I-45N Treats and Eats

Today was another Sunday where I had to pick my son up from North Texas. Since I live in Houston, my sissy met me halfway with him. Along the way, she asked me to stop at Woody's Smokehouse in Centerville, Texas and buy her some Turkey Jerky. I thought it would be fun to start taking pictures of local dives and review them. When my hubby gets back home from his work overseas, we will do the same for the Houston area cuisine. Today, my sons and I reviewed two places. One is Woody's Smokehouse. The other is Jimmy's Pizza Pasta and Subs.
Now, Woody's was a hopping hub for jerky lovers. It was really busy when we pulled in. It was like the mecca for fresh, specialty jerky. There were all kinds of jerky to be found behind the meat counter, along with several types of homemade jams,cheeses, fudge, barbecue, and other southern delights. The place had a great look to it and the workers behind the counter were very friendly. The cashiers were not. They looked pained to be there and did not offer any smiles or thank you's. Other than that, I highly recommend that passerbys at least stop in and look around at their next rest stop. It is a little pricey ($7.95 for a few oz. of jerky), but after tasting the jerky, it is worth the occasional splurge.  The jerky was very fresh and bursts with taste. It left no bad after taste or porky burps!  Next time, I will try the BBQ.

Now, Jimmy's was a very Italian-inspired local family owned and operated Pizzeria in Midlothian, Texas. It had a New York feel to it, but the owners were actually friendly! The pizza had a great crust and fresh cheesy taste. We had a large pizza, half cheese and pepperoni with black olives. The slices were huge! I felt like I got more than my money's worth (very affordable,less than $20 with tip to feed four) and the service was great! The little dive was clean and simple. You felt very comfortable eating their with your little kids and it was very relaxed and  cordial inside.  I really enjoyed the place. The owner personally said hi and goodbye to everyone. He even sounded like a Yankee!  Although, we did not have room for it, there was a nice display of desserts. Because I was on the road, I ordered a coffee. I was happy to taste that it was fresh, not old and bitter at all.

So, there is a breakdown of a couple of many places to stop along I-45. I will review different places next time.