Earl Abel's

Frommer's Review

Earl Abel opened his first restaurant on Main Street in 1933. An organist for silent-film theaters in the 1920s, he had to find something else to do when the talkies took over. But his old Hollywood pals didn't forget him, and Bing Crosby and Gloria Swanson always dropped into Earl's place when they blew through San Antone.

Earl's granddaughter now runs the restaurant, which moved to Broadway in 1940, and the menu is much like it was more than 50 years ago, when what is now called comfort food was simply chow. The restaurant is no longer open 24 hours, but you can still come in after midnight for a cup of coffee and a thick slice of lemon meringue pie. The bargain daily specials and fried chicken remain the all-time favorites, but lots of folks come around for a hearty breakfast of eggs, biscuits and gravy, and grits.

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