An Early Day at Vickery Cafe!

There’s nothing that gives me the warm, mushy feels of content and comfort quite like a homemade, country-style meal. Being born and raised in the South, I find it a bit funny that the traditional southern ideals didn’t stick with me into adulthood-yet the shared common love of a hot plateful of country food is what truly makes me feel home in Fort Worth. That being said, I’ve tried quite a few “mom and pop” cafés around and Vickery Cafe is definitely one to talk about.

It’s a miracle if I’m out of the house before sunset, so it was a bit of an effort to make it to Vickery Cafe before their early closing time, 2pm during the week and 2:30pm on the weekends. With only an hour or two to spare, my friend and I walked into a bright red restaurant with black and white checkered patterns all around-just as a retro diner should be. I noticed there was more of an older crowd in the restaurant, including what I assumed as regulars, who were busy chatting up the servers at the bar. The vibe was relaxed and very neutral-not too quiet and not too loud, it was a great laid back atmosphere for my friend and I to catch up.

Our server was fantastic-like straight out of a movie kinda cool. I imagined on a busy day she would have plates piled high on her arm and a drink tray filled with coffees balanced on the other. She might set down plates at each table with grace while sassing back the wisecracking regular across the small restaurant, all while easily taking your order with the smack of her gum and a smile on her face.

Now the food- and when I said southern comfort food, I totally meant southern comfort food. My friend ordered the Chicken Fried Steak that had a loose fried batter and a heavy handed portion of peppercorn gravy poured on top. They ordered mashed potatoes as their first side and boy, they were thick and creamy with their own special helping of gravy. As their second side, they ordered the macaroni and cheese. While the mac and cheese did need a little pizazz from the salt and pepper shaker, it was indeed my favorite kind of mac and cheese-the kind that is so cheesy gooey that it “sticks to your ribs,” mmm! Their meal came with a warm dinner roll that I may have confiscated…for research and review purposes of course! The test came back in and the results were that-it too, was delicious.

My own order was actually the special of the day, Chicken and Dumplings. Shredded chunks of chicken and a nice amount of chewy and filling dumplings danced around in that amazing chicken-dumpling sauce. The sauce had all kinds of amazing flavors going on and even had small diced, cooked carrots and celery, as if it wasn’t already hearty enough! The chopped, fresh green onions garnished on top really added a refreshing pop of color to the dish. I swore up and down I was going to devour my plate, but only managed to put a dent in it. I wasn’t kidding when I said the dumplings were definitely filling!

As we awaited our check and I enjoyed my free coffee refills, I realized the place had everything you could really ask for in a good diner; atmosphere, retro vibes and of course, that good ol’ southern cooking. Vickery Cafe is definitely a joint I’ll have to hit up again, but for now I’m passing it to you-Hope ya’ll enjoy as much as I did!

God Bless Chalynn