Ryan M.
Yelp
As implied by the name, The Gap Café by Perini Ranch is the sister restaurant of Perini Ranch Steakhouse, the world-class, unpretentious destination restaurant located right smack dab in the middle of nowhere: Buffalo Gap, Texas. I have a thorough, exhaustive review of Perini Ranch Steakhouse mulling about in my brain, but for now, I'll focus on this little breakfast/lunch spot about a mile down the road from the main attraction.
On my first visit, I ordered the chicken-fried steak breakfast with two eggs, breakfast potatoes, and two biscuits. The chicken-fried steak ("country-fried" steak for yanks confused by Southern nomenclature) was tender, crispy, and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I've had better iterations elsewhere, but I was satisfied with the texture (just the right amount of give) and beefy flavor. The accompanying sausage gravy -- served on the side per my request -- was much thicker than a traditional white cream gravy. I'd liken it to a fancier scratch-made version of the gravy served at Cracker Barrel. The kitchen gave me a heaping bowl of the stuff (far too much for the steak), so I improvised and made biscuits and gravy. One biscuit would have been enough, but I was a dolt and ordered two. The biscuits were dense but tasty with the distinct flavor of lard. My sunny-side eggs were cooked perfectly (i.e., runny yolk, no uncooked albumen). The generous portion cubed breakfast potatoes were crispy and desiccated on the outside and tender on the inside.
The three-egg omelet I ordered on my second visit was massive and chock full of cheddar, sausage, and roasted hatch chilies. The kitchen was a little heavy-handed with the cheese, but who am I to complain about getting too much of anything? Despite being overstuffed, the omelet was cooked perfectly, a sign of a skilled cook. As with the chicken-fried steak, the omelet came with breakfast potatoes and a biscuit. The portions for both dishes were much larger than I expected, so come hungry and try not to overeat if you plan to have dinner at the steakhouse later that day. You will definitely want to save room for a ribeye or a burger. Trust me!
Expect a bit of a wait if you arrive at a peak time, as the restaurant offers limited seating (approximately twelve tables) and the young servers seem a bit frazzled and out of their element. I looked hard for other breakfast joints in and around Buffalo Gap but fell short, so The Gap Café appears to the "it" place for locals and tourists alike.
