We used to drive down to see my grandparents outside D'Hanis, TX every year. My parents would pack lunches so we could save "time" ("money.")
When I started going down to see family on my own, I found a lot of places we should have been eating.
In my parents' defense, we have been going to Hermann Sons for years. The Azteca has been on the family list for a while, among other places in Hondo.
Married life:
We found Rudy's on the way home from Austin. It was our introduction to moist brisket. We drove to Denton for lunch because it was the closest to our house until we noticed they had opened a location in Frisco (the message was scrolling on the register as we checked out.) There are now Rudy's in Allen and Arlington.)
We discovered Slovacek's because they sponsored Texas Bucket List. So, we drove to West just so we could get kolaches and sausage.
We visited the Blue Bonnet Cafe because we were touring the Hill Country and stayed in a B&B in Marble Falls. I think we had seen it in a magazine or on TV.
We found Health Camp, well, I'm not sure how - but it was famous. I think I actually went to find it by myself once, got lost and found a dominos factory.
When I was in college:
Mi Tierra was the place you went to try to sober up after the bars closed. That is the main value of a 24x7 restaurant. Also, the food is good. (In later life, my wife fell in love with it, so now we visit when we're in San Antonio.)
Los Barrios was my default lunch spot, since the owner's son was my fraternity brother. If you can find a pledge with a restaurant, you may get nachos.
I spent an entire afternoon with my girlfriend looking for Dutchman's and was crushed to discover it was gone. When I went home for Christmas, I realized it was on the north side of my drive on US-281, not the south side.
Childhood:
Once in a blue moon, we would get hamburgers from Keller's. I think my dad would get me and my brother burgers because he and my Mom were going to a grownups dinner.
Hermann Sons was a treat when we visited my grandparents. One night per visit, we seemed to have a large family meeting there. It was years before I found out there was a second dining room - because there were no kids allowed. (It is sadly now gone - it's just one dining room.)