Everything may be bigger in Texas, but have you been to Merivale Station Restaurant?

That’s what we were left thinking after a recent excursion to the restaurant located in a strip mall on Merivale Road near Hunt Club Road.

Ben Cousins, a good friend from university, was in town for the weekend and we decided to check out the restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. It had been on our list of places to visit since last fall, when Eat the Strip reader Lana reached out suggested we visit.

“Definitely mom and pop. Portions are huge. Prices are low. Food is terrific,” Lana wrote. “You get a huge plate of coleslaw each with most entrées. Hidden gem.”

Lana wasn’t kidding.

Their portions were truly generous. Ben ordered two eggs with a side of home fries, toast and bacon. I went with the hamburger and mashed potatoes. My meal came with a side of coleslaw and a cup of coffee. With tip, our bill came to a mere $25.

We reached the restaurant shortly after 1:30 p.m. It seemed like we had beat the lunch rush, but the restaurant was still quite full. A dozen or so tables accommodated several chatting families. An open-concept kitchen meant you could see the chef working the griddle, frying eggs and house potatoes. Our server Mary told us the restaurant opened just over a year as she brought us our meals.

Doused in gravy, my hamburger and mashed potatoes were served on a plate that covered pretty much half the length of the table. The mashed potatoes were delicious and the hamburger well-spiced, with a hint of pepper providing a nice aftertaste. Ben nodded approvingly when I asked him how his classic breakfast tasted.

“It's hard to mess up,” he said, after swallowing a mouthful of bacon and eggs. While true, the sheer portion of the meal had us both very happy with our choice.

Ben then told me his parents were traveling to Barbados the following day. Ben’s father asked him to pick up over a dozen frozen egg rolls from Golden Palace Restaurant, located on Carling Avenue. To take them with him. To the Caribbean. This was an outstanding level of dedication to strip mall food.

So, we left the restaurant with our bellies very happy, only to drive over to Golden Palace for another strip mall adventure. But more on that another time.