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By Root 997 0

of encomia from the press and from the restaurant’s greatest fan, George H. W. Bush, for whom Otto’s barbecue was heaven on a plate. In fact the most expensive dish in the house, at $9.49, is the Bush Plate, a medley of sliced brisket, ribs, and hot links with potato salad and beans. It’s the brisket we like best for its soft, subtle flavor and a beef character that could almost be described as dainty. Barbecue, of course, is mostly thought of as crude food; indeed the ribs here are big hefty bats, the hot links virtually vibrate with spice, and the condiment bar is replete with hot, hot sauce and jalapeño pepper chips. And yet this tender brisket, its edge rimmed with blackened crust, its pale, roseate center heavy with beef juices, is shockingly mild. To bring it to the peak of perfection there is a tangy, rust-colored sauce to apply yourself.

Otto’s breakfast menu, available every day from 7:00 to 10:30 A.M., includes buttermilk pancakes, French toast, a taco fiesta (tortillas stuffed with eggs and your choice of omelet ingredients), and biscuits with sausage gravy.

Paris Coffee Shop

700 W. Magnolia Ave.

817–335–2041

Fort Worth, TX

BL | $

The day starts early in cattle country, so it should be no surprise that Fort Worth has always been a good breakfast town. By 7:00 A.M., the Paris Coffee Shop on the south side is bustling, and many mornings you will have to wait for a table (seldom for too long, though). An airy, wood-paneled room with a counter, booths, and tables, Paris smells delicious in the morning, its air fragrant with the smell of sausages, bacon, pork chops, and corned beef hash, as well as tangy biscuits smothered with gravy. Beyond biscuits, breadstuffs include soft, glazed cinnamon rolls and a choice of eight-grain, sourdough, or sun-dried-tomato toast.

The Paris Coffee Shop is also a legendary lunchroom (since 1926), known for meat loaf, fried chicken, and chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy as well as one of the best bowls of chili in the Metroplex. The café’s signature dish is an “Arkansas Traveler”: hot roast beef on corn bread smothered with gravy. Such Lone Star comfort fare is accompanied by your choice from a wide variety of southern-style vegetables such as turnips and/or turnip greens, pole beans, and butter beans. And every meal must be followed by a piece of Paris pie. One morning, when we spotted a single piece of custard pie we wanted behind the counter and ordered it for breakfast, the waitress warned, “It’s not today’s.” (Today’s pies were still in the oven.) But then she thought a while and agreed with our choice, declaring, “Hey, yesterday’s egg custard pie is better than no pie at all!”

Ranchman’s Café (aka Ponder Steakhouse)

110 W. Bailey St.

940–479–2221

Ponder, TX

D (reservations advised) | $$

In a sleepy encampment by the train tracks at the northern fringe of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the Ponder Steakhouse (actually named Ranchman’s Café) has been a destination meat house since 1948. Since that date, indoor bathrooms have been added, but the steaks are still hand-cut, and the ambience is Lone Star to the core.

There’s a full menu that ranges from quail quarters and Rocky Mountain oyster hors d’oeuvres to fabulous made-from-scratch buttermilk pie, but it is big, butter-glistening steaks that motivate us for the drive. Porterhouse, T-bone, club, rib eye, and sirloin are sizzled on a hot griddle until they develop a wickedly tasty crust. Although tender, they are not the silver butter-knife cuts of expense-account dining rooms; they are steaks of substantial density that require a sharp knife and reward a good chew with plenty of flavor. French fries come on the side, but if you call an hour and a half ahead, they’ll put a baked potato in the oven and have it ready when you arrive.

Royers’ Round Top Café

On the Square

877–866–7437

Round Top, TX

LD | $$

Royers’ is a vintage forty-seat café on the square in the small town of Round Top (population 81). Bud Royer describes his menu as “contemporary comfort food.” In fact, no