Slowpoke Farm Market in Cisco is an oasis of healthy dining in a land of fast food about 45 minutes east of Abilene.
Kerry and Joy Hedges left their high-pressure careers in Houston 23 years ago for a slower lifestyle on an 83-acre farm south of Cisco. Over the years the business has snowballed.
At first they sold their meats, milk, and vegetables to neighbors who were interested in chemical-free foods. Then they expanded to the farmers’ market in Abilene. Eventually the couple decided they wanted to open their own market and found an old building on Cisco’s main thoroughfare. Selling locally produced meats and vegetables was not enough to sustain the business, so they added the cafe in 2018.
“I’m no chef, but I am the chief cook,” Kerry said. “I’m also the chief dishwasher.”
The menu changes daily, but favorites are the chicken pot pie, King Ranch casserole, and meatloaf. Every dish uses locally produced, grass-fed beef, pork, or chicken. The cheese comes from a little dairy in Dublin, Texas. They also sell Dublin-produced sodas.
While you’re there, pick up a bottle of Slowpoke Sauce, a one-of-a-kind peach ketchup. In the to-go freezer are GMO-free steaks, chicken breasts, and Kerry’s own brand of bratwursts.
I couldn’t resist getting two slices of pie to go. The slice of chocolate-caramel pecan pie was big enough to share, but too good to not eat all by myself.
Slowpoke Farm Market is a mile north of I-20 at 709 Conrad Hilton Blvd. in the heart of Cisco. The cafe is open 11am-5pm Thu.-Fri. and 11am-4pm Sat., and lunch service stops at 2pm. Cisco’s craft brewery, Red Gap Brewing, across the street from the market, opens at 5pm Thu.-Fri. and at noon Sat.
1,651st in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in May 5 • 2023.
