She said, “We are going to ORC.” I replied, “To where?!”. She explained, “Old Rooster Creek. I heard that they have great tasting pork barbecue and roasted pork!” I found out that the Old Rooster Creek is in Princeton, Texas. Now, I have been to Princeton several times but I have never seen the Old Rooster Creek. It turned out that it is several miles south of Highway 380 – a place where I haven’t gone to before!

What excited me with this search-and-discover trip was the navigator directions. It was in the backroad part of McKinney and Princeton. I have always wanted to explore the country side of town. The place where ranches and farmlands abound. Maybe it was because I was watching too many old movies and reruns when I was a boy. I still have it in my mind that one day I will come across a idyllic piece of land (that I can buy?) where a house sits beside a cluster of trees and a small creek runs next to it.

I figured we met the hostess of the place. She had a big grin on her face and she spoke to us directly. “You have a camera!”, she said. “Do you take pictures?” I replied that I do and asked her if she wanted her picture taken. “Yes!”, and she leaned on the post and gave me a pose. Her Mom and Dad were busy in the kitchen and the bar, respectively. Her demeanor highly suggested her familiarity with having people around in the place.

It wasn’t long before I was talking to Jo (the Mom, the cook, the master of the kitchen, the pork barbecue expert)! It was the middle of the day and, basing on the clutter, she was busy preparing for a bigger crowd later in the afternoon. We arrived seeing families under umbrella-covered tables. Like us, most ordered meals to go but also stayed awhile to eat. Pork barbecue and roasted pork were definitely the favorite items here.

Jo tended the kitchen while Allen tended the bar. Allen was all over the place. I may be wrong, but I think it was mentioned that Old Rooster Creek is their gig when they are not working their day jobs.

ORC was definitely a relaxed and laid back place. Kind of reminds me of Linda’s Cafe when it was still a small shack in one corner of 19th street in Lubbock. Reminds me of the time when Domeng, the cook, can be found hanging out with some guys at the back of the cafe and just talking.