Driving through Texas, my man and I stopped in Clarendon looking for dinner. We scoped the town of about 2,000 and chose the Nuttin Fancy Cafe because the parking lot was jammed with cars. (Well the parking lot was full of trucks really, which seems to be what everyone drives, except for one guy on a vintage motorcycle.)

I ordered the fried catfish dinner. It came with a dinner salad, hand-battered fried catfish, fried okra, fried sweet breads (those long skinny tubes on the plate). It was delicious! And the service was great too.

So, rule of thumb: when in doubt, pick the place with the full parking lot, it’s where the locals go.