Jack's Little Apple ,Denton > BBQ with my Brother Raymond
Duck Inn with my aunt Lena

Shakey's pizza in Dalas also The Bounty seafood

zuider zee (sp?) in Okiecity, rich aunt/uncle would take our family there on ocassion, sometimes just my brother and I with no parents.

uncle herby always got the mega platter with some of everything and we got to "help" him eat it. that was the only time we would get restaurant seafood.

a&w burger with fries and root beer in the frozen glass mugs at the drive up. special treat when that happened.

Bob, did you ever eat at Sleepy Hollow on Lewis?

Passed it all the time but never ate there. I heard it was good.

Getting to go to one. We were poor.

We didn't have two nickels to rub together when I was a kid. We went out to eat once a year on my parents' anniversary, and that was to a Furr's Cafeteria in the shopping center within walking distance of the house. Maybe once or twice a year my dad would drive up to the Freezette and get a paper sack of burgers (small bun, meat patty, pickle slices and lettuce) for supper. Five in a bag for $1, and he would buy a big bag of chips on the way home at a 7-11.

I didn't start eating out until I was in high school and had a few part time jobs so I could take a date to the movies and burger and fries after. My favorite spot then was the Kip's Big Boy in Oak Cliff that was about a mile from the house. Same place that Hard Rain mentioned. He was a poor Oak Cliff kid too.

Living in a small town, the first fast food there was a Hardees

Couple years later we got a Pizza Hut. We would ride our bikes there on a Saturday and get a pizza for $5

Pancho's

Bob's BBQ Ada Ok

Leonard's in Memphis in the 50's. Great BBQ!

There was a chicken restaurant on South Main in Houston late 50s' and 60s' that served great chicken and fries with biscuits and honey. Damn good chicken but I remember the honey the most. They had one in dallas too.

Hopefully someone that lived in the area for a long time can help me here. I remember as a young kid maybe back in late 80’s a place called Thunder Bumpers.
I want to say it was in the HEB area but I cant remember,
I remember these bad azz flame grilled burgers they cooked in front of you and the flame would shoot up 4-6 feet.
Shredded cheddar cheese
All kinds of 50’s oldies stuff around.
Man it was good. Just can’t remember location cuz I was too small and out of town.

I can find a trademark registration from the late 1980's for a Thunder Bumpers Burgers and Salad Car from Dallas, Texas, but that's about as close as I can tell ya. Since you're thinking HEB, maybe it was based in Dallas and they had a restaurant around HEB or maybe it was in Irving? My parents plumbed a lot of houses and businesses around the HEB/183/121/820 area back then, but I was a kid myself and do not remember a restaurant like you've described. Then again, usually if we went to a restaurant back then, it was either Pancho's, Billy Miner's or The Keg.

As to the thread, Casa Bonita was one of my favorites just because of the game room. One Halloween, we went with us kids dressed in costumes...when we pulled into our subdivision, some teenagers threw an egg at our car and hit the windshield. So, my father being highly offended decided to chase these teenagers in their car while shooting at them. So, yeah. Up until that time, that was one of my favorite memories. Oh, and Pancho's was always a favorite because I liked the rice with cheese sauce and the flautas.