Eat This: The Rackhouse’s Chicken-Fried Steak with Jalapeno Gravy

We're simple people. We hear about a good chicken-fried steak, and we eat said chicken-fried steak.

Simple.

After receiving a tip from one of our readers about a can't-miss chicken-fried steak in The Colony, we decided to make the 35-minute jaunt up the Dallas North Tollway to experience it for ourselves. See what we mean?

The Rackhouse Scratch Kitchen and Whiskey Bar was our destination — a cavernous, rustic-chic American (mostly, anyway) restaurant with a spectacular patio overlooking Lake Lewisville. In addition to the string of souped-up American favorites (like a bourbon marinated slow-cooked pot roast) that dominate Rackhouse's vast menu, they also have Thai tacos, naan flatbread pizzas, a Cubano sandwich, and create-your-own Italian pasta. And the biggest draw of all at The Rackhouse might very well be its mile-long bar that boasts a liquor collection as impressive as you'll find anywhere.
If you're a bourbon and/or whiskey connoisseur, this place is a must. There are over 70 bourbons and whiskeys to select from and that's not counting the Scotch or Irish whiskey. The choices range from $7.50 singles of Redneck Riveria to $162 singles of Barrel Bourbon Gold ($323.50 for a double). Yeah, we'll take the … umm, cheaper one. As we said before, we're simple people.

But we weren't here for the whiskey. The Rackhouse's chicken-fried steak ($19) was our mission: a hand-battered and fried round steak (or chicken if you prefer) behemoth topped with roasted jalapeño cream gravy and served with sides of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and corn cobbler.

Like any chicken-=fried steak worth its salt, the batter and gravy are arguably the most critical elements. And Rackhouse scores high marks with each. The batter is fried to a perfect golden crisp (it's just the right amount of batter, too), and the jalapeno cream gravy is the star here, elevating it from merely good chicken-fried steak to driving 30-plus miles up the tollway worth it chicken-fried steak. The sides of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and corn cobbler were fine, but you can forgive us if our focus was elsewhere.

Rackhouse also offers a towering spicy chicken sandwich that looks like something you would've seen on Adam Richman's Man v. Food. Fried chicken breasts dripping in sweet-heat barbecue sauce stacked high on a cheddar jalapeno brioche bun and topped with pepper jack, bacon, fried jalapenos and pickles. The Yelp reviews of this imposing beast of a sandwich are hints that lead us to believe deeper analysis will be required next time we're in the vicinity.

As for Rackhouse's chicken fried steak, our reader tip (thank you, Dallas Observer reader Joe) paid off in spades. And yes, we're always open to suggestions. Especially when it comes to chicken fried steak.
The Rackhouse, 4847 Main Street, The Colony. Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – midnight; Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – midnight.