The Restaurant Mishap That Led To Texas Toast
If you've ever wondered why the state of Texas gets its own toast, the answer is that it was actually a happy accident. It can be traced to a location of a former barbecue chain restaurant in the state, called The Pig Stand. Back in 1941, a manager at the chain's restaurant in Beaumont (near the Louisiana border) is said to have approached the restaurant's bread supplier, Rainbow Bakery, requesting a thicker-cut bread. The reason why the manager wanted this seems to be lost to history — it could be that thick-cut bread would better contain the chain's meaty sandwiches, which were a popular menu item, although Texas Toast ended up catching on as a side, not just as a sandwich bread.
In any case, the bakery delivered the thick bread, only for the restaurant's cooks to realize that it wouldn't fit in the kitchen's toasters. One cook came up with the idea to butter it and grill it instead, and Texas Toast was born. One alternate version of the story suggests that it was invented at a Pig Stand location in Denton, northwest of Dallas, instead of Beaumont, but there seems to be general agreement that it was created at that chain.
How did Texas Toast spread beyond the Pig Stand?
The Pig Stand no longer exists — while the chain was extremely popular when it first opened with locations around Dallas, its final locations shut down in 2006 with the company filing for bankruptcy. (One location in San Antonio was bought out by a manager, and kept operating independently until it closed in 2023.) Yet Texas Toast has endured: It was reportedly a popular item right from the beginning, and a likely reason is because of its utility. It not only works as a sturdy sandwich bread that can hold up against a saucy, meaty filling, but it's great for soaking up all the juice and sauce that comes with a barbecue platter.
That usefulness and popularity probably led Texas Toast to catch on elsewhere, likely at other barbecue restaurants (where it's arguably still getting more and more popular at present). It eventually found its way into chain restaurants, often as a replacement for burger or sandwich buns. Nowadays, it's served at places like Raising Cane's (as a side), Dairy Queen (alongside chicken strips), and perhaps most notably, Whataburger, where it's used for cheesy patty melts.
How is Texas Toast served and eaten, anyway?
Texas Toast hasn't evolved in any major way since its creation back in 1941 — it's still fundamentally the same thick cut soft white bread, slathered with butter and grilled or griddled. It's sometimes prepared with garlic and herbs like parsley as well, and also cheese (effectively turning it into a grilled garlic bread), and pre-prepared flavored versions of it are even sold by some companies. However, purists sometimes disapprove of this and stick to the plainer, butter-only version.
It tends to be barbecue joints that use Texas Toast as a sandwich bread, although it also seems to have caught on as a vehicle for grilled cheese sandwiches as well. Otherwise, it's still popular as a side for Southern or Texan dishes like chicken-fried steak, where it sops up gravy well, and theoretically, it could work with any dish that has a good amount of grease or sauce to be soaked up. You're more likely to see it at places like a greasy spoon diner, but the fine dining world isn't oblivious to it. For example, New York chef Marc Forgione has been known to use it at his eponymous New York City restaurant, where it appears alongside chili lobster — and where, like a diner patron dipping it in gravy, it also soaks up the dish's sauce.