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Mary’s Café in Strawn has been called “the mother church” of chicken-fried steak. I attended services there Sunday before last with Bud Kennedy, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram who has been writing about CFS (among other things) in that paper for over 20 years. Bud learned at the feet of another Star-Telegram writer and perhaps the greatest CFS bard of all time, Jerry Flemmons. In the Flemmons-Kennedy school of CFS writing, you have to eat a lot of the legendary examples of the genre before you hold forth. Sort of like studying art history before you are allowed to paint anything. Mary’s in Strawn is first on the list of legends. Many argue that this is the best chicken-fried steak in Texas.

Last Thursday, they were serving the best barbecued brisket in Texas, and therefore the planet, at the Stop N’ Save (1259 N. Market Street) in Hearne. This fortuitous discovery was a complete accident. I had pulled over to use the facilities at the slightly decrepit convenience store on the road from Bryan to Waco. When I came out of the restroom, I saw a guy making brisket sandwiches. For each one, he sliced and weighed a messy half pound of brisket with lots of black and fatty bits and put it on a hamburger bun spread with sauce and dotted with pickles.

I wasn’t going to try it at first. After all, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of gas stations, convenience stores, and roadside trailers that sell barbecue in Texas. You can’t eat at all of them.

Robb Walsh sure is a charmer.

He recently had the Homesick Texan in his kitchen, where he cooked the biscuit-loving gal some rabbit stewed in red chile sauce and inspired her to offer up these words about his latest book, The Texas Cowboy Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos:

If you’ve read his Tex-Mex Cookbook or Legends of Texas Barbecue, you will already be familiar with Robb’s extensive research into his topic at hand. The Texas Cowboy Cookbook is no different. Divided into sections that either showcase a region or an ethnic group, he provides an illuminating story about those particular cowboys, what their lives were like and, of course, what they ate. He also discusses current chuck-wagon culture, cowgirls and the rise of the Texas cowboy myth.

The Cliff House in Stamford is famous for its chicken-fried steak. I tried a regular one last Saturday night and it was excellent. “Come back on Wednesday,” the waitress told me. That’s the night they offer their “Chicken-fried Steak Special.” It’s a full cut of bottom round steak, tenderized and batter-fried, and it is said to be larger than the plate.

Stamford is an hour north of Abilene, which would make it about a seven-hour drive from my house. I figure I would have to leave by 10 a.m. to get there in time for dinner.

Road trip anybody? -- Robb Walsh

Shepard Ross, general manager and wine guru at Glass Wall, offers up some of his teeth-staining favorites:

$15 or less
White
2005 Lo Brujo, Macabeo
Calatayud, Spain

"Fun, easy to drink, crisp, with hints of citrus and banana. Soft, round mouth feel, but still has some nice acidity."

$30 or less
Red
2003 Russian Hill Estate Pinot Noir
Russian River Valley

"Punches your nose with boysenberries, a bit of earth and a bright-red raspberry note, finishing with some plum. Nice layers and complexity for the money."

The portable pig-roasting box originated in Cuba. Beachside food vendors use them to prepare picnic sandwiches in Puerto Rico. The box started turning up on the East Coast a few years ago when a company in Miami started marketing them under the name “La Caja China.” The medium-size box costs around $300 and cooks a 70-pound whole pig in four hours. The pig comes out with a nice crispy skin too, I am told. I have never used one. (A sawed-in-half 55-gallon drum is more my style.) But New York food writers like Jeff Steingarten of Vogue and Doc Willoughby of Gourmet were all aswoon over the pig boxes a couple of barbecue seasons ago. I don’t think the fad lasted very long. Pig roasting isn’t an easy thing to do in Manhattan. Whole pigs are expensive and hard to find--and so is barbecue wood.

Back in May 2003, in a sidebar titled “A Dozen Brisket Sandwiches,” we offered a guide to the best Black East Texas Barbecue around Houston.

One of our favorites was Little's BBQ trailer. Since that article appeared, Little moved his trailer from the former location to a new spot outside a home improvement store on highway 519 in Dickinson, the road that links I-45 and San Leon.

We were cruising around, checking out praise for our very own Robb Walsh, when we came across this delightful little video on how to peel a hard-boiled egg in five seconds. It’s definitely worth a look-see. – Keith Plocek

“What blows my mind is the passion of great winemakers trying to bring out the truth of the grapes,” says Andrea Lazar, the Wine & Spirits Director at t’afia. Here’s some of her favorite examples:

$15 or less
McPherson
2005 Rosé of Syrah
Lubbock, Texas

“Kim Mcpherson is growing some of the best grapes and making some of the best wines in Texas. His focus is on Rhone grape varietals that love the North Texas landscape. This rosé is a perfect way to end the day and start a meal, any day of the year.”

$30 or less
Summers Winery
2005 Charbono
Calistoga, California

“This is a rare varietal from a family winery -- they only produced 2,000 cases of Charbono in 2005. The grape is thought to have originated somewhere along the French-Italian border but is now found in only 100 acres of California. I love this wine – which has flavors of jammy plum, candied apple and anise -- on its own or with duck or venison.”

Robb Walsh has been busy interviewing local experts on their favorite wines for his newest recurring column, “Five Wines That Will Blow Your Mind,” which first appeared in the Houston Press Menu of Menus guide. Look for it in the paper and on HouStoned. For this installment, he offers up his own picks.

The European white wine revolution is inspiring both American wine drinkers and American winemakers to get over their Chardonnays and start experimenting with something new. Try some these and you’ll see what we mean.

Under $15: Esporao Reserva Branco, Alentejo, Portugal
The white wine deal of the year. An innovative blend of several obscure Portuguese grapes.
$14 (retail) at Cova Hand Selected Wines