Day Trips: Southern Flyer Diner, Brenham
Retro diner serves up a hot plate of nostalgia for fliers and drivers
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Oct. 7, 2016
The Southern Flyer Diner at the Brenham Municipal Airport serves a mean hamburger. The burger comes with a thick and juicy patty, the cheese dripping from between the toasted buns. I don't know if this classic sandwich is worth $100, but it's a member of the $100 Hamburger Club.
Actually, the hamburger only costs $7.95. The club is a general aviation term for an excuse to fly to a small-town airport diner for lunch. It's a flying hobbyist's equivalent of a Sunday drive. With waitresses dressed in poodle-dog skirts, old rock & roll on the jukebox, and good food, the Southern Flyer is as good an excuse as any to take to the skies, or highways, for a scenic drive.
Of course, you can get there by land too. The diner is three miles north of Brenham off TX 105, and several decades back in time. The restaurant is in the terminal building and has a great screened-in patio overlooking the runway to watch the planes come and go. There is even a small gift shop for the discerning shoppers. The kitchen claims to prepare nearly everything from scratch. Sandwiches populate most of the menu. I'm not sure how many people order the creamy lima beans as a side dish, but aviators can be a funny lot.
The Southern Flyer Diner is open daily from 11am to 3pm. For info, call 979/836-5462 or see www.brenhammunicipalairport.com.
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