Pecan Lodge

Pecan Lodge at the Dallas Farmer's Market keeps some limited hours (Thursday-Sunday 11-3), but the crowd outside lets you know that things inside are worth finagling your schedule. 

We arrived on the Thursday after July 4th at noon. The line was wrapped around the side of the building and down the hall. Luckily, it is located inside the air conditioned shed #2 AND our spot in line put us right across from a fudge shop. Jackpot. 

The line.

 

The line moved quickly, and we soon found ourselves ordering up The Hot Mess. The Hot Mess is something you may have seen on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives? Or something you might have seen in Southern Living, The Dallas Morning News or even The Observer? It even has it's own hashtag. It is darn good. This salted sweet potato is topped with barbacoa, chopped bacon, chives, butter, and chipotlecream. The picture doesn't really do justice to how good this potato is, but it is unparalleled - and it's a ton to eat.  

The "Hot Mess" with all of the delicious trappings

Wanting to try a sampling of sides, we also ordered up the fried okra and the mac and cheese. 

The mac and cheese had a whole litany of praise mounted on the wall as part of their advertising. However, we found the dish to be a little grainy and not quite up to snuff. The cheese was mild and it was topped with bacon - but the grainy texture to the roux really put us off.

The mac and cheese.

 

The fried okra was delicious and couldn't have been done better. Crisp applied to both the breading and the okra itself. Every single piece was a success. It was an A+ side dish. 

Okra done right!

The Dish: We would revisit for The Hot Mess. Fortunately, today is Sunday. 

We may just revisit once we hit publish!