our taste: RESTAURANT REVIEW
Comfort Food in a “Cool” Dive
Little Bistro on the Prairie – The Switch Cafe
BY THE WEATHERFORD FOODIE
I
Weatherford Foodie can be found at weatherfordfoodie.com and on
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The Switch Café is located at 112 South FM-113 in
Cool, Texas, 76066. They are open 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday. Closed on Monday.
Call them at 940-682-2024 or find them at www.
theswitchcafe.com, or on Facebook at The Switch Cafe.
had not dined in Cool, Texas for quite a while, so I
decided that I needed to correct this oversight. This time
I was with two dining companions.
Just south of Highway 180 on FM 113 South, I located
The Switch Café.
I parked in the large, gravel parking lot, gazed at the
tin-roofed clapboard building with a nice, broad, wooden
porch that just beckons to you to come sit a spell and
visit.
The homey wooden sign out front proclaims
“Restaurant.”
As you enter the café you can hear your own footsteps
echo as you walk across the wooden floor and soak up
the superb aromas floating out from the kitchen.
We went in for an early lunch, but the smell of bacon,
eggs and sausage still lingered in the air.
You’re instructed to sit wherever you’d like, then
you’re quickly given your menu as your server takes your
drink order. The drinks quickly appear.
Your server tells you about the daily lunch specials
and gives you plenty of time to decide what you want to
eat that day. I choose the daily special of chicken fried
steak, scalloped potatoes, corn, mashed potatoes, rolls
and a homemade dessert.
My companions both chose to have the grilled
8-ounce pork chop with a baked potato, salad and rolls.
I excused myself from the table and looked around.
The restaurant was clean and has three eating areas
of various size and motifs. There are plenty of tables
throughout and the north wall has a large wood-burning
fireplace that I am sure will be toasty when the cold
weather hits.
I returned to our table just in time for my companion’s
salads to arrive, and I was presented with my orange cake
dessert so “you won’t feel left out,” a pretty cool idea that
worked.
The salads were served with handmade dressings,
produced on-site, and I have to say that they are very
yummy.
I only ate half of my dessert to save some for actual
dessert, and then our entrees arrived.
The chicken fried steak was tender enough to cut with
a fork and the gravy was so perfect that I was tempted
to sop up with a roll, and then lick the plate, but this is
Cool, Texas and we mind our manners while we’re out in
public.
The corn tasted like it had been cut freshly off the cob
and the scalloped potatoes were a hit with my compan-
ions (I barely got a taste). The pork chops were ample-
sized, cooked correctly and both my companions truly
enjoyed their baked potatoes, which, by the way, came
with every fixing you can think of. They were soon gone.
Being the only person with dessert at the table, I was
told I had a bit of a grin while I consumed it.
Owners Gary and Marie Helmick have owned The
Switch for a little over a year, and they have done a great
job.
They have live music some weekends and a flea
market on the third Friday and Saturday of each month.
This is not a swanky place but a nice one with a cozy,
homey atmosphere, good, home-style Southern cooking
with a friendly staff. I enjoyed it and I bet you will, too.
I can’t wait to try their breakfast.
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