Texas Highland Lakes

TEXAS HIGHLAND LAKES THE UNKOWN HILL COUNTRY

WORDS Andrew Chalk

The Texas Hill Country is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country. However, most visitors think of Fredericksburg, Kerrville, or New Braunfels as the prime destinations. There is another choice that you may want to check out that works for families, couples, singles and groups. Burnet County, an hour northwest of Austin and north of Fredericksburg is chock full of scenic vistas, varied wildlife, one of the 20 largest lakes in Texas (Lake Buchanan), state parks, caverns, and chair lift rides, accompanied by your mountain bike, to the top of a mountain.

The County does not stop at great outdoors. The two main towns, the county seat of Burnet and the dramatically situated riverside town of Marble Falls are stocked with a varied selection of restaurants. There are several wineries that win medals at the San Francisco wine competitions (the most competitive in the country) and craft breweries, including one that gives all of its profits to charity.

CANYON OF THE EAGLES

Undoubtedly the most spectacular accommodation is Canyon of the Eagles. This is a 940 acre resort set in a state park that provides 16 individual cottages for guests (62 bedrooms in total). It is located imposingly on a point that juts into Lake Buchanan. The Lake is the largest of the Texas Highland Lakes , over 30 miles long and 5-7 miles wide. Canyon of the Eagles is reached by a long scenic road that terminates at the front gate. My 300 square foot standard cottage featured a queen size bed, a couch, desk, separate bathroom, and porch with a rocking chair. But, the special treat was that the whole of one wall was windows looking south, down the bluff, at Lake Buchanan. Each morning, silent fishing boats would glide frictionlessly along the silvery surface as I took it all in. The peace, the sense of solitude, were ‘priceless’, in the idiom of a popular advert.

Other huts have two rooms for families, or microwaves and refrigerators.

Each morning I would hike the 300 yards to The Overlook restaurant, a baronial wooden

hunting lodge where the resort serves its meals. Breakfast was a large buffet most days and à la carte on others.

In the resort there are also conference facilities for up to 500 people, meeting rooms, a recreation room with bar, laundry, gift shop and reception area for questions like “How do I log into the WiFi from my room?”

Stepping out of the cottage area alternative accommodations consist of 25 RV sites and 33 campsites. Some within feet of the lake.

Outside the buildings are an amphitheatre for live events, Monarch butterfly programs to conserve the species and an observatory from which the heavens can be viewed from one of the least light polluted places in the Hill Country under the guidance of an expert astronomer.

The bulk of the 940 acres is nature preserve and takes its name from the fact that bald eagles are seasonally observable. They are, indeed, the stars of all the wildlife. There are three miles of private shoreline and 14 miles of trails. During our visit Robert Lindsey, a veteran of 39 years with The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, gave us a lecture on the various snake species found in the area accompanied by members of each type and Jim Sheets gave astronomical displays at the observatory each night.

This actually brings up an important thing. Many of the nature activities are guided by experts. You aren’t just left unguided or reading signs. If I had young children I would jump at taking them for a stay at Canyon of The Eagles for the chance to concentrate so much natural knowledge into just a few days.

OVERLOOK RESTAURANT

This is the signature restaurant at the Canyon of The Eagles. Situated on the banks of Lake Buchanan, the restaurant is constructed of rough hewn varnished wood and local stone, with windows on three sides. The latter architectural feature makes for spectacular sunset views. Eating here is redolent of eating in a baronial hunting lodge. The New American menu has some standouts. For me the Chicken-Fried Wild Boar, literally the famed southern chicken-fry preparation applied to wild boar, was a standout, although come hungry if you are going to bet that you can finish it.

The restaurant also serves breakfast and lunch and has a full bar, even featuring some local Texas beers and wines.

FALL CREEK VINEYARDS

Just across the Colorado River from Canyon of the Eagles is the oldest winery in The Hill Country, Fall Creek Vineyards. It was founded by Ed and Susan Auler in 1975 after a cattle buying trip to France turned into an extended romance with wine. Fall Creek today produces some of the best wine in the state. This site, located in Tow, is supplemented with another facility in Driftwood, adjacent to the famed Salt Lick Barbecue.

Ed Auler played a big part in Texas wine when he petitioned for and succeeded in establishing the Texas Hill Country AVA in 1991. In the last decade the perspicacity of that decision has become clear as the Texas Hill Country has become the showroom for Texas wines, second only to Napa Valley in the number of visitors.

The winery also made a pathbreaking step in 2016 when they went out on the global labor market to find a winemaker. They hired Sergio Cuadra from Chile’s Concha y Toro who brought over 20 years of experience to the role. The results were almost immediate with a Sauvignon Blanc that represented essentially a Texas expression of that grape, part way between the austere, steely styles of

the Loire and the lusher, forward fruit examples of California. Shortly after a GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend) followed that also won high praise. Since that time all Fall Creek wines have tracked the best available in the state with the highpoint being a line named ExTerra consisting of a Mourvèdre, a Syrah, and a Tempranillo that each scored 91 points from noted international critic, James Suckling. A visit and tasting at their Tow location is an easy boat trip across the river or a short journey by road.

OPIE’S BBQ SPICEWOOD

“Life is Good in Spicewood, TX” it reads on the home page of Opie’s BBQ. Doubtless Opie’s sees itself as a major reason for that. I would agree, but also give a shout out to Spicewood Vineyards where Ron Yates et. al. make one of the best Tempranillo wines in the state.

Enter the prefabricated steel building, past the sign that reads “Butter Beans are Dine In Only! No whining, crying, or exceptions! Thank You!”, admiring the liberal use of exclamation marks, and you face a giant warming chest on your right from which a pit hand will offer the meat available and place your order on a paper covered tray. The menu fills an imposing chalk board on the wall behind the pit and can be quite a lot to take in on your first visit. I stepped back and let the next group in line go first as I made up my mind. Opie’s is so far

out from urbanised Austin that it can only have a line of customers every day because it is so good. I could not get my choice wrong.

I recommend the brisket (burnt ends is my M.O.) for its succulence, and charred flavors (pitmaster Seth Glaser cooks it on Mesquite wood). The jalapeño cheese sausage for an exciting combination of flavors (although these are not made in house, they are made to Opie’s recipe), potato salad, tater tot casserole for crispy, cheesy indulgence, earthy and al dente butter beans, and the homemade banana pudding with homemade shortbread cookies. The beans and banana pudding are Fridays to Sundays only and the beans are self-serve from a giant pot on the fixins’ table in the center of the room. While you eat, you are likely to be entertained by live music. However, there is no beer, wine, or liquor, and it would be so nice to drink a cold one on a hot Texas day.

Opie’s adds up to one welcoming, as well as filling establishment. The owners are Todd and Kristen Ashmore (former husband and wife who still work together after their split -- amazing huh?) interestingly both come from outside the restaurant, or even the hospitality industry. However, they loved barbecue and decided to start their own place in 1999. Now, Opie’s (named after a former dog they owned) is an institution sought out by barbecue fans all over the state. Like all barbecue joints in Texas hours may be cut short if they run out of meat.

BURNET

The city of Burnet is the county town of Burnet County and, as is typical of county towns in Texas’ 254 counties, is centered around a town square with an imposing, classically styled, courthouse in the center. The town of roughly 6,000 residents has grown steadily, in part due to tourism and indigenous industry and in part due its strategic location within commuting distance of Austin (60 miles) and Round Rock (44 miles). The natural attractions of the city of Burnet are a hilly, rural location near some of the largest and most usable lakes in Texas (Lake Buchanan is just 5 miles away).

Most visitors and passers-through enter from either US 281 (the main north-south route which runs from Dallas to San Antonio) or State Highway 29 (which runs roughly east-west from Georgetown to Llano). US 281, in particular, is lined with the usual variety of cheap chains, gas stations, and strip malls. The key is to find the town’s square, just one block to the east. There are two destinations of note there.

WEDDING OAK WINERY

Wedding Oak Winery was founded in San Saba in 2011. They established a Burnet tasting room one block off the square in 2019 in an historic building constructed from local stone. They are

committed to making au- thentic Texas wines, so conse- quently use only Texas grapes. Their wines have won dozens of medals at wine competi- tions including the most competitive ones in San Fran- cisco, where they competed against wines from California and the world.

The Burnet tasting room has a tasting counter, event space, and an impressive up- stairs outdoor patio overlooking the town square. When you visit, try the albarino, marsanne, roussanne, treb- biano, and viognier among the whites, and the sangio- vese, tempranillo, and Texedo (a dolcetto, touriga nacional blend), and Tioja (a tempra- nillo, garnacha blend) among the reds. If you are a rosé fan, the Rosato di Sangiovese, from sangiovese with a touch of cinsault, won double gold at the San Francisco Interna- tional Wine Competition and is wonderful to quaff on a hot Texas summer day.

Wedding Oak wines pair well with food from Texas barbecue to Mexican stew to Texas beef.

TRAILBLAZER GRILLE

I can’t count the number of times I have driven through the bustling County Town of Burnet on my way south to San Antonio or north to Dal- las and wanted to stop for a real meal but did not know of anything except the chains that pepper U.S. 281. A media event at Trailblazer Grille on Burnet’s handsome town square changed all that. The restaurant is now a perma- nent yellow star on Google maps on whichever device I log in to. Here’s why…

The country cooking restaurant has a broad menu. Chicken pot pie with carrots, celery, peas, onions and po- tatoes, topped with a golden brown buttery crust is the signature dish, and I can see why. This is the apogee of comfort food. The reasonable price includes a side. Choose the baked mac and cheese which is a chewy, creamy source of bliss or, if you fancy a vegetable, try the fried okra for a crispy off the beaten path example. So popular is the pot pie that the kitchen may run out of them before the end of service, even though they make about 50 every day. If that happens, meat loaf, or cowboy chicken can substitute.

The menu as a whole has burgers, ribeye and sirloin steaks, a range of salads, rich broccoli and cheese soup, and a selection of sandwiches where, to my palate, the robust reuben is the star. Pe- scophiles will find shrimp or catfish. For appetizers look for the jalapeño poppers which are weaponized with a wrap- ping of bacon.

It is pretty much a vain hope but do try to save room for dessert (or bring an extra stomach). The pies are made in-house and whether it is coconut cream pie, original cheesecake, homemade peach cobbler or pecan pie these are unquestionably weapons of mass expansion. To top it all off there is live

music on Tuesdays and Sat- urdays.

There are at least three reasons that everything tastes so good. One is that Trail- blazer Grille is a (from) scratch kitchen, so be prepared to wait a bit while your food is cooked. Second, there are several trained chefs on the kitchen staff. And third, own- ers Trace and Liz Catlin, origi- nally from Houston, worked for years in the food industry and in 2000 started a gour- met food consulting business. They bring that long experi- ence to bear.

Their purchase of the premises that became Trail- blazer Grille was a big life piv- ot that happened by chance when the Catlin’s dined in the former restaurant in 2012 and found that the owner was looking to sell. By 2013 they had sold up in Houston and moved to Burnet.

Houston’s loss is Burnet’s gain. The Trailblazer Grille is, in the words of a well known tire salesman, “worth a detour”.

TORR NA LOCHS WIN- ERY

Four miles west of Bur- net on SH 29 there is the winery that may have the most spectacular overlook of any winery in Texas. Torr Na Lochs Vineyard and Winery was founded in 2014 by Blake and Karen DeBerry. They were living in Scotland at the time, the latest assignment of Blake’s in the global oil industry. There, they formu- lated their next project for after they returned to their native Texas. They purchased a 180-acre ranch and named it with the Gaelic for ‘Hill Over Lakes’. As they say “Two years of weekends preparing the vineyard culminated with the planting of our first three acres of vines”. The tasting room opened in September 2015. From the windows, or outside on the patio, Inks Lake and Lake Buchanan stretch like a glistening carpet 1250 feet below into the distance. Little wonder that although a young winery, Torr Na Lochs is a tourist favorite.

Today, they use their own fruit and fruit purchased from other Texas vineyards to make a solid selection of 100% Texas wines. Among their wines, the Albarino and Roussanne are noteworthy among the whites, and Mon- tepulciano and Tempranillo among the reds.

MARBLE FALLS

The entrance to Marble Falls from the north or south on US 281 is dramatic. The ground takes a dramatic dip down to the Colorado River, widened at this point to be Lake Marble Falls, clasping the river between its banks. Riverside homes cling to the hills to the left and right of the highway and leisure boats sit in dock below. A mile east is the Max Starcke Dam, completed in 1951 to create the lake and generate hydroelectric power. The lake affords lots of opportunities for recreation, highlighted each August by a large drag boat race in which contestants hy- droplane at over 250 MPH.

Westwards down the

river are a series of home developments reflecting the growth of the town, particularly since the 1970s as a second home and retirement community. This topography and its proximity to the state capital of Austin, a drive that takes one hour plus (steadily worsening) traffic, make it a popular tourist destination.

If you previously saw Marble Falls as a pretty spot on the drive from Dallas to San Antonio, you may want to stop and take in some of the food and beverage offerings.

BLUE BONNET CAFE

This 91-year old youngster has justifiably made the rank of ‘icon’ in Marble Falls, and to travellers on U.S. 281 between Dallas and San Antonio. Blue Bonnet Café is an old-fashioned diner The name refers to the item of women’s clothing, not the state flower (although the flowers do grow in the flower bed by the front door). They are best known for their homemade daily pies. Between 3 and 5pm is “Pie Happy Hour” when you can get pie and a drink for a discounted price. Regular flavors are chocolate, coconut, lemon, banana, German chocolate, fudge, peanut butter, apple, cherry, pecan, and no sugar-added apple. Also special is the daily homemade soup. Locals favorites are pot roast and chicken fried steak.

I was there for breakfast (which is conveniently served all day) so it was ham and patty sausage omelette which comes served with

hash browns or grits, and several variants of bread (biscuits for me). The omelette heaved with filling and might be enough to last a whole day.

Owners John and Belinda Kemper have run the café since 1981. Belinda actually originated the famous pies. Their daughter and her husband, Dave Plante, moved back to Marble Falls in 2005 and are poised to take over. An enduring facet of the place is that it is ‘classless’. Not in the sense of having no class, but in attracting every class. They have served presidents (LBJ used to hold meetings in a side room, and George and Laura Bush came in), singers like Wille Nelson and Lyle Lovett, and thousands of ordinary Texans.

When you sit in the dining room it may appear oxymoronic to see lavish granite table tops in such an unpretentious establishment. In fact, John’s father ran a granite manufacturing business and used the café as essentially a showroom for his wares.

A major character trait John and Belinda seek in the staff is a love of people. Right from the friendly greeting, to the time you leave, the staff really treat you well. The average tenure of the 65 employees is eight years and some have been with the restaurant for over 25. The café provides health insurance, an employer-matched pension, paid vacation, free meals and sane hours (the café usually closes at 8pm or 9pm).

The owners also project

a philanthropic side in the community. Semi-annually they host a fish fry to raise funds for Marble Falls Area EMS (they provide all the food and labor). They also support local schools and nonprofits.

The awards for best café, best breakfast, best pie, etc. are too many to mention. What they add up to is a strong recommendation to try it next time you go through Marble Falls.

BEAR KING BREWING COMPANY

A stone’s throw from the Blue Bonnet Café is Bear King Brewing Company. Set in a modern low-slung building, the brewery and tasting room is just off US 281 and easy to miss from the road. That would be a pity as very competent brewing goes hand-in-hand with a serious commitment to food here.

The beers constitute a full line of styles with the Whisper Man Black IPA (ABV 6.8%/IBU 60/SRM 37) being a personal favorite. Contrary to craft beer form, the food is ‘much better than it needs to be’. For example, there are truffle fries, Texas poutine (loosely, poutine with brisket), addictive Bear King Blonde Beer Cheese, and half-pound burgers that are some of the best around. Patties are made from Certified Angus Beef (except the vegetarian one which is made from Beyond Meat®️ and appropriately named ‘The Greenhouse’) and there are four types (and imaginative types) of salad. MAIN STREET

Many passers-by of Marble Falls miss its secret heart. Perhaps because it is situated one block west and parallel to US 281. It is worth a stop as it is evolving into the vibrant core of the historic town.

First, take a browse through Marta Stafford Fine Art. Marta’s eclectic tastes in style and medium make her overflowing store much more lively than many art galleries. Outside on the sidewalk are numerous installations to liven up the area.

A few doors down is a park with a children’s play area and City Hall. From there it is just two minutes walk to Bill’s Burgers Wings & Things. This popular place for lunch is a locally-owned two site hamburger restaurant (the other is in Burnet). Dine in, or on the patio, or order take out. As well as food, Bill’s has a full bar. The food can be divided into burgers, salads, and TexMex. Obviously, the burgers take center stage, coming in single, double, and triple sizes to satisfy every appetite.

I tried the mushroom swiss, as I fancied a change from the common American cheese served on cheeseburgers. Mushrooms too, bring a unique taste to the burger belt: earthy and delicious. Plaudits to owners Amber and Max for making the fries from scratch instead of using the ubiquitous frozen fry shortcut. Sides are actually something of a first class member of the menu with big crispy onion rings and ba-

con cheddar French fries two of the most popular.

Another popular item is the green eggs and ham burger, which is green be- cause of green chilies, and has an egg on the bun. Common to all, and best of all, is the juiciness and tastiness of the burger patties.

Retrace your steps down Main as far as Third Street where Chocolatte’s offers deli- cious chocolate and toffee that can serve as dessert or presents to take home. They also serve homemade fudge and gelato.

Third street puts you just two blocks away from the restaurant with the best view over Lake Marble Falls, River City Grille. If weather permits try and get a table outside on the patio. The menu here is a hybrid of Tex-Mex, burger joint, fried chicken, steak house and prime rib, fish, and sandwich shop. It is arguably the broadest menu in town, offering lots of choice and filled with fan favorites. In ad- dition there is a full bar. Think of River City Grille as a fun, casual establishment with an A+ location.

SAVE THE WORLD BREWING COMPANY

Henceforth STWBC is a very unusual beast -- a phil- anthropically motivated craft brewer. Note, not a non-profit. This is a profit-seeking com- pany. The difference is that it gives all of its profits to char- ity. To date (February 2020) that is over $160,000 to chari- ties like Meals On Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Disaster Relief, Texas Area Food Banks, and others.

The folks behind this are Dave and Quynh Rathkamp. Both physicians, who made a major pivot in their lives to found and commit full time to STWBC. Dave is the brewer, and Quynh the chief opera- tions officer. Their output is now at a point where they have hired help in production and sales.

Dave’s style in beer is most inspired by Belgium, so look for liberal use of fruit flavors and potentially rocket fuel alcohol levels. The couple has a predilection for latin names for their beers, maybe it reminds them of writing prescriptions in ‘the good old days’. Quynh, so far as I can infer, also has a photo- graphic memory. After be- ing introduced to our group of five just once, she could field questions using our first names, without fault, thirty minutes later.

All of STWBC’s beers are carefully made and stand apart in the increasingly competitive craft brewing industry. They may just be too modest but I could not find any references to awards in beer shows. If they have not entered hitherto, they should think of doing so. The recog- nition would be synergistic to their philanthropy.

I particularly liked the Belgian Pale Ale, Belgian Tri- pel, and Belgian Quadrupel ales which reminded me that in many countries the bever- age of choice with food is beer, and not wine.

BEST CAJUN RESTAURANT IN THE TX HILL COUNTRY

I first ate at the Real New Orleans Style Restaurant on a final desperate plunge in the search for a Saturday night meal while on a trip to the Hill Country. I just scraped in under the 9pm deadline. I had no review or recommendation, creole or cajun food just sounded appetizing.

What a find. Ignore the weatherbeaten downtroddenness of the outside of the building (a former Mexican restaurant). Inside, the welcome is guaranteed to be as warm and rich as the spices in the gumbo and the étouffée. These totally unprepossessing premises are home to a friendly, committed staff serving superior crab cakes, addictive mac and crawfish, and étouffée that may be the best in central Texas.

The menu is broader at dinner than lunch. Lunch does sport the real home style gumbo and crawfish étouffée, but the other mains are more mainstream country cooking (e.g. fried fish, country fried steak). The New Orleans heart of lunch is the selection of five po-boys, iconic Louisiana sandwiches of crusty bread stuffed to the gills (no pun intended) with crawfish, oyster, shrimp, or catfish.

Dinner takes the Louisiana dishes of lunch and adds more. ‘Claudette’s’ crab cakes are big and filling, oyster brochettes are oysters wrapped in bacon and fried (a bayou variant of angels on horseback), fried crawfish tails are like mini lobster tails, served with a rosette sauce according to the menu, but I would bet that it is a rosetta sauce (a tartar variant with tomato paste). Shrimp creole was particularly good.

Sides are mainstream country cooking (macaroni & cheese, red beans and rice, french fries, etc.) except for the exceptional creole mainstay, jambalaya. Many sides go with the barbecue platter (sausage and chicken) as well.

There is a fairly plain selection of salads. A crowdpleaser kids menu, and desserts are home made. Look for things like bread pudding and lemon meringue pie.

One idiosyncrasy is that no alcohol is allowed. A disappointment to a wino like me with a nod to the centrality of the wine industry in the Texas Hill Country. But I can live with it, given the unimpeachable authenticity of the food.

THE BACKSTORY

The Real New Orleans Style Restaurant seems like a slice of Louisiana lifted by the scruff of the neck and plonked down in a part of the Texas Hill Country. That is figuratively close to what actually happened. Proceeds from the restaurant go to the Christian ministry that owns it, and its story is the reason that the food is so authentic.

The Smoking For Jesus Ministry (the name comes from a biblical reference) was founded in 1996 by a charismatic and energetic minister, Willie L. Monnet on Chef Menteur Hwy. in New Orleans’ 9th Ward. It eventually ran the church (a storefront premises), a restaurant named The Smokehouse, a beauty salon, car wash, administration offices, and two houses. Next door to the church was an empty block that the ministry bought and planned to use for their future new church. All this was in a rough neighborhood plagued with a high murder rate, ubiquitous drug dealing, and other street crime.

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina utterly devastated it all. In short order, fifty families evacuated in a convoy with just three days’ supply of clothes. After a grueling 12- hour drive they reached the Church Alive Ministry in Lumberton, near Beaumont, Texas. They intended to return to New Orleans but established that their buildings had been destroyed and there were no schools left for the 60 plus children. Hurricane Rita, a month after Katrina, sealed their fate and they headed northwest, further into Texas. A chance meeting between a member of the congregation and a local resident in Marble Falls made them aware that a 56 acre ranch that had been a Buckner Boys Home was for sale. It even already had a church on it, in a building far better than the one they had left. In contrast to the violence of the ninth ward, the ranch was calm and bucolic, set on the banks of the Colorado River.

Smokehouse Restaurant reopened as The Real New Orleans Style Restaurant in 2009. As the only Cajun/Creole restaurant in Marble Falls it garnered an immediate mixture of support and curiosity.

The ministry now has 120 members. The congregation regards Texas as their home and the ranch is dotted with newly built neat brick and wooden houses.

Pastor Monnet interprets these events through the prism of his Christian faith, but they can also be understood in universal human terms. Their passage from New Orleans to Marble Falls can be appreciated as a very American story. A tight knit group of people, attempting to build a better future for themselves and their families, see their work destroyed by cataclysmic exogenous events. Their response is to pick themselves up and start again, building something even better than before. It is a restaurant story indeed.