by Jay Hoffman
Stephenville was founded in 1854 and is known as the Cowboy Capital of the World and in the one-hundred Best Small Towns in America list as well as Dairy Capital of Texas. With that combination, there is sure to be some good eating in Stephenville.
The town was incorporated in 1889 with the advent of Ft. Worth, Texas and Rio Grande Railway. From there Stephenville exploded with growth and buildings along with John Tarleton Ag. College, now known as Tarleton State University. Stephenville boasts more cowboys per capita than any other city in the country.
Jake & Dorothy’s Café started up in 1948 and just celebrated their 75th anniversary of the location. The famed Waffle Potato Fries shape was invented by Jake and is still used today as they did 75 years ago. The perfection of the Chicken Fried Steak, CFS for short, was just like Jake’s momma made, and being one of the best locations for cattle it was made using a prime beef cut that is still breaded like good ole home cooking and made from scratch 75 years later at the hands of Jake’s daughter, Kerry Roach.
Jake and Dorothy’s run weekly specials to tempt your tastebuds, such as a Tuesday night $1.00 Hamburger Night, and their Thursday night All-You-Can-Eat Catfish for $15.95 from 5:00-close. Jake and Dorothy’s also have a weekly breakfast special for $5.95.
If you’re a fan of Chicken Fried Steaks like me then spend a day and head on down to Stephenville for a 2-hour drive for some delicious grub and visit the downtown area with its quaint town square and old courthouse surrounded by shops and clean small-town living. And that CFS is always on the CraveDFW best-of list each year.
Jake and Dorothy’s is also a favorite of Jeffrey Yarbrough, the one responsible for Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day.
Please check out Jake and Dorthy’s and taste a bit of Texas cowboy history.
My daddy took me there in 1948 and I have eaten there many times since then. Was there in July of this year! Way to go Kerry!
Ed Fenner