I
was driving
across Denton on McKinney Ave when I spotted a new addition
to the corner Texaco Gas Station and I had one simple thought:
EATIN’ OUT CLASSIC. You may remember that we haven’t
eaten in a gas station since the fabled TA
Travel Center outing. So, finally the rotation came back
to me and I told the others, “We are in for a special
treat today, but I am not sure it is actually a restaurant –
in fact, I am not even sure they have any seating.” To
the In and Out Mexican Grill.
To give
you a little bit of a geography lesson, the In and Out Grill
and gas station is flanked by the Denton County courthouse and
lock-up, the Denton Juvenile Correction
Center, about 7 bail bonds offices
and of course, the now vacant Lion King Grocery story. With
that said, In and Out’s location is not exactly the best.
Upon entering,
we were greeted by a couple of very
courteous employees behind the counter. Quickly surveying the
room, I discovered that most of the patrons were Denton County
Sheriff’s Deputy’s and other law
enforcement officials. While ordering at the counter, Kevin
was particularly impressed with the help he received while ordering.
So, we found seats and a nice man,
who we later discovered to be the proprietor, brought us some
chips and hot sauce (there
was also a green salsa). I wasn’t expecting much from
these chips or anything else, so casually I reached for a chip,
dipped it, tasted it. “HOLY SMOKES!” I exclaimed
without thinking. From that moment on, every thing I tasted
was really outstanding.
Gloria had
a chicken burrito – "What?"
You might be asking, "Isn’t Glo a vegetarian?"
It’s OK chicken doesn’t count. She said about her
burrito, “There wasn’t a single piece of meat that
was too gross to eat.” Russ had an “In
and Out” ½ pound burger that seemed to please.
At this
point, I would like to wander off topic for a few sentences.
Have you ever been to California? I have. Most recently, my
wife Michelle and I took a trip to San
Diego last spring break. While we were there, we stopped
at In and Out Burger. I do have to wonder if the In and Out
Mexican grill is trying to burrow some name recognition and
good will from the In-n-Out
Burger of California? Anyway, Kevin had chicken
enchiladas and I had a combo meal with a cheese
enchilada and a taco. My food
was awesome, a real unique blend of Tex-Mex and traditional
Mexican.
I support the small business man!
Russ
comes out against big business |
We were
just sitting there enjoying our meal, when an unknown man came
up and started touching Russ’ head suggestively. After
a few awkward seconds, Russ revealed to us that he was a former
softball teammate. We decided that the unknown man might be
a bounty hunter, working for one of the bail bondsmen. This
led to a conversation about bail bonds and bounty hunters during
which Gloria stated that she had never heard of bounty hunters.
So, after a lot of explaining the issue was resolved. Around
this time the owner came over and introduced himself. He stated
that his name was Tim and that he was
a recent UNT
graduate. Tim also told us that he was hoping to get a restaurant
running near the campus in the future. According to Russ, "The
food was OK - I did like the enthusiastic UNT alum proprietor
- he scored big points with me and I support the small business
man!!"
If you can
stomach eating in a gas station and you like Mexican food, you
owe it to your tummy to go to In
and Out Mexican Grill. 
