Squares BBQ Opening New Location

Squares BBQ on Leggett and South 1st has been operating in Abilene for more than thirty years...And the owners are excited about adding another location on Buffalo Gap Road.

Construction is already underway.

The new restaurant is expected to offer more than just BBQ. And the owner says the new food joint might not be called Squares.

The new restaurant is expected to open sometime after the first of the year.

Cafe Rico in Eastland

Reviewed by Tim Caldwell

With the family a few hours away, we usually try and meet up at least once a month. Sometimes to make it easier on everyone we will just meet in the middle and get something to eat together. Most of these trips are along I-20, making it easy to find somewhere to eat along the Interstate access road. This trip was on a Sunday though...and most restaurants in Eastland were closed. Rather than give up and go with fast food, we decided to drive towards the square and see what we could find. Shortly after passing through the square we came up to Cafe Rico. There weren't many cars in the parking lot...so we asked a family who was pulling out of the parking lot if they were open. The family replied "Yes....and the food is fantastic." As they pulled out I saw the "My child attends Eastland ISD" sticker in the rear window...I figured they are either related to the owners of the restaurant, or this really is a good local find...off the beaten path.

When we came in the place was empty, but the smell of grilled fajitas was all I needed to know that the lack of people didn't bother me. Between the 3 of us we had the fajitas, quesadillas, and enchiladas. The fajitas were amazing. They included plenty of sides with nice warm tortillas. My only complaint is that I could have eaten a dozen more of those tortillas...but that wouldn't have left enough room for me to sneak food from the surrounding plates to taste. The quesadillas filled an entire plate, and were almost as good as my fajitas. The tortillas surrounding the shredded chicken cooked just enough to have a crispness to it...without being overdone. There was enough meat on the inside, that a fork was a handy utensil to clean up what you lost in the normal quesadilla eating process. Our waitress was great. There anytime we needed her, but not overanxious.

Overall the food was excellent, the service was great, and it was nice to eat somewhere that I-20 wasn't just outside the window. If you are ever in Eastland I recommend driving into town and checking it out.

Oil Spill Forcing Oysters off Abilene Menu

An Abilene favorite for seafood won't be serving oysters soon. Here's a snippet from a recent CNBC article:

Red Lobster will soon take oysters off its menu, after its supplier was forced to shut down due to oil spill in the Gulf.

Darden Restaurants' said Red Lobster's supplier, Ameripure Processing Company, in Franklin, Louisiana, shut down late last week, because it was no longer receiving oyster harvests.

The shortage of supply is driven in part by the expanding ban on fishing in the Gulf of Mexico federal waters. The federal ban area this week reached nearly 87,000 square miles, or more than 36 percent of the Gulf of Mexico.

Mary's Paleteria

Mary's Paleteria. I am ashamed to say that, after passing it for more than two year, I popped into Mary's for the first time the other day. I'll admit, it's hard to go wrong with ice cream when it's scorching outside, no matter who makes it. Still, Mary's seemed to have an edge over store-bought ice cream and even the ice cream truck with its child-like, tinkling chimes (Sorry, Ice Cream Lady. Please still come around!).

I ordered a double scoop ice cream waffle cup--one scoop of raspberry, one scoop of pistachio. It was delicious! I honestly don't know if the ice cream itself was what made the experience so enjoyable or if it was the atmosphere. I did rather enjoy the festive wall art and the fact that I was demographically the minority.

The ice cream isn't all that's offered at Mary's. My husband ordered fruit and cream. It was a bowl of just that--fruit and cream. He thoroughly enjoyed his too.

Whatever the weightiest draw, Mary's has an evident appeal that will give you that mom-and-pop charm and inevitably cool you off on a hot, Summer day.

Reviewed by Megan Dobbs

New spicy chicken sandwich

Scott Burkhalter was one of the lucky few who got VIP access to Chick-fil-A's new spicy chicken sandwich event yesterday, and wrote this review doe Dining Out in the Big Country.

Some eateries have tried to make a spicy sandwich, which usually involves a spicy sauce, or dry spices being added to their regular chicken sandwich just before serving it. I'd heard good things about the new spicy chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A before my taste buds met the new offering. Yep, its true...Chick-fil-A did it right. They added the spices to the chicken and batter before they cooked it, which made the flavor very even... and woah was it good!? The extra steps they may take more time and money, but it makes a better product. The experience of it was also like no other restaurant I've ever frequented. They had VIP tables set up for those who had reservations to try the new sandwich, and they also had someone come by and ask for our opinions. It was already free, but since they felt they interrupted us during our meal, they gave us each 2 coupons to come by and try the sandwich again for free. So, 3 free sandwiches per person in all. Does any other restaurant do that when they introduce a new menu item?

Thanks for the review Scott! The new sandwich hits stores on June 7.