LOST AUSTIN RESTAURANTS

This is the first of what will hopefully be series of posts about Lost Austin Restaurants, old-time joints that I used to frequent that are sadly no longer with us.

First up is the beloved Stallion Restaurant (yes, a restaurant, despite what the sign above reads) on North Lamar. There's a MacDonald's there now. What the world doesn't need is any more MacDonald's restaurants. What we need is more classic dives like The Stallion.

The Stallion served great greasy-spoon diner rare in a rustic atmosphere. It was a semi-ramshackle building but I never went there for the decor. I went there for one thing (well, three things, actually): the chicken-fried steak, the onion rings and the one-of-a-kind yellow gravy.

If I recall correctly, you could order the chicken fried steak dinner with one, two or three pieces of meat. We're talking big pieces of meat here. I never attempted the three piece meal as two pieces was an absolute belt buster .I used to eat there for lunch on my day off at least once a month back in the 1980s. I never left hungry.

Boy, do I miss The Stallion