Day 4
THE ROAD
End of US 90 at Van Horne, TX.

Day 4

 

Beautiful day in Texas. Got a later start than expected. Departed Houston at 0900. Arrived at the Alamo in San Antonio at 1715. Decided to press on to Del Rio. Unlike my wife, I’m not a big eater of sweets, especially ice cream, but had a craving all day for ice cream. Then just west of San Antonio,... saw it!! A great big Dairy Queen. Could not resist any longer. It was calling my name. I whipped in. Got a big chocolate Sunday with graham cracker and three glasses of water. Can’t say much for the water but boy was that ice cream good, and filling.

I hadn’t gone 10 miles when there it was, Hermann Sons Steak House. (29 .20.89N 99.06.889W). I was in Hondo, Tx. It was on the south side of the road. The parking lot was over flowing and people standing outside waiting. I quickly scanned the license plates. All local. This is a sure sign of either good food or someone is giving away money. So far, I’ve never found anyone giving away money. I came to a screeching halt. Which isn’t all that hard from 30 mph. But I did have to make one of my famous ROGER U-Turns.

Outside, I met John and AJ Rodgers (son and father). John is in charge of Quality Control maintenance of F16’s at Kelly AFB. and his dad is a retired Civil engineer. I approached them as they sat on a bench outside and said " This crowd means one of two things: One, this is the best steakhouse in town or, Two ,its the only place in town to eat." They said actually both were correct. With that recommendation, I went inside to put my name on the list.

I was met inside by a very sweet young girl who took my name and said it would be "just a few minutes,". I remembered that I WAS in Texas where everything is big. So, I figured I had better zero in a bit more on how long "a few minutes" was going to be as Del Rio was still 3.5 to 4 hrs away.

I was referred to Bryce Britsch, the owner. Before that, I didn’t know his name but I knew he was not just a manager but the owner. He was everywhere; seating people, in the kitchen and working the register. I gave Bryce the 30 sec version of my journey. He told the hostess to get my order and he would put it right in. I always ask "what’s your most popular menu item" and that’s what I order. This time it was the 16oz T-Bone with onion rings and first class salad bar complete with Texas chili and a loaf of that fine dark bread with honey butter. Damn that was good! This steak will go down in my book as one of the top 10. It was truly mouth watering.

Another sure sign of a quality restaurant, to me, is the attitude of the personnel, in

particular, the servers. Do they appear as though they’re there because they have to be or do they want to be there. I was able to observe 3 or 4 servers. They all enjoyed being there.

When things slowed down a bit Bryce joined me at my table. I gave him more details of my trip and he gave me the Hermann Sons Steak House history. In 1937 Mr. Alvin Britsch embarked on a 30 yr career in the food business. Alvin originally intended to serve only a limited menu, delicious hamburgers, homemade chili. However, one day a gentleman came in carrying a brown bag containing a steak. Alvin prepared it for him. The man liked it so much he ask Alvin to add steak to the menu. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1939 Alvin originated the famous "pepper steaks". Alvin retired in 1965 leaving son Leroy and wife Grace to run the operation. Hermann Sons Steak House became one of the most popular and well known steakhouses in South Texas. Quality dining and a relaxed atmosphere became their trademark.

In 1994 Leroy and Grace retired leaving the operation to their son, Bryce. Bryce said he told Mom, "look, you’ve served your time. Go! Enjoy! I’ll run the place." After about three weeks, he said he had the place in such a mess, he had to call Mom. "Maybe I could use a little guidance". So, of course, Mom pitched in.

The story for today should end here but not quite. I was about finished eating when John Rodgers approached my table. "Just how set are you on going to Del Rio tonight?", he ask. I replied that the best part of the trip is that only the beginning and end are set. Anything else is flexible. " Look we’ve got a spare bedroom. Come on and spend the night with us." How could I refuse an invitation like that? I followed John and AJ to his 11 acres located 10 miles north of Hondo. There we were met by his wife, Keni, who had just returned from work. We sat out back by an elaborate fish pond that John has been building, and got to know each other.

What a wonderful world we still live in, where you can meet strangers and in a few hours walk away friends

 

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