The Texan Cafe

The Texan Cafe

By Melissa Mixon Friday, 09 April 2010

Ten years ago, Roger Joughin was in his native Michigan celebrating his mother’s 80th birthday when they stopped at a cabin that was reminiscent of those from his childhood road trips with family.

The people who owned the cabin told him that they had no experience in running a motel prior to buying it.

“They just bought it on their own and decided that’s what they wanted to do,” Joughin said. “I had 30-some years experience [in the restaurant business] and thought then that I might be able to own a restaurant.”

He checked classified ads for restaurants for sale and would follow up by visiting the ones that seemed promising. But none felt right—both in price and quality—until he visited The Texan Café in Hutto a few years ago, which was for sale at the time.

In 2006, he and co-owner Ron Yaudes bought the sunny, old timey café situated at the end of a row of local shops and restaurants in Hutto’s old downtown.

The two have added their own personal touches to the restaurant—including changes to recipes and additions to the menu—but they’ve maintained the basic foundation that was created by the café’s original owners and that has been drawing both locals and out-of-towners to the café since 1996.

“The original owners did such an awesome job,” Joughin said. “All I had to do is come in and gradually tweak it to my interests and tastes a little more and get a few more old-time flavors in.”

Among the additions is a hostess stand at the front of the café so that when diners walk in they are warmly greeted and— depending on the time of day—immediately seated. The café is large, with two connected rooms, so even during the busiest hours guests are still seated promptly and attended to by a staff that is friendly and accommodating.

The café has made a name for itself in making traditional Southern food taste just like it is supposed to: rich with flavor, authentic and home-cooked.

No better dish to fit this description than the Texan’s fried green tomatoes ($5.50). When I took a bite of the Texan’s fried green tomatoes, I realized what I had been missing out on for most of my life. The batter the tomatoes are fried in has cayenne pepper and, believe it or not, lemonade, which, Joughin said, gives it a spicy and sweet kick. He tweaked the recipe originally used at the café gradually and would regularly poll customers on what they thought.

While I’m talking classic dishes, the chicken fried steak ($7.59) can compete with any I’ve had in this area. The steak comes smothered in a white gravy that gives added moisture and flavor to the dish but does not overrun it so that the meal turns soggy or unsavory.

Joughin hopes his cafe is similar to those of the '50s and '60s that he enjoyed.

“I’m not a big chain person, though I do go to them from time to time, but I enjoy getting to go from one little town to another," he said. "The cafés have such good food and the people are so nice, so that’s what I’m kind of wanted to give back to people."