The first edition of Food and Fun appeared in the spring 2024 edition of the East Texan. I had no plan of making it a series, but there was also no plan, so here we are.
In that first edition, we traveled to Houston. In search of something different, we headed the opposite way on Highway 59. My wife had a vehicle maintenance issue in Lufkin, which made it Food and Fun’s summer destination. Along the way, we would uncover good times in one of Texas’ lumber towns.
It began as any heroic tale would, rising from bed before my 11 a.m. alarm. We had many items on our list, and a noon start would put us behind.
Although the trip to the dealership was a fascinating adventure in itself, I have chosen to omit its details.
The first stop was in Burke, just south of Lufkin, where His and Hers Mercantile sits. The large shop on the highway has all the treasures you never knew you needed. If searching for new items, keep driving. However, new-to-you finds and rusty gold is their specialty. Tools, parts, furniture, and collectibles are all part of the experience. The store is two floors and has as much to see outdoors as inside.
Scales, lighted signs and clocks — they’ve got ‘em. Vintage newspapers, magazines, 8-tracks, TV/VCR combos or large metal crabs? Of course they do. It’s the place you walk into planning to spend 30 minutes and exit two hours later with an armful of discoveries.
Back on the road, a short trip to old downtown Lufkin brought us to a quick fuel up at Standpipe Coffee House. There was more than a little construction that had most of First Street fenced, but parking and getting around on sidewalks wasn’t too bad.
The Standpipe building is marked by an old Coca-Cola neon sign with a mural for the soft drink painted on an outside wall (more on the town’s murals later).
They give plenty of reasons to come in and stick around. There are event nights and live music, and several of those comfortable chairs you leave wanting in your living room.
Lattes, espressos, coffees, housemade sodas and smoothies are served along with salads, gyros, grain bowls and a wide selection of pastries to munch on.
After a two-hour detour, our next stop was Rusty Axe Brewing Company. Also located downtown, the business established in 2020 offers a large lineup of beers made on site and a menu full of delicious food.
We ordered a couple of beers to start. I am partial to darker beers, so we received two of the darkest on the menu. Black Horse Porter and Double Agent Project (a Russian imperial aged stout) arrived at our table in 12-ounce glasses. Also available are an IPA, pale ale, Mexican lager, honey wheat ale, pilsner, wheat beer, and brown ale. If that isn’t enough, there is a Blackberry milkshake flavored IPA, but I’m not that brave.
The menu offers salads, sandwiches, starters and entrees like chicken and dumplings, salmon, stroganoff and jagerschnitzel. What caught our attention was the brewery itself, of course, but also a large pizza oven. Therefore, the margherita pizza was a choice, as well as the East Texas “not lobster” roll. Hopefully, the first doesn’t need explaining, but the “not lobster” roll was new to us. Just as the name would suggest, it’s a lobster roll minus the lobster. Louisiana Crawfish tails, old bay, lemon aioli, butter and celery were stuffed into a toasted roll.
Both were delicious and there are plenty of reasons to return. My job takes me to Lufkin often, and the Rusty Axe will certainly be an eating stop in the future.
The sightseeing portion of our trip took us around the town to see its walls. Murals have decorated spots throughout Lufkin and added interest to the town’s history. Art dedicated to the timber industry, Coca-Cola, Brookshire Brothers, fallen soldiers and Lufkin’s beginnings make an afternoon drive pleasurable.
Before heading home, we had to grab dessert. I am sure there are several places to do just that, but we took a path less traveled for sweets. Stringer’s Lufkin Bar-B-Q was the stop and the bag we carried out was filled with fried rolls. Imagine most any dinner roll you’ve had in the past and give it a crunchy exterior. After arriving home, they were paired with honey and a long nap to cap our enjoyable Saturday in Lufkin.
