Happy 80th, Texas Tavern
Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times | File
Thursday Column Reprise
Note from Dan: While I’m on vacation, I’m treating you to some oldie-but-goodie columns from the past. This one originally appeared Feb. 14, 2010. Afterwards, newspaper was besieged with outraged callers who wanted me fired, or worse, and the reaction sparked this column a few days later. Ultimately, the Texas Tavern and I buried the hatchet and I’ve been writing a birthday column about them each year since. Here are the 2011 and 2012 TT birthday columns. The 2013 TT birthday column will appear Feb. 10.
On Saturday, the Texas Tavern on Church Avenue turned 80.
The venerable, never-closed, value-priced restaurant is by far this town’s most famous, and that has a lot to do with the Bullington family, which has owned and operated it for generations..
The Bullingtons are honest and sturdy citizens who have earned their money via hard work, dime by dime.
The Texas Tavern’s look is distinctive, authentic and free of kitsch. Actually, it goes way beyond those terms. In its simplicity is a beauty that harks back to a bygone era.
It has qualities of a Tom Waits tune, or an Edward Hopper painting, or one of Hemingway’s short stories. It’s a clean, well-lighted place.
Not a bit of it is phony. That includes the red stools, the sassy signs, the 65 coats of red and white paint on the interior woodwork, and the restaurant’s spick-and-span metal counter.
The same goes for its wisecracking countermen.
They’re like characters from a Jim Thompson novel or a Quentin Tarantino movie. Some, like Tim Goff, who has worked there for 21 years, make careers out of the Texas Tavern.
When fourth-generation owner Matt Bullington talks about the ambience, it’s in terms of “cultural moorings.” By that he means there are very few places that never change.
The Texas Tavern is one of them, and I get every bit of that. Some people will want me hanged for the heresy that follows.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
December 27, 2012 - 6:00 AM
I remember reading this column when it originally appeared and laughing out loud at my desk. I was not active on Dan’s blog at that time, and it was clear that this column fell under the “… not a heck of a lot about most things” part of the blog tagline. I recall thinking that Dan didn’t understand the taste of an honest day’s work. That is what Texas Tavern food tastes like to me – just good, no frills, hard work – seasoned with the nostalgia of a son’s earliest best memories of weekends with his father. You see, when I was 7 or 8 years old, my Dad would take me to the TT for a bowl with, a burger with, and a Nehi Grape. This was special because I only saw Dad a few times a year. We would finish eating, then drive over to Wasena Park to see the huge rocket ship and walk down the train tracks to see a small cave used as temporary shelter by the hobos of the day. Man, what a life of excitement. Dreams of Texas Tavern food and hopping a train to anywhere are fond memories, indeed. Dad passed a few years ago, but right to the end, we continued to share
the TT. I introduced it to my sons, and we share a bowl with and a cheesy just as Dad and I did.
Thanks, Dan, for reprising this column and reminding me of the true taste of life.
Although they have the best dogs in town and awesome cheesy westerns, their chili is soooo nasty! Gotta be drunk to eat it.
I love fried eggs and I love burgers, but for some reason I find just the thought of the two combined nauseating.
hey dan,
When are ya gonna reprise your hit piece on the New Yorker?
I’ve been out there 3-4 times since you got, well, “angry” with the New Yorker…and used your poisen-pen to REALLY let’em have it on your blog a couple of months ago. And, each time, they treated my party well as customers, service was appropriate, the food was reasonable, as were the prices.
Are ya ever gonna giv’em a second chance?
I’m making a recipe that advises me to put something in the oven “From 10 to 60 minutes”. Helpful.
jessie
That just shows the difference in taste buds. The hot dogs are ok but I find them far from being the best in town. However, I like the chili. I’m sure I’ve hd better but I like it and it’s unique.
“I’m making a recipe that advises me to put something in the oven “From 10 to 60 minutes”. Helpful.”
I made a roast Monday that said would take 15 to 30 minutes per pound to cook. That would be 90 to 180 minutes. Real helpful for meal planning.
Kristen, that recipe almost sounds like it’s for cooking over a campfire. Does it give you a specific temperature to cook at, or do you get a range for that as well?
I bought some chili and a burger at the TT last year on their anniversary day. I liked the chili, I was expecting it to be really greasy, but it wasn’t. It’s definitely heavy on the beans and light on the beef, but I thought the flavor was good. The burger was okay, but I’d refer to it as a slider.It was pretty small.
I had a New Yorker sub this weekend and they literally had cut the top and stem of the pepper and had it on my sandwich. Sadly, I have learned to check. They cut, chop, and slop on the peppers and onions and you have to check or get a mouthful of yuck! Stop defending them Frank! I love the place but they have been in business long enough to be the best in town and they simply phone it in time after time. Dan had every right to tell the truth and so do others.
Laura, it gave me a temp, and the helpful “until done” caveat. Just as well the person writing the recipe didn’t go into medicine. “Take 1-6 times daily, until better”.
I had the Texas Tavern fare exactly once, 30 years ago. That was more than enough.
Sandi, the pepper stem and core in the sandwich is an old New Yorker favorite. Every other time I went there I had to pick some out. And sometimes the onions were terribly bitter. I used to love the place but we had quit going there even before I had to stop eating gluten.
The TT was always best early in the morning and under the influence of something. I DID always like the Cheezy (sp?) Western but haven’t been there in decades now.
Never did like the Roanoke Wiener Stand at all, but man did I love the Boiler Room and Aesy’s.
Sandi,,,
As you prob know im deep in the heart of Texas..
I work here with a guy from Lynchburg.
He didnt go to church there much but he claims
to have made up for it at “Lunchbags” version
The T Room.
I nearly had him convinced one night to build some blue
roofed places down here in the fashion of the T Room..
maybe Texas it up a bit more with some horns outside and maybe
putt-putt or such for kids outside. I could see dollar signs in his eyes.
But I think most of it was the recollection of his 4am belly in the 70-s
just uphill off the James River..That and chasing Randy Mack women. http://localism.com/system/s3_buckets/activerain-image-store-2/image_store/region_images/ar117520191668446.jpg?1340961258