A couple come to mind. When my dad took some cows to the local auction barn, we would always eat at the restaurant in the sale barn. The burgers were great, but the farmers and ranchers eating there were quite colorful. Second, every year or two, my dad took some cows to the Houston Fat Stock Show. We would go to Houston from Nac and stay in a motel called Grant’s Motel and one night dad would take us out to eat at a seafood place called Christi’s. For a kid living on a farm in Nacogdoches, it was like visiting New York and staying at the Waldorf.

Love it!

Going for icecream
Carvel up north
DQ/Braums in the south.

Like someone else said, we had no extra money. No point in asking Dad. The little town had a diner, and I think a basic burger and a Coke was less than 50 cents back then, in the early 60’s. I’d ride my bike, with the front basket, all over town and search the ditches for returnable Coke bottles. If successful, I’d head to the diner for that burger and Coke.

I only remember eating out with the family once or twice in my pre-college years.

Hitting the ditches for soda bottles got me through a lot in those days too-

When I was a kid we went deer hunting in Llano every year at a day lease. We always stopped at a burger place that had huge windows and overlooked lake Buchanan Dam. After eating me and dad would walk out on the dam and feed bread to some huge catfish. Looked forward to it every year.

I feel your pain brother. I truly believe that hard times make strong people. I was lucky enough to live in a college town and about 2 minutes away from the only carwash in town. The college kids and other rich folks would vacuum out their cars and toss their empty pop bottles in the trash cans. I made many a trip digging thru the cans for empty bottles. There was a Piggly Wiggly 2 blocks away that I could sell them at and get a soda or candy. Every restaurant memory I had with my mom as a kid was eating a burger (no fries) in the back seat of the car or taking it back home.

There was a place out at White Rock Lake called Shotgun Sam's served pizza ,beer and arcade income tax time of year mom and dad would take us there good memories.

There was a marina on Cedar Creek called Compton's my PaPa would take me fishing and swimming down there and they had the best greasyest burgers..

Some reason I enjoyed Western Sizzler in my childhood also.

Shotgun Sams!

You go there

Yessir
Beer and Pizza!

Awesome

We had one in Tulsa. Not sure it was the same. The had an animatronic band.

Ours didn’t have one when I was there Bob-

We seldom got to eat out growing up but when we did it was Ponchos and Sam's BBQ in Fairfield. Both were great in there day. That or the TicToc cafe in Morton, TX