Whataburger -- Tasty Travels & Tr(EATS) in Texas

Whataburger - the Tale of a Legend

Whataburger opened its first store in Corpus Christi, Texas in August of 1950.

Hamburgers sold for .35C and milk shakes were .15C.

No inside – or for that matter outside – seating.

No Drive-THRU. (Although the drive-in burger joint was already popular.)

No phone-in orders or GrubHub deliveries.

ONE walk-up window to place an order.

What gave Whataburger the edge?

Perhaps it was their innovative thinking, entrenched with family-owned traditions:


1) The 5-inch paddy that required two hands to hold. (All others at the time served a 4-inch paddy).

2) The unique A-frame orange & white striped buildings. (Entrepreneur Harmon Dobson was a pilot and he wanted the buildings to be seen from the air.)

3) A woman at the helm – ‘Lady’ Grace Dobson took up the reins of Whataburger when her husband died in 1967 and continued until 1993 when their son took over as president & CEO.


4) Offer additional products that customers loved: Taquito (remember, this is deep in Tex-Mex country), Breakfast on a Bun, and the Whatachick’n, Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich.


5) Running brilliant promotions: the Nickel Coffee Mug, a promo designed to provide .5C coffee for Whataburger customers, as long as it was served in this mug, started in 1983 and instead of running through the year -- the original forecasted plan -- the promo run until 1997.

6) Sponsoring the community: Whataburger Hometown Heroes and multiple volunteer organizations.


7) And always, always, making the burgers fresh to order.

Folks who support a Whataburger (and that spelling is correct, and not to be confused with What-A-Burger, a completely separate organization) in their state will claim – loud & clear – their dedication to the family restaurant.

If you stop by any neighborhood Whataburger, you could see:


A wedding reception:

A few faces etched with ‘maturity’ and covered with a bit of snow on the top.
Living The Bold Life

Guests from around the world – African Children’s Choir

Corpus Christi, Texas still warmly – and hungrily – remembers those Whataburger roots.

The original stand may be only a distant memory, but a created-replica sits
@ 4126 South Staples Street in Corpus Christi if you’d like to stop by a photo opportunity.

But what to eat when you dine at Whataburger?
According to Ranker.com, the TOP 3 items are the Whataburger Patty Melt, French Fries, and the Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich. However, there is a load of Whataburger faithful who swear by the Breakfast Taquito.

(2nd ranking list @ Thrillist.com)

Ever stopped off at a Whataburger?

What's your dining favorite?

Is it a MUST-DO to travel to Texas for a Whataburger?
Nope . . . but there are loads of other reasons for visiting the Lone Star State as well.
However, Whataburgers are located in at least 10 states (Southern United States) with roughly 805 locations. Whataburger locations

On a sad note (at least, Texans consider it such) . . . Life changes and sometimes folks are just ready to retire and start a new chapter in their lives. As of June 2019, the founding family sold the Whataburger organization. Family-Owned Whataburger Isn’t Family-Owned Anymore

The blessings of a 'place' that has become a legend is the individual and shared memories. So many, raised in Texas, could recount some specific story from their childhood or teen years that featured Whataburger as center stage.

I can remember my dad golfing early every Saturday morning. Instead of visiting the 19th hole, dad came to the house and collected us kids then off to Whataburger we went for lunch. It was one of the original A-frame buildings with limited seating and always a line. Waiting for the burgers to be ready was expected -- because DUH! made fresh-to-order takes time. Then there was the smell of bubbling French Fries and searing meat. It was enough to make any kiddo bounce in their seat and swing their legs, but it was always worth it. BEST ketchup ever! I don't know why it's better; it simply is. That is a sweet childhood memory -- one that existed because of Whataburger.

My hubby remembers his mom taking him to Whataburger after pee-wee football practice for a large Coke. This is the South, folks, and all carbonated drinks are known as 'Coke' no matter what's in the glass. And please don't leave me a comment about kids drinking soda after physical exercise. This was a loooong time ago, before the invention of super energy drinks and healthy sports liquids. My husband's football coaches gave the team salt-tablets during 2-a-day summer training. Believe me, lots of things were nutritionally different in the 60s & 70s. The point is that he remembers his mom waiting for him in the stands during practice then off to Whataburger where he drank his Coke and she sipped a cup of coffee and he talked a mile-a-minute recounting every play and tackle all under the orange & white striped awnings. It's a good memory, and life should be filled with those.

Do you have any Whataburger memories to share?
Feel free to leave them in the comment section.
All will be appreciated.

Do drop by my porch again.
I'll be watching the lightning bugs with a glass of sweet tea and ready to take on another Texas Travel.

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Best Texas Barbecue - Sonny Bryan's

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A Must-See-EAT for Texas Barbecue - Sonny Bryan's landmark

Folks: a term meaning Texans and ‘others’ (anyone who hails from outside the Lone Star State) have enjoyed Bryan’s Barbecue since 1910.

When visiting Dallas, Texas, head down I-35, exit for a short drive up Inwood Road and find the original Sonny Bryan’s location. This hole-in-the-wall building (think old, ramshackled, faded paint, completed with a gravel-parking lot and that’s the picture) has been serving Sonny’s finest since 1958. Nestled among towering medical facilities, first-time visitors often think the interior of plank walls and old school desks belong on a movie scene. Regulars know it’s not the place but the food that counts, and old-timers still remember when saw dust covered the concrete floors, Sonny reminiscing about his favorite fishing spot, and brushing shoulders with a few socialite folks, including Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, several of the original cast from Dallas, Robert Duvall, and President George W. Bush.

The original location does TAKE-OUT on a grand scale.


That’s because the building is small enough to resemble the inside of a sardine can. Folks amble through, pick up their white to-go box and amble back outside.

Some slip into expensive Beamers or Mercedes.

Some settle on the tail of their beat-up pickup truck.

(FYI, Sonny’s does house a backroom, called the Mercedes Room which can accommodate parties of up to 50 BBQ-hungry patrons.)

If visitors are looking for an order line, they’ll wait in vain. The building—smoky and warm in the winter and smoky and down-right hot in the summer—is chaos at its best: jammed packed with every type of folk from those shod in custom Italian loafers to battle-scarred workboots to high-end athletic shoes. For those who want their fair BBQ share, speaking up, hollering, or even bellying up to the counter is all acceptable Sonny's behavior.


Grandfather Bryan first delivered smoky barbecue back in 1910 with Bryan’s Barbecue. The torch was passed to father, ‘Red’ Bryan who coincidentally named his 1930 location: Red Bryan’s Smokehouse. Finally, son, William Jennings Bryan, Jr. (known by all as Sonny) slipped on the white apron, stoked the wood fire, and opened the Inwood location in 1958. In the day, Sonny and crew served up smoked meats until the smoker ran out – or Sonny decided it was time to quit and go fishing – one of these usually occurred each day by early afternoon. But trends change and the area evolved. As of 2016, the original location keeps out their ‘welcome all’ sign twenty-four hours a day. As this quaint building snuggles near round-the-clock medical care, the decision was made to offer extended service for those hardworking hospital folk.

Why drive to the somewhat seedy side of Dallas to eat at Sonny’s place?

Because these fine folks have been serving up lip-smackin' barbecue for over a century. When Bryan people claim, ‘We know how to smoke it’: consider it gospel.


For the still non-believers, they’re welcome to check out the award wall highlighting a coveted James Beard Award to Texas accolades from the Dallas Observer & D Magazine to little screen, Rachel Ray’s Tasty Travels and onto the USA Today award for 4th best Southern barbecue.

But it’s not the awards true BBQ connoisseurs consider.

It’s the smoke in the meat; the ‘bark’ on slab; and the original BBQ sauce to smother it (if visitors choose.) Barbecue at Sonny Bryan’s is good enough to eat with your fingers, lick 'em clean, and then snitch a piece or two off your neighbor’s plate.


Sonny Bryan’s chain currently sports 5 locations, all in Dallas.


My favorite memory of Sonny Bryan's was eating here with my dad. My father was a little sliver of a man, nicknamed RED, and worked in the beef business from the end of WWII and on. He'd learned a thing or two thousand about good meat. He wasn't partial to any barbecue that didn't come from Sonny's or from out of his own smoker. Dad's BBQ sauce was a version of Sonny's. NOT that Sonny gave away his secret recipe, but when two guys are standing around in a kitchen long enough, one of them stirring a pot and adding a pinch of this or a swig of that . . . well, the other one picks up some mighty fine tips. When Daddy finished making up his sauce, we kept it in the fridge (one of the secrets involved). But like most serious barbecue-eating folk, the sauce was nice but not necessary. My Daddy is smoking brisket for a higher crowd these days, but I will always treasure the good memories of eating at Sonny Bryan's with my father.

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Giddy-Up to Galveston: How to get there, where to stay, what to do. Gotta GET to Galveston!

7 Tips for Travelling the Texas back roads -- weekend road trip!

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