Friday, April 21, 2000

Conversation focuses on food at Allen’s in Sweetwater

By Glenn Dromgoole
Special to the Reporter-News

You can’t help but meet people when you eat at Allen’s Family Style Meals in Sweetwater.

That’s not the primary reason folks flock there for lunch Tuesday through Sunday (11-2). They come for the platters of old-fashioned fried chicken like grandma used to make and the bowls of mouth-watering vegetables — and the cobbler, of course.

There’s plenty to eat, and you’re welcome to eat as much as you want for $7 including tea or coffee and tax ($3 for children under 9). But before you can eat, you simply have to talk to the other people at your table. They will likely be strangers at first but not by the time you leave.

Granted, the conversation tends to be concentrated on the task at hand. “Please pass the turnip greens.” “We can make room down here for the squash.” “Anybody want some more chicken?” Things like that.

But things like that, after all, create a family-style-meal atmosphere.

These days most of our family meals don’t include eight vegetables and three salads, except maybe for Thanksgiving and family reunions. That’s typical fare at Allen’s every day, not just Sunday. On the day we went — a Saturday — we were treated to boiled potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, pinto beans, turnip greens, cream style corn, squash and okra, as well as pea salad, potato salad and cole slaw, hot rolls, plenty of gravy, peach cobbler, and large glasses of iced tea.

In addition to the fried chicken, Allen’s offered a platter of meat loaf that day. Sometimes the second meat dish is barbecued sausage (usually on Thursdays) or roast beef (always on Sundays) or occasionally ham or brisket.

But, frankly, who cares what the other meat is? When I go to Allen’s, I can’t help but eat three or four pieces of fried chicken (OK, five or six) along with at least six to eight helpings of veggies. (I skip the salads but not the dessert.)

Meanwhile, as we gorged ourselves that Saturday, we actually got around to visiting with the five other people at our table. We were on our way to a soccer game in Midland, and the man and woman next to us were on their way from Midland to a soccer game in Abilene. A lady from Sweetwater was celebrating her 87th birthday, and everyone in the place joined in singing to her.

“Happy birthday, ma’am. Would you be so kind as to pass the cobbler?”

Glenn Dromgoole is an Abilene author who has eaten in restaurants all his life. For previous restaurant reviews and a complete directory of Abilene restaurants, visit www. EATabilene.com.

IF YOU GO ...

Allen’s Family Style Meals

Sweetwater

Billy Allen, who runs Allen’s Family Style Meals, is the grandson of “Ma” Allen, who founded the restaurant in 1952.

Allen’s is at 1301 E. Broadway. If you’re going from Abilene, take the first Sweetwater exit off I-20 — Exit 247, the Business I-20 exit — and stay on Broadway. After you exit, it’s about two miles; you should see the sign on the right. If you get all the way to downtown, turn around and go back about a mile.

Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Meals are $7 for adults, $3 for children under 9. Tipping is permitted. Credit cards and checks are accepted. Take-out chicken orders are available.