Description: When you are looking for an alternative to the chain restaurants ask the locals. That is exactly what we did here in Irving. I talked to Lee who owns the Jefferson B&B and asked her where we should go for dinner. I wanted someplace close that wasn’t Chili’s or Applebee. She suggested Joe’s Coffee Shop.
Now don’t let the name put you off, what it should be called is Joe’s Diner. These days a coffee shop has taken on a whole new meaning. Since Joe’s has been around for over thirty years I figure it was a good cup of Joe that made them call this a coffee shop.
This is a smoking establishment however there is a non-smoking section. We were never bothered by the smoke but we were at the farthest possible point away from the smoking section. Our waitress was a doll. She came right over and introduced us to how things go at Joe’s . Everyday Monday through Friday there is an all you can eat dinner buffet. On Thursday the choices are always chicken and dumplings and something, this day it was meatloaf. For $7.95 you get salad bar, all you can eat meat, potatoes and vegetables, and dessert. We asked right away what the dessert of the day was and it was mixed berry shortcake, how could we resist.
What was most enjoyable about this place was that everybody knows each other and it was only a few minutes before we were being treated like we are locals and eat here every week. It was real down home food, nothing fancy just good comfortable food like Mom would make. The salad bar had some very tasty and to me unusual choices. Beyond the salad greens and tomatoes there was carrot and raisin salad, peas in a salad dressing and some other already dressed baby greens with chopped tomatoes that was really good. There was also soup which was chili.
The meat was simple and there was a tomato based gravy that could be added. The potatoes were mashed and if I guess correctly not scratch and the veggies were beans and corn. Al and I had the buffet. Joe ordered a ham steak with mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas. If you are over 60 (Joe is) you get the senior discount and we got $2 off the total bill.
We got a basket with corn muffins and rolls. The shortcake was pound cake with mixed berries and piped whipped cream. It was not gourmet but it was very satisfying. The meals for the 3 of us came to $27. That included a coke for Joe and a Dr. Pepper for me. We are looking forward to going back Friday for the all you can eat catfish.
We didn’t do all you can eat we did 2 pieces of catfish, choice of potatoes, spinach, salad bar or soup, and dessert for $7.50. How can you beat that.
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