This café is about 5 miles west of the town of Gordon where my grandparents were originally from and where we used to go for family reunions. I didn't know about the place until several years ago. I've been twice. First time around in 2018, it was on a cold weekday. I absolutely loved the food and service decent, but the place was dirty. Second time around, the place had been cleaned up, repainted, and remodeled some. Much better! And my waiter was a nice young man that worked as a middle school coach and teacher in another small town during the school year. Now for the food. First of all, I am very sorry about some people who have had disappointing experiences. But I wouldn't change a thing about the flat top grill chicken fried steak and that delicious peppery cream gravy they serve on the side in a bowl. Absolutely spot on! Also the homemade skin-on French fries and Texas toast were very good. The salad is what needs improvement. The homemade blue cheese dressing was good, but the salad a small portion of shredded iceberg lettuce with a few diced tomatoes. If it was twice the size and with romaine lettuce instead, it'd be much better! I polished off a small size one with no difficulty and even had a slice of chocolate meringue pie for dessert, also very good! Anyway, if you love, good ole Texas comfort food and happen to be driving by on I-20, I highly recommend this place!

Without a doubt, the best chicken fried steak in Texas. ...not to mention the biggest! Friendly staff, reasonable prices, and great food! What a perfect combination!

So, yes we watched The Texas Six, however my husband had eaten here years ago while at a deer lease nearby. Did it feel like a tourist trap, no, not at all. It was a small town, emphasizing small, local cafe with good ole southern service and home cooking! We came here because we drove out to Santos to pick up some sausage from Kennedy's and were craving some good ole CFS! Mary's did not disappoint and we were happy we went the extra 1/2 hour. We both ordered the CFS, with mashed potatoes. It comes with a very small side salad which neither of us tried because it didn't look good. However, we loved the homemade gravy and mashed potatoes. The CFS was good, not overly breaded and fork tender. We also ordered a side of fried green tomatoes and okra both excellent and we were glad we did!! The cafe itself has that small town local homey feel and could use a little updating. The soap dispenser in the women's was watered down and barely had any soap in it and the paper towels roll was just sitting on the back of the toilet. It was clean for the most part but definitely needs some actual soap. Would we make the trip out here again just for Mary's? Probably not, but if we are passing through and hungry we'd definitely give them a shout. No regrets.

My wife and I stopped in here on a Friday for lunch. We were recommended by a local we met kayaking on a nearby river the day before. Pulling in, we saw a bus out back and thought this might not be happening. We were seated promptly by the friendly staff. The couple at the next table started up a conversation about waiting a long time and still not having their food. We were again thinking maybe we should go down the road to another place. We stuck it out, though, and were glad we did. We split their famous chicken fried steak (small) between us and ordered an extra side salad. Despite being short-staffed, our food came out in ten minutes which surprised us. Chicken fried steak is a dish I rarely order, but Mary's version was tasty. It is served with a bowl of gravy which we barely put a dent in. Obviously, we were not using enough of it with each bite. The salads were fine. I was amazed at how much shredded lettuce they got in a small bowl. The dressing comes in a squeeze bottle. Overall we were pleased with our lunch. Was it the best chicken fried steak in Texas? Perhaps so, but our sample size is limited.

This was my second visit to Mary's and I will continue to return. We ordered chicken fried steak.....of course, but we had someone at our table order the enchiladas and I was SO happy. I have heard very good things about the enchiladas, but can't bring myself to order anything but the chicken fried steak. It's the best!! Enchiladas were very good a great portion and served HOT. Temperature hot. They are not spicy. They were served with chips and salsa. Chips were freshly cooked and salsa was a little bland, but overall very good. Overall our 2nd visit was just as good as our first, minus the company that joined us last time. Good food, great people/service and the best chicken fried steak in the universe. If you haven't been to Mary's......go ASAP. It's about a little over an hour from downtown Fort Worth and totally worth the drive. Also, get a shirt. They have a great selection.