Brunch location recommendation? - TX

StraightnLevel

StraightnLevel

Pre-takeoff checklist
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StraightnLevel
Does anyone know a good brunch airport location 75-125 miles out from Houston? I’m looking for a food/fuel stopping point for my 250-mile instrument XC flight.


Any and all PIREPs would be welcomed!
 
These ones are quite famous and can personally vouch for their excellence:
- Conroe (CXO) is pretty close and has Black Walnut Cafe, an EXCELLENT bruch place.
- College Station (KCLL) has Gate 12 which is another very good restaurant
 
Another fun place to visit is The Pickett House in Woodville. Airport (09R) is very small and there's no FBO or fuel on-site. Call TPH when you land and someone will come pick you up. Be nice and give them a few bucks for their service--it's just whatever employee has a minute to duck out and get you, using their own private vehicle.

TPH is part of Heritage Village, which is sort of a reconstruction of a 19th century small town, with a blacksmith shop, general store, doctor's office, newspaper, etc. set up like an outdoor museum. It's not exactly Disneyland, but it's worth a visit. The food is simple but tasty, served family-style, and is all-you-can-eat. Open every day except Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve+Day, and New Years Eve+Day.
 
StraightnLevel said:
That sounds like a fun family flight day!

Not sure about using it for the long IR flight, though. 09R is REALLY small - it has no IFR approaches....not even a RNAV.
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Whoops--sorry! Yeah, now that you mention it, that's right. Sorry for blanking on that when I made my post!
 
I forgot about the Airport Cafe at KLFK (Angelina County Airport, Lufkin). Great reputation but was closed on the day I traveled there so I can't give a first hand recommendation.
 
Gate 12 is on Easterwood airport, so handy. I’d rather go into Coulter Field myself, catch an Uber and try Stella or Sweet Paris.
 
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Leyrah said:
These ones are quite famous and can personally vouch for their excellence:
- Conroe (CXO) is pretty close and has Black Walnut Cafe, an EXCELLENT bruch place.
- College Station (KCLL) has Gate 12 which is another very good restaurant
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Yup. I recommended these two when he asked on the other forum! Hard to beat these for good food.

IK04 said:
The barbecue in Llano is still pretty good.
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Expensive and not that good in my opinion! If you go here, remember the beans are free, so order less sides and fill up on beans!

robin ardoin said:
I forgot about the Airport Cafe at KLFK (Angelina County Airport, Lufkin). Great reputation but was closed on the day I traveled there so I can't give a first hand recommendation.
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Closed on Sundays. This is a good place to get a burger, not much else.
 
The Runway Cafe, at Gulf Coast Regional (LBX), is one that I have eaten at several times. Open for lunch and dinner. Tie downs right in front and the fuel truck will service you there, if needed. The food is pretty good for airport cafes. Black Walnut is better but Gate 12 at Easterwood is excellent. They have typical good cafe lunch cuisine but, much more extravagant entrees and even a wine cellar (Locals, not affiliated with aviation, often dine there).
 
If you want BBQ there's also Lockhart (50R). Many very good bbq places within a very short drive such Black's, Chisholm Trail, and Kreuz (sorted from good to best imo).
 
Leyrah said:
If you want BBQ there's also Lockhart (50R). Many very good bbq places within a very short drive such Black's, Chisholm Trail, and Kreuz (sorted from good to best imo).
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Black's - great, Terry Black's - great, Kreuz - great, Chisholm Trail... wouldn't feed it to my dog!!:p
 
Lowflynjack said:
Expensive and not that good in my opinion! If you go here, remember the beans are free, so order less sides and fill up on beans!
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Yeah, I can't recommend Cooper's anymore. It's merely OK and not nearly as good as it was 30 years ago. I was broken hearted after my visit last year.
 
Coming back to this, if you’re starting in Houston, go to CLL for the LOC BC 17. Eat at Gate 12.

Launch to VCT for the ILS13 starting at VCT. You could do this backwards, too. Lets you see some different and unusual approaches that aren’t brain melting.

It’ll be a good learning experience.
 
TCABM said:
Coming back to this, if you’re starting in Houston, go to CLL for the LOC BC 17. Eat at Gate 12.
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We did this exactly.

Full route was KLVJ - KLFK (VOR 16 / missed & hold) - KCLL (LOC BC 17): fuel stop / Gate 12 : KCLL - KLVJ (RNAV32 CTL).

Traffic today was insane. Weather was too perfect on a weekend, so it seemed like anyone with access to a plane was in the pattern or blasting through the routes.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in with recommendations. Gate 12 was exactly what I was looking for!
 
StraightnLevel said:
We did this exactly.

Full route was KLVJ - KLFK (VOR 16 / missed & hold) - KCLL (LOC BC 17): fuel stop / Gate 12 : KCLL - KLVJ (RNAV32 CTL).

Traffic today was insane. Weather was too perfect on a weekend, so it seemed like anyone with access to a plane was in the pattern or blasting through the routes.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in with recommendations. Gate 12 was exactly what I was looking for!
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What did you learn about the LOC BC 17?
 
TCABM said:
What did you learn about the LOC BC 17?
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Two things:

1) Fly 180 degrees against the arrow - deal with it, and don't try to reset the course to "fix" it.
2) Pay attention to the DME callouts on the approach plate, and make sure to brief the location of the transmitter. I ended up landing dead on centerline and slope, but fast, because I was off on my distance prior to going visual.

I'm also challenged with staying above MDA late in the approach. I busted it two out of three approaches today - not by much, but tolerance is zero. Arresting the descent and levelling off seems to be more difficult for me than it should be. Need more practice....
 
StraightnLevel said:
…Arresting the descant and levelling off seems to be more difficult for me than it should be. Need more practice....
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Not uncommon. Add power/start arresting the descent 100’ high.

Sounds like you flew one of the arcs; those are always fun done manually. If your GPS calculates it and gives constant inputs, less fun.
 
TCABM said:
Not uncommon. Add power/start arresting the descent 100’ high.
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Yes. I'm doing that. What's happening is that as I start doing other things, I fail to maintain altitude. I think I may not be trimming fully and thus maintaining some back pressure on the yoke, then letting it drift back down when I shift focus.
It's clearly a technique error, I just haven't solidly identified it and sorted out the mental fix
 
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