The Hard Eight is not a triple-D restaurant but, it should be. It's got everything that a triple-D restaurant should be. First off, the food is "off the hook" fantastic. The meats are cooked in outside smoking pits over local mesquite wood. They keep a twelve-foot high mountain of cut wood in the parking lot to keep those fires going.
Second, it is a fun destination. It is a very popular place with the Harley crowd. There are usually at least a half dozen Harley Davidson motorcycles parked outside. It is a great destination because it is about a two hour drive from Fort Worth through some pretty Texas countryside. I sometimes see poker run signs in the parking lot.
It is also a popular destination for the private aviation crowd, which is how I found out about it. Private pilots all over the country frequently head out for short flights for the proverbial "$100 hamburger" which is supposed to be the cost of the flight plus the food. In Texas it is more like the "$100 barbeque." The Clark County "Stephensville" Airport is very close to the restaurant. I'm not sure that I know a DFW metroplex pilot that doesn't at least know about the Hard Eight if they aren't regulars there. I've probably flown there 8 or 9 times.
It's a bit of an adventure for those of us who fly in. After you land and tie the aircraft down, you could walk over to the restaurant. It is about a 10 minute walk. But, the restaurant also has golf carts at the airport with the keys in them. You can just hop in an available golf cart and follow the path through the woods and park in the National Guard armory right across the street. If you have kids with you, they LOVE driving the golf carts. If the carts are all gone then just call the restaurant and they'll send someone for you.
The single runway is in good shape. The government built a nice new terminal building in probably 2009. The restrooms are always clean and the local guys are friendly and ready to help you out. They also have self-serve jet fuel and 100 octane low lead avgas for the rest of us. There are plenty of tie-down spots for transient pilots. There is a sky-diving school on the airport. So, you sometimes get to watch the jumpers landing on the grass area.You order your food before you even step inside the building right from the open barbecue pits. They put the meat on butcher paper on plastic trays that you then bring inside. You pay for the meat by weight. They have everything else on the tray line inside.
Today I got the smoked turkey sandwich on jalapeno sour dough bread. I got some cole slaw and two shrimp poppers. The "brush poppers" are either shrimp or chicken wrapped in jalapeno, onion and bacon with a toothpick holding it all together. Not exactly heart healthy but, boy they are delicious. The bacon is still a little chewy and the whole thing is smoked thereby causing the pepper and bacon flavors to blend into the meat or fish. They do just slide down easily.I've had the hot links, chicken, brisket and ham before. It is all really very good. If you are not flying then they have free beer. There are some beer taps and if you ask then someone will come over and pull a draft for you. That might partially explain the popularity of this place with the Harley folks.
The Hard Eight gets a 10 out of 10 on my triple-D scale. It is my "go to" place to bring people visiting the area. I take every opportunity to fly here whenever I can. I think that everyone should check it out. Unless you are a vegetarian, you'll be back too.
Hard-Eight Barbeque
1091 Glen Rose Rd
Stephenville, TX 76401
(254) 968-5552
www.hardeightbbq.com
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