Restaurant
Review
Texas Chili: ‘Best
Food in Town’
By Chris Campanelli (November
26, 2002)
 |
In this over-commercialized,
uniform nation, it's very hard to find a unique restaurant with any level
of character. But between the Yamaha Motorcycles and the Saab dealerships
on Lee Highway you find a simple, inconspicuous building with a small sign:
"Texas Chili." As soon as you step into this small, smoke-filled, Texas-style
diner, you realize this is not your run-of-the-mill diner.
Instead of a middle-class, quiet,
clean crowd which we have all grown so used to, you find a couple of people
enjoying a few beers at the bar, while others play pool, and still others
watch whatever game may be on. You step straight out of Falls Church into
a trucker-eatery of the Mid-West. |
Many
Falls Church residents overlook the
unique dining experience
provided by its own
Texas Chili, opting
instead for safer, more
commerciliazed
fare at other diners.
(Photo by Chris
Campanelli) |
My companion and I walked in and sat
at one of the few booths, while an old jukebox pumped fitting tunes such
as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run."
A large man, who we came to know as "Jim," made his way over to our booth,
took a look around, and then quickly made a place for us at the diner's
long, center table, saying "make room, these kid's wanna eat. It's the
best food in town, it's the best food in town."
| When our food came,
it was no less than what we expected: atomic chili. I found one cup to
be extremely filling. The chili dogs and hamburgers also looked very appetizing.
But the best aspect of this food was that it was made right there on the
premises. There's nothing better than fresh, original recipe, homestyle
cooking.
Whatever happened to the small diner,
in which we find the rugged side of America so common in movies and tv.
Sadly, they are often replaced by larger, more crowd-pleasing food chains,
which imitate each other incessantly in order to please the customer. All
this competition to please the customer has eliminated one of the most
important aspects of dining: original atmosphere. |
 |
At
Texas Chili, all you need is chili, a bun and
chips to fill you
up. The chili is made on the
premises. (Photo
by Chris Campanelli) |
Texas Chili is no family restaurant,
but it is an experience like no other. Many of us have seen this
run-down old restaurant over the years every day, but we have never ventured
into this relic, which somehow has stayed in business for over 30 years.
Instead, we choose to stay in our comfort zone, with only the Silver Diner
or Metro Diner to provide alternate dining experiences.
The truth of the matter is, you haven't
experienced a true diner atmosphere until you experience a true, small,
family owned diner. As for me, I'd choose the Texas Chili experience over
Chilis any day.
|
