The Pecan Grove Café in Leona, TX - A Review
Rarely am I inflicted with the type of spontaneity that finds me pulling off on the side of the road to visit a diner I’ve never heard of. Luckily, your favorite hometown editor Richard Sirman is exactly the type of spontaneous creature that pulls off on the side of the road to introduce his friends to well-reviewed, well-hidden, and well-established restaurants.
We found ourselves at the Pecan Grove Café on a hot Friday afternoon, right at lunchtime. I silently pulled up Yelp! and Google Reviews to try and read about the café prior to going in, but T-Mobile clearly hadn’t made it this far out into the country yet and I couldn’t get anything to load.
When we arrived, we were greeted by two beautiful, healthy-looking dogs that sat obdurately underneath a large tree, tails wagging in the shade at anyone coming into the restaurant. It was difficult to not approach the dogs before going in, as I am a dog-fiend and want to pet all of them, all the time, always. Alas, I didn’t want strange dog hands before touching my food, so we went inside.
The Pecan Grove Café radiates with history. Old wood creaked beneath our feet, an antique typewriter sat quietly next to our table, observing those who graced its presence for God knows how many years. Relics from another age lined the walls and the general décor, giving historical significance to the largely unfamiliar.
Our waiter was a wonderfully bubbly woman named Jamie, who attended to us frequently and provided us with information about the food we hadn’t ordered yet that ended up being greatly appreciated to ward off the choice paralysis.
I ordered the Ground Ribeye Burger, its description reads: Made with ground ribeye on a grilled bun served with chips: $9. Add cheddar, bacon, grilled onions, or grilled jalapenos for $1 each. I opted for bacon and cheddar, no vegetables—because I am a monster. I skipped the Lays Chips and ordered French fries with it, because I’m a sensible monster whose love language is freshly fried potato.
After about fifteen minutes or so, our food was brought out to us. I can only hope the photo I took does justice to the food I had, because damn that burger was good. The Ground Ribeye Burger is a layered texture experience worth making a trip for.
A soft, buttered bun that gets lightly crispy on the inside, perfectly cooked crispy bacon, creamy cheddar cheese, and a ribeye patty that was seared to perfection—browned to accentuate the final stop on this journey of textures and juicy to the last bite.
I would be robbing you of an experience were I not to also mention how good those fries were. To my palette, they seemed to have been fried twice, and they were all the better for it. Salted professionally and still soft inside the way you’d expect an immaculate French fry to be. I imagine anyone who forgoes the fries in favor of Lays Chips ends up smiling in regret as they’re left to observe the people around them experiencing fried ecstasy.
The worst part of the experience we had at The Pecan Grove in Leona was the part where we had to leave. It was an excellent experience I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone craving a road trip and good American food.
And to the dogs waiting happily under that large, shaded tree: I promise I will come back to pet you, and I will learn your names next time.
*If any restaurants in Madison County enjoyed this review and would like their establishments reviewed in our paper, please contact Gage Matthieu by phone: 936-257-2804 or by email: Gage.Matthieu@madisonvillemeteor.com
