by Trey Moran
It’s been well over a year since I caught up with Fort Worth icon Grady Spears but it seems like things at his chicken fried steak centric Stockyards café, Horseshoe Hill, are going well. He’s still serving up chicken fry 5 different ways:
The Cowboy Way with Peppered Cream Gravy
The Vaquero Way with Ancho Cheese Enchiladas
The Farmers Way with Chili Gravy and Fried Egg
Matt’s Way with Chile Con Carne & Queso Blanco
The Frontera Way with Cheese Chile Relleno
Grady did say there would be a 6th way added which will be with green chile cream gravy.
Horseshoe Hill was named Critics Choice Best Chicken Fried Steak for 2016 by Fort Worth Weekly. It’s my opinion that they are indeed the best around. Good chicken fried steaks are hard to find. Some places go cheap and use frozen {gasp!} patties, or bad cuts of meat. Some places go over the top with complicated gravies and cuts of meat not suited for CFS. Here they use thin cut ribeye steaks, hand battered and fried to perfection.
Each steak has a crispy coating that sticks to the meat but its also so delicate you can cut it with a fork. You can’t entertain yourself by watching diners dig into one of these for the first time. As soon as it goes into their mouth their eyes close and they stop for a moment as if saying a prayer or thank you to the CFS gods.
“Everyone loves chicken fried steak. Your mother cooked it, your grandmother cooked it. It’s comfort food”. Grady Spears.
The menu here has evolved but it hasn’t changed too much from a year ago. Grady plans to add a few seasonal items for fall. A few hearty stews and soups, and chicken and dumplings will show up soon. They will also be adding breakfast and brunch in the near future. I see chicken fried steak and eggs in my future.
Grady is continually involved in promoting the Stockyards, Fort Worth and the cowboy way of life. Most times he’s under the radar but he does have a new television show in the works with Ride TV. The show will promote all things Texan and also feature cowboy style cooking around the world. Along with cookbooks and being the consulting chef for the Houston Texans, Spears has a lot of irons in the fire with more projects in the works.
“Everyone has a story or connection to the Stockyards. If you own a pair of leather shoes you have a connection to the Stockyards. The cattle industry was born here”. Grady Spears.
