Today we were free of any pesky chores so we went exploring again. We elected to go north.
Our first destination was The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, an illegal but tacitly accepted bordello that was in business from the early 1900’s to 1973. The very same business is mentioned as “that little house in La Grange” in ZZ Top’s song “La Grange.” We started out in the center of town and consulted our fancy phone to find the location of the famous cathouse, called The Chicken Ranch. We found the correct road but it was only after further phone consultations that we found that we should actually be looking for the ruins of The Chicken Ranch. The location is a brushy vacant lot with a barbed wire fence between it and the road.
Apparently, in 1976 two Dallas lawyers bought The Chicken Ranch and moved it (the prostitutes? the building? the clients?) to Dallas where whatever it was burned down. It was probably quite easy for lawyers to become pimps since they are adept at regularly fuc…… mistreating people.
We felt compelled to give ourselves a reward so we stopped at a nearby barbecue place in Ellinger called Peters BBQ. It is a small roadside joint with absolutely fabulous ribs and chicken. The sides are buffet style and they also have a soft serve machine for those with room for dessert. Their meat was fantastic and we both found their cornbread stuffing tasty. Their beans are also very good. We spent $32 for two, including 3 sides each, tips, two drinks and one dessert. The place is on TX-71 in Ellinger near Hruska’s Bakery.
We then started a big back road circle to the east, then north, then south through the surrounding counties. We passed through little towns named Fayetteville, Willow Springs, Industry, Nelsonville, Bellville, Phillipsburg, Brenham, Burton, Carmine and Giddings before passing again through La Grange on our way home. The Texas countryside can be stunningly beautiful. Of course there are bumpkins who keep everything they ever purchased in their yards but most of the rural residences are very handsome and some of the houses in the towns are absolute architectural gems. This place looks how rural America looked to me back in the 1960’s; quiet town squares, two pump old gas stations, awnings covering the town square sidewalks.
There’s a few pictures you can see if you click here