Friday, May 01, 2009

TEXAN CAFE: Grandma's cooking ...with a little kick

By KELLY SAXTON LINDNER
Special to the Leader

Friday, May 01, 2009

Fried green tomato BLT

Strawberry pie

TEXAN CAFE 207 East St., Hutto, Texas 78634 TexanCafe.net (512) 846-2885

The original Texan Café, founded in 1966, was located in on Highway 79 in Frame Switch, a spot on the railroad between Hutto and Taylor. It was famous for the cow statue it had on the cross streets of its location.

Now a unique cafe in a row of historic buildings in "old downtown" (a block north of Highway 79 and about a mile east of tolled state Highway 130), only the head of the cow remains mounted above the doorway of its new East Street location.

This is appropriate considering the cattle drives that used to push through this area. However, its new owners, who took over in 2006, have more of a Route 66 idea in mind for the ambiance, though they haven't changed too much of the restaurant's appearance outside of some Texan art and a couple of new oilcloth tableclothes that deliberately remind one of grandma's apron. Though also, there's the big Texas Route 79 sign.

There are also still several of the same recipes - which were passed from the previous owners (Debbie and Bud Wheeler) to the new ones - as well as many of the same kitchen staff. However, the recipes now have a certain "kick" unique to the new owners. In fact, putting new spins on good, old home cooking is what Roger Joughin is all about.

Joughin said he's not the main chef, though he's the one who comes up with these strange and enticing recipes. He and other chefs together have gained the attention of food critics and local residents alike.

But the enthusiasm that drives Joughlin - clear when upon meeting him his eyes seem to sparkle over bizarre recipes - shows up in the final product.

Co-owner Ron Yaudes said his business partner simply stole all of Grandma's recipes, but Joughin is often searching through magazines and recipe books for fresh ideas.

"Some recipes you can just look at and know it sounds wrong," said Joughin. "Though there are also ones that make you think 'Now this one I'll try.'"

Overall, Joughin finds many of his best ideas in his own kitchen with trial and error. In fact, he trialed over 20 combinations of ingredients in his salad dressings before he found the ones he felt comfortable bestowing on his clientele. He describes coming up with dishes after that as "easy" compared to the dressings.

"When it comes to flavors, he thinks every dish should have a hook," said Yaudes. "He stays away from bland and neutral. Everything he makes has a kick to it."

This explains the fried green tomato BLT (a unique concept in itself since just plain fried green tomatoes aren't very common), the corn pudding, and grumpy potatoes which each have a unique spiciness to them. Joughin also recently came up with a spin on a taco salad involving a garlic-lime dressing.

There's also the cranberry gelatin to consider, which is topped with mayonnaise and not whipped cream. Sounds strange and totally wrong, until you taste it - then you can't imagine it topped with anything else.

Speaking of desserts, have you heard of the Pie Happy Hour? If not, you haven't picked up Texas Monthly, the Austin-American Statesman, or Round Rock Leader lately.

In fact, Texas Monthly mentioned Texan Café as one of the 40 best small town cafes in Texas while also listing the Peanut Butter Pie as one of the top 9 pies.

You may have also wondered why all the commotion around the restaurant and little elsewhere in Hutto from 3-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

That's because many in Hutto are at the Texan Café enjoying the famed pies during these hours for only $3.75 plus a non-alcoholic beverage.

Some of the crowd's favorites include the coconut cream, mint chocolate and peanut butter pie, though Yaudes says his favorite/most inventive is the brandy apple pie, which is served hot off the skillet.

"The brandy apple is my favorite but not my invention," said Yaudes. "It's really best called a Hot Skillet Brandy Apple Pie ala mode. Love to tell customers about it - they deserve such a treat after a hard week of work. It is actually quite decadent."

This restaurant also prides itself on making food from scratch, unprocessed and with no preservatives, as well as having no TVs. "We want people to come here and chat with each other," said Yaudes.

In fact, the restaurant gets filled from a great deal of word of mouth from faithful customers. It only currently has 85 seats, but it often has a full house, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

"The food here is fresh and different," said Joughin, "Where else can you get that?"

For more information about the Texan Café, visit the Web site at texancafe.net or call 846-2885.