The last year or so obviously hasn’t been ideal in terms of being able to travel, so I thought I would write about some of my previous trips instead. In both 2016 and 2017 I travelled to Texas to compete in the Dallas International Girls’ Cup and my next few blogs will be about the amazing experiences I had there. The main focus for most of the girls I travelled with was the tournament itself but all I thought about was whether the statement ‘Everything is bigger in Texas’ was true!
When I was in Texas, I stayed with host families of another Texan team playing in the tournament. On both trips I really enjoyed this and I am still in contact with both families now. Of course most of our days were taken up with training and matches, but in the evenings we frequently went out to eat. My favourite place we went to was ‘Babe’s Chicken Dinner House’- so much so that a visit was made both times I went to Dallas. On the first trip, it was where we went on the first night and met our host family for the week. I hadn’t eaten much fried chicken before I went to Dallas and this place set the bar very high! The batter was super crispy and the chicken itself was tender and juicy. For me, it was the freshness that really stood out, especially compared to fried chicken I has tasted before from places like KFC, and I still haven’t had better fried chicken yet. I also tried the fried catfish on my second time round, and that, bold statement incoming, was just as amazing as the chicken. Catfish is such a delicate fish and can become very chewy when it’s overcooked, but it was extremely tender, light and it melted in the mouth. The sides complemented the chicken and catfish so well, ranging from ‘Grandma’s corn’, green beans, and the famous southern delicacy: biscuits and gravy. The concept of biscuits and gravy was a confusing one at first being a brit, but after realising it’s not digestives covered in Bisto, I was put at ease. ‘Biscuits’ are like savoury scones and the ones I ate here were so fluffy .The gravy is very different to the one I was familiar with from back home. It’s a thicker white sauce made from the drippings of cooked pork sausage, flour and milk and is often flavoured with black pepper. It took a little bit of getting used to, but I returned to England a fan of it. To wash down this mountain of food was another classic southern victual: sweet tea. I genuinely can’t help not saying this in Southern accent in my head whenever I come across it. It’s so refreshing and sweet. Overall, it was a true Southern experience, from Southern food to my new Southern family!
(Cover photo courtesy of Babe's Chicken Dinner House Arlington)
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