Dive Restaurants

To eat good food is to be close to God.
Primo, "Big Night"


Two of the most real moments I've ever seen in performances were, of all things, in cartoons. One was the candlelight spaghetti-strand kiss in Lady and the Tramp; the other was the moment the curmudgeonly food critic tasted his first bite in Ratatouille. Everyone knows the former scene (if you don't, I feel embarrassed for you). In the latter, the unapologetically abhorrent and faulting food critic, Anton Ego, tastes the ratatouille, which immediately and vividly conjures a time in his childhood eating his mother's ratatouille. What do these moments have in common? Food. Good food.

(Actually, the Rocky and Bullwinkle episode where Bullwinkle becomes a football star at Wossamatta U. was pretty real too but it doesn't fit my motif).

How many of the great moments in life are spent over a big meal, surrounded by friends or family? We celebrate the most personal and meaningful holidays every year with a meal, usually laboriously and carefully prepared. The biggest and most memorable occasions in life often are observed over a meal-weddings, graduations, partings. We often welcome new neighbors with food; when loved ones pass away, we bring their family food. To extend an invitation to a meal in one's home or under one's auspices implicitly conveys an message of friendship or respect. The memories of food at these kinds of meals are among the most vivid and longest lasting. I can still savor the taste of my Grandma's fried chicken, more than thirty years since she last served it to me. The food inevitably is good at these meals, often because of the cooking, but more often because it was made with love. Those who think of food as just something to wolf down or to graze on during the game truly miss one of life's most rewarding pleasures.

I live in a town with dozens of fantastic restaurants, yet I often see a crowd of people standing outside the Olive Garden waiting for a table. Frankly, that is obscene. No chain restaurant, with frozen, pre-packaged servings, indifferent cooks and servers, trying to serve the most people in the least time, can ever compete with a restaurant where the owner works every day, whose livelihood depends on serving patrons the finest meals he or she can. Not even the recent spate of so-called "upscale" chains, with their sleek trappings of cool iconography, can possibly replace the owner making your meal or coming to your table to solicit your reaction and ask how things could be made better. Just as strongly as I remember my Grandma's fried chicken, I equally remember meals growing up in Houston at the San Jacinto Inn, the Log Cabin, Christie's, the old Jimmie Walker's (not the foul, corporate-owned Fertitta enterprise that bought the name and location), or Valian's near the Medical Center. The food was (or could be) memorable, you always met the owner, his family worked in the restaurant, customers would return over and over again, and you knew that the food you were eating was fresh, made and served with care, and represented the best the owners could provide. And if there was a rare screw-up, the owner and server would make it right. (Cue the Monty Python "Dirty Fork" sketch).

"Nice restaurants" can and do serve good food. English adjectives cannot capture the satisfaction of my meal at French Laundry with Kimberly and Terry. Unfortunately, you often need to take a magnifying glass or Mars Rover with you to locate the food on your plate. Sometimes you need a copy of Audobon to identify it. Dark places like that are often fantastic (I look better in the dark). But if you want really good food, look for a "dive." Signs of a place that serves fantastic food: a parking lot with trucks or police cars, not next to a freeway (in an urban area), advertises the name of the owner (even has pictures of their family on display in the restaurant), the parking lot is bigger than the actual restaurant, staff is actually interested in welcoming and helping you (don't have that deadened Blockbuster clerk stupor) and it doesn't look like any designer or consultant ever went near the place (except to eat). No chain can ever qualify as a dive restaurant that serves great food (maybe a localized chain, but no Bennigan's).

With all that hoo-rah in mind, here is my personal list of great "dive" restaurants. I've eaten at each, and each one meets the criteria I've laid out. Sorry I'm too lazy to embed links. There's no particular order here. Any town without a state mentioned is in Texas. Mostly these are places in Texas and Louisiana-others I've visited on vacation I either can't remember the name or couldn't find it on the internet.

If you know of a place like these that I haven't mentioned, please share it by posting a comment.

Sam's-Fairfield
Jax Restaurant-Houston
Rajun Cajun-Houston
Dot's-Austin (Oh my God best in Austin, open for lunch only)
Hoover's Cooking-Austin
Hill's-Austin
Threadgill's-Austin (bronzed catfish; chicken fried steak)
Texas Chili Parlor-Austin (Frito Pie-amazing)
Otto's-Houston (barbecue favorite of Bush 41)
Leo's-Houston (old-time Mexican)
Joe's Bakery-Austin
Nuevo Leon-Austin
El Patio-Austin (totopos-spanish for "sudden cardiac arrest")
Blanco Cafe-San Antonio (Mexican bakery next door)
Josephine Street Cafe-San Antonio (old house with crooked floor; "steaks and whisky" sign on window)
Bee's-San Antonio
George's-Waco (home of the "Big O")
Elite Cafe-Waco (on the Circle)
Al-T's-Winnie
Tamale Co.-Beaumont
Hill Country Cupboard-Johnson City
Joe T. Garcia's-Fort Worth
Paris Coffee Shop-Fort Worth (incredible breakfasts)
Nau's Enfield Drug-Austin
Salt Lick BBQ-Driftwood
Bluebonnet Cafe-Marble Falls (the second best pie anywhere)
Louie Mueller's BBQ-Taylor
Kreuz's Market BBQ-Lockhart
Dart Bowl-Austin (stacked enchiladas)
Buffalo Grille-Houston (breakfast)
Snuffer's-Dallas (cheese fries)
Johnny Cace's-Longview
Wuenche Bros. Saloon-Spring
El Napalito-Galveston
La Hacienda-El Paso (right on the Rio Grande)
Water Street Seafood-Corpus Christi
TK's-Bay City
Cafe Pasqual's-Santa Fe, NM (mexican hot chocolate)
Lee-J's-Pineville, LA
Middendorf's-Akers, LA (outstanding fried catfish)
Mosca's-Avondale, LA
Deanie's Seafood-New Orleans, LA
Acme Oyster House-New Orleans, LA
Poche's-Breaux Bridge, LA
Darrell's-Lake Charles, LA
Black's-Abbeville, LA
Gator Cove-Lafayette, LA (boiled shrimp, crab, crawfish)
Camellia Grill-New Orleans, LA (late night)
Mariner's-Natchitoches, LA
Gerald Savoie's-Shreveport, LA
Suburban Gardens-Alexandria, LA (incredible Italian, where the waitresses, generally all over 60, call you "baby")
Monjuni's-Shreveport, LA
Pike Place Market (virtually anywhere inside)-Seattle, WA
Pagliacci Pizza-Seattle, WA (Broadway location)
Cajun Bar and Grill-Concrete, WA
Zachary's Pizza-Berkeley, CA
Swan's Oyster Depot-San Francisco, CA
Cook's Lobster House-Bailey Island, ME

Honorable mention:
Weikel's Bakery-LaGrange (kolaches/cinnamon rolls)
House of Pies-Houston
Mrs. Johnson's Donuts-Austin
Borden's Ice Cream Shop-Lafayette, LA
Top Pot Donuts-Seattle, WA
Lasoyne's Meat Pies-Natchitoches, LA