Monday, September 08, 2008

It's a Gamble: Food away from the Interstate

Sometimes when you venture off the known food road you're rewarded with a memorable experience. Those aren't always the best food experience but it's one of those risks generally worth taking. On the way to Texas hill country my husband and I stopped at Dixie Diner in Texarkana. The food was mostly food service bland but the music was funny. For some truly odd country music this is the place. The example that sticks with me most was the song where the only lyrics I could catch were "chicken fried". Now that I think about it, one other singer did seem to have an abnormal fixation with the phrase "visibly shaken". I'm not really sure why either would inspire an entire song dedicated to their wondrous phraseology, but someone deemed it necessary. We also made a stop at Penny's Diner, somewhere in southern Texas. It was another instance of the setting made the meal better. The waitress was chatty, but in that good southern hospitality sort of way and the place definitely had the 50's long metal diner building style down quite well.

I wouldn't really recommend either diner, but they were worth a good laugh and provided sustenance. Not every off-the-beaten-path choice is a perfect winner. It could also be that I've finally traveled enough to become a tough customer to surprise and impress.