In a small town in Texas, Tarpley, a small eatery, embraces the local game and ranching. Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery serves comfort food for lunch, which in Texas means hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and catfish. The menu changes from week to week on what is available and fresh. The night time menu centers around entrees with chicken, lamb chops, fish, and quail. We have only experienced the lunch menu because that is when we found ourselves in Tarpley. It is between the town of Bandera and Utopia on a small Farm to Market Road.
We have made a day trip out here to visit Mac and Ernie's, and we have stopped here on our way back into town after a day trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area. It is a small green building with a red door on the side of the road with a large sign exhibiting their name and hours. It has grown from just a little stand with outdoor seating only to a small indoor dining establishment. The low set windows allow the light to flood in and gently hit the tables and chairs, highlighting the food. The dirt and gravel parking lot comes up quickly, but the speed limit decreases in the city limits, so make sure you slow down in Tarpley.
There is a ramp to the door and a small entrance area with a raised counter. Inside and to the right, there are a couple of glass coolers that contain soda and alcohol products, but they also offer a soda fountain. We ordered the Cabrito (Goat) burger and the Deer burger with French fries. Cabrito is the specialty hamburger at Mac and Ernie's. The patties are larger than we could consume; we left about half of it in our basket. We ordered them medium rare because we like a little pink and some juice left tin the patty. The seasoned deer burger patties are thick and juicy and come with blue cheese, aioli mayonnaise, fresh sliced tomatoes, and lettuce. It was a lovely combination. The blue cheese gives a beautiful depth to the meat, and the tart taste of the cheese accented the flavor of the patty well. The cheeseburger was equally tasty, and they had a choice of cheeses that come from the deli. The brioche bread bun was grilled and toasty with a fresh soft doughy taste that adds to the burger's juiciness. There is a char on the meat, which I enjoy but isn't Fiona's favorite. The French fries were crispy and golden fresh from the frier. They were a larger square cut with plenty of salt.
Honestly, we didn't have the best service the first time we visited and felt that maybe we weren't their target audience. We felt that way a lot when our kids were younger. We figured we would be eating outside to have enough room to stretch their wings and not disturb the other patrons. The owner's face was one of disappointment; in all honesty, that may be her personality. This time the place was pretty empty, and a local high school student greeted us. It was around 3:30, and they were getting ready to shut down to prepare for the dinner service. It was an enjoyable inside experience, and we will be back the next time we are out in this area. Check the hours before you set out on a road trip.
11804 FM 470, Tarpley, TX 78883
Tel: 830-562-3727 Email: naylene@macandernies.com
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