Phil's Roadhouse Montgomery, Texas - Fulfilling Her Dad's Dream
- takinthebackroads
- 21 hours ago
- 4 min read
In 2005, Phil Philipello opened Phil's Roadhouse in Montgomery, Texas. He'd been in the food service industry for many years, owning restaurants such as Boardwalk, a pizza joint in Conroe, Texas. After closing Boardwalk, Phil decided that he wasn’t done with the restaurant business yet and started looking for a location for a new concept, further out of town.
The owners of the oldest restaurant in Montgomery, Texas, The Depot, were getting ready to retire, and Phil had gone to high school with some of the family members and discussed buying it from them. He decided it would be the perfect place to open his next restaurant, Phil's Roadhouse.
The building, now 60 years old, has creaky wood floors, shiplap walls, and rustic decor making you feel like you’ve stepped into an old honky tonk.
Phil’s Roadhouse has been open for 20 years now, but with one major change. Phil passed away about 10 years ago, and his daughter Marisa Zamarripa has been running it since. She keeps her father’s dream alive every day by making sure the decisions she makes are in line with his vision. Phil wanted a restaurant where his customers could get portions that would fill even him up (he was 6’4”) and they wouldn’t feel cheated by what they ordered. He wanted a quick turnaround so that folks could get back to work. And he wanted to create a place where every customer received top-notch customer service. Marisa is still fulfilling those promises today.
This is the kind of place where regular’s drinks are waiting at the table before they even get there, where the kitchen doesn’t blink an eye if you ask for modifications or something off menu, and they’ll run your call-in order out to your car if you’re in a hurry.
Marisa and I talked about how Montgomery is expanding so quickly, and there are so many chain restaurants with drive throughs. She knows she can’t compete with a drive-through, but she and her staff take every opportunity to overcome that limitation in their customer service.
While always trying to improve their menu, Phil’s remains a scratch kitchen and makes sure they serve the best of what their customers want, hand-cut ribeyes, freshly breaded chicken fried steaks, homemade desserts, and more.
The awesome food isn’t the only thing that makes Phil’s a fun place to stop; they are also known for their barnyard antics. They have ducks and geese on their property, and sometimes folks even ride their horses over. So when you go, make sure you stick around and enjoy the scenery too.
The Chicken Fried Steak is a customer favorite. It’s seasoned and hand-breaded when you order, fried to golden perfection, and served with a generous bowl of homemade cream gravy. A side of hot, gooey mac and cheese sat next to it. And let me tell you, out of all the mac and cheese I’ve tasted, I’d put this in my top two with its smooth cheese sauce and rich flavor. It was served with a nearly 2-pound baked potato, overflowing with all the fixin’s: butter, shredded cheddar, sour cream, bacon, and green onion.
I’ve never seen a burger like the Nacho Dorrito Burger. A buttered, grilled bun, piled high with 2 eight-ounce juicy burger patties. Then, laid in between were slices of cheddar, nacho cheese Doritos, and a pour of queso. It was enormous, juicy, messy, and fun to eat. The basket came with a pile of steak-cut fries, thick and potato-y. This burger is more than just a
mouthful; it’s a monster.
Not on the menu yet, the Grilled Cheese Burger is what legends are made of. Two buttered Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches made up the bun of this gargantuan burger. Sandwiched between them were two eight-ounce seasoned burger patties, with two slices of American cheese, about four slices of crispy bacon, and a garlic aioli drizzle. It was about 6 inches in heigh, and I would guess it weighed over 2 pounds.
A basket of onion rings was served with this beast; fresh, hand-battered, and fried crisp onion rings. Absolute perfection!
As we sat, staring at these huge plates of food, Marisa snuck up to the table, with an impish grin, and dropped off dessert.
The homemade Cherry Cobbler was warm and heavenly, with a luscious cherry filling and a pillowy cobbler crust. A bit of crispy edge of the crust with a scoop of the cherry filling made for dessert heaven.
Cool, rich, and perfectly creamy, the Banana Pudding was a great finish to the meal. You can always tell by the consistency when pudding is the real stuff. And this was old-fashioned banana pudding bliss.
Phil’s Roadhouse in Montgomery, Texas, is not for the faint of appetite; all of their portions and flavors are larger than life. So if you’re craving something Texas BIG, take the backroads on over to Phil’s, and tell Marisa we said hi. Order something fun, and make sure you ask about the turkeys - you’ll be glad you did!
We’re on a mission to help Texas mom ‘n pop restaurants thrive, and we need your help! So if you enjoy our articles, reviews, photos, and videos, please consider sharing and help us get some butts in booths at Texas mom ‘n pop restaurants.
As always, be sure to check their hours before you head over there.
Comentarios