Elm Creek Cafe

On my occasional trips from Byrant College Station back to Austin, in the middle of desolate Hwy 21, I'll run into a quaint little place called Elm Creek Cafe. It's been around for 16 years, this was my 2nd visit there since my last review in late 2010. My how time flies.

It's good to still see this place standing, and even though it's been a couple of years I still remember what I loved - - the Chicken Fried Steak and Dewberry Pie. This visit was quite late and I'm in a rush to get home, so I put in a to-go order for a large CFS with white and brown gravy, side of fries, and a piece of Dewberry Pie. I also noticed Fried Green Tomatoes on the menu - never tried them but why not give 'em a shot too.

There's a small salad bar set-up which comes with your dinner, I opt to eat it there while I waited for my food instead of taking it home. Everything on it was so fresh - the leafy green lettuce, 3 types of pasta salads, red bean salad, and the peas were so tasty! Best I've had in a while.

Here comes my order - packed up and ready to go. When I get home and get settled I opened up the package and laid out the spread. First off - holy moly the large CFS is big enough to feed a small tribe in Africa, or a half a trailer community, or the entire floor of an office building. It was massive! Picture your typical to-go large styrofoam container - open it up, this CFS will cover both sides so it has to be folded to fit (holy sh*t!). They gave me plenty of fries, and the container was so heavy it weighted down my car - - the gas mileage dropped significantly. Their CFS is flattened, loved the crispy batter (you can have it grilled), I'd say it was one of THE BEST CFS's I've ever had for sure.

The Fried Green Tomatoes surprised me - quite awesome! They were also large marge, the size of a medium slider, and you dip it in their homemade ranch dressing which was also da bomb! The best damn fried green tomatoes I've ever had. Ever.

The piece of Dewberry Pie was as good as the last time I remember, a lady makes all their pies and cakes and brings them in - - at times they have lemon, coconut cream, pecan, chocolate, and more. Today it was just Dewberry - fine by me.

Small town feel here, they are very nice and accommodating. The waitress was on top of the chefs in the back to make sure my order was correct and out in a jiffy. The nice grandma hostess who greeted me got me a water to-go for my trip back home. Prices are moderate here, but they don't skimp on the good stuff, it's high quality and you sure do get more for your money. I have enough CFS and fried green tomatoes to last me the rest of the week, and I'll definitely make sure that I don't wait another 2 years to come back to this wonderful place.

Elm Creek Cafe has been around for years. I came here when I was a kid and I'm old now.

They serve steaks, burgers, seafood and quail. Pies are great; especially the dewberry.

My favorite is the grilled chicken fried steak. One of the few places that fix it the way my mom used to...

Yummy!

This place is ADORABLE!!! The menu was great and the food was exactly what you'd expect from a local, homegrown cafe! Our waitress was so sweet and I loved the cafe/antique store vibe. I will definitely be coming back here if I'm ever traversing from Austin/San Antonio to Houston again anytime soon!

Ps- sorry no pics, but I ate my steak fingers way too fast! Delish!!!

Great spot for some homestyle cooking. We had passed this spot many times en route between Austin and College Station. Finally, we got to stop and try it out. My husband had the "small" chicken fried steak, which was gigantic. I had a grilled chicken platter and the salad bar. For dessert, we snatched their last two slices of homemade pie, which was the best part of the meal.

Thank you, Texas Monthly, for composing an insightful list of the Top 40 Small-Town Cafes. It's good to have a life mission, and visiting all 40 of these has become mine. Like, last week when I read the article, so I've only been to two places so far.

This is literally a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of place. However, my mom and I were on a mission to find the place. Out in the middle of nowhere, off a two-lane road, sits the Elm Creek Cafe, humble in its fried greatness.

I'd heard you could get the Chicken Fried Steak fried or grilled. A bit of a misnomer, but obviously, I went for the fried. My mom and I split the small...which was HUGE. Seriously, I want to see the large. It was the size of our plate. For $8.99, we also got a side of fried okra and one trip to the salad bar.

I scoffed at the salad bar, sitting there quietly in some kind of "Sizzler style" wagon off to the side. Then I read in an interview that they take great pride in their bar--the dressing is made in house, and apparently there's a sauerkraut salad that'll knock your socks off. My bad. I'll pay more attention next time. I was impressed that it was Romaine lettuce, not your typical Iceberg.

Back to the meat. The CFS was tender enough to cut with a fork, and my fried okra was hot and crispy. But I loved my dessert the most: dewberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It had a streusel topping and some serious buttermilk-style filling going on. It. Was. Amazing.

I saw some old geezer ask for two orders of fried frog legs, so I'm guessing that's pretty good as well. And there's quail....

If you're in Austin, take a road trip out to the Elm Creek. Oh, and they also sell antiques in the restaurant. Could it get any better?!! Antiquing and eating pie...sounds like a perfect Hill Country day trip to me.

Staff was very kind and accommodating. Walked up asking for the world, with a dog. And we figured something out.

Facility was very sketchy, tons of bugs. -1

The food was great, (sorry no pics) had onion rings and salsa to start. Wife had catfish, kids ate all there nuggets and dogs.

Dewberry pie... Has the berries on top custard bottom light flakey crust. A must try! Before they run out, order while giving food request.

Great food and great service:) the portion sizes are huge. Everything I had was delicious. I had the chicken fried steak, jalapeño bottle caps and lemon meringue pie. All were excellent. The small salad bar was fresh. The ranch dressing is quite good.

It's definitely worth stopping in for a bite.

Yelp directions were a bit off but eventually found it.

While in Giddings, we decided to check this place out based on the reviews. Upon walking in, we were greeted with a friendly smile by the owner. It's always nice to see the owner in the restaurant, especially when it's a sweet elderly woman that reminds you of your grandma. The place is part antique knick-knacks for sale & part restaurant. We both had the chicken fried steak, which was great! Of course, being in Texas, it hung over the plate! Fries were probably frozen, but they were surprisingly good. They kind of had a beer-battered flavor. No sweet tea; have to sweeten yourself. I had to try the infamous dewberry pie, so I only ate half of my meal. I'm sure glad I did! The pie is homemade & had a thin, flaky crust. Get it with a scoop of ice cream - heaven! We live outside of Nashville, TN, so I'm not sure we'll ever be back. If you're passing through, be sure to stop by here.

Was passing by 3/7/18 and saw a For Sale sign on the building. Called the telephone number and it appeared to be disconnected.

I could justify my 5 star review with one sentence:

"I've lived in Texas my entire adult life, and this is the best Chicken Fried Steak I've ever eaten."

This place is a gem. The CFS is served either fried or grilled. I chose grilled and it was everything the other reviewers have said and more. The simple salad bar was so fresh, it must be from local growers. It reminds me of eating right out of my parents garden as a kid. The buttermilk pie for desert was as good as any i've ever eaten.

I would say that this place being in the middle of nowhere is a downside, but frankly it would be standing room only if it were in Austin, Bryan, or San Antonio.

It's a 50 mile drive from my office... and I plan on eating there again. How's that for a recommendation?