza Hut. These days, Pizza Hut has improved and I still really enjoy their stuffed crust. But neither place holds up against Satchel’s. Again, easy access might have played a big role. Though, ironically, that ease of access went unnoticed for years.
In my last year at school, we heard about Satchel’s and discovered that it was less within walking distance of where I lived, which was a house well off campus. For five years I’d been within walking distance of excellent pizza and knew nothing about it. I just had never had any reason to go back to the road it was on. I could have hardly missed it if I had. Part of the fun of Satchel’s is the old van sitting in the front that contains the best table in the house.
After moving to Houston, we immediately began searching out local places. We found no shortage of donut shops and Mexican restaurants. Sadly, since one place changed their chips, I actually prefer a fairly big chain, Chuy’s, to most of the local ones. It has nice, really thin chips and excellent tortilla’s. None of the local places have chips as good.
But as for pizza, it took a while, but we eventually discovered Dan’s. This place has excellent pizza. Up there with Satchel’s. Unfortunately, it has been so long I can’t adequately compare them. You can get a truly monstrous size and it seems to get better the bigger the pizza. It also has lots of extras that are really good too, like the Macaroni Wedges.
Texas is also well known for the BBQ. So, naturally, we’ve partaken in a few places. High up there are Rudy’s and Killen’s. Everyone swears by Killen’s, and its good, but I actually prefer Rudy’s brisket. Though, neither hold up against a place in Dallas that I can’t remember the name of. That was heavenly.
Either way, Killen’s has good stuff and, surprisingly, the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten. It was the daily special the first time I went and I’ve never seen it again. Sadly, the restaurant has changed recently too. It’s no longer a cafeteria style set up but now styled on a sitdown dining with waiters. This has put me off of it some.
When we travel, we also like to try out local places. While in Canada, we stayed with my wife’s uncle in White Rock, outside Vancouver. Nearby was a place called Ocean Park Pizza. Another great local pizza place, but not as up there as some others.
When we went to Victoria for a few days, we ran across a place called the Pink Bicycle. This place gave me vibes of Satchel’s. It really felt local and small scale. They had wonderful burgers and an excellent fried macaroni.
If you’re ever in Houston, Gainesville, or Victoria, give these places a try.
