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Best Dang Food in Hutto

Hutto hippo When people start bragging on how fantastic the food is at a local eatery, my skepticism gauge goes off the chart. When they tell me the best thing about the restaurant is the dessert, I'm in. When they tell me I may not be able to finish the dessert, I scoff and say "let's go."

The Texan Café boasts "The Best Dang Food in Hutto, Texas." That claim is getting harder and harder to back up because of the population growth, but since this is the only place I've eaten in Hutto, I support the claim 100%.

Hutto's claim to fame is the Hutto hippo. In 1916, a circus train made a stop in Hutto and a hippo got loose and Texan Cafe was found wallering around in Cottonwood Creek. A decade later the school officially adopted the hippo as the school mascot.

Bill and Sandra, who live in nearby Georgetown, bragged on the Texan Cafe's Chicken Fried Steak and absolutely raved about the Apple Pie dessert. My wife had never had chicken fried steak before! I have to say, it's not something I would normally order, but when in Texas, you don't mess with Texans.

I ordered my dessert before the meal to get the server's commitment that there would be some left for me. Since the Pie Shop does a booming business on its own, I was reassured there would be enough of the "skillet brandy apple pie."

We chowed down on the Chicken Fried Steak and it was delish. Side dishes are changed regularly and posted on the board. Among the group, we had mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, cole slaw, Texas style beans, baked potato and more.

When it came time to enjoy the dessert, Sandra started deciding who would share my dessert. I finally had to get rough with her and set the woman straight. "If I came all the way to Hutto, Texas for some damn fine dessert, I ain't sharin' with nobody, no how!"

The apple pie is served on a hot skillet, topped with vanilla ice cream and a brandy sauce. OMG – it was fantastic. The best part is melted ice cream with caramelized brandy flavor sugar left on the skillet. As the others struggled with spoons to get the last bit, I just grabbed a straw and went at it. If you're too proud to scrape the skillet to get this part, don't order this dessert. I said it before, I'll say it again -- don't mess with Texans.

Mark Van Patten writes a blog called Going Like Sixty and has been married to the same woman since 1968.

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