7B Ranch Restaurant

So...this is rural East Texas!  Not sure what the dude from California was expecting. Sprouts? Tofu maybe? Really?

Anyway..., this is a nice, clean Mom and Pop kind of place with friendly staff, a seat-yourself atmosphere and good, down home country food.  Yes, there is quite a bit of fried.  But it is tasty fried and if that isn't your bag, go someplace else.  The pan fried steak is always savory and tender and the fried catfish is thin and crispy and not at all greasy.  The veggies are seasoned like your Southern grandma would have cooked them.  Great turnip greens, black eyed peas, pinto beans, etc.  (With all the good veggies, it seemed kind of strange that the mashed potatoes aren't from scratch... )The salad bar is pretty good and boasts a strange but tasty spaghetti salad and sweet/tangy coleslaw. They bring a basket of hot, homemade rolls and cornbread to the table to go with your meal and the southern sweet tea is like grandma used to make.  Two buffets and tea and we got out for about $20 bucks.  Definitely a do over.  

I hear they also have really good breakfast but haven't tried it yet.

Well I was working in Poynor and we were told this was the best close place. Fairly crowded at lunch time but still plenty of tables. One of the Engineers from the plant ordered the buffet for all of us.

I started with a small salad and heard some local yokel comment that I was a weird dude for having salad first - I think most of the civilized world eats the salad first, but I was in rural Texas so all bets were off.

After the salad I went back to the buffet.

I couldn't recognize anything except the fried chicken gizzards, and only because there was a sign above them. Everything was a fried brown color (I think there were corn cobs and someone said there were sweet potatoe fries, but really everything looked exactly the  same to me). I had a few steamed veggies that were awful and half of a somewhat stale roll.

Yuck.

The food is good and the staff are very friendly and the owner is a great guy I like it when the owner is there and stops by and checks on things. It is a real small town dinner and breakfast and lunch menu is wonderful the dinner buffet is so good down home country cooking. It is a must try.