Keno Cafe’s quickie keeps it old school in Weslaco

WESLACO — Keno Cafe, located in downtown Weslaco, was established almost a century ago and while trying a couple of their signature plates, I could tell why throughout the decades the restaurant has survived by being a local favorite.

In this edition of South Texas Flavor, I show some more love to the Mid-Valley by visiting Keno Cafe at 253 S Texas Blvd.

My editor actually recommended the restaurant and gave me a brief history lesson. The cashier at Keno Cafe said it was first established in 1933 and has had several changes of management since then.

Immediately, when walking into the establishment, you feel and see the history of it. It has an old country cafe type of vibe; all the photos and newspaper clippings also show how long it has been around.

I arrived around 3 p.m. It was pretty packed and I couldn’t find a seat near the windows facing the street so I settled for a little corner with a window on the other side.

I was greeted by a waitress who gave excellent customer service, and brought me complimentary chips and salsa to start.

I love when restaurants give out anything complimentary. It was even better since the salsa was good and had a little bit of a kick to it.

While discussing the restaurant, my editor said that they had two items that are pretty well known: the quickie and the cinnamon roll.

Giggling a little about the name of the dish, it is not a reference to that you sickos. From what I remember, it’s a dish that is something quick to eat.

The menu is pretty large and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner options with daily specials.

I ended up getting the quickie which was a plate featuring a chicken fried steak covered in white gravy, salad, a side of fries and a huge bread roll. It was probably the biggest roll I’ve ever seen (until about 20 minutes later).

While it did come out fairly quickly, the size of the entire plate does the opposite of being quick with how much you are given to eat.

I’m not a fan of country fried steaks but probably because the few times I’ve had it, it was average, but I wanted the quickie experience.

Keno Cafe’s country fried steak was great and something I would easily eat again if I’m ever in Weslaco.

It was soft and tender to cut and eat and packed a lot of flavor combined with the white gravy.

The fries were also great, not too soft or crunchy and just the right amount of oil. I also appreciated the salad to try to stay healthy after the huge portions you just consumed.

It all came at a price of just $9.

Full from the quickie, I had just a little space to try the homemade cinnamon roll.

Expecting a large roll based on the bread I got, I was shocked at the $5 cinnamon roll that came out.

The monster cinnamon roll was about the size of a large to-go box at restaurants. The cinnamon roll was covered in cream, nuts and raisins in the roll itself. It could easily feed three to four people or even more.

Even the nice señoras at the table next to me were in awe of the size of the roll, saying that they were thinking about getting it as well.

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So, if you’re ever in Weslaco looking for a quickie, look no further than Keno Cafe.

The restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.