In a way, it doesn't seem fitting to show you a picture of Stephen Evans eating a chicken fried steak sandwich.
Don't get me wrong. I love a chicken fried steak sandwich. When I lived in Fort Worth, the restaurant across the street from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram featured a chicken fried steak sandwich special on Wednesdays. So that's where my boss and I ate on Wednesdays. But a chicken fried steak sandwich sort of indulges my baser food instincts.
And that's not what I think of when I think of Evans, one of the most loyally participating members of the WacoFork family. Evans brought multiple Asian food contributions to our tailgate parties. Evans made Asian and Indian chicken wings for our WacoFork birthday party at Clay Pot. Evans enjoys treating friends and strangers alike to Cafe Homestead farm to table dinners. Evans will routinely "sit in" at restaurant kitchens around town.
If the Waco restaurant scene was a jazz club, Evans would be Satchmo.
But here he is chomping down on a chicken fried steak sandwich. I hesitate to either chide him for his vulgarity or congratulate him for boldness because I know either way he will be commenting on this blog with his two cents. Let's be clear — I run this site, but it's Evans who patrols the blog's comment board.
Evans took me to lunch at Uncle Bubba's Bistro on Wednesday. It was too busy for us to try the ghost chili burger. Anyway, word on the street is that the IGA grocery that houses Uncle Bubba's doesn't like the bistro making the ghost chili burger during busy store hours because it has a pepper spray-like effect on shoppers.
So, more than slightly relieved, I chose the next best thing — the Uncle Bubba Burger. This burger features hot sauce cooked into the hamburger patty. It's also covered with jack cheese and jalapenos. It was hot enough that I almost felt sweat forming beneath my eyes and it left a tingle on my lips for a while. But the heat wasn't so extreme that it overpowered the flavor of the beef, cheese and bun.
And Evans, as you can see, chose the chicken fried steak sandwich.
How was it, Stephen?
