Texas Tavern Review

The Texas Tavern has been open in downtown Roanoke since 1930, it never closes (24 hours, every day but a couple of holidays), and it seats exactly ten people on ten stools — which is why it bills itself, straight-faced, as “Roanoke’s Millionaires Club,” where it “can seat a thousand people — ten at a time.” The menu is tiny and unchanged: the “Cheesy Western” (a burger with egg, cheese, and their secret relish), chili “with” (onions), and hot dogs, all slid across the counter fast and cheap. It’s a greasy, glorious little box that four generations of the same family have run, and at 3 a.m. it’s the beating heart of the city.