Full Parking Lot Award: Cookie’s Soul Food Kitchen
Posted August 4th, 2009 by Sheila
On a hot, muggy day in July, I drove through the tiny town of Ames, Texas (because the back roads always beat the tar out of the Interstate.)
Next to the highway leading into Ames was a small wooden painted sign on the ground – “Welcome to Ames, Texas, home of Cookie’s Soul Food Kitchen.” Soul food sounded good to me!
I found Cookie’s on the other side of the railroad tracks that paralleled the road; it was in a bright yellow welcoming building with red trim.
What was my final traveler’s criteria for a restaurant thumbs up on a Sunday in rural southeast Texas between noon and 1 p.m.?
That’s right….the parking area all around Cookie’s was jammed with vehicles. That’s a no-brainer signal to one’s Personal Local Grub Radar.
I had a lovely buffet meal for the princely sum of $8.99 – chicken, pork, ox tail, collard greens, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes and banana pudding for dessert.
As a single, I was seated next to a delightful local guy who turned out to be a Navy veteran and a drag racing fan, just like me. Don’t you know we talked up a storm! He even gave me a story idea about a local event that I’m pitching right now to one of my favorite travel magazines.
All you need is a sense of adventure, willingness to jump at the unexpected and a well-tuned food radar.
Cookies is open 11 am – 2 pm Mon-Fri, closed on Sat and open 11 am – 3 pm on Sunday. Entrees rotate each day (things like meatloaf, fried catfish, baked chicken) and a variety of vegetables are available on the side. You can get sandwiches, too. Phone (936) 336-1954.
(Note: Soul food hits the spot, but find some coffee afterward or you may do the full-belly doze-off while driving.)
This post is included in the latest Wanderfood Wednesday on the Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.
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- Going local for your food
- Lou Mitchell’s feeds the soul of Chicago
- Native American Food in Albuquerque
- Austin Rocks: Sunday Bluegrass Brunch at Threadgill’s
August 4th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Wow, Cookies sounds like my kind of place. Great soul food is worth driving far and wide for. I will try to dig up the name of a great place east of Sacramento that had the best corn grits I’ve ever had…. Thanks for telling us about Cookies!
August 5th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Full-belly doze is right! This buffett sounds deadly to any diet and I haven’t eaten breakfast yet. Was there any cornbread with all those goodies?
August 5th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Hmmm, their main menu meals include corn bread and dessert, but I’m going blank on whether I saw any with the Sunday buffet. Can’t imagine it wasn’t there….guess I’ll have to go back and see.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:01 am
LOVE this. i think we need to get down to TX. that is so cheap. i love that you talked so much with your neighbor there – and got a story idea!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
These are the only types of places I really like to eat at! They have true ’soul’.
In Costa Rica these types of a little places are called Sodas, and in Guatemala Comedores, we try to only eat at these places!
August 5th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
The whole experience was an unexpected bonus to my day, that’s for sure!
August 5th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
They are indeed yummy. Thanks for visiting from Latin America!
August 6th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Some might disagree with me, but having spent a lot of time in the south, I can attest that “soul” is something that we are missing here in the NW. I love little finds like this. Subtract the meat and this is just the kind of place that I’d love to check out – even if my plate was filled with only mashed potatoes and banana pudding.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Yeah, the PacNorWest is rather, er, removed from a lot of the traditions and dishes that originated in the American South. Cookie’s seemed to have a lot of veggies available (very good collard greens – did I mention that?) so any vegetarian wouldn’t have a problem, although I can’t vouch for meat-free cooking methods or seasonings.
Plenty of okra available, too, and I totally forgot to mention the watermelon, which was super-juicy and red, since it’s the height of summer here.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:55 am
What a great adventure. It’s always satisfying to find a spot off the beaten path that serves excellent food at a cheap price. Thanks for sharing.