Updated: Twisted Root Burger Company puts down roots in Abilene on the "Hill"

August 2024--Just a quick note, that this location has had several issues since it opened. There seems to be some problems here that do not occur in other Twisted Root locations based on various comments I've seen. Hopefully, they will improve. I have only been twice and had hoped to make this a regular spot for burgers.

The various delays due to the pandemic are done and the eagerly awaited opening of Twisted Root Burger Co. has arrived. It is located in the Allen Ridge shopping complex on Judge Ely Blvd., north of Ambler and ACU. They are thriving. Before its arrival in Abilene, the closest location for this regional chain was in San Angelo.

Menu

As is usual for most new restaurants in Abilene (especially one so anticipated), the first few weeks the place was swamped with customers so wait times to order and for food could be a bit long. The line can still be out the door during peak hours.

Twisted Root is a "order at the register" and then come pick up your food type of establishment with a fun, albeit noisy, atmosphere. The "buzzers" they give you for your order have whimsical names that are called out when your food is ready to be picked up. Mine said E.T. There is 80s era music pumping through the entire establishment, including the outside patio area so quiet it is not...which is not unexpected.

There is quite the variety of meats to choose from for your burger including buffalo, Wagyu beef, chicken, turkey, and veggie, in addition to the traditional ground beef. Some options have up charges, of course. There are also three salad options.

Order line and pickle barrels

I ordered an All American burger that came with double American cheese and bacon ($8.75). It was cooked perfectly, the bun was soft and everything was well-seasoned. Juicy patty without being super sloppy. For my side I got an order of the original Twisted Cheese Fries ($6.25) which was big enough to share as an appetizer and used real shredded cheddar cheese. Be sure to eat them quick because once the cheese and fries cool down, it all gets congealed together and the fries become soggy. The fries are hand cut with the skins left on which for me tends to make them less crisp from the start. For other sides, there are fried pickles, onion strings, and the Treat-Yo-Self Twisted Fries that have bacon, jalapenos, and peppercorn ranch in addition to cheese.

Twisted cheese fries and All American burger

My burger order was a $1 more than the Original which is the least expensive burger on the adult menu, the classic which is a cheeseburger. A kid's burger is $5 and comes with fries or there is a grilled cheese sandwich option as well. The most expensive burger on the menu is the Millionaire which has Wagyu beef and truffle aioli at $15. 

There are huge "serve yourself" pickle barrels with lots of options such as bread and butter, ranch, atomic, in addition to the traditional dill flavor. I think the flavors may rotate. The pickles were the thick cut kind rather than the thinner pickles you often find a burger places. I went with the traditional dill for my choice as I feel a burger is not complete without pickles on it. Various condiments are on the tables with a couple of types of mustard, regular and spicy ketchup, and BBQ sauce.

Disappointing milkshake

One disappointment--do not bother with their milkshakes ($5.25). They are mostly whipped cream, not ice cream so not worth the price and not as thick as advertised. I imagine the same could be said of the root beer float option.

This is going to continue to be a very popular place, especially with the outdoor seating, full bar, and attractive environment of Allen Ridge. Go get you burger fix on!

Patio

 

Twisted Root Burger Company

2419 N. Judge Ely Blvd Abilene, TX 79601

325- 274-3150

 https://www.twistedrootburgerco.com/locations/abilene

Sun-Thurs: 11am-11pm

Fri/Sat: 11am-12am

 

CLOSED 5C Smokehouse in Clyde (TX) America

Menu page 1

Menu page 2

Update--They closed the restaurant at the end of July 2019 to concentrate only on catering. 

Some friends and I took the short drive over to Clyde to have a weekend dinner to a spot with some good buzz foodie grapevine around this area.

Steak bites

If you haven't been to 5-C Smokehouse yet* you are missing carnivore heaven. I was very impressed with the steak and enjoyed the brisket a lot as well. So many places, tend to over-season their meat but that is not the case at 5C. The steak had a nice char on it but was still juicy. It was just right for my taste. No steak sauce necessary. The menu is simple but covers all the basics.

Brisket stuffed potato

We started off with an order of steak bites ($5.99). This was simply a sirloin cut up in pieces and brought out in a bowl. We all wanted to try the steak before committing to ordering an entire one for an entree. All of us were impressed. In fact, if you do not want a big steak you can order the steak bites as your entree and add a side or two. The only drawback is that they are pre-cooked so there is not the option to get your preference as to "doneness". When we ordered ita as our appetizer, it came out medium but the ones that came out as an entree and then with a takeaway order at the end, the steak was more medium-well to well-done. If you prefer steak rare or medium-rare, go with the whole ribeye, sirloin, or filet (those are your options $24-$37). No size in ounces were given.

Slice brisket plate with house-made sausage and potato salad

Everyone at the table either ordered steak or brisket for their meal. I went with a brisket-stuffed baked potato, as the steak bites appetizer took the edge off my hunger for a full steak. The brisket was smokey and flavorful. Maybe a little dry but I prefer that to a lot of visible fat. The potato was soft. Perfectly baked. At $8.99, I was pleased. Also had a taste of the house-made sausage. Spicy with some cheese in it. Quite good.

No one ordered it but a specialty of the house is a huge pork chop called a Big Jake. We saw one that another person had ordered and it was indeed huge, at least 2 inches thick, and took up half the plate. Ribs and chicken are also on the menu.

For desert, we shared an apple dumpling ala mode. It was made up of two crescent rolls with apple topping and ice cream. Simple, but a pleasant end to the meal. The rolls were a on the small side. One more in the dish would have been nice.

Outdoor seating area

Everyone in the group was pleased with their food. Service was friendly. Our young server was very patient with our questions. If she did not know the answer, she would go find out. We choose to sit on the outside patio. Everyone was sitting out there. No one was inside. It was a mild night and there is netting around the parameter that helps keep most of the insects out. A place with a laid-back atmosphere where families, groups, and couples were all enjoying the evening. I know for certain, I will go again and bring more people.

Beer and wine are served.

5-C Smokehouse
205 S 1st St
Clyde, TX 79510
325-893-1020
https://5csmokehouse.com/

*Only open on Friday and Saturday evenings 5pm-9pm

Lowake Steakhouse in Rowena, TX

Apologies for the long absence from posting. Life has been turbulent so I just have not had the time to post in the past few months.

The Lowake Steakhouse (formerly in the very small town of Lowake, Texas) has been around since the early 1950s and was regionally famous in its heyday. The current incarnation moved a couple of years ago over to the town of Rowena, a few miles outside of Ballinger. My assumption is the move was to take advantage of the more frequent traffic on the highway between Ballinger and San Angelo but one of the wait staff said it was also less expensive to move than to fix up the building in Lowake. Judging by the number of vehicles outside of the restaurant, they are doing booming business. People seemed to have come from miles around to eat a Saturday evening meal there. 

Bar area

I remember a family outing when I was in upper elementary or junior high traveling from Abilene to Lowake to eat at the steakhouse. My dad was in the insurance business and he often found little interesting and out-of-the-way places to grab a bite. As a kid, I did not understand the ongoing search to find a delicious, yet reasonably priced steak. However, I do remember being stuffed full and falling asleep on the hour drive back home.

Door to patio

This past weekend, some friends and I took a short road trip to go eat at the Lowake Steakhouse on a Saturday evening. We left Abilene a little after 5pm and arrived at the restaurant around 6:15pm. As we suspected there would be, there was a wait which we were told was between 10 minutes up to 30 minutes. When we picked the date to go, it did not cross our minds that it was Mother's Day weekend as well at time that area college graduations were happening. Not to mention that is was Saturday night. The place was PACKED and there were several large groups in the party room. Our wait to be seated turned out to be 25 minutes. There were other "waits" to come but that is to be expected with the crowds.

Once seated, it took our server a few minutes to come by and get our beverage order. Some of us had already gotten drinks at the bar but we needed some water and soft drink refills. We also decided to put in an order for some onion rings as an appetizer. When the server brought the drinks about seven minutes later, we ordered our meals. All the adults ordered steaks and the pre-teen got a bacon cheeseburger. Then the wait for food began. Granted we had ordered our steaks cooked everything from medium-rare to medium-well but after about 30 minutes we began to wonder about our onion rings and an update on the progress of our meal. Turns out the server forgot to put in the order for the rings. She asked if we still wanted them, we did, so they came out with the meal.

Hand battered onion rings (large size)

Several of us took shifts to head to the salad bar for the salad that came with our steaks. It was very basic selection. Iceberg lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, imitation bacon bits, a few other items, no mushrooms. Nothing special about it but it was serviceable. The ranch dressing did seem homemade.

As far as the main course, as you would expect from what I have written so far, the biggest issue with the meal had to do with timing. They were busy but it is not a good plan to go ahead and plate the sides while waiting for the meat. My fries were not hot. Others at the table had a similar issue with their fries and baked potatoes, except for the kid that got a burger. We were brought some fresh french fries since I said something about their temperature. The server did not act surprised by the comment which let me know that it was not an uncommon complaint. The onion rings were not piping hot either but the portion was generous, which is expected at the $8 price point. They were nice big slices of sweet onion breaded like a chicken friend steak. The onion rings were filling but the breading could have used more seasoning. The bacon cheeseburger pleased the palate of the kiddo in our group. It was big and the patty was fresh. 

Bacon cheeseburger with hand cut fries

As for the steaks, the menu states that garlic is featured in their seasoning. Very, very true. I tasted garlic powder, black pepper, and probably some seasoning salt. Applied with a heavy hand. This is not necessarily a detriment if the meat shines through which is did but if you aren't a garlic fan, skip the steak. The beef was of high quality.

I had a tenderloin, three others got filet mignon (bacon-wrapped tenderloin) and a bone-in rib-eye. Everyone stated their steaks were cooked to the requested "doneness". One or two would have liked the bacon on their filet to have been crispier but I find that the bacon on a filet mignon is not ever crispy as that would mean overcooking the steak. My steak was quite good but I do not mind garlic. The meat was tender and juicy. I was only able to finish about half of it, so the rest went home with me.

Tenderloin cooked medium with hand cut fries

The tenderloin and filet mignon were priced at $32.00 for 10-12 ounces. I am not sure how much the rib-eye was but the least expensive steak was a small 6-ounce dinner steak (sirloin) for $15.50. The prices were about $2-$5 higher than what I was expecting. On the menu there is KC (Kansas City strip steak) available for up to 7 people. If you have a large group, the KC options are a good bet.

Lowake Steakhouse gets high marks for the steak but they need to work on timing to be sure the sides come out hot. Nonetheless, judging by the crowd, people are pleased with what they get there.

Next time, I'll probably get a burger or the small steak and try the spicy fried pickles appetizer. If you are driving on highway 67 between Ballinger and San Angelo, it is worth a stop.

Also, they do serve beer, wine and wine-a-ritas.

12143 US Highway 67
Rowena, TX 76875
(325) 218-4025
https://www.lowakesteakhouse.com/

CLOSED Mick's Just Good Food but still OPEN Niko's Greek Restaurant--short reviews on Yelp

Mick's "Just Good Food" --CLOSED

Niko's Greek Restaurant

Fuzzy's Taco Shop--Abilene location

For New Year's Eve my husband and I went to a movie at the local mall and then decided to eat at Fuzzy's Taco Shop when we got out of the theater at 8:30pm. Fuzzy's is located adjacent to the mall in small shopping center (used to be a pool hall/bar called Rack Daddy's). As with any new restaurant chain in Abilene it took a while for the crowds to thin out but even so after 3 months of being in business it was surprisingly deserted for a place with a full bar and relatively inexpensive food on NYE.

Fuzzy's is not a sit down and order restaurant. You go through the line and order your food, they give you a number and you pick it up. What differentiates them from fast food is the full bar and the slightly higher prices. This type of establishment should be pretty popular in Abilene with a large Air Force base and lots of college students, especially since they don't close their doors until late (M-F until midnight, 1am on Saturday and 11pm on Sunday) and open at 7am. Plus, they are in a heavy traffic area. The crowd that was in there on New Year's was decided older. Kind of unexpected. There were a few 20somethings and two large groups of 60-70somethings. We were the only people that were in the middle age bracket.


Fuzzy's advertises Baja style Mexican food. The main difference is the addition of cilantro, feta cheese and a garlic sauce on their tacos along with the usual iceberg lettuce, tomato and cheddar topping.  All nice additions to most taco flavors. I ordered a plate so I had my choice of many different meats and three types of tortillas; crispy, corn or flour.  I went with a shrimp tempura (not really tempura batter but fried shrimp) and a spicy shredded pork, both flour. One of them was missing the feta. The plate came with two sides, also of my choice...refried beans and cilantro lime rice. My companion got three tacos; chorizo, egg, and cheese, ground beef and  I believe the third was shredded beef. We also got seasoned chips and salsa as an appetizer. I am not a wimp when it comes to spice/heat in my food but be warned, the salsa has a real kick and lots of flavor. So much so that after eating it, my taste buds were dulled when I ate my tacos. Of all the tacos, we agreed that the shredded pork and the breakfast taco were the best.  Breakfast tacos are served all the time. Salsa and pickled jalapenos are not free, no salsa bar. Skip the side dishes, not impressive and boost the cost more than they should. They do have other items such as burritos, fajitas, tamales, nachos, and some grilled sandwiches.

Taco plate with cilantro lime rice and refried beans

Service was indifferent. Didn't see a manager around. They could use some more people to bus tables and wash dishes. Quite a bit of seating but not a lot a parking. On the positive side the outdoor enclosed patio would be inviting on a less chilly night. Televisions tuned to sports were scattered around but not turned up too loud.

All in all it was an okay experience but not a place I'll regularly visit unless I happen to be by the mall or have friends who want to go. Next time I will try the chips and white queso and/or guacamole.  As far as chains like this, I like Yucatan Taco Stand. The food quality is better.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop
3351 Turner Plaza Drive, Suite 100
Abilene, TX 79606
Ph: 325-701-9521
Facebook

Comal serves delicious and authentic New Mexico style food in Ruidoso, NM

Guacamole tostada, chicken enchilada and chile rellano with green chile

Chimichanga with red chile and chicken enchilada with green chile

My husband and I were looking for some authentic New Mexico style Mexican food and that means chile-- green, red or both. We found it at Comal. A family run restaurant in mid-town Ruidoso. When you walk in the place looks very small but they have additional seating inside around the corner from the front part of the restaurant and outside as well. The meal started with the traditional chips and hot sauce. The chips were a bit on the thick side for my taste but the hot sauce was spicy and made with red chili, very tasty. We began our meal with a bowl of the sopa Azteca which is a chicken tortilla soup with red chili...absolutely delicious! For my entree, I ordered a combination meal with a guacamole tostada, chicken enchilada and chile relleno with green sauce, rice and beans. My spouse ordered the same except he substituted a beef chimichanga with red sauce for the chile relleno. What really stood out was the quality of the sauces. They were spicy, aromatic, authentic and perfectly wonderful.  I particularly enjoyed the guacamole. It was very fresh and had a hint of sweetness to it. I am still trying to figure out what the secret ingredient was...maybe some agave. The owner also sent out complimentary sopapillas for us.

The service was very attentive. We ate at 3pm in the afternoon so only the owners, a husband and wife team, were working. Before leaving town on our last day, we stopped a second time for lunch. I ordered the enmoldas which are chicken-stuffed corn tortillas with mole sauce on top, an interior Mexican dish. That mole was the best I have ever eaten! I could smell the cinnamon in it. I also couldn't resist getting another guacamole tostada. The chile relleno my husband ordered was too cold and greasy but the rest of his meal was very tasty. He went with the chimichanga and chicken enchilada both with red chile sauce. We left stuffed and happy.

I highly recommend Comal if you are traveling to Ruidoso, NM. The atmosphere is cozy and the prices are extremely reasonable. All the entrees were less than $10. It can be a bit hard to spot from the street but it is worth the search. No alcohol is served.

Comal

2117 Sudderth Dr
Ruidoso,NM 88345-6137

575-258-1397

In the Gazebo Shopping Center 

Open 11am-8pm Wednesday through Monday, Closed on Tuesday

Yucatan Taco Stand in Fort Worth

Need a lunch while out shopping?  Give the Yucatan Taco Stand a go. We ordered the garlic shredded beef nachos to share. Judging by how many people I saw eating nachos, they are a popular item. The tortilla chips were thin and light and you can order a variety of meats as a topping or have vegetarian. They come topped with three types of cheese; melted Chihuahua cheese, chile con queso, and queso fresco. There is also roasted garlic sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro, cabbage, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, and fresh guacamole. The garlic shredded beef had an Asian flavor to me but it was a good mix with the other items on the plate. There was not a lot of meat on the nachos but all the other toppings made up for it.

Shredded beef nachos

I also had a fish taco served in double white corn tortillas. The fish was tempura battered and not greasy at all. My sister had the ground sirloin taco. Best of all they were only $3.25 each.

The restaurant is located in the hospital district on Magnolia. You stand in line to order and then find a table but it doesn't feel "fast food" due to the extensive menu and upscale decor.  There is also a bar area. It is not very big space so I imagine it can get crowded at times. There are also patio tables outside.

I look forward to going back and trying one of the specialty dishes next time and the pork nachos.

 

Yucatan Taco Stand

909 W Magnolia Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76104 • 817-924-8646