From chicken-fried beefsteak to lobster and sausage, a foodie has lifted the hood on some of the ‘weirdest’ roadside restaurants in the US.
Dylan Huynh, from California, set off on a road trip from Dallas to Austin in Texas in a bid to see what weird and wonderful eateries he could find.
In an introduction to a YouTube documenting his trip, he explains: ‘Every time I go on a road trip, there’s always these huge billboards advertising restaurants in the middle of nowhere.
‘Now, I’ve never stopped to actually try one of these places but I have always wondered are these restaurants any good. So today I’m taking a road trip from Dallas, Texas, all the way to Austin and trying any interesting restaurant I see on a billboard to find out if they’re worth the stop.’
As he sets out on his road trip, Dylan notes that he also sees many billboards for ‘car accident lawyers’ intermixed with adverts for food stops.
Dylan Huynh, from California, set off on a road trip from Dallas to Austin in Texas in a bid to see what weird and wonderful eateries he could find
One of the first restaurants he decides to stop at is called Tejun, with some of the specialties including snowcrab, lobster and sausage
One of the first restaurants he decides to stop at is called Tejun, with some of the specialties including snowcrab, lobster and sausage.
‘I’ve never heard of this restaurant before which makes it exactly the type of restaurant I want to try,’ Dylan says as he nears the Texas Cajun-inspired eatery.
Touching on his rating criteria, the content creator says he will be judging each restaurant on three things – ‘the food, the vibes and how accurate their billboard is.’
As it is a Wednesday, he goes for the daily special which is the ‘best seller plate’ containing 0.5lb of peeled shrimp, one snow crab cluster, one lobster tail, one red potato, one corn on the cob and various sauces for $32.99.
To wash it down, he opts for a root beer from the soda machine.
Before getting his food, Dylan gives the restaurant a big thumbs up for the vibe, with a decked outside area on the water being an extra perk, and he says the menu accurately reflects the billboard.
On giving the food a try, he concludes: ‘This might be the best seafood you can get from any Texas highway.’
Out of everything, he says the sausages are the best pick with a juicy taste. Overall, Tejun gets three ticks.
On giving the food a try, he concludes: ‘This might be the best seafood you can get from any Texas highway’
Dylan stopped at Big Al’s where he was promised karaoke and sports but he was thrown out for an unknown reason
While Dylan was feeling rather full from his monster platter, he spots his next food-themed roadside billboard around 10 minutes later.
This advert steers him to the site of Big Al’s Down The Hatch in the small town of Waxahachie.
However, shortly after walking into the restaurant and bar, Dylan is thrown out for filming.
Due to the bizarre interaction, Big Al’s gets no points from Dylan. Before heading on his way again, the content creator says in a state of disbelief: ‘According to the billboard I was promised food, drinks and karaoke… I did not experience any of that.
‘So not accurate. Finally, the food… clearly I didn’t get any so I can only assume it’s bad… honestly I’m a little sad because I really wanted to try it.’
Moving onwards, around 45 minutes later, Dylan decides to stop at a ‘cheese cave’ he sees advertised.
He tells viewers: ‘I have no idea what the cheese cave is. It sounds mysterious, so it’s got to be my next stop.’
When he arrives at the location of the cheese cave, Dylan discovers a whole complex of handicraft stores and workshops.
After stopping at a couple of quaint outlets, he eventually finds the underground cheese cavern, which he gives a thumbs up for accuracy but notes that there ‘wasn’t actually much to do’ in the subterranean lair.
Dylan decides to stop at a ‘cheese cave’ he sees advertised
Dylan continues his journey to Austin with a stop at Eagle’s Landing being his final port of call
When it comes to the vibe, Dylan also gives the wider complex a glowing review.
He explains: ‘For such a big place it’s so peaceful out here. The vibes are great… If it wasn’t for that cheese cave billboard, I would have never known a beautiful place like this exists.’
Lastly, the food also gets a green tick. While the main restaurant was closed, Dylan says he did get to sample a little bit of cheese and ‘that was very good.’
Returning to his car, Dylan continues his journey to Austin with a stop at Eagle’s Landing being his final port of call.
As he pulls up to the eatery, the YouTube creator says he has a good feeling about the place, noting: ‘This might be the most traditional looking Texan restaurant I’ve seen in my life.
‘Obviously we have a big Texas flag in front of it. I like that they also have a huge mural on the wall with the cowboy on it and their front door has a decal of an eagle which is very patriotic.
‘I have a feeling the food here is going to be really good.’
Dylan is further impressed by the ‘vibe’ at Eagle’s Landing with ‘old country music’ playing and themed interiors
He says the chicken fried steak at the roadside eatery is the best he’s ‘ever had’
On stepping inside, Dylan is further impressed by the ‘vibe,’ with ‘old country music’ playing and themed interiors.
Moving to the food, he orders one of the things advertised on on the billboard – a fried chicken steak – and the waitress also encourages him to try the onion rings.
Both dishes get his seal of approval, and he deems the giant onion rings ‘dang good’ with a perfectly flaky exterior – ‘not too crunchy, not too crispy.’
Meanwhile, he says the chicken fried steak is the best he’s ‘ever had.’
Wrapping up his food-filled tour, Dylan tells viewers: ‘I’m ready to make the call that Eagle’s Landing is not only worth a stop, it’s also the best restaurant I’ve been to on this road trip.’
To date, Dylan’s video focused on roadside restaurants has been watched more than 340,000 times with many viewers thanking him for sharing his insights.