Monday, May 07, 2007




This photo was taken in the Luby's Cafeteria over on Mockingbird between Skillman and Abrams last week.

I loves me some Luby's. I probably eat at one Luby's or another around town 4 or 5 times a week, minimum. The great thing is you can get plain-jane vegetables, choose sensibly from the entrees and if you manage not to make sweet love to the come-hither pie shelf, well, you can have a guilt-free, healthy meal that's not aneurysm-on-a-plate.

I understand people who are careful what they eat, and that is admirable, to a point. Then again, one would hate to go overboard. I mean, the people who exercise obsessively claim they add years to their life by doing so, and yet, what's the good of an extra year of life if by the end of the day, you've spent 3 or 4 years of your life in a nasty gym with a bunch of manky arseholes who couldn't manage a conversation gripping enough for a department-store dummy?

Anyhoo, today my mind cast back to one event past, and life's little irony made me giggle.

Someone in my acquaintance sat at a dinner table with a group of people about 13 years ago, and when his burger was brought to the table, he was upset to see it arrive replete with lettuce and tomatoes. I said "you don't like that stuff on your burger?" and he said "I don't eat rabbit food. I hate vegetables. Never eat 'em."

I shrugged. Chacun à son goût. Or as my mom says it, "there's no accounting for taste."

Flash forward these many moons to find he has married [record scratch effect here] a dietician, and now he only eats vegetables, tofu and grainy-type dishes reminiscent of cardboard and sawdust. On super-special rare occasions as a treat, he gets to eat beef cooked to a tasteless gray. Yum!

So recently, a group of people were going out to eat at Luby's, including this guy, and he asked if the wife wanted to come and she said "No. They don't have anything I can eat there."

Suit yourself, petal. Happy trail mix to you.

OH, and for the record -- three of the best cafeterias I've ever found are 1. Luby's near the highway in Wichita Falls (I had some squash there once that nearly made me weep!), 2. Furr's in Roswell, NM - fantastic place, good food, and lots of military folk eating there - what's not to like. Oh, and they have a little old blind guy sing and play his electric piano there sometimes, and 3. Bryce's Cafeteria in Texarkana - When in season, you can get fried green tomatoes at this one - heaven.

Honorable Cafeteria mention goes to Casa Linda Cafeteria, formerly Highland Park Cafeteria. They were turned out of their lease a couple months back, despite their booming business. Such a tragedy - this was the SE corner of Garland and Buckner, and was worth the drive, frankly. Tragic loss to the city. I hope they'll open again elsewhere.

16 comments:

Ambulance Driver said...

Health nuts are going to feel really stupid one day when they're lying in hospitals dying of absolutely nothing.

phlegmfatale said...

For real, AD - what a bunch of dullards!

J.R.Shirley said...

Tofu causes cancer.


Really.

Lay off the soy, man! Soy sauce and miso are okay (in moderation- sodium) because of the fermentation, evidently.

Tickersoid said...

I eat whatever I want. Just not too much of it.

The trick with going to the gym is to love the whole experience. it's an oasis of stress free endorphine fun.
Don't do too much and put yourself off. Just enjoy the feel of your own body working. When it stops feeling good, stop. As a bonus, you start to look good which boosts self esteem.

Anonymous said...

Lubys, yummy!

Anonymous said...

Luby's good, but Furr's better.

All you can eat, people. For the same price as Luby's meat and two.

HollyB said...

I don't generally like veggies on my cheese and bacon burger...but that's b/c I don't like it when the bun gets all "mushy-gushy". That spoils the effect of ordering CRISP bacon.
OTOH, I love these new wedge salads restaurants are offering. Just a hunk of lettuce, some tomatoes, maybe some bacon, and dressing dribbled over all of it. Now that's a GOOD salad.
And I've been known to go to Black-eyed Pea, or Good Eats just for the Veggie Plate. I do love some veggies. A local Steak House offers Fried Green 'maters as an appetizer. If their red meat wasn't so darn good, I'd just have a double order of the 'maters.

none said...

Lubys used to be good, for some reason they have gone to hell in my town, dirty restaurant, watery tasteless food and absent tea fetchers.

I wrote a letter and got a gift card but they didn't fix a damn thing.

FHB said...

LOVE the chicken fried steak, and that strawberry, whipped cream thing.

phlegmfatale said...

jrshirley - wouldn't surprise me. Everything gives you cancer.

tickersoid - if Dallas gyms were full of men like you, you wouldn't need to persuade me to go there.

lainy - good stuff!

homebru - well, I'll pay the extra, because I think Luby's food is better - just my opinion. The best Furr's I've been to in ages is in Roswell NM.

hollyb - i'm with you on the veggie plates at BEP and Good Eats. Yum.

hammer - sorry to hear about that - it's sad when a big company lets a good thing go bad - they kill the business and what people were coming there for in the first place

fathairybastard - well, the dessert I tend to succumb to at Luby's is the fluffier, more whipped-cream version of cheesecake with graham cracker crust on top and bottom. Yum!

Tickersoid said...

That's the nicest thing said to me all week. Apart from when Surfer dude asked me if I wanted yet another doughnut.

Becky said...

Yum, I miss having a Luby's nearby. I remember being hesitant to try it the first time, thinking of school cafeteria food, but after my first try, I could never turn it down.

Dick said...

I need to hit up a Luby's soon. We have one in Grapevine which will do nicely.
Although, I do miss Furr's and their all you can eat deal.

Anonymous said...

Mrs Myron got way upset when the Pappas brothers bought into Luby's and one of the first changes they made was to stop serving chocolate merengue pie. And now they've gone and screwed up Luther's BBQ. Good thing I have a smoker, huh? But we still eats us some chicken fried steak and mashed taters. She eats healty and gets corn or green beans. I get the fried okra.

LJ said...

"Suit yourself, petal"???
Oh lord but you crack me up.

phlegmfatale said...

tickers - well, if I'm second fiddle, at least it's to something splendid

becky, it ROCKS, dunnit?

dick - there are still some Furr's around, but I don't like their recipes as well

myron - Yup, you gotta love the chicken fried steak with cream gravy. Yum.

lj - tee hee!