AMERICANWAY

AMERICANA B All of which is testimony to the entrepreneurial genius of the sassy, fun-loving, too-young-looking- to-be-57 Tretter, who freely admits that when she bought the place back in 1986, she couldn't even cook a palatable bowl of cream gravy. When she became owner of a struggling little 89-seat res- taurant called The Polka Dot and placed her own name over the door, customers were few. At the time, her résumé included dishwashing and wait- ing tables, something she started doing at age 14. "I didn't even go on my senior trip when I graduated high school," she says. "I was working." Self-taught, she is today the proprietor of one of the best-known out-of-the-way eating spots in Texas. With several expansions over the years, including an outdoor patio, customer capacity has grown to 300. While her menu offers everything from T-bone steaks to seafood to burgers and Mexican dishes, it is her signature chicken-fried steak that is the magnet. Its preparation is begun only after an order is received. No warming lamps or precooking al- lowed. Yet only the most adventuresome selects the large portion from the menu. It literally hangs over the side of the plate. Add the bowl of pepper gravy, a mound of french fries, toast and a salad, and there's food enough to keep a small army on the move. Which is to say they serve no ordinary chicken- fried steak at Mary's Cafe. It is cooked on a flat- iron griddle rather than heavily battered and deep-fried. So protective of her recipe is Mary that employees are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement carefully worded by an attorney. And be aware that she's a hands- on owner, working alongside her 30-member staff. Four days a week, she waitresses. Today a modestly proclaimed "decent cook," she's in the kitchen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wednesdays she takes off to spend additional time with her grandkids. "Our goal is simple," she says. "Fill the plate with good food, make it look nice, and keep the customers happy. If they leave here hungry, it's their fault." As she rises to begin her workday, I scan the menu — and, as always, order the chicken-fried steak. BE FOREWARNED THAT I am neither a restaurant critic nor a card-carrying foodie. Words like haute cuisine and gourmet dining are not part of my vo- cabulary. That said, I will take anyone on and give points when it comes to the subject of chicken- fried steak. Trust me — I've done my homework hither and yon throughout the Southwest. And in the rural Texas hamlet of Strawn (pop. 650), a two-hour drive west of Dallas, is the Mona Lisa of popular comfort food. At Mary's Cafe, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily (except for Thanksgiving and Christmas), true artists are at work in the kitchen of a low-ceilinged building that, back in the 1920s, was a service station. People come from destinations near and far, pouring inside to get a table and soak up the roadhouse decor: neon beer signs and framed, autographed photos of celebrities who have found their way to chicken-fried paradise. On any given day, the gravel parking lot may be filled by traveling biker clubs, church groups, a limo packed with birthday or anniversary celebrants, busloads of young athletes in search of a postgame meal, or hunters en route to the region's deer leases. And, of course, pickup trucks driven by the locals. "I'd say 98 percent of my customers are from out of town," owner Mary Tretter says. They come regularly from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, from New Mexico and Colorado … even as far away as Atlanta. A family stopped in recently, explaining they'd heard about the place when they encountered a fel- low traveler in China who was wearing a "Mary's Cafe" T-shirt and singing the praises of the restaurant's fare. When Mary celebrated her estab- lishment 's 25th anniversary by offer- ing free chicken-fried steak to Sunday customers, the turnout was three times the population of the little community. Goodness only knows how many might have been on hand had not a rattling hailstorm interrupted the day. To demonstrate the popularity of her chicken-fried steak, she turns to arithmetic: Last year, she says, she purchased 46,880 pounds of cutlets that were pounded, floured and cooked into the celebrated dish. Magic at Mary's Cafe DIRECTIONS TO MARY'S CAFE: From Dallas or Fort Worth, take Interstate 20 west to State Highway 16 and turn right. It's four miles on the right after you exit. ADDRESS: 119 Grant Ave., Strawn, Texas 76475. PHONE: (254) 672-5741. (If you have any trouble finding it, just look for a lot of cars parked out front.) 1 2 8 N OV E M B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY

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