Now this is a breakfast that will get your
day started, or, cease all heart functions.   Maybe not the breakfast of champions, or maybe not something that should
be consumed on a regular basis...BUT...for that once in a while, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner...nothing, to this
blogger anyway says AMERICAN ROADFOOD more than the beloved Chicken Fried Steak.  The name confuses
those who have either not been raised on them, or don't live near the regions in which this  is as common as a
McDonald's burger.  Let me help those of you who are still confused out...it's a piece of thinly pounded round or
cube steak fried in a batter like you would fry chicken in.  So, where did the chicken fried steak come from?????

When answering a question like this, you are sure to get bombarded with people telling you what they think...but,
you're wrong...lol...Here's the genesis of the Chicken Fried Steak, or, as those who love its'  deep fried, crispy
exterior with thin beefy interior, dripping with cream and black pepper gravy call it.. CFS.  It has a hallowed following
in the Southern United States, especially in that Lone Star State called Texas.  Yes, Oklahoma calls it its' own, as
does Arkansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, etc..etc...but Texas is the hallowed birthplace of this very favorite food of
mine.  My favorite food, of all foods, is the simple cotoletta di vitello milanese, the breaded veal cutlet...known in the
German speaking world as Schnitzel...a pounded piece of tender veal dredged in flour then breadcrumbs, then
pan sauteed.  Let's examine some Texas history...in the Hill Country, the New Braunfels area to be exact, there
was a huge influx of German immigrants in the 1800's.  As with all immigrants (i keep saying this, don't I?),  they
brought their foodways with them.  Texas, land of beef.  Ok, beef can be cooked like veal, and if you pound it
a little more, you can make it tender like veal.  Allrighty then...substitute the local food that is similiar to what you
were used to and...a little Darwinism here, the Schnitzels of the Bavarian Forest and the Rhineland morph into
Chicken Fried Steak and the entire South is happily ever after.  Or I am anyway for this truly tasty morsel of beef.
The American twist on it...besides the beef, was the addition of a simple black peppered cream or milk gravy
traditionally served over the steaks.  The cowboys loved the ease of this dish and transported it all over the West
as well, all the ingredients part of the cowboy cooks stash. 
I will not get into where the best one of these CFS' can be found...but I will say, that my favorite place to chow down
on CFS is in the Sublime Temple known as Babe's Chicken House in Roanoke, Texas, a suburb of Ft. Worth.
Eternally grateful I am to a friend from Dallas, Mr. Scott Mullins, who brought me there one night for a business
dinner. 
    If you've learned nothing about me by now, you must know that I don't
just like a place for it's food, it's the surroundings, the feel, the ambiance...That is Babe's, the original in Roanoke, there
are many in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area, but this was the first.  The little town looks like the Texas town from THE LAST
PICTURE SHOW, that old Black and White movie from the late 60's.  A water tower, a small Main St., a few buildings,
and that's it.  You sit outside on that hodge-podge of chairs waiting for your table, possibly having an icy cold
Dublin Dr.Pepper out of a glass bottle.  Where are my spurs and boots??  Dublin Dr. Pepper??  Ok, it's made in
Dublin Tx. (Dr.Pepper is a Texas creation) and contains Cane Sugar, not High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I'm not making
a case that it is a healthy choice here, but, soda made with CaneSugar DOES taste markedly different (better) than
when made with the HFCS.  People milling around in their chairs, also with coolers of their alcoholic beverages
(beer)...finally.our name is called. The room is cavernous and old store-like.  The tables are all red and white
checked (in a country way, not an Italian restaurant way).  We sit down...you have your choice,  all the CFS or Fried
Chicken you want, or both.  Scott was a veteran here...CFS only.  It came with sweet tea, biscuits with sorghum
molasses (don't you want to go now!!??), a sweet vinegared iceberg lettuce salad, mashed potatoes and corn.
Life at this point does not get any better...
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago driving through Alamogordo, New Mexico..I spy a sign on the side of the road, it
says
   That's all I had to see..I make sure on vacation that everyone gets
a shot at getting a meal they like, this was my turn .  We pulled into the Sunset Inn parking lot with a petting zoo of  sorts
off the the lot...bucolic, hot, deserty, this is the American Southwest..I'm happy, the kids and wife are hot, but, I'm happy.
We order, I of course get the lunch special. and it did not disappoint.  Crispy and not greasy, tender on the inside with
a creamy, peppery white gravy.  Nirvana has been reached...
Buy 4 cube steaks and pound them till they are really thin but not torn.  Beat 2 eggs with 1/8 cup of buttermilk.  Mix
1 cup of flour with 1 tsp. granulated garlic (NOT GARLIC POWDER), 1/2 tsp.salt, 1 tsp. freshly ground black
pepper, 1 tsp. sweet paprika.  Heat in a large Black Iron Skillet 4 tbs. of vegetable oil or lard  till a cube of bread
zizzles.   Then lower the heat.  Keep on medium.  Dredge the steaks in the flour, then the egg, then the flour again,
then the egg, then the flour again.  Add them to the oil but do not crowd and give them about 4 minutes per side.
Keep them uncovered in a 300 preheated oven.  With the oil that's left in the pan, add 3 tbs. of the leftover flour
mixture, let this brown slightly, then add 1/8 cup of milk, whisk well, this should get thick..continue to drizzle in
milk or cream until you've achieved the consistency you want.  It should not be the consistency of plaster.  Check
the gravy for seasoning and pour over the steaks.  Serve with seasoned corn, mashed potatoes and an iceberg
salad with a sweet vinegar and onion dressing.
  There's my plate at the Sunset Inn...the fries were
awesome, homemade, but..i prefer this dish with mashed.  Lightens up the dish (how ridiculous is that statement?).
The keys to this plates' success are a properly pound piece of steak, and a non greasy flour breading...be careful
with the salt...American roadfood...make it in your home...