Sideoats Cafe and Bakery

I've known Chef Mike Hennessy for a number of years and have had the pleasure of working with him on a few occasions albeit briefly.  I've always been impressed with Mike and his drive to succeed and his can-do-attitude. His Menard eatery Sideoats Cafe and Bakery is a testament to what Mike is able to do and just how well his team rallies around him to put out consistently good food and desserts. I've been to Sideoats a few times but this was the first time I have decided to do a review because I was able to sample their savory dishes as well as dessert.

 We were on the road Monday night and rather than stopping at Junction for the ever familiar taste of Coopers BBQ I wanted a nice sit down meal with a few more choices along with some dessert.  We drove the few extra miles and arrived in Menard about and hour and a half before closing time.  We were happy to finally be getting near to home but we would have been eating at 9 had we waited.  I prefer to have my dinner between 6-8 pm if at all possible and Sideoats was just the place I had a hankering for. 

We were greeted promptly as we came in.  It wasn't that busy but in a small town and on a Monday night you'd expect things to be a little more laid back and this was no exception.  We ordered our drinks and after they were served we ordered our food.  I had an opportunity to take a few pics to highlight the interesting atmosphere at Sideoats. 






















I decided to have a Chicken Fried steak while my wife opted for a grilled chicken sandwich on Rye.  If you follow this blog you know my boys by now and that they usually eat the same thing when we travel and of course Jared had a cheeseburger.  Jonah had a grilled cheese with some home made chips.

My meal started off with a beautiful salad.  Doesn't everyone say that when they talk about salad? Well they might but I really mean it.  Take a look:

This mixed greens salad had a few cucumbers and grape tomatoes strewn in.  There were a couple of bites of celery and onions and as you can see it was garnished with some tasty home made croutons.  Here's another view of this gorgeous salad:

Oh and did I mention the dressing was also home made?  This creamy buttermilk ranch was the perfect lubricating agent for this wonderful salad.  In fact this salad was so good and my wife so impressed by it that she had to get one herself.  OH waitress?  Another salad please......Thank yuh!





I've had many chicken fried steaks on many occasions.  In San Angelo there are many Mexican food places that serve them with chicken gravy on them and they are all fine.  The real way to serve a CFS is to cover it in cream gravy.  Chef Mike knows how to put a good plate together and this CFS was tender, tasty, and perfectly seasoned.  To the right of the CFS you will see some grilled or what I've also heard called "scorched" green beans.  These fresh green beans are tossed with some caramelize onions and allowed to scorch a bit on the grill bringing out their natural sugars.  WOW.  This is one of my new favorites.  The french fries were also very good and the yeast roll went perfectly with a pat of butter dipped in the gravy.  I was most impressed with it.

My wife had a Monterrey Jack Chicken Sandwich with mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo on Rye along with some fries.  It looked good and it was also very tasty.  It also retained its moisture and you could see the tasty breast meat glistening under the bread.  Here's a pic:



My son's burger was equally appetizing as you can see here:

This mushroom Swiss burger looked to be juicy but of course in the hands of my 13 year old it didn't last long enough for me to get a bite of it!  I wasn't able to get a pic of Jonah's Grilled Cheese Sandwich but I know he liked it because it was also gone.

We also elected to have some dessert.  Jared had Tuxedo Cake, while Elizabeth and Jonah had Cherry Pie.  I decided on Apple Pie ala mode and I don't think any of us was disappointed.  Here are the pictures:

I topped it all off with a glass of Texas Iced tea.  It was an excellent meal.

Food:

Everything we had was perfect. 

Atmosphere was great:

Atmosphere at Sideoats keeps with the theme.  Laid back.

Excellent Prices:

Prices for the quality you get can't be beat.   

Service Excellent: 

Our waitress was experienced and it showed.  She did an excellent job and took care of us.  If a doctorate was ever issued for being a waitress she would have graduated with honors.  Can't say enough about just how good she was. 

Overall:

Mike Hennessy knows what he's doing and I'm so glad he's found his niche with this place.  This place is highly recommended with no reservations whatsoever.  Get to Menard, Texas and give it a try.  You won't be disappointed.