“Our Tuesday brunch at Sunken Gardens: Dude. Delicious is not enough to describe the food and drink. Here's how it works. It's a buffet style of delicacies but they charge by the pound. It was $7.99/lb. Put what you want on your plate. There's so much to choose from. You can have it to stay or there's to-go containers. There's cold and hot options and plenty of entrees. Dessert is limited to cobblers. I highly recommend the sweet and spicy beef, the catfish, and the jalapeño-cheese beefsteak. Same goes for the tuna salad, crab salad, and zucchini salad. The pasta salad I could give or take because it was al dente. Wife had the meatloaf and it was gooood. Same goes for the chicken strips. The sides were all freshly made (macaroni, rice, etc), and we weren't disappointed with any of it. The rolls were also good but not sweet or anything. They were basic, but that was a good thing because I didn't want anything competing with the food flavors. We also got some cobblers (one pecan and one blackberry, but there were others). I prefer crispy cobbler and this one was doughy and dense. Some like it that way though. I will say that the flavor was good and refreshing, despite being dense. Despite having indulged ourselves at the neighboring Friday's the night before (see previous review), we woke up famished. Having no food available at Shinerville Coffeehouse (see review because they were so nice and even pointed us here), we wound up eating at the Garden. It turned out to be a great experience. At $8 a pound plus $2 for drinks and a tip, we paid around $40, but our plates were laden from side to side. We greedily ate all of it. I forgot about the mozzarella spinach. Get that. Drink options were typical sodas and four ice teas, or (free?) fruit-infused water from a cistern. The teas were also in cisterns. There were four options: a red unsweetened eucalyptus tea that I liked, unsweetened, sweetened, and peach. We got the peach. There's only to-go cups and refills are free, so you're welcome to take some for the road. The atmosphere: Inside it was cool and crisp. The noise level was moderately low and they had good music. Blackbird was playing at one point. Being that it was such a nice day, we opted to eat on the covered wrap around porch that overlooked the Spoetzl Brewery. Btw (in terms of distance) with a good driver and the wind at my back, I could hit the brewery with a golf ball from the parking lot of this place. The restrooms were unisex, as you'd expect for a small establishment like this, and very clean. The people: Staff were excellent, accommodating and knowledgeable. The manager took the time to speak to me for a bit in between rushes, but a wave of people came in so I didn't hold her up. Back on the porch, a young male staff member engaged us in some more conversation and we spoke a bit about Texas history. He is very, very proud of our state and our history - both eager to share and learn. On our way out I met a cook named Mike (easy for me to remember). He was tossing a box with a cool dragon graphic and let me keep it. He also let me fill our carrying-sized igloo with ice. Mike is ex-military like me and it was fun swapping "war stories." He started cooking when he was in the military and is a native Shiner (I gotta figure out what they call the denizens of Shiner). The patrons were also very nice and easily exchanged pleasantries and held doors for one another, which is one of the coolest parts about being a Texan - but is especially so in Shiner. Friendly and unintrusive is the best I can describe. We left full and satisfied in many ways. The pictures are of some cool views I saw. One is their electrical boxes outside, which are painted uniquely, despite being outside of clear view. Just another example of the grooviness that's the prevalent, unspoken expectation of the township. It really speaks to the spirit of the town. We also took pictures of our food before we devoured it.“
“Our Monday Evening at Friday's: A review from an out-of-towner (Settle in and grab you glasses if you need them) Immediately upon walking into this fine establishment we felt right at home. The atmosphere and vintage/kitsch artistic imagery (common throughout Shiner), coupled with the wonderful food smells, were pleasantly overwhelming. We were welcomed by Nedra (AKA Nini), who kindly guided us out-of-towners through their menu. We ordered the Cock and Bull sandwich with fries, an order of boneless spicy chicken nuggets (I forget what they called them), and a separate order of onion rings to stay, as well as an order of gizzards for the road. Nini offered to hold off on the gizzards so we could take fresh ones with us. After a bit of social banter, we sat down and took in the surroundings. I love the color of the tables and felt like we were in the Nighthawks painting. Nini was so accommodating and playful, offering different types of sauces for our various foods (my favorite of which was the spicy ranch, but they also had brown and white gravy). Upon receiving our food, we opened the Cock and Bull (featuring both beef and fried chicken patties) to add some fries and onion rings (see pictures) . Nini then offered to have the kitchen cut this in half for us to make it more manageable. "Everything was delicious!" is an understatement. "Delectable" even falls short. The onions rings were perfect, large but crispy so as not to be overwhelmingly onion-y. I could go on and on about the food. We were so impressed by the establishment (kitschy and immaculate), and the food, and the service, that I asked to meet the manager (Ms. Lisa, who asked me to just call her Lisa). Lisa indulged my questions and compliments, and took the time to talk to me about the history of the place and the current owners. I also asked to speak to the cook, Mike, who (unlike me) was a man of few words but graciously accepted the compliments and handshake that I had to offer. He did state that he loves to hear such expressions of appreciation. As we were nearing the end of our meal, Nini asked if we were ready for the gizzards to go into the fryer. She asked what kind of gravy we wanted (which I've never had gravy with gizzards before) but I couldn't decide, so she gave us both and some more spicy ranch since I was such a fan. Let me tell you, that box of gizzards was overflowing - so much so that I had to share them later on (see my next review re: Shiner on Sixth). While we waited for our gizzards, Nini talked to us some more and even said that she didn't want us to leave (so sweet)! I asked about their soda, called STUBBORN. Nini offered us a sample and I immediately regretted having gotten water. This soda actually inspired a series of photos that I'm titling STUBBORN, featuring my beautiful wife - the first of which you'll see here and were all taken that night into the following morning. The only other regret I have, other than getting water instead of soda was not meeting the back of the kitchen staff. I think it was just one guy, but he seemed very busy and I didn't want to intrude further. Just in case you didn't catch it, this team must've been destined to work together. Lisa, Mike, Nini (LMN), and they all have four letters with two consonants and two vowels. I thought that was at least a little serendipitous. My recommendation? Add this stop to your itinerary for your next Shiner trip. And make sure to wear loose pants. Last bit: This place is a home run's distance from Spoetzl brewery. Also, I thought I got a picture of their menu board to update it, but I didn't. The scoop is that they also sell beer here.“
“We stopped by for Memorial day. The food was really good amd the staff were so friendly! They made you feel like family. I accidentally left my purse there and they mailed it to Dallas for me. I will definitely be eating there again on my next visit to Yoakum!!!“
“Great service and great food!My husband and I are visiting from out of town and stopped by for a late lunch. The staff was so welcoming and kind. We started with fried pickles which were nice and crispy and had a great flavor to it. My husband ordered the Chicken fried steak and I got The fried catfish. Food was so good! Definitely will be coming back.“