Road trip Chicago to Dallas

I had to drive Chicago to Dallas over the Columbus Day weekend. On the way down I had to stop at Lambert’s Café. I have never been. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, it was fun and frantic. Oh, they do throw rolls around.

I made a big mistake and had the larger of two chicken fried steaks. I couldn’t even get through half of it. Not because I didn’t like it, it was very tasty, it was just huge. Plus they give you so much free food, next time I think I will try to order something smaller. The steak came with mashed potatoes, very good, and fried apples. There were a lot of choices for your sides. The steak and potatoes had a very tasty white gravy on them and I liked the fried apples.

The rolls (apple butter or sorghum) were warm and tasty. Other free food: black eyed peas very good, fried potatoes ok, macaroni and tomatoes didn’t get any, and fried okra ok. The rolls and free food are delivered up to your table by servers walking around all the time.

I would definitely go back.

My first meal in Dallas was a disappointment. I was staying at the Dallas Renaissance and I had asked for a recommendation for BBQ near the hotel. They sent me to Sonny Bryan’s. When I drove up, the place had all the ambience of a shack, so I assumed this was the real deal. The place looked like they knew BBQ. I was wrong.

I had the Texas beef brisket, onion rings, and baked beans. The brisket was flavorless, no smoke taste, and tough. The onion rings fooled me, they looked very good, but the breading was not tasty. The beans seemed like a souped up version of a can.

I had an ok lunch at the Stoneleigh Pub. It is a nice looking trendy beer bar. They had standard pub grub. I had a burger, which was ok. I was disappointed by their on tap beer selection. I thought the prices were trendy too.

For dinner I was forced to go Tex-Mex, because of the people I was with. This was ordinary and I didn’t even take note of the name, something like Pedro’s Tex Mex. I didn’t drive so I am not sure where we were.

Oh the way back to Chicago I took a different route and just hit fast food for the convenience.

D.

Lambert’s Café
2305 E. Malone
Sikeston, MO 63801

Stoneleigh Pub
2926 Maple Ave
Dallas, TX 75201-1469

Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse
2202 Inwood Road
Dallas, TX 75235