The Hangar Hotel

Walking into the lobby of the Hanger Hotel with bags in each hand, I scanned the room for the front desk. The soft light from high above gave the room a timeless glow. The sounds of a big band orchestra played quietly in the background. The walls were decorated with 1940’s era airplane memorabilia. Against the far wall, an antique console radio reigned mightily as some old luggage laid nearby forgotten in time. I expected to see Humphrey Bogart or Lauren Bacall cross the balcony above on their way to a secret encounter. 

As my eyes found the front desk, I spied some old phone operator’s equipment lying unused, waiting to connect a guest with the past. Approaching the front desk, Suzanne and I watched as a smiling, enthusiastic lady emerged from the back to help us check in. We had entered the “Twilight Zone”; no, I mean “The Hanger Hotel”! Check in was swift and painless.

With key in hand, we walked upstairs to check out our room. After a full day of travel and a trip into Llano, the thought of resting for a bit sounded good. The room was very comfortable and furnished in the same nostalgic style as the lobby complete with period style furniture and airplane memorabilia. Our view of a 1946 North American Navion airplane, an old 1926 truck, and a nostalgic airplane billboard complimented the ambiance of the hotel’s interior.  In the background, the Airport Diner beckoned all comers with its own 50’s looks. Should we rest or go check out the diner and those other collectibles outside? Flipping a mental coin, I opted to go outside.

Suzanne and I trekked on back downstairs and popped outside to a bright sun recovering from a soft, warm shower. With small puddles of water to dodge and Texas humidity to bear, we headed toward the diner. The diner looked the part of a 50’s drug store with a long chrome trimmed counter and swivel chairs. The airplane motif was on target with its guest. The booths were trimmed with chrome and sparklingly clean. Unfortunately, we chose the wrong time to come by. It was closed. No problem, out behind it was an old Douglas C41 airplane to scope out and an old Cadillac that made a great photo opportunity. There were more than enough antiques and memorabilia to offer a diversion in an otherwise quiet afternoon.

As the sun started its slide in the western sky, I remembered the reservationist letting us know that Thursday Happy Hour was Martini Night. Neither one of us had ever had a martini, so this was as good an opportunity as any to try one. Beats walking around in the hot summer sun I surmised. I explained to Suzanne my reason to retreat to the air conditioned bar referred to as the Officers Club. She agreed with delight! Off to the Officer’s Club we went.

The Officer’s club was quaint and cool. The airplane motif was prevalent. Snacks were available near the entrance to entice us to stay for awhile. We found a small table with a great view of the bar and settled in for some people watching while enjoying our drinks and conversation. The bartender was friendly and offered free advice on martinis as I explained my novice status. A “Dirty Martini” was the drink of choice. Like James Bond in a spy movie, I felt suave and sophisticated; if only in my mind. That’s the fun part! That’s what vacations are supposed to do. Take you away from your daily work or worries and create a dream world where fun is king. 

Staying at The Hanger Hotel was our little “Fantasy Island” episode. We had a great time and met some nice people. The next morning we woke up refreshed and eager to begin another day as we travel Texas Thru My Back Door! 

Texas Olive Ranch

Texas is known worldwide for her large ranches and farms. The King Ranch and Kenedy Ranch in south Texas are synonymous with expansive land ownership. But in this same south Texas area lays a unique ranch of sorts. It doesn’t raise cattle. It doesn’t raise goats or sheep and it doesn’t lease land for white tail deer hunting. There is no cotton, rice, oranges or grapefruits grown here. The love of this rancher is olives. That’s right! You heard me correctly, olives. The Texas Olive Ranch is the largest olive growing operation in Texas. There are about 40,000 trees growing in their current south Texas location and they are in the middle of adding 300,000 new olive trees on 383 acres northeast of Victoria.

Suzanne and I ran across their olive oils at our local HEB grocery store in the Houston area. The olive oils are high quality and they offer unique flavored versions such as Rattle Snake Cracked Pepper & Chipotle Chili Olive Oil, Mesquite Olive Oil, and Rio Orange Olive Oil (our favorite!) Being one who enjoys Texas products; I had to learn more about this venture in agricultural excellence. Back to the internet I went to find out all I could about growing olives in Texas and the results were a bit surprising.  It seemed that although olive trees could be grown in the southern areas of Texas, the commercialization of olive production was unproven. We decided that we needed to go to the source to learn more. With Suzanne’s tenacity to fulfill our desire to visit the ranch, she was able to contact the owners of the Texas Olive Ranch for a visit near harvest time. 

If you have ever traveled to South Texas, you have experienced the loneliness of nature’s trails. It’s a large expanse of wasteland with pockets of life sprinkled about. As we journeyed along the roads, all we saw were fence lines, cactus and scattered brush. Houses are few and far between. Our trek took us to the outskirts of Carrizo Springs, a small town full of life and vitality surrounded by a hostile environment.  Here, among the numerous ranches and deer leases outside of town was a luscious, green oasis of trees.  This island of greenery, over sixty acres of olive trees, was waiting to share her bounty of rich oils with those who have the passion and patience to nurture her.

Pulling into the private road of the ranch, we were greeted by Karen Henry who was headed out to town for some needed supplies. Her husband and grovemaster, Jim Henry was working in the olive grove about halfway down the road. As we drove up the road and parked our car, he quickly came out of the olive grove to greet us. In short time, Jim was explaining how the arbequina olives are grown and picked.  Due to the extreme Texas heat, they now pick the olives at night. The passion in his eyes and the tone of his voice expressed his love of olives. This is a man who enjoys his work! Every question we asked was answered. 

Jim, along with growers from California, recently testified before US International Trade Commission regarding the unfair trade practices that provide significant price advantages to imported oils.  There is a long history of fraud in the olive oil industry. In fact, Jim pointed out that the character of Vito Corleone “The Godfather” was based on a real life convicted criminal, Joe Profaci, also known as “the olive oil king”.  We were surprised to learn that well over 60% of imported olive oils labeled as “extra virgin” are in fact either blended with inferior olive oils or cut with other kinds of oils such as canola or hazelnut oil. So before you buy your next bottle of extra virgin olive oil, think about where it came from. If the price sounds too good to be true, it probably is not pure extra virgin olive oil. Who would have known? 

“When it comes to olive oil, freshness counts,” Jim explained as he cut open and squeezed a ripe olive straight from a tree letting the oil fall into the palm of his hand.  The age of the oil affects both the taste and the nutritional value.  Cooking with locally produced olive oil ensures a fresh great tasting product with all the heart healthy benefits we expect.  Oils shipped from faraway places are more likely to be less fresh due to shipping restraints. It’s like buying locally grown ripe fruits and vegetables verses fruits and vegetables picked before they are ripe in foreign countries or states. It makes a difference! 

     After learning all we could in the orchard, Jim suggested we drive to the back of the ranch and view the oil pressing machinery.  He walked us through each of the steps in the oil production process. The by-product (the olive fruit) is also collected and processed for animal feed or fertilizers. Sitting in the middle of the production facility in folding chairs and joined by his wife Karen, who is the managing director of the Texas Olive Oil Council, we listened to their stories and accomplishments in the olive oil business. My favorite story was about an agriculture expert from a prominent Texas university who was quoted as saying that growing olive trees as a business in Texas was impossible. Jim invited the professor to visit his olive oil operation but the professor refused to acknowledge the commercial viability of the business. My take on this story is, “Never tell a Texan he can’t do something big because the Texan will make you look small in return!”

We left the Texas Olive Ranch fully appreciating the fact that the Texas frontier spirit is alive and well in south Texas.  Here is a man who had a vision and against all odds is creating a new industry in the state where they said it couldn’t be done. I believe one day olive farms will be as popular as vineyards. The winners will be us, the consumer who will be able to buy fresh certified extra virgin olive oils in Texas. There is so much more to their story so I suggest you check out their website. As for Suzanne and I, we will continue on down the road as we see Texas Thru My Back Door!

To learn more about the Texas Olive Ranch, click here.

Texas Born Bourbon

“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven than I shall not go” - Mark Twain (Lucky for us, Texas is the next best thing to heaven!)

The news is spreading like wildfire around Texas that the Garrison Brothers Distillery makes some of the finest sipping straight bourbon in the United States. I always heard that Kentucky made the finest sipping bourbon, so to find out for ourselves whether or not this Texas claim was true, Suzanne and I decided to pay them a visit.  As always, I entrusted Suzanne to set up a visit to the distillery while I brushed up on my knowledge of bourbon. 

It seems that only distilled spirits made from at least 51% corn and produced in the United States can be called bourbon.  Other U.S. standards include: must be aged in new barrels only; must be distilled to no more than 160 proof (80 % alcohol per volume); and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. Straight bourbon must be aged a minimum of two years and cannot include any additional coloring, flavoring or other spirits. With all this new found knowledge in hand and a thirst for some Texas made straight bourbon, I couldn’t wait for our trip!

Suzanne confirmed our visit to the distillery in Hye, Texas for high noon on a Friday. Our trip was set. Rain or shine, this was one trip I didn’t want to miss.  I know what you’re thinking, “Where in the heck is Hye, Texas?” Hye is a small town just west of Austin between Johnson City and Fredericksburg on US 290 in the Hill Country area of Texas. 

 

As we journeyed to the distillery, the ominous clouds which had threatened rain all morning opened up and the rain began to fall.  I knew we needed any rain we could get to alleviate the drought conditions in Texas, but did it have to rain on my parade? I wondered if I was snake-bit. The closer we got to the distillery, the more it rained. Always a trooper, Suzanne barely flinched at the thought of sloshing through the muddy grounds of the distillery. Straining to see though rain, we caught a glimpse of the Garrison Brothers Distillery sign and pulled into the drive. At first glance the entrance appeared to be just like that of an ordinary cattle ranch, but the humorous No Smoking sign was a clear indication of the fun ahead.

A short distance up the drive we found the designated meeting area, a small visitors building. Suzanne and I made a fast dash in the rain to the porch. The rustic split cedar building provided us cover. There were drinks and food to snack on while we waited for our host. An outside fire pit and surrounding cedar wood chairs quietly beckoned Mother Nature to stop the rain. Soon, our host arrived to greet us along with the other two slightly soggy couples waiting for the tour. Instead of riding in an open wagon to the distillery as was the typical beginning of the tour on drier days, she asked us to follow her by car.  Eagerly we all jumped into our vehicles and like a wagon train from an old western movie, we headed up to the distillery single-file.

Once we reached our destination, our host rounded us up like a small lost herd of cows and led us to the grain hopper room. Here we learned about the definition of straight bourbon and the impeccable quality of the ingredients that go into their mash. After answering all our questions about the corn, wheat and barley, our host led us to the fermenting room. In the fermenting room, the master of the fermentation process (aka Master of the Mash) explained each step in making the fermented beer that is then sent to the distillation tower. After a short question and answer session, we left that building and proceeded to the distillation building. 

Climbing up a stairway to a large platform overlooking the distillation kettles, we observed the main distillation area. The operations manager addressed us and explained both the design of the equipment and the elements of the distillation process.  We were allowed the unique opportunity to taste the “white dog” (pure 160 proof alcohol) from the stills. After directions on how to sip the “white dog”, we all grabbed one of the little cups and very carefully sipped the clear liquid. We learned about the importance of the barreling of the bourbon and length of aging,then it was on to the bottling room.

As we stood in the bottle cleaning and filling area, we listened to the bottling manager explain the actual packaging process. The distillery blends and bottles their bourbon only twice a year. Today, as luck would have it, they were bottling product. Because the distillery has only a very small permanent staff, they use volunteers to help with the bottling as it is quite a production. Suzanne and other guests were given the opportunity to dip the filled bottles in wax as part of the packaging process. What a treat to help out! 

After this fun opportunity, we were ushered to the tasting room in an adjacent building.  This was the part I enjoyed the most; the tasting of the finished product! By putting tiny amounts of bourbon in your mouth and squishing it about, you could taste the various flavors imparted by the bourbon. The flavor was exquisite! The deal was closed. We purchased a bottle to take home … for medicinal purposes, of course.

This is a tour you will really enjoy. For us, the weather was uncooperative but the employees were friendly, informative and happy. You can sense their pride and enjoyment of their craft. For them to allow us to share a little time out of their work day and learn about the making of Texas bourbon was fantastic!

The Garrison Brothers Distillery is located at 1827 Hye Albert Road.  Reservations and a small fee are required for the tour, but I assure you that it’s well worth the extra effort. I hope you get a chance to visit the distillery and try their products as we have while traveling Texas Thru My Back Door!

Raising Cane in East Texas

Ribbon cane has been a staple in East Texas since the mid 1800s. Those familiar with the East Texas country life probably have heard this phrase: “Pass the biscuits and ribbon cane syrup, please”. This phrase was probably the most frequently spoken phrase sitting around the table at my grandparent’s farm.  Their hearty traditional farm breakfast always included hot biscuits and ribbon cane syrup made in East Texas.  As thick as honey with a strong distinctive flavor, this syrup brings back many happy memories.

At one time, many farms throughout East Texas grew ribbon cane for their own use. An acre of sandy soil could produce enough ribbon cane to yield as much as 300 gallons of syrup. Once harvested, the cane was crushed with large rollers, usually powered by horses or mules, and the juice collected in barrels then fed into special 12 foot long cooking pans.  The long pans were divided into sections and the syrup would be cooked to a specific temperature and the waste skimmed off in each individual section down the length of the pan to produce the final product. Around the 1900s, most commercial cane operations in Texas were drying up.  By the 1950’s, only the old timers talked about making ribbon cane.  Excellent syrup making was considered an art and today that art is celebrated each year at the Heritage Syrup festival in Henderson, TX. The festival is held on the 2^nd Saturday of November and includes syrup making demonstrations, folk art, and of course a chance to buy locally made ribbon cane syrup.  

Summer time is not the right season for finding fresh syrup, but AJ and I managed to score a possible source made on a farm in Garrison and sold at a small market in the tiny town of Timpson.  So armed with a challenge, we charted a course to Timpson  and began our journey up highway US 59 to find this stash of locally made ribbon cane syrup. 

Our first stop along our route was the “oldest town in Texas”, Nacogdoches.  This quaint historic town boasts that they have existed under 9 different flags over the course of the last 400+ years.  Although the city was home to Sam Houston for a short time, it’s most notable historic resident was Thomas Jefferson Rusk.  Thomas Jefferson Rusk was the first secretary of war in the Republic of Texas, a general at the battle of San Jacinto, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic.  He later went on to serve nearly a decade as a prominent US Senator.  Today, the Stephen F Austin University is located on part of his original homestead in Nacogdoches.

We toured the downtown area stopping at a few of the many antique stores and then it was on to lunch at CC’s Smokehouse.  This casual dining mainstay of the Nacogdoches area is really two restaurants in one with separate barbeque and steakhouse menus. There are even separate windows for placing your order.  We opted for the steak, frankly because we didn’t see the barbeque ordering window when we first walked in.  Although we both love our barbeque, the steak did not disappoint.  Juicy meat with excellent flavor and served Texas barbeque style along with tasty sides made the trip worthwhile.

We continued our trek along the highway with a quick stop at an antique store on the square in Garrison and continued on to Timpson. Once in Timpson, we spied the fortress that held our elusive prize, Miller’s Country Market.  The market, which opened last year, is owned and operated by a local Mennonite family. Mennonites are members of an anabaptist denomination that is often confused with the more conservative Amish church.  They carry fresh baked breads and locally made preserves, a variety of meats and cheeses, and a wide selection of Amish wedding products from Ohio.  The store hours are 9:00-5:30 Thursday and Friday and 9:00-4:30 on Saturday, so plan your trip for an early start if you are coming from the Houston area.

After all that driving, antique shopping, and eating did we find our quarry?  Indeed we did!  The next morning ribbon cane syrup gushed from the glass jar like a mud slide down a mountain side onto my prized homemade pancakes. Life is good, mmm mmm good in Texas Thru Our Back Door!

Join in our fight against breast cancer.  Visit Suzanne's new blog "My Equations for Life" as she reflects on life B.C. (before cancer) and A.D. (after diagnosis) and help support new early cancer detection research at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center with our Go Fund Me project below.