Driving from the western border of Texas to the eastern border is no treat (almost 600 miles via I-20 and I-30). I needed to find an oasis town, somewhere we could stay the night and wake up and have a great breakfast to fortify us for the drive across East Texas to Arkansas. The city of Denton, Texas was about two-thirds of the way across the state. It seemed like a happening place with several Airbnb options for an overnight. I searched on Yelp and TripAdvisor for Denton breakfast restaurants (in Texas it seems most places serving breakfast are called cafes) and was happily astonished to find no less than ten highly rated candidates. Some entire states didn't have this many breakfast restaurants with a rating of four or more stars out of five. Here, it seemed, was a town that liked breakfast.
About a month before our trip I booked an Airbnb in Denton and then took on the task of choosing a breakfast place. The way I operated on this breakfast tour was to have where we were going and where we were eating defined well before the trip. Having ten solid breakfast choices turned out to be an embarrassment of riches.
The most popular place on Tripadvisor was the Old West Cafe which I eliminated because it had five different locations; not a national chain but enough locations to fail my criterion to visit only places with no more than two related establishments. I eliminated a few others for various reasons and my list was down to six. Then I started reading reviews and looking at menus. I even contacted some local experts.
We listen to podcasts to pass the time on our long car trips. I had stumbled upon a podcast called "Denton Dallas and Beyond" which along with other topics, provides reviews of Denton restaurants. The hosts visit restaurants in the area and provide their thoughts on the experience. I was struck by their honesty, providing both the good and the bad of their experiences. I sent the show an e-mail, describing the breakfast tour and asking where I should eat breakfast.
The following week, my e-mail was featured on Episode 213 - "A Long Strange Trip". The three commentators had kind words for the Upper Park Cafe, Seven Mile Cafe, Loco Cafe, Sidewalk Cafe, and Egg House Cafe but stated the Chestnut Tree was the one we should definitely visit and implied that the Upper Park Cafe was the runner-up.
I was all set on the Chestnut Tree until I looked at its web page and saw they didn't open until 9 AM. I knew it would be difficult to hold on until 9. The Chestnut Tree also listed the morning menu as a "brunch" menu. This was a breakfast tour not a brunch tour. To me, people who brunch are either slackers, hungover, independently wealthy, or some combination of the three. The Healthy One and I had discussed the Denton dilemma while driving across New Mexico. She favored the Chestnut Tree while I favored the Upper Park Cafe. She maintained that 9 AM is just a late breakfast while I argued that 9 AM is just a early brunch.
We rolled into Denton; asked our Airbnb host where we should have breakfast. We went to dinner on "The Square"; asked our waitress where we should have breakfast. We walked to the Upper Park Cafe and peered through the windows at the darkened room like a couple of perverts. It looked fine. I went to bed with the Upper Park Cafe as the choice.
We awoke the next morning, I had a cup of coffee, and off we went to the Upper Park Cafe. After about ten minutes of walking, the coffee and my diuretic pill hit hard and I looked around frantically around for a bathroom. By happenstance, we were standing right in front of the Loco Cafe. I said, "let's just have breakfast here, please!". Yes, after hours and hours of research , polling numerous strangers, car debates, and great angst, my bladder ended up choosing the restaurant.
About a month before our trip I booked an Airbnb in Denton and then took on the task of choosing a breakfast place. The way I operated on this breakfast tour was to have where we were going and where we were eating defined well before the trip. Having ten solid breakfast choices turned out to be an embarrassment of riches.
The most popular place on Tripadvisor was the Old West Cafe which I eliminated because it had five different locations; not a national chain but enough locations to fail my criterion to visit only places with no more than two related establishments. I eliminated a few others for various reasons and my list was down to six. Then I started reading reviews and looking at menus. I even contacted some local experts.
We listen to podcasts to pass the time on our long car trips. I had stumbled upon a podcast called "Denton Dallas and Beyond" which along with other topics, provides reviews of Denton restaurants. The hosts visit restaurants in the area and provide their thoughts on the experience. I was struck by their honesty, providing both the good and the bad of their experiences. I sent the show an e-mail, describing the breakfast tour and asking where I should eat breakfast.
The following week, my e-mail was featured on Episode 213 - "A Long Strange Trip". The three commentators had kind words for the Upper Park Cafe, Seven Mile Cafe, Loco Cafe, Sidewalk Cafe, and Egg House Cafe but stated the Chestnut Tree was the one we should definitely visit and implied that the Upper Park Cafe was the runner-up.
I was all set on the Chestnut Tree until I looked at its web page and saw they didn't open until 9 AM. I knew it would be difficult to hold on until 9. The Chestnut Tree also listed the morning menu as a "brunch" menu. This was a breakfast tour not a brunch tour. To me, people who brunch are either slackers, hungover, independently wealthy, or some combination of the three. The Healthy One and I had discussed the Denton dilemma while driving across New Mexico. She favored the Chestnut Tree while I favored the Upper Park Cafe. She maintained that 9 AM is just a late breakfast while I argued that 9 AM is just a early brunch.
We rolled into Denton; asked our Airbnb host where we should have breakfast. We went to dinner on "The Square"; asked our waitress where we should have breakfast. We walked to the Upper Park Cafe and peered through the windows at the darkened room like a couple of perverts. It looked fine. I went to bed with the Upper Park Cafe as the choice.
We awoke the next morning, I had a cup of coffee, and off we went to the Upper Park Cafe. After about ten minutes of walking, the coffee and my diuretic pill hit hard and I looked around frantically around for a bathroom. By happenstance, we were standing right in front of the Loco Cafe. I said, "let's just have breakfast here, please!". Yes, after hours and hours of research , polling numerous strangers, car debates, and great angst, my bladder ended up choosing the restaurant.
Loco Cafe
Denton, Texas
AMBIENCE: The Loco Cafe gets its name from being located on the corner of Locust and Congress streets. The owner was also quoted as saying that he already had one restaurant across the street, so it was kind of crazy opening a second one. The look is sleek and modern with exposed pipes and industrial lighting. There is also a lot of natural light which flows through the eating space.
Upon entering the restaurant you walk down a corridor to the ordering/payment station. I flew by the young man waiting to take my order, said "I would be right back", and made a beeline to the bathroom. Upon my return (the Healthy One was waiting patiently), the friendly gentleman took our orders, I paid, and he gave us a number to be displayed at the table of our choosing. The cafe was not very crowded this Thursday morning and our food was dropped off and number taken away after only about 7 or 8 minutes of waiting.
AMBIENCE: The Loco Cafe gets its name from being located on the corner of Locust and Congress streets. The owner was also quoted as saying that he already had one restaurant across the street, so it was kind of crazy opening a second one. The look is sleek and modern with exposed pipes and industrial lighting. There is also a lot of natural light which flows through the eating space.
Upon entering the restaurant you walk down a corridor to the ordering/payment station. I flew by the young man waiting to take my order, said "I would be right back", and made a beeline to the bathroom. Upon my return (the Healthy One was waiting patiently), the friendly gentleman took our orders, I paid, and he gave us a number to be displayed at the table of our choosing. The cafe was not very crowded this Thursday morning and our food was dropped off and number taken away after only about 7 or 8 minutes of waiting.
4 out of 5 stars
FOOD: I ordered the Loco Moco, mainly because it was mentioned in a positive way by my podcaster friends. Loco Moco is a big deal in Hawaii. You're not Hawaiian if you've never had a loco moco. Its described on the Whats Cooking America website as "a mountainous meal consisting of a heap of white rice topped with a hamburger patty and sunny side-up egg and then smothered in gravy. There are different variations of the Hawaiian Loco Moco. For instance, you can substitute spam for the hamburger. Yum. The Loco Moco I ordered at the Loco Cafe was different., If you were Hawaiian, I think you would be disappointed. My Loco Moco did have eggs but that's where the similarity ended. My dish emphasized hash browns instead of rice, came with cheese, and was without a slab of meat. One could add sausage, bacon, ham, or steak to the meal for an extra couple of bucks. I decided to add the bacon. The Loco Moco also came with the signature biscuit which our waitress from the previous night's dinner raved about.
As you can see, the Loco Moco arrived with both salsa and meat gravy. A Hawaiian might pour the gravy over the egg, hashbrowns, bacon combination but that triggered the ick factor in me. Instead, I poured the salsa over the eggs and the gravy over the biscuit. I don't suffer from brumotactillophobia (fear of food touching each other) but the thought of the salsa and gravy possibly mixing on the peripheries of the biscuit and the eggs/hashbrowns mixture started turning my stomach. I grabbed another plate from the table next to me (nobody was sitting at the table and the plate was clean) and solved the problem.
The Loco Moco was very good. The bacon was cut up into little crunchy bits and did not really add any flavor to the dish but the eggs and hashbrowns were tasty and the salsa was a great complement. The house baked gargantuan biscuit was fabulous. Without the gravy, the biscuit would provide comfort and pleasure. With gravy, the biscuit provided total blissful fulfillment.
The Healthy One went with the granola but no yogurt this time. She ate what the menu called The Bees Knees which in addition to the granola came with warm milk, honey, and strawberries. She thought it was very good, especially the fresh strawberries.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars
COFFEE: Loco Cafe had a "coffee bar" and this usually means some pretty good coffee.
This coffee bar was no exception. There were a number of choices each with their own little biography. I chose a blend of Central American Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai beans. Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai sounds like the bullpen of a professional baseball team. These beans were grown at elevations of between 1200-1800 meters. Apparently caffeine junkies know that the beans from higher elevations are superior to their lowland relatives. I looked it up; these beans evidently came from an elevation that make them worthy. The taste of the coffee was described as "crisp cherry and chocolate brownie flavors with very little acidity, satin syrupy mouth feel and rich body". I'm sorry, my mouth feel is not that sophisticated. I didn't taste cherry; I didn't taste chocolate brownies. All I tasted was coffee. To me there are only four taste categories of coffee: strong and delicious; strong and bitter; weak and delicious (this is a rare bean); and weak/low elevation and repulsive. This coffee was strong and delicious.
5 out of 5 stars
SERVICE: This is the seventh breakfast spot of the tour (NM, SC, AL, MS, CT, & NJ) where you ordered food at the cash register and it was then delivered to your table. I miss having a waitress/waiter taking your order at the table. It gives you a chance to chat a little with a "local" and encounter all different types of personalities from bubbly to methodical. I understand that restaurants do this to cut costs and possibly speed up the time it takes to turnover a table but I believe a personal interaction with a server enhances the breakfast experience. This belief assumes the waitperson is friendly and competent. So far that has always been the case. I think I'll strive to find restaurants in the remaining 23 states that use waitresses or waiters.
COST: $22.73
COST: $22.73
A FEW WORDS ABOUT DENTON: Denton with a population of over 113,000 lies just 35 miles north of Dallas. With Dallas and Fort Worth, it is the third point of what is called "The Golden Triangle". It has been referred to as a "mini-Austin, primarily because its a big college town with accompanying bars and a lively music scene. The two major colleges are North Texas University (enrollment 38,000) and Texas Women's University (enrollment 15,000). I believe most Dentonians hate being compared to Austin for good reason. Denton is much more politically conservative than Austin. More than 57% of Denton County voters cast their ballot for Trump while in Austin (Travis County) Clinton received almost 66% of the vote. Austin also seems edgier than Denton with a higher tattoo per capita rate.
The heart of Denton is "The Square" and the heart of "The Square" is the Courthouse.
The Courthouse, built in 1896, is ringed by restaurants, bars, shops, coffee houses, and music clubs. One of the more magnetic establishments is Beth Marie's Old Fashioned Ice Cream and Soda Shop. The shop evokes a "Music Man" setting. The ice cream (14% butterfat!) is made in a machine built in 1927. We stopped in on our way to dinner. There were about 50 incredibly looking flavors. I told The Healthy One I didn't want to spoil my dinner by buying a cone but that I wanted to ask for some tastes. She said that if I got tastes but didn't buy any ice cream it was an "immoral act". The Healthy One knows best. We went to dinner.
The heart of Denton is "The Square" and the heart of "The Square" is the Courthouse.
The Courthouse, built in 1896, is ringed by restaurants, bars, shops, coffee houses, and music clubs. One of the more magnetic establishments is Beth Marie's Old Fashioned Ice Cream and Soda Shop. The shop evokes a "Music Man" setting. The ice cream (14% butterfat!) is made in a machine built in 1927. We stopped in on our way to dinner. There were about 50 incredibly looking flavors. I told The Healthy One I didn't want to spoil my dinner by buying a cone but that I wanted to ask for some tastes. She said that if I got tastes but didn't buy any ice cream it was an "immoral act". The Healthy One knows best. We went to dinner.
BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:
- - Walked the pretty campus of Texas Woman's University. TWU has a total enrollment of 15,000 and has the largest doctoral nursing program in the world.
- Walked around The Square, both clockwise and counter clockwise.
- Walked around The Square, both clockwise and counter clockwise.
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May 10, 2017
NEXT UP: Arkansas
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