Its gotta be Whataburger. One of the first I get when I visit Texas is a Whataburger. The only other choice I would put down is shipleys.
I realize Whataburger has more of a presence across the state... but sorry, it's gross. (with the possible exception of the breakfast taquitos) So I'm voting for Taco Cabana anyway. It's the defining Texas fast food for me, especially since I haven't seen them in any other states. Sonic and Dairy Queen are honestly pretty nasty also, unless you're just there for dessert. (and I say that as one of those people who has to eat fast food because everything else is out of their price range)
Honestly, I find fastfoods ultra expensive these days. Best cheap food, a can of cambell soup. Add a little bit of bread. Fills you up and not too bad for you either.
Texas Burger! Anytime I'm up and down I-45 in Madisonville, Centerville or Buffalo, I have to hit one up. They're just soooo good.
Whataburger. DQ is based in Minnesota. There are DQ's all over the country. There are Sonics all over the place. Whataburger is Texas.
You asked for it - you got it- (NSFW) <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HiO9bX0IGzo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HiO9bX0IGzo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
There's a Texas Burger near where I hunted in Corrigan. I thought it was awful. Although it also served Blue Bell Ice Cream.
Yeah but driving around Texas as a kid in the '70s I would see Dairy Queens in almost every small town. They were hubs of social life there. I don't remember Whataburger as much. It just had more of a presence. I remember going with my grandparents to Dairy Queen, not Whataburger. Whataburger takes too long. It is overrated. Give me sunshine, rock and roll, cherry limeades and cheese fries from Sonic over WB any day.
From Wikipedia During the 1950s and 1960s, Dairy Queens in small towns of the Midwestern and Southern United States, especially Texas, were often a center of social life. In that role they have often come to be referenced as a symbol of life in small-town America, as for instance in Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and Beyond by Larry McMurtry, Dairy Queen Days by Robert Inman, and Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights by Bob Greene. Some of the popular items on the Texas menu include the Hunger-buster and Belt-buster hamburgers. Bob Phillips, host of a popular Texas syndicated television program named Texas Country Reporter was the longtime spokesman for DQ in Texas. From Wikipedia on Whataburger (Whataburger supports the Phoenix Suns) On Phoenix Suns televised basketball games, commentator Al McCoy used to advertise Whataburger by adding What-a-shot! Whataburger sends $50 to Phoenix Suns Charities! to his traditional Shazam! every time a Suns player made a three point shot.
