PETTY’S STEAK AND CATFISH
309 N Main Street
Lindale TX 75771
903-882-9510
Petty’s is a very local establishment, located just North of downtown Lindale. It is more than a café, but not quite a restaurant, serving Texan style breakfast, lunch and dinner.
As you walk in you will be greeted by a cheery hello from the friendly staff. There are 2 rooms with seating at booths or larger tables. The walls are covered with black and white photos of Lindale from years past and a longhorn skull is on the wall facing you. To complete the picture, the clientele (mainly men and older folk) wear a mixture of baseball caps and cowboy hats and Western music plays softly.
Petty’s has quite a following – we went for breakfast and the place was almost full. There were 7 breakfast specials to chose from with items like hashbrowns, omelettes, breakfast tacos, pancakes and bacon and eggs to name but a few. They were reasonably priced and served with a free bottomless cups of coffee. My daughter was impressed with her huge stack of doughy pancakes served with butter and warmed maple syrup. The service was prompt and friendly. It looked like the servers were well appreciated with tips which could be because they know many of their customers from previous visits.
For lunch and dinner you can chose from burgers, steak, chicken and shrimp. All are traditionally cooked, Southern style – perhaps not very healthy but very delicious. There are also lighter options like salad (the chicken fajita salad sounds good) and various sandwiches. Appetizers include onion rings, cheese sticks and nachos. Each day there are also specials – regulars for each day of the week – like ribeye steak on a Wednesday, and catfish on Friday, plus additional home cooked items which vary each day. When we were there the specials were meatloaf and chicken fried steak. All dinners include a salad from the salad bar, a baked potato or fries and hot fresh bread. Entrees range from $5 to – $15.99 which is the most expensive option – the steak dinner (less expensive on it’s ‘special’ day). The average price is probably $8. Iced water is brought to your table and there is the usual iced tea, fountain drinks and coffee to drink. It is not licensed to serve alcohol. Children’s meals for the under 12s consist of grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken tenders for $2.99 (sadly no vegetables included).
Pettys offers nothing out of the ordinary in the way of cuisine but the food is good Southern comfort food and obviously popular with the Lindale locals and Tyler residents, particularly men – who aren’t watching the calories they consume! As for myself, I think it is a great place to eat breakfast or to take the kids once in a while. I can’t say that I will frequent it but it will certainly be on my radar!