…IT HAS TO BE GOOD!
By Linda Elissalde
When I come back in my next life, I might want to be a food critic. Of course, you might have to taste some bad meals, but you also get to eat some really good “vittles” along the way. One of the best is SIMPLY COUNTRY CAFE located in Moss Hill at the intersection of HWY146 AND HWY105. Everything about it is top shelf.

Owner Charlotte Price

Marcel and I were returning from a visit to College Station. We were hungry. He remembered that he had always wanted to try Simply Country Cafe. Since country was not spelled with a k, I agreed to give it a try. Boy, are we glad that we did. The moment you walk into that place, you know it is going to be good, especially when the cute girl at the counter invites you to seat anywhere you wish. You pass right by the desserts display on your way to pick your spot.

Welcoming young lady at the counter, and waitresses Melinda and Toni

Delightful décor pleases your eyes. Friendliness warms your heart, and the food deserves a 5 star rating. Everything was clearly outstanding. One of our wonderful waitresses Melinda shared her love of Crystal Beach. She comes in the summer. Waitress Toni was a delight also. A handsome gentleman whose name I do not remember shared information about some houses that we found interesting.

Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker

Another highlight was meeting Mr. David Stark and Mr. Sam Parker who sat at a near table. Mr. Parker extolled the virtues of his chicken fried steak. So Marcel ordered it, while I went with the daily special fried catfish. We ordered the small versions. Hello! They were so big that we assume a large would cover half of the table. Both were delicious and came with sides of mashed potatoes, cream gravy and green beans. I also had two large hushpuppies. We gulped down great big glasses of home-brewed iced tea.

Homemade desserts display at ‘Simply Country Cafe’

I mentioned that we earlier passed the dessert display. On my! How does one choose. Pies reign. Offerings included coconut cream, cherry cheese, pecan, apple, chocolate, coconut cream-chocolate combo, and special of the day lemon chess pie to name a few. There were also tarts and cookies. The original pie maker was cafe owner Charlotte Price’s mother Carol Ray.

Original “Pie Lady” Carol Ray

Charlotte has been here 20 years cooking with her mom’s favorite recipes. We understand that Charlotte is famous for her chicken and dumplings. Numerous staff have been a part of this establishment for10 or more years. Now Charlotte’s daughter Gracie Nunce is the pie maker extraordinaire. We chose a coconut cream pie and lemon chess pie. Both were yummy!

Simply Country Cafe

Simply County Cafe’s hours are Tuesday – Thursday 6 AM-2 PM and Friday – Saturday 6 AM – 9 PM. Breakfast, lunch and dinner along with those famous homemade pies and sweet desserts are readily available.

Mrs. Price stated, “At Simply Country Cafe we pride ourselves on being a place where family and friends can gather together and share an old fashioned, home cooked meal”. We agree. With a name like SIMPLY COUNTRY CAFE, it has to be good!

[LCE: Jan-24-2023]