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Bye bye Luby's


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My parents loved cafeterias and I hated them.  Part of it was that I ate in one every day for 12 years.

Now I am not quite so opposed to the concept, but a cafeteria hasn't been really on my radar for years.

Beats fast food I guess.

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I grew up on Luby's and never stopped loving it.  Some of is simply nostalgic, but I do think the food holds up well for what it is.  I'd put the CFS up against anyone's.   My LuAnne plate with either the little rectangle of crispy fried fish or liver and onions has been a go to for just about all my life.  I hope they do find a buyer and find a way to keep it all alive.   

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34 minutes ago, DFWTexEx said:

I grew up on Luby's and never stopped loving it.  Some of is simply nostalgic, but I do think the food holds up well for what it is.  I'd put the CFS up against anyone's.   My LuAnne plate with either the little rectangle of crispy fried fish or liver and onions has been a go to for just about all my life.  I hope they do find a buyer and find a way to keep it all alive.   

If you like Lubys, you oughta try Luckys.

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My brother and I worked together one summer during high school at Luby's. It was the most time I've spent with my brother since, so Luby's will always have a soft spot in my heart. I received a free LuAnn every work day, and I never grew tired of the food. My go to : LuAnn baked white chicken with cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, fresh green beans and candied yams with a jalapeno cornbread. 

I think many of the people that don't like Luby's, don't know what to order there. I've never ventured away from roast beef with au jus, whole bird turkey on Thanksgiving (not that turkey breast roll stuff), baked chicken with stuffing, chopped steak, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, and chicken fried chicken. I know liver and onions is very popular as well, but not for me. If you order anything else, sure you're going to be disappointed. Their ribeye is hot garage and would be thrown away at a Golden Corral. It shouldn't be on their menu. 

If we're shouting out cafeterias, Cleburne  Cafeteria on Bissonnet in Houston. Best cafeteria I've ever eaten at. Everything is good so you really can't go wrong, but I usually order one of the daily specials. Superb fried chicken. 

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Guest Lobo

Wonderful commentary on a restaurant when you have to split out two mass shootings, food poisoning, and a dysentery outbreak all across one cafeteria chain.  There was one in the basement of my office downtown and I wanted to go there out of nostalgia.  When we'd visit Texas relatives from Chicago, we'd usually hit up a Luby's at some point on our trip and I think I liked it.  Then I got older and found out not all restaurants order the same level of ingredients from their suppliers.  Sorry Texas, I have fond memories but it was a shitty chain that treated its employees like shit and they never paid their bills on time.  

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57 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

If we're shouting out cafeterias, Cleburne  Cafeteria on Bissonnet in Houston. Best cafeteria I've ever eaten at. Everything is good so you really can't go wrong, but I usually order one of the daily specials. Superb fried chicken. 

This man speaks the truth.

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2 hours ago, DFWTexEx said:

I grew up on Luby's and never stopped loving it.  Some of is simply nostalgic, but I do think the food holds up well for what it is.  I'd put the CFS up against anyone's.   My LuAnne plate with either the little rectangle of crispy fried fish or liver and onions has been a go to for just about all my life.  I hope they do find a buyer and find a way to keep it all alive.   

MyMan.gif

The one at Oltorf/I35 was our go to, wife worked there when in HS but last visit there the quality had really declined.  I wished we had a few cafeterias up in my neck of the woods.  

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1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

My brother and I worked together one summer during high school at Luby's. It was the most time I've spent with my brother since, so Luby's will always have a soft spot in my heart. I received a free LuAnn every work day, and I never grew tired of the food. My go to : LuAnn baked white chicken with cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, fresh green beans and candied yams with a jalapeno cornbread. 

I think many of the people that don't like Luby's, don't know what to order there. I've never ventured away from roast beef with au jus, whole bird turkey on Thanksgiving (not that turkey breast roll stuff), baked chicken with stuffing, chopped steak, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, and chicken fried chicken. I know liver and onions is very popular as well, but not for me. If you order anything else, sure you're going to be disappointed. Their ribeye is hot garage and would be thrown away at a Golden Corral. It shouldn't be on their menu. 

If we're shouting out cafeterias, Cleburne  Cafeteria on Bissonnet in Houston. Best cafeteria I've ever eaten at. Everything is good so you really can't go wrong, but I usually order one of the daily specials. Superb fried chicken. 

I probably eat there once a month with my extended family.  It is good.  I think because it is family owned and operated.  If it was a chain, not sure it would work.

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11 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Last time you went to Luby's?

 

Exactly.

I mean, it was a matter of time.

Thanksgiving Day 2019 in Waco TX

 

Oh God what will my elderly parents do without our annual 1hr wait at Luby's on Thanksgiving Day? Quick someone get Furr's on the phone!

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I loved Luby’s as a kid and maybe went there on average once a year as an adult. The fried fish, mashed potatoes, BEP, and a roll were my go to. Luby’s changed for me when they stopped having the ladies pushing the carts around and had “waitresses”. Maybe it was just nostalgia, but I didn’t like the change.

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20 minutes ago, Hate said:

I loved Luby’s as a kid and maybe went there on average once a year as an adult. The fried fish, mashed potatoes, BEP, and a roll were my go to. Luby’s changed for me when they stopped having the ladies pushing the carts around and had “waitresses”. Maybe it was just nostalgia, but I didn’t like the change.

Good call on the cart ladies.  

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2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

Always loved Luby’s and Wyatt’s but fuck Furr’s.

Wyatt's had damn good garlic bread. 

All I remember about Furr's was they had a great Millionaire Pie, but that was years and years ago.  2 decades later I went to see if that dessert was as good as the memory from my youth.  Holy crap, the food was all the lowest quality canned vegetables, basically a soup kitchen for geriatrics.  And of course they hadn't made any Millionaire Pie that day.   #Capone'sVault

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1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:
1 hour ago, Lobo said:

Wonderful commentary on a restaurant when you have to split out two mass shootings, food poisoning, and a dysentery outbreak all across one cafeteria chain. 

 

Oh shut up.

Edited by clapclapclap
Lobot, not Bill
  • Hook 'Em 2
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2 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

I don’t know about Memorial City Piccadilly’s, but the downtown one in Wichita Falls had a tremendous breakfast layout for a middle/high schooler in the late ‘70’s. 
 

sorry about your Luby’s. RIP

Went to the Picadilly in downtown WF and the one out at Sikes Center on many occasion with grandma and my mom.

I am Platinum Level Luby's guy and frequent the one at W. 34th and 290 as it is a hooded  8 iron from my warehouse.  Also the location on Post Oak Blvd.  Since the Pappas Bros. took a piece of the Luby's action I think the food improved quite a bit.  

Fight me.

#teamluby's

Edited by deadshank
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2 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

What was the last year Picadilly was open in Memorial? I'm trying to determine if I ever went as a kid. 

Don't know about Memorial.  There was a Picadilly in Northwest Mall that I would slink in to every now and then when  I wanted to honor my grandma in WF and her memory.  It folded up about 8 or so years ago.  It was OK and almost as dark on the inside as the Steak and Ale at 290 and Mangum.  You needed to bring a flashlight or a miner's light to see inside those joints.

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One of the first cases I ever worked was the litigation fallout from the leveraged buyout of Furrs.  I learned a lot about the bidness over a couple of years.

I had to go monitor a Furrs shareholders meeting in Lubbock one time.  After the meeting, I had time to check out the flagship Furrs in Lubbock, so I had lunch there.  Then got on a SWA flight.  Dear lord, that airplane lavatory may still be out of commission.

I later learned that Luby's turns over it's entire food inventory 18 times per month (better than once every two days, it's all fresh).  Furrs did so....2.5 times per month.

Had I learned the food rotation thing first, I wouldn't have done "research" by eating at a Furr's in Lubbock.

We still like us some Luby's from time to time.

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2 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

I lived directly behind the one at Steck/Mopac one year, probably less than 100 ft. from my door to the takeout counter.  I ate a lot of Luann platters that year.

Ha, I lived across the street on Bent Tree for a few years, would hike over and get a couple  to go for me and my now wife.

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I guess you throw Fudruckers in there as well, owned by the same company.  Down the street from my house is a combo Fudruckers/Luby’s in the same building.  Next door was a PDQ Chicken place (Also closed). All built in the last five years, that block is going to look empty for a while. 

Edited by CycleTex87
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27 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

I guess you throw Fudruckers in there as well, owned by the same company.  Down the street from my house is a combo Fudruckers/Luby’s in the same building.  Next door was a PDQ Chicken place (Also closed). All built in the last five years, that block is going to look empty for a while. 

You talking bout the one on Slaughter?

 

56 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Clairmont or something like that?  I know what you're thinking of. 

That sounds right...

Edit thanks to DalTx below for the right name, Marimont.  Here's a review from 1999 lol.

https://www.austinchronicle.com/food/1999-10-01/74070/

Edited by Judge Roybeanbag
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14 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

My parents used to take me to Luby's all the time as a little kid. I even remember the cart ladies and when they didn't make you pay your bill until you left.

I forgot about that!  They had an automatic change machine that would dispense the correct coins into a small steel dish. My sister and I always fought over who could grab the change.

Edited by BearSchlong
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I did prefer Picadilly, though.  Better fried fish and better mashed potatoes and gravy.

When I was married to crazylady and we visited her hometown/stomping grounds of Texarkana/Dekalb/Bowie county she would take me to Bryce's cafeteria in Texarkana.  I'll be @markstanco has been there.  It was right around the corner from my former MIL's house and it seemed like the only place the family ever ate.

Edited by BearSchlong
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