Day Trips
Tchoupitoulas Restaurant in Crockett is a culinary oasis
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., March 30, 2012
Tchoupitoulas Restaurant was finally open when I drove through Crockett at dusk on a Thursday afternoon. After years of my traversing the Old San Antonio Road, our schedules finally meshed, the lights were on, and I was starving.
Highway 21 between Nacogdoches and Bryan is exceptionally scenic, especially the stretch through the Davy Crockett National Forest, but it is a culinary desert. I was always too early or too late for Tchoupitoulas' staggered shifts. The dark windows teased me like a prize constantly out of reach.
The restaurant is in a two-story building that wouldn't be out of place in a Hollywood Western. Built in 1920, the building was a general store a block south of the courthouse square until 1954. The restaurant opened in 2004, and is now owned by chef Richard Park. The menu is a blend of sandwiches, burgers, pasta, and fish. I went for a steak, for which it is justifiably proud. The best part of the meal was the potato soup, a creamy baked potato in a bowl.
Tchoupitoulas Restaurant is at 208 E. Goliad in Crockett. Open for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11am to 2pm, dinner Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 9pm, and Sunday lunch from 11am to 2pm. To make reservations, recommended in the evenings, call 936/545-2467 or go to www.tchops.net.
1,079th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips," is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, P.O. Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
