best of
2006
“Best” is such an ephemeral quality that it’s hard to really define, but each year, our readers do their best to at least quantify “favorites” in various categories. During the past three years, the number of first-time winners testifies to the depth of quality in all of the categories.
This year’s multiple winners are Edom Bakery & Grill (five first-place awards)
and, with two each, Dairy Palace, Don Santos Mexican
Grill, Lone Star Grill, The
Shed, and Sister’s Café.
Only two categories have had the same winner all three years:
best salad bar (Lone Star Grill) and
best DJ (Tom Perryman of KKUS).
Over the same three years, two-time winners in various categories include
Circle E Steakhouse, Dairy Palace,
Edgewood Senior Citizens Dance, Edom Marketplace, Jewel’s, Log Cabin Bazaar &
Festival, The Park on Cherry Creek, Salt Palace, The Shed, Two Senoritas,
actress Lois Arneson and Wal-Mart greeter Joyce Roe.
FOOD / DRINK
Best Barbecue
For the third year in a
row, there’s a new winner – Rod’s in Canton.
Rod’s has been in business on Hwy. 64 for about six years now. The menu is basic
beef, sausage, pulled pork, ribs, and hot links available with pinto, baked, and
green beans; cole slaw, corn on the cob, French and home fries, potato salad,
baked potatoes, fried okra, macaroni and cheese, and stewed macaroni. It’s
available 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Runner up.
Edom Bakery & Grill
Best Breakfast
Voters couldn’t decide
between Lone Star Grill in Wills Point and Edom Bakery & Grill, so we won’t
either. It’s a tie.
Edom Bakery & Grill’s extensive breakfast menu includes – take a deep breath and
then read this – salt-rising, rye, dark Russian, raisin, banana, zucchini and
carrot-pineapple breads; an assortment of muffins including cranberry nut,
Hawaiian, cinnamon chip, and blueberry; lox and bagels with capers; eggs
Benedict; and an assortment of eggs with biscuits, gravy, Belgian waffles; and
fresh seasonal fruit. Hours are 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday; and 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Lone Star Grill’s fresh-daily offerings include thick golden waffles with
strawberries, whipped cream, or even ice cream; Texas scrambler eggs with diced
ham; the hungry Texan breakfast with three eggs, potatoes, center-cut ham,
biscuits, or toast; French toast; pancakes, wraps, omelets, breakfast
sandwiches, etc. Hours are 6 a.m-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m.-9
p.m. Sunday, with breakfast available all hours. Past winners for best breakfast
are The Shed in Edom (2005) and Jewel’s in Canton (2004).
Runner up:
The Shed, Edom
Best Catfish
The Shed in Edom, which
won in 2004, is back on top of the voting for best catfish, edging a crowded
field that includes 2005 winner Rocky’s in Grand Saline. The catfish is
available Friday and Saturday nights from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. as a four-piece
dinner or “all you can eat.” It comes with baked potatoes, regular fries, or
sweet potato fries; salad or cole slaw; pinto beans; and all the trimmings.
Runner up:
Edom Bakery & Grill
Best Chicken-fried Steak
Sister’s Café in Canton beat out two-time winner The Shed for best
chicken-fried steak. Leigh Ann Jacquez, who now runs the café with her mom Judy
Johnson, reports that each five- to seven-ounce steak from Mineola Packing
Company is hand-battered and comes with two side dishes. It’s a lunch special
for $5.79 on Thursdays, and is available for $7.99 the rest of the week from
6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 6:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday through
Saturday.
Runner up:
Lone Star Grill, Wills Point
Best Coffee
Edom Bakery & Grill came up with the most votes for best coffee, edging
two-time winner Jewel’s and a whole bunch of other places. It’s a Costa Rican
blend that comes in both caffeinated and decaffeinated and with a choice of
flavored creams including hazelnut, amaretto, Irish cream, chocolate cream,
French vanilla, and Southern butter pecan.
Runner up:
10-way tie.
Best Enchilada
Two Senoritas in Canton
won for the second time in three years for best enchilada, beating 2005 winner
Bluebird Café. The enchiladas come in the usual concoctions – cheese, beef, and
chicken – and covered with a choice of toppings. Beans and rice of course, and
tortilla chips. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11
a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Runner up:
Ochoa’s, Canton
Best Gas, Grub, Grocery
Store
In this first-time
category that celebrates function over form, Sam’s Exxon in Ben Wheeler gets the
nod for its fine burgers, its malts and shakes, and for wide-ranging breakfast,
lunch, and dinner menus that include – hold your breath again – grilled chicken,
fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, barbecue, fries, corn dogs, hot dogs, chili
dogs, egg rolls, beef fajitas, chicken fajitas, beef tacos, chicken tacos,
homemade chili and stew, breakfast tacos, eggs, bacon, hash browns, grits,
oatmeal, and a variety of croissants all served from behind an old-time soda
fountain counter. The rest of the store’s interior is filled with groceries,
gifts, trinkets, and seasonal stuff. During the winter, the T-shirts have been
replaced by coats. Oh, yes, Sam’s sells gas, too.
Runner up:
Mr. D’s with the Subway sandwich shop in Canton
Best Hamburger
Dairy Palace won best hamburger in 2004 and again this year. Even setting
aside the obvious quality, the choices are tantalizing: varieties include bacon,
chili, catfish, salmon, bison, and two kinds of vegetarian burgers. The
old-fashioned burgers come in six sizes – fifth-pound, third-pound, and
half-pound, with double meat available on each – and the main ingredient is
fresh (not frozen) ground beef chuck processed on site. It’s all available 24
hours a day and, thanks to First Monday Trade Days crowds, it’s all world
famous. Wild Flour Café was the 2005 winner.
Runner up:
Edom Bakery & Grill
Best Hot Sauce/Salsa & Tortilla Chips
Don Santos Mexican Grill in Van, which was known as Jamie’s before moving to
Edom and then moving back to Van. The best chips won’t break in the queso or hot
sauce, and are crisp, hot (at least when they get to the table), and consistent.
The best hot sauce and salsa are about taste, not necessarily heat. Owner Albert
Santos reports that both the chips and hot sauce are made fresh on the premises.
The hot sauce is a combination of jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, onions, and
crushed red peppers, with the heat depending on that day’s crop of jalapenos.
Both are available 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. The Edom location of Don Santos
is expected to re-open sometime late in2007. Enlaces in Edgewood was voted the
tastiest in 2005, and Two Senoritas in Canton in 2004.
Runner up for hot sauce/salsa:
Ochoa’s, Canton
Runner up for tortilla chips:
Juanita’s, Canton
Best Malt/Shake
Dairy Palace won the vote
for best malt and shake in 2004 and again this year, and was runner up in 2005.
It’s no wonder, with Blue Bell ice cream, real milk, and 36 flavors including
moo-lennium crunch, chocolate chip cookie dough, caramel pecan fudge, pecan
pralines and cream, cotton candy, and banana pudding along with basic vanilla,
chocolate, and strawberry.
Runner up:
Dairy Queen, Wills Point
Best Pie
Edom Bakery & Grill’s
selection of made-on-the-spot pies (and other desserts) includes coco-nut cream,
chocolate cream, lemon cream, German chocolate, buttermilk, pecan, cranberry
apple, apple, fudge brownie, chocolate chip, key lime, cherry, and peach. Not
all of the varieties are available every day, but there are more than enough
choices to fill a tummy and tantalize the taste buds. The Shed won this category
the past two years.
Runner up:
Ochoa’s, Canton
Best Produce
Edom Marketplace, which won the first “best-of” voting in 2004 but finished
second to Graham’s Edgewood Market in 2005, was back on top for 2006. The big
news, however, is for 2007 when, by mid January or so, there will be an expanded
dining room and kitchen with more sandwiches and salads and even a daily
hot-meal special. The Walker Farms produce store doubles as a small grocery
store and deli with some of the usual stuff alongside specialty items such as
cookbooks, relishes, and Watkins flavorings and soup kits.
Runner up:
English
Best Queso
As the third different winner in three years, Juanita’s in Canton is a
little “cheesier” than two other Canton winners, Ochoa’s in 2005 and Two
Senoritas in 2004. The queso is made fresh every day with a 100 percent Velveeta
base – it melts easy – and a variety of spices similar to, but not identical,
too, quesos at other places. Hours are 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through
Saturday.
Runners up:
Two Senoritas and
Robles, Canton
Best Salad Bar
Ranchero in Canton tied with Lone Star Grill in Wills Point, which is now a
three-time winner in voting for best salad bar.
Lone Star Grill diners can and often do make a meal out of the extensive salad
bar at Lone Star Grill. The salad bar includes crisp, mixed iceberg and green
leaf lettuce, black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, pickles, pickled okra, cheese,
onions, beets, cottage cheese, peaches, seasonal fruits, mushrooms, English pea
salad, and potato salad. Toppings include boiled eggs, bacon, six kinds of
“regular” dressings, and two fat-free dressings.
It’s all available 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Ranchero’s salad bar is open 10:30 a.m. to 9
p.m. and offers “a little bit of everything” – cobb, broccoli and cauliflower,
macaroni, Waldorf, pea, potato, and carrot salads; beets; mushrooms; red onions;
cole slaw; cantaloupes; pico de gallo; guacamole; and a variety of dressings
including tangy tomato bacon.
Runner up:
Edom Bakery & Grill
Best Sandwich
Edom Bakery & Grill’s gourmet sandwiches ruled the ’06 ballot box: Southern
turkey, Rueben, turkey panini, club wrap in garlic herb tortilla, barbecue with
the grill’s own sauce, grilled chicken, smoked chicken with mango salsa on a
fresh-baked croissant, grilled cheddar, and a half-pound hamburger. Edgewood’s
Wild Flour Café (2005) and Canton’s Tea Room on the Square (2004) are previous
winners.
Runner up:
Joe Mama’s, Canton
Trades Day Arbors
Best Steak
Relative newcomer Four Winds Steakhouse in Wills Point, near Interstate 20
and Hwy. 47, edged two-time winner Circle E from Canton. The steaks – choice,
hand-selected, aged, grain fed from the Midwest – are cut to order when the
ticket comes to the kitchen, seasoned, and put on the grill. Specialties include
a fresh, 26-ounce bone-in rib eye with a brandy peppercorn sauce, pecan-breaded
catfish, fried shrimp, and marinated grilled chicken breast served with fresh
vegetables. There’s also the tomato mozzarella salad and cheesecake made in the
restaurant New York style with sour cream topping. The restaurant, built as a
house by former Dallas Cowboy Lee Roy Jordan, seats 125 people in the main
dining room, a semi-private room, and a couple of private rooms, and there’s a
huge front porch for sitting before and after dinner. Hours are 5 p.m. to 10
p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Runner up:
Circle E, Canton
Best Waitstaff
A good staff can even
sometimes anticipate your order, and provides prompt, professional, friendly
service even in a crowded, noisy dining room. Winning staffs also get orders
right. With its experienced staff, Dinner Bell in Van took the vote in this
service category. Carrie Derrick has eight years experience, trained by her mom,
Joyce, who worked at Dinner Bell for 10 years herself. The Shed won in 2005 and
2004.
Runner up:
Edom Bakery & Grill
LIFE / LEISURE
Best Annual Event
For the second consecutive year, Edgewood’s Log Cabin Bazaar & Festival
edged the Edom Festival of the Arts, which won in 2004. This jewel of a setting
draws a thousand or more people every November to see what life was like in Van
Zandt County at the turn of the century – the 20th Century, and to just have
some fun. The festival includes artists, music, country crafts, gunfight
reenactments by the “peacemakers,” gourmet bake sale, quilt show, open pet show,
classic car show, vintage tractors, home-cooked foods, CASI chili cook-off,
pinto bean contest, music, square dancing, demonstrations by “smittys” with the
North Texas Blacksmith Association, photos with Santa in the dogtrot cabin,
demonstrations of vintage crafts, and the old presses in the Edgewood Print
Shop. The festival also features a vintage, HO-scale model train in full
operation in the baggage room of the Murchison depot, complete with an
“engineer” who’ll help visitors – children and at-heart children – understand
the importance of the railroads in American history. This year’s armadillo races
were also a big hit.
Runner up:
Edom Festival of the
Arts
Best Museum
The Van Oil Museum and Grand Saline’s Salt Palace tied for first place for
2006, inheriting the title from 2005 winner Edgewood’s Heritage Park. Salt
Palace also won in 2004. The Salt Palace has been rebuilt on the same site in
downtown Grand Saline three times, most recently in 1993, of salt blocks from
the nearby Morton Salt mines. The museum exhibits salt mining artifacts and
memorabilia along with memorabilia from native son and aviator Wiley Post. Salt
Palace hours are Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. The Van Oil &
Historical Museum features a working miniature oil pump, an 1800s cotton mill, a
blacksmith shop, general store, tools and equipment, 1930 working kitchen with
gas refrigerator and kerosene stove, and many documents and other memorabilia.
Hours are 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Runner up:
Wills Point Depot
Best Play
“Sanders Family Christmas,” directed by Mary Scott for Edom Civic Theatre on
the group’s tenth anniversary. Conceived by Alan Bailey and written by Connie
Ray, the play tells the story of Rev. Oglethorpe’s attempt to get a little
down-home holiday spirit into his Baptist congregation before the local boys are
shipped off to WWII. He has invited the Sanders family to return home, and he’s
looking for Christmas carols, vintage hymns, and funny yuletide stories from the
more or less devout family.
Runner up:
“The Diviners”
Best Playground
The Park on Cherry Creek in Canton. The centerpiece of this eight-acre
park’s phase one is a sprawling, castle-themed wooden playscape to climb and
crawl through, surrounded by sandboxes and other amenities. Another part of the
master plan – walking trails – also is complete. Volunteers hope to hear during
January about a grant to complete pavilions, volleyball courts, a splash pad,
boardwalks, a Frisbee golf course, an outdoor theater, and renovations to the
soccer fields at the Old City Park.
Runner up:
Lester Park in Wills
Point, which is in the early stages of the same growth process as The Park on
Cherry Creek
Best Small-town Dance
With County Line voters this year, Edom City Limits is a two-step ahead of
the Edgewood Senior Citizens Dance, which won best small-town dance in both 2005
and 2004. The “opry house” – which can seat a hundred or so people with room for
a good-sized dance floor, too – has a few big flings a year and is also often
rented out for special events such as weddings, anniversaries, family reunions,
birthdays, etc. Owner Doc Collins also hosts fundraisers from time to time.
Runner up:
Edgewood Senior
Citizens Dance
Best DJ
Three-time winner Tom Perryman, who can be heard 9-11 a.m. on KKUS 104.1 in
Tyler, remains at the top of the heap. He’s got a couple of special
anniversaries coming up in 2007: celebrating both 60 years in radio and 80 years
on Earth. Tom is a member of the Disc Jockey Hall of Fame and the Texas Country
Music Hall of Fame, firmly rooted in East Texas. He got his start in radio in
1947 at KEBE in Jacksonville, and promoted stars including Jim Ed Brown, Hank
Thompson, and Elvis Presley as a DJ at KSIJ in Gladewater. Tom once co-owned
KGRI in Henderson with Jim Reeves.
Runners up:
Bob Mauldin and Tim
Carista, 1510 AM
Best Sign
First Assembly of God on Hwy. 243 in Canton has changed its message on a
sign out front just about every week since the Rev. Jimmy Allen and his wife,
Anneta, came to the church in 1986. The new sign, circa 2000, allows more
letters. Anneta pulls many of the slogans from books and gets others from
congregation members and other folks. The church sees the signs as a ministry;
Anneta says truckers and others driving along Interstate 20 tell her they detour
through Canton to check out the latest inspirational sign. Dairy Palace’s “world
famous” signs won in both 2005 and 2004.
Runner up:
Pizza Boy, Van
Best Slogan
Sister’s Café’s saucy slogan, “Put a Little South in your Mouth,” won over
The Shed’s “Get Fed at the Shed” from 2005, and Henry Lewis’ “I’ll meet you at
two in the morning if I know you’re coming” from 2004. Marcy Darnell, one of
three of Judy Johnson’s daughters who established the café, came up with the
slogan four or five years ago, sparked by something she heard on a televised
cooking show.
Runner up.
Lewis Chevrolet, Canton
Best Website
www.edomtexas.com and
www.vzcountyline.com tied for
the most votes. www.edomtexas.com
loads quick, includes a brief history and a calendar of Edom events; contact
information for the fire department, community center, and city council; a
succinct set of policies and ordinances; and online links to local businesses
and events. www.vzcountyline.com
includes the County Line’s event and music calendars; a list of where to find
full, paper copies of the County Line; club and organization listings; a dining
guide; a table of contents for each month’s articles; and links to past issues.
In 2005, the winner was
www.cottageinthewoodscandles.com and in 2004 the winner was
www.chambercantontx.com.
Runners up:
Paige Bridges’ www.vintagetraveltrailerart.com and www.vintagetrailerart.com
PEOPLE
Best Artist
Zeke and Marty Zewick got the most votes. They still do a bit of painting
and sculpture, but 90 percent of their work now is in jewelry – fabricated, not
cast, Marty points out. Mediums include silver, gold, jewelry, polished bone,
rusted steel, and faceted stones. They’ve operated their Edom shop for 30 years
now; the sign beside the door says “open most days, closed others.” The 2005
winner was Ryan Ayers and the 2004 winner was Jerry Hollister.
Runner up:
Steve Riley, Wills
Point
Best Barber/HairStylist
Christy Beall with Shear Paradise in Van was voted best barber/hair stylist.
Until January when she joined Shear Paradise full-time, she was also working at
Tyler’s Total Image. She managed Mastercuts in Tyler for a couple of years, but
has lived in Van Zandt County for six years and picked up individual customers
through word of mouth. She has always had a passion for hair styling because
it’s creative and it helps people look pretty.
Runner up:
Joe Pritchett, Edom
Best Chef
Jackson York joined Edom Bakery & Grill full time in August after previously
hosting the grill’s once-a-month gourmet dinners. He moved to Edom from Fort
Worth and has “a lot of years” in the food business, having met co-owner Ann
Berry, with her husband Bud, at a couple of cooking classes he taught. The 2005
winner, Nellie Landaverde, is also now at Edom Bakery & Grill.
Runner up:
Carol Thomas, The Shed, Edom
Best Doctor
Drs. Carlos Reyes of Baker Clinic in Wills Point and Dr. J.W. Dailey of
Dailey Medical Clinic in Canton won the most votes in this category. Both are in
general practice. Dr. Reyes practiced vascular and thoracic surgery in the
Dallas area and East Texas before settling in at the Wills Point Medical
Center/Baker Clinic 10 years ago. He planned to retire at the end of 2006, with
Cozby-Germany Hospital taking over his clinic as part of its expansion. Dr.
Dailey opened his Canton clinic five years ago, and brings in a number of
specialists – cardiology, pulmonary, ENT, podiatry, urology, orthopedics, and
psychology – once or more a month. Dr. John Turner won this category in both
2005 and 2004.
Runner up:
Dr. Kenneth Nixon,
Canton
Best Actor/Actress
Lois Arneson, who won this category in 2004, also won again for 2006. She
played Mrs. Sanders in the November production of Edom Civic Theatre’s “Sanders
Family Christmas” and, way back in April, directed “Who’s Coming to Lunch.” Lois
will also direct February’s production of “Five Tellers Dancing n the Rain,” a
comedy about five women working in the same bank who share their life stories
with one another. The 2005 winner was R.J. Norman.
Runner up:
Russell Hall
Best Waiter/Waitress
Kena Lunsford at The Shed in Edom follows workmate Kathy Dunson (the 2005
winner) and Carlos Zarate (2004) of the Dairy Palace in Canton. Friendly, prompt
service and ready smiles always help. Kena has worked at The Shed for four years
after moving from Dallas, where she worked at Primo’s, Gator’s, and other
restaurants. She works the breakfast and lunch shifts Monday through Friday and
every other weekend.
Runner up:
Lisa Byers, Edom Bakery
& Grill
Best Wal-Mart Greeter:
Joyce Roe won a close vote as best Wal-Mart greeter over good friend Sarah
Musgrove; they tied for best in 2005. Both are long-time greeters at Wal-Mart,
Sarah mostly working evenings and Joyce mostly working days. They like the jobs
because they get paid, in essence, to visit with friends. And strangers, too.
They greet customers, make sure shoppers have a buggy, and help carry purchases
out when it’s raining.
Thanks to all those who voted and be sure to look for ballots later this year
for the Best of 2007!
This page last updated December 29, 2007