Memorable | One of the Best
Monument Café
Review by: Jane & Michael Stern
The mission statement of the Monument Café is to “be reminiscent of Texas roadside cafes of the 1920s to 1940s.” Fans spin overhead, tables are chrome-banded, and windows are hung with Venetian blinds. Service is fast and efficient and the food is a roster of Lone Star classics at their very best. One blackboard itemizes the daily specials. Another lists the gardens, ranches, farms, and orchards from which the kitchen’s provisions are obtained. Lunch items include crunchy fried catfish, charred chicken with poblano sauce, and a fine two-alarm (no-bean) Texas chili; but the meal we recommend most is breakfast.
Waffles are elegant; pancakes are big and fluffy; biscuits are served warm; and the sour cream coffee cake is a sugar-crusted masterpiece. One hot breakfast unique to the region is migas, Mexican scrambled eggs that include melted cheese, chunks of tomato, and small ribbons of crisp tortilla that soften in places but stay crunchy in others. On the side of migas, you get red salsa to heat it up along with grits or hash browns and a soft flour tortilla rolled in aluminum foil so it stays warm.
The Monument Café makes some of the best desserts anywhere in Texas, using the finest ingredients to produce classic sweets. There is usually a fried pie (fruit fully enclosed in a pastry crust and fried to a crisp); we have had superb baked tapioca pudding as well as angel food cake with fresh strawberries; and the cool cream pies are dazzling. Chocolate pecan is dark and fudge-like, loaded with chunks of nut and topped with a ribbon of pure white whipped cream. Coconut cream pie is every bit as wonderful, but more angelic than sinful: light, silky, fresh, and layered on a flaky light-gold crust.
Directions & Hours
7am - 3pm
- Monday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Tuesday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Wednesday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Thursday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Friday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Saturday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Sunday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
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2 Responses to “Monument Café”
love2bake
May 6th, 2014
“Is this the best chocolate pie in Texas?” Michael Stern asks on one of his photos. I say YES!! And maybe even beyond Texas. And I’ve tasted a lot of pie. Its texture was silky smooth, with very chocolatey flavor, and the pecan “crust” is perfect with it. It’s absolutely wonderful and worth driving out of your way for.
I also got their CFS for breakfast, even though they’ve recently taken it off their breakfast menu. The online menu still showed it, though, so when I asked, they made it for me. They get points for that! What I also loved about this, was that the breakfast portion is a sensible four ounces, so you can enjoy the other things that come with it. Their grits were different and in a good way. They used yellow cornmeal, and I believe there was bacon in them, also. Really delicious.
Sitting at the counter I could see that the kitchen puts out a phenomenal amount of food very quickly. It’s all the servers can do to keep up! It’s a very busy and fun place. Thanks to Roadfood for documenting it so well.
By the way, Georgetown, TX is a darling town with a lovely town square and interesting, independent shops. It’s definitely worth a stop while you’re there.
Jane & Michael Stern
May 9th, 2011
What a terrific concept! We took a slight detour on our way back to DFW from Horseshoe Bay and were so pleased we did. All the food is so fresh and natural.
I started with a very good tortilla soup, rivaling that found in any Mexican restaurant, and followed it with a luscious chicken fried steak that ranks at the top of my all-time CFS list. The beef was wonderful, with no hint of grease whatsoever. The absolutely wonderful thin-sliced onion rings are grease free too. A side dish of chile pepper squash casserole, recommended by JJ, our waitress with personality plus, was another winner. My wife enjoyed the freshness and quality of her grilled chicken breast sandwich but nowhere near as much as the Monument chocolate pecan crusted pie.
Be sure to visit their market, as we did, to take home some of their meat and produce. We will return to try their freshly squeezed lemonade, visit the soon-to-open beer garden, and visit the many shops in Georgetown’s square.