*************************************************************************** Monday, 16 March 1998 Sharon’s in Cedar Creek, Texas. It’s located in Bastrop County on Texas Highway 21 between Texas Highway 71 and US Highway 183. I suppose some folks might say that it is about midway between Bastrop and Mustang Ridge. More precisely, it is on the southwest corner of the intersection of Texas Highway 21 and Ranch Road 535. It is about 7 miles from Rockne, Texas - which is a well-known landmark to even the newest tenderfoot in Central Texas. The last time I was there - a month or so ago - the name of the place was Rosita’s and the fare was tacos and enchiladas. Today, the name of the place was Sharon’s and the fare was Chicken-Fried Steak. The first thing I noticed was the sign hanging on the front of the place. The sign was made from red cedar. They had cut a cedar tree-trunk sort of angling-length-wise then burned ‘Sharon’s’ into the grain of the wood. I thought it was a very attractive sign. I’d like to have one similar to it hanging over the entrance to my driveway. I say ‘similar to it’ rather than ‘just like it’ because I don’t want the one over my driveway to say ‘Sharon’s’. Sharon’s is housed in a ‘quaint’ building. It is about 60 feet long by about 20 feet wide. It has a flat roof. The parking lot at Sharon’s is nothing spectacular. It has few obstructions for cars to back into and the mud doesn’t stick to your boots very long. I only got a small amount of mud on the cuff of my pants so it is really a pretty decent parking lot. The front door of Sharon’s opens into a ‘foyer’. That is where the cash register and soft drink cooler is located. Off to the left is the smoking area and off to the right is the non-smoking area. Since my wife puffs, we were escorted into the smoking area. The smoking area had 5 tables with plain old ordinary chairs placed around them. We were seated at one of the tables - not at all five. We had the smoking section all to ourselves. A sole occupant had the non-smoking section to himself. The special of the day was Chicken-Fried Steak with green beans, mashed potatoes and cream gravy. So, that is what we ordered. It has been ages and ages since I’ve had a Chicken-Fried Steak that didn’t have a bunch of gristle in it. At Sharon’s both my own and my wife’s Chicken-Fried steaks were completely free of any gristle whatsoever. The mashed potatoes were - were - were - ah - ah - MASHED!! (Darn!! I had a heck of a time trying to describe them thar taters.) The cream gravy was tasty and full of lumps just like I make it at home. The green beans were like no others I’ve ever had. They seemed to be garden-fresh rather than out of a can but I could have been fooled. Sharon had added some bacon to the green beans to season them and they were delicious. Sharon’s isn’t open on Sundays. I doubt that you will need reservations. In fact, I am wondering if Sharon’s even has a telephone. Casual attire - like ragged blue-jeans and dirty t-shirts are welcome at Sharon’s. Formal attire - such as clean blue-jeans and western shirts with those ‘bachelor-button’ snaps are also welcome. For the most part, Sharon’s seems to prefer that the clientele wear something on their feet but I didn’t inquire about their precise rules. Service at Sharon’s was exquisite. That thar pretty lil’ ol’ gal what was about 8 months or so along in the family-way took our orders and delivered the fare about as efficiently as could be expected. The cook emerged from the kitchen to ask if every thing was done to our satisfaction. (It was.) The man of the house seated himself at a table adjacent to ours and chatted up a storm with my wife. I’m deaf so I don’t have the faintest idea of what he was jaw-boning about. At least I got to eat without being interrupted - but then I had to wait for my wife to finish her meal. The entire meal, Chicken-Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, green-beans, toast, tea, and cake for dessert, cost us about $11. With no qualms whatsoever, I wholeheartedly recommend lunch at Sharon’s for that very ‘special’ occasion. Terry at Lake Bastrop ****************************************************************************
Texas