Ponderosa in Snyder, Texas

Ponderosa Restaurant

Last June, Don and I dined well, on the first day of our road trip to Colorado. I looked on my phone for good lunch options as we drove through west-central Texas.

As we traveled on Hwy 180 towards the town of Snyder, I looked for ideas on TripAdvisor and found Ponderosa. The term "hole in the wall" was written in more than a couple reviews. Compliments about the owner and food were pretty much mentioned in all!

Driving through Snyder

I looked up from my phone enough to glimpse at the town as we rolled along 180. We didn't spot a sign for Ponderosa, but we saw quite a few worn and weathered restaurants.

I did love the vintage Sinclair sign, though! And the sweet dino and mint colored truck!

What a mighty tidy little station!

Ponderosa's Sign

We made it through town and I thought we'd missed the place. Then we spotted the fine sign above a cluster of buildings on the Ponderosa property. (This curious sign was not featured in any of the reviews)

I tried to quickly take in all the info, written in Spanish and English.
Restaurant AND motel  
Phone & Fax numbers 
Money Transfer Service 
Open 24 hours... yet, Open Mondey to Friday 6 pm to 10 pm.
Nothing on the sign told us where to park or which building held the restaurant.

Entrance

We pulled off the highway and drove between 2 blue posts. Colored lights were strung between a few buildings.

The property felt a little odd and confusing. The cars parked near the L-shaped motel indicated long term residents. Should we park there?

We drove around to another L-shaped section of rooms, that looked unoccupied.

We parked and headed back to the area with dark blue paint and signs. I reminded Don, "The reviews are positive! I heard it's the best food in Snyder!"

It looked like a few projects were in progress. I could see some scaffolding on the roof of the white building. The planter and fountain area was partially coated in blue spray paint. 
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Blue & White
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There was more fresh paint on a little shrine built into one of the posts. Luckily statues of Mary are usually blue. She might have gotten an added  touch-up of paint on her robe,

Madonna was facing towards the white metal building, that we presumed was the restaurant. But the attached carport made us wonder if it was a home. Luckily we noticed a neon sign above the door. "Come In We're Open" 

Happy Greeting

As we stepped into a sort of breezeway, a man in a cowboy hat nodded and smiled on his way out. After passing through a red door, we finally felt confident we'd found our restaurant. 

Two men stood chatting beside one of the booths. One was dressed in a proper chef's cook shirt. He looked at Don and smiled, "Welcome back!"  (hmm?) Then he invited us to sit anywhere. 

Pick of the Place

It was just 11:30, so all tables were available. We had about 8 options.

I was eager to sit at a table with Spanish style barrel chairs. "Ponderosa" and a scorpion was engraved into each.

Lots to See

While the chef finished up his converstaion, we took in our surroundings. The alcove-type windows, reminded me of Mary's shrine outside, But they were filled with artwork and knickknacks...

... and an occasional religious figure, if you looked carefully.

Luis of Ponderosa

It was just a moment before the owner/chef said good-bye to his friend and greeted us again, with menus.

There was a photo of Luis and his late wife Lucia, just below the giant scorpion. (It say Lus & Luisa??) There was also an important quote, that we heard about later.

Words in Red

There were important words in bold red, that told us something else important.  But we didn't have to read. Luis told us right away. ​

He was happy to cook anything on or off the menu, if he had the ingredients. "This is your house!"

​Chips & Salsa

After dropping off menus Luis disappeared for a bit and returned with a basket of piping hot chips. Did he actually just make those back in the kitchen? And incredible fresh salsa!

Luis couldn't have been friendlier. He inquired about Don and seemed surprised to know they hadn't met before. He was sure he remembered Don. With no other customers around Luis was in no hurry for our order. We heard a lot about this interesting man, in chef's clothing.

Luis in California

We didn't have to read the displayed article to learn about Luis. He stood beside our table and shared about his life, with great enthusiasm. As a young child, he moved from Mexico to Los Angeles. That was after his father moved to CA with the Bracero Program, in the early'60s.  

At one point Luis wanted to continue with school but his father gave him the advice (written on the menu) about study vs. work. He quit school and ended up working for numerous notable chefs in Los Angeles. He was trained in cooking all kinds of cuisine.

Dad's Advice

​Usually I'd question a father encouraging a child to quit school, but the more Luis spoke, the more sense his father's words made. 

Luis seemed to be such a content man. It sure seemed that his hard work had given him what he needed AND wanted.
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Cook & Serve

Besides chatting with us, Luis also had to cook our meal and serve it as well. He disappeared for a while and eventually returned with our steaming plates.

Another couple came in, so Luis suddenly had more to attend to. 

However he had time to pose with Don and his incredible 2.5 pound burrito, stuffed with his choice of many meats. ​

Ponderosa Combination Plate

My plate was just as heavy, with enchilada, tamale, taco, rice and beans. 

I should have used my steak knife for that cheese! Man that was a decadent and delicious meal. We ended up boxing up more than half to take with us. 

As we ate, Luis moved back and forth from the kitchen, attending to the new guests. I kept worrying over how he did it all. ​

His wife passed away 3 years ago and it's been hard to find good help. Luis works alone right now, but says he doesn't mind. He can count on himself and he loves the people he meets and serves. He assured me he had Mondays off, but maybe not holidays. I read a rave review about a feast Luis cooked on Christmas. 

Buying the Motel 

As we dined inside the white metal building, I thought about his story of purchasing the Ponderosa Motel a couple decades ago. He was married with a daughter in CA and had been working for some talented chefs over the years. (Historic LA Athletic Club!) But he was ready for change. He and his wife spotted an ad in the PennySaver paper for the Ponderosa Motel in Snyder, TX. They bought it for a little over $100,000., sight unseen!

They packed up and moved and found the motel in lousy shape. Only 4 of the 24 rooms were serviceable. After a couple years they had the motel fixed up and added a  new storm shelter. Eventually they turned the shelter into the restaurant and Luis got back to cooking! He said they had no regrets. Especially since Snyder had been such a good place to raise their daughter.

Name Trivia

Luis finished serving the other couple and shared some more tidbits. He smiled as he recalled becoming an American citizen. Paperwork led to the discovery that there were 7 others with his same name, (and from his state, Jalisco) who had also applied.  That seemed to amuse him.

He talked about meeting a woman in another town, who shared his last name. When she mentioned something about being siblings, Luis quickly did the math about when his dad came to the States. He said that just as he was wrapping his head around the notion of a half sister, the woman added sweetly, "We are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of God." He gave a big laugh at how he'd jumped to conclusions.

Funny Signs

Luis seemed to enjoy making us smile. So he pointed out some decorations.
Mostly Luis made sure Don noticed the 20 or so little signs scattered about. 

He said these were "double-tongue" messages. (Serious messages hidden behind humor) I snapped this photo with no clue. I looked up a translation... "Mr. Fiado died, he paid poorly and I killed him."  

We Paid Well

​We finished up and paid our bill at the arched opening to the kitchen. We offered much thanks and tipped well, for our nearly 2 hours of good food and entertainment. We didn't need a double tongue sign to encourage that!

Before we headed out, I asked Luis what he liked best about his work. He answered without hesitation. He loved delivering the dishes himself and seeing diners react to the food they saw and tasted!

What a sweet stop in the middle of nowhere Texas! I can see why the reviews were positive! We'll have to plan this route again!
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