Song of Luby’s

A long counter and the aroma of fresh beef, chicken, chicken-fried stuff, and fish — all together, all at the same time — mean only one thing around these parts.

The first Luby’s Cafeteria opened 70 years ago in San Antonio. By 1987, there were 100 locations across the country, and by 1996, that number had doubled. Unfortunately, declining sales coupled with the pandemic forced Luby’s to close most locations nationwide. There are 38 left in Texas — and one of them is in Fort Worth and still going strong.

Ask any native Fort Worthian about Luby’s, and you’re guaranteed a long story or two. Perhaps the most popular location was situated downstairs inside Hulen Mall. Sinking your teeth into some steak and potatoes after a long day Christmas shopping hit like nothing else, and the fresh tobacco wafting from the Puff & Stuff next door somehow enhanced the overall experience, making it truly Luby’s-tastic, truly Fort Worthian. This Luby’s closed in the 1990s and reopened on South Hulen Street in 1998. After 25 years, it shuttered two years ago.

Fort Worth’s lone Luby’s is truly a nostalgia trip, especially for us native Fort Worthians. Located in Forest Hill, it hasn’t changed much since first opening 27 years ago. The most important part? The food is still top-notch and uber-comfy. Line up at the counter, point at, say, some chicken-fried steak, pick your two sides plus a freshly made dessert like the blue-ribbon pecan pie, and you’re well on your way to Flavortown.

Luby’s new owner, tech bro Calvin Gin, told Texas Monthly that he “has no intentions of tearing up the menu or replacing generous slatherings of mayo with delicately judged measurements. ‘Overall,’ he says, ‘food is not the problem.’ ”

Daily manager’s specials and large combo meals are also available, and there are holiday plates for pickup or delivery: roasted or fried turkey (whole or sliced), sliced ham, or tamales, plus several traditional sides (cornbread dressing, homemade mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls). Enough to feed a large family or two TCU offensive linemen, Luby’s holiday feast will run you around 200 smackers.

And no matter what you order, the portions more than suffice. A large plate (entrée plus two sides) costs a little over $20 and comes with tea, soda, or coffee.

“In these times when a burger can run you $25, when dining rooms are giving way to drive-thrus, and when your server may turn out to be a robot,” The New York Times said, “Luby’s remains more or less unchanged from its beginnings nearly a century ago — serving traditional and inexpensive dishes in a homey setting.”

Founder of the popular Facebook group I Ate This Food and Liked It and former Weekly food critic Eric Griffey says Luby’s is “America behind a sneeze guard. It’s the most democratic, blue-collar restaurant in the history of Western civilization. You don’t have to choose a style of restaurant or worry about picky eaters.”

Griffey’s “go-to” is “always the fried chicken, mash, collard greens, and lemon meringue pie. Then, just to fast-track my path to an insulin shot, I walk out with a cone of soft serve. I remember my grandparents would order fish, which I still think is risky, but they both lived into their 90s, so what do I know?”

These days, Griffey says, Luby’s is “basically God’s waiting room. The cafeteria’s most loyal patrons are dying off as modern diners are more interested in overpaying for Food Network-inspired fare with precious labels like ‘gluten-free,’ ‘grass-fed,’ or whatever. We lose a piece of our nation’s soul every time a Luby’s shutters. When they are all gone, the cafeteria era is something we’ll look back on and wish we’d found a way to preserve.”