Cafe's, Grill's, & Places to Chill!!!
Okay People...Here's the scoop. I will have different series of blog posts within my "Over the Road Reviews". This series is; "Cafe's, Grill's, & Places to Chill". (diner's, drive-ins, and dives was already taken but that's okay because I like my name better.) So, Listen Up because I have a Great Little Place I would like to tell you about. Before I do though, I have a couple of questions. First, how many of you out there regularly and intentionally seek out the little known and hidden Mom & Pop restaurants? And second, which do you prefer, restaurant chains or the Mom & Pop places? My wife and I LOVE to support small locally owned businesses and usually only go to chains when we need something super convenient. Otherwise, we regularly seek out the Mom & Pop places that sometimes look like you may want to think about being concerned. LOL. Those places have the BEST FOOD Hands Down!!!! Earlier today we were talking with the RV park manager at the RV park we are currently staying at. I will be giving them a review very soon. Anyways, the RV Park Manager, Linda, was telling us about some of the local restaurants and businesses near here. (Here being Temple, TX - 30 Miles south of Waco and 65 miles north of Austin on I-35). So Linda told us about this out of the way place called "Oscar Store" and she said they have the BEST STEAKS. I thought to myself, (as I often do), "Oscar Store"? so I had to ask, "Is it a Restaurant?" Now Y'all, I am FROM this area. I grew up here and I have NEVER heard of this place. So Linda says, "Yes it's a restaurant and they have the best food!!!" Linda's husband was standing there and starts giving me directions. Now like I said, I am from here and I knew exactly where he was telling me to go. I just NEVER knew there was a restaurant out there. Crazy right? It is quite literally in the middle of nowhere out in the country. My wife and I both thanked Linda and her husband for the info and then we left to go run some errands. When we finished our errands my wife says, "I'm hungry." and I responded with, "Yeah me too. Hey, lets go check out that Oscar Store place" my wife agreed and so off we went. When we got there we were like "WOW" there was a LOT of cars there. Now, let me describe the exterior of the place for you. It is set at a 3 way country intersection next to an old house that has seen better days. Oscar Store looks like one of those old buildings that you would see out on some farm out in the country that is covered in old sheets of corrugated sheet metal. There is an old wooden farm fence surrounding a well kept front yard and walk way. The fence has old rusted farm implements and wagon wheels set sporadically apart for decorations. When you get to the front entrance you are standing under a covered patio with old wooden benches and you can look out and see an outside entertainment venu area. (We found out that they do occasionally have outdoor concerts there). When you walk inside the hostess/cashier desk is immediately to your right and there are tables of all sizes set spaciously apart which allows for ample room to move around and be able to have semi private conversations if you wish. Side note, when we walked in we were given a choice of two tables to sit at so as we were making our way to one of them we saw somebody waving at us. Lo and Behold, it was Linda and Her Family. So, we sat at the table next to them. The staff of the restaurant was super friendly and quickly gave us a couple of menu's to peruse and took our drink and appetizer order. (We ordered the Fried Pickles). Now, I LOVE FRIED PICKLES Y'all. LOVE THEM!!!! So when this server brought our Fried Pickles out I was completely blown away at how freaking DELICOUS they were. I have never had Fried Pickles that good before. So immediately, I am impressed. My wife ordered the chicken fried steak, with green beans and a baked potato. I ordered the fried catfish, with turnip greens, and a baked potato. Now, Oscar Store seemed pretty busy tonight so they were a little slow brining out our entree's but that is okay because it gave my wife and I a chance to just look around and talk and enjoy the ambiance of the place. When they brought out our food, not only did it look amazing, but it also smelled amazing. Now I normally put a little salt and pepper on my food at restaurants just because they never seem to use enough seasonings but something inside told me to "try it first". OMG!!! AMAZING!!!! this was truly the best Home Cooking I have ever eaten. My wife even said, "The chicken fried steak tastes like my Grannie cooked it". (That is DEFINITELY SAYING SOMETHING). The Catfish was out of this world delicious and the Turnip Greens were Phenominal!!! I can give this Little Hidden Gem of a Restaurant (that does not have a restaurant name), no less than 5 Full Stars!!!! My wife and I will return there regularly and if any of you out there reading this are ever in the area, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you eat here at least once. I promise that if you don't, then you are missing out on some of the best food you will ever have. Again, the restaurant is called OSCAR STORE and they are located at 8133 Oscar Spur, Temple, TX 76501. You have GOT TO EAT THERE!!!! Until Next time, Stay Safe, Stay Humble, Stay Kind, and God Bless You ALL!!!
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