Question: What Texas town is known as the “Legendary Home of the Chicken-fried Steak”?
Answer: Lamesa. According to local legend, the iconic southern staple was created in 1911 by short-order cook Jimmy Don Perkins, who mistakenly combined an order for chicken and fried steak. The tale’s origin is a 1976 article by journalist Larry BeSaw in the Austin American-Statesman, which was later picked up by a syndicated columnist and reported in publications like The Washington Post and Texas Monthly.
BeSaw later admitted the story was a spoof, but the town of Lamesa embraced the legend and continued to perpetuate it. In 2011, the Texas Legislature passed a resolution designating Lamesa as the “Legendary Home of the Chicken-fried Steak.”
