A Tribute to My Dad

Published 5/29/2011

A Tribute to My Dad

The Retired Cooks Diary

By Suzette Munson Pennington

A year ago this week my Dad, Damon Pennington passed away. I have spent the last couple of days thinking of ways I could honor him here in the Diary, so we spent the last few days going to his favorite restaurants or at least reminiscing about his favorite foods.

Dad was simple in his taste. He said many times “if it ain’t fried, it ain’t any good!”

He loved Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and cream gravy. He said that the best Chicken Fry locally was at Sweetie Pies Rib Eyes in Decatur. The second favorite was to have breakfast at the Whistle Stop Café also in Decatur. He loved their Biscuits, cream gravy and hard fried eggs. The third place he liked to go was to KT’s in Alvord. He would always order a scrambled egg sandwich with cheese.

I said that his tastes were simple, but his choices of places to eat were great!

Sweetie Pies Rib Eyes has been reviewed here before but to explain why I am revisiting is the reason Dad always wanted to go back. You can cut the chicken fried rib eye steak with a fork. That was Dad’s prerequisite for a good steak and has become a “rule” f or this reviewer.

The Whistle Stop was a favorite for the Cream Gravy and Biscuits, also because the folks there knew and visited with him. They always had something that would increase his appetite. In his last days I would pick up Chocolate Meringue Pie and take it to the hospital and even if he had not eaten in a couple of days he would perk up ask about the girls, and enjoy the pie.

Before Dad quit driving he would go to KT’s after the lunch rush and they would make him the scrambled egg with cheese sandwiches. He enjoyed visiting with friends and neighbors at the restaurant.

All week we thought about the things he enjoyed and talked about, the people, the food and the places we traveled with him.

We would drive over to Palo Pinto County for cedar fence posts and he would want to stop at Strawn at Mary’s for Chicken Fried Steak. A trip to Fort Worth was brunch or lunch at the Paris Coffee Shop on Hemphill Street. A trip to Oklahoma to visit family meant a visit to the Cherokee Truck Stop at Hinton, Oklahoma. Visiting Elk City, Oklahoma was a visit to the Flamingo Restaurant on Old Route 66. When his granddaughter Jennifer was singing on the country opry circuit, a trip to Stephenville, Texas, was a stop at the Hard Eight Barbecue.

So you see where I got my love for eating out and eating good food. Dad didn’t ever complain about what he was served, I probably would have in some places, he would remember where he was treated the best and many times that meant more to him than the quality of the food.

Having simple tastes is not a bad thing. Enjoying being around people who treat you like family is the key. Some of the restaurants I have visited recently have made this week much easier because they remembered my Dad and gave me little precious pictures of how much he was loved. I hope I have as many friends that remember me like they do Damon Pennington.

Thanks to you all for the memories and…..

I Love You DAD!!!