8 Kinds of Food That are Essential to the Abilene Area

Abilene is not only known for having a church on every corner but we're also known for having just as many restaurants.

We have all types of food here in this area, but a few staples that you must try before watching that Abilene city limits sign disappears in your rearview mirror.

Catfish

Honestly, when I first moved here I never envisioned Abilene having catfish, much less great catfish. Let me tell you right now, there's great catfish around here.

Heck, I've witnessed some of the biggest catfish caught in West Texas with my own eyes.

You can find catfish on, almost, every menu in town, including the all-you-can-eat portions at Catfish Corner.

Chicken Fried Steak

Out here in West Texas, a chicken fried steak is referred to as a "chicken fry". When saying it you have to kinda let the word "fry" tail off too. Almost as if it's not a word.

Trust me, you can order a chicken fried steak without knowing how to properly say it. Yes, every waitress in town knows what that means and can distinguish that from chicken fried chicken.

There are a few factors to weigh into a good "chicken fry", and that's the steak itself, the batter/crust, the gravy...and the size.

Hey, this is Texas, and everything is bigger in Texas. We have quite a few places to sink your teeth into a good chicken fried steak, including the world-famous Mary's Cafe in Strawn

Bar B Que/BBQ

Does this need an explanation?

That's like explaining why the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the best part about the Dallas Cowboys.

This is Texas. This is West Texas. We have a ton of Mesquite wood and cattle...and one or 2 matches. Put em all together and you have food for everyone.

We call it bar-b-que. Heck, we spend so much time with our mouths full of bar-b-que, we had to shorten the word to BBQ.

Might as well take up residence for at least a decade to enjoy the best BBQ in Abilene and West Texas, including Jay's BBQ Shack, The Shed Market, JoJo's BBQ (Potosi Live), and Hearts BBQ.

Steak

Like BBQ, there's nothing that flavors a good steak better than the wood used in cooking it. Hence why West Texas is the best area to get a good steak, we have Mesquite, Oak, and Pecan...and lots of it.

Aside from the smoke flavor and the natural flavor of the meat, you really don't need much more to season a good steak and we here in Abilene know that.

Go anywhere else and you'll eat a steak that's way over-seasoned, not in Abilene though. We know how to cook a damn good steak. Some great steaks can be found at Perini Ranch Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Buck's Steak & Bar-B-Que, and the Beehive.

Tex-Mex

First off, let's get this straight, when I say Tex-Mex, I'm lumping in Southwest and Mexican cuisine.

Honestly, regardless of classification, some of the best "ethnic" food I've had was here in Abilene. From Oscar's to Farolito's to Miguel's to Abuelo's...it's all good!

Chili

It doesn't matter if you prefer your chili with beans, or without, because we know how to do chili here in the Abilene area. Make sure you check out Joe Allen's, Al's Mesquite Grill, Farolito's, or even Texas Roadhouse for an awesome bowl of chili.

Breakfast Burritos

I've lived all over the world, but the best breakfast burritos reside right here in Abilene. They're a staple for any breakfast, hangover or not. Some of the most delicious breakfast burritos are served at places like Mi Ranchito, La Popular, Hernandez Baker, and Rojas Mexican Food.

Hamburgers

Obviously, most of the items on this list aren't unique to our area, merely we just do them better than others and hamburgers are no exception. We have almost as many burger joints as we do churches, and that's a lot. So, if you wanna sink your teeth into a tasty burger, then check out Larry's Better Burger Drive-in, Rick and Carolyn's Burger and Fries, Rockin Rollerz, and even the new Mooyah Burgers.

There you have it, the food staples of Abilene that you must try before your time in West Texas has come to an end. Now, that's not all we have as food options, those are just the stuff we seem to like the most here in the Abilene area.