The Tastiest Eats and Treats This Side of the Rio Grande

As you read this, Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe should be working its way through its first weekend of operation after a month long refurbishment. In honor of Pecos Bill, and the best fixins bar on property, today’s Back Issues takes a look at the story of Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. Located just inside one of the many entrances to the restaurant are two documents, the Code of the West and The Tastiest Eats and Treats This Side of the Rio Grande, the latter of which we bring to you here today.

Considered by many as the meanest, toughest, roughest cowboy of them all, Pecos Bill has been credited for inventing all things Western, from rodeos to cowboy dancing, to spurs, hats and lassoes. He can draw faster, shoot straighter and ride a horse harder than any man alive. Unfortunately, we don’t know when and where he was born, just that he was raised by coyotes and that his name covers from the river in Texas. Over the years Pecos Bill along with his trusty horse, Widowmaker, have made quite a name for themselves forging new trails and taming others. Legend tells us several tall tales like the time Pecos Bill jumped on a powerful twister and rode it like a bucking bronco. Then there was the time when Pecos Bill dug out a path to create the Rio Grande river during a severe drought that hit his beloved Texas. And then there was the day Pecos Bill was so bored he took his handy six-shooter and shot out all of the stars in the sky except for one. That’s why they call Texas the “Lone Star State.” In 1878, with the encouragement of his friends, Pecos Bill decided to open his own restaurant whose motto very much reflects its one-of-a-kind owner. “The tastiest eats and treats this side of the Rio Grande.” Pecos Bill called it the Tall Tale Inn and Cafe and it quickly became a popular hangout for some of his legendary friends. As time went by, it became a tradition when each friend paid a visit they would leave something behind for Pecos Bill to remember them by. As you can see from the articles and artifacts that don the walls, many of which carry inscriptions, Pecos Bill had some mighty impressive friends. Seems that every trail eventually led to the Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.