As a little kid, Priscilla would go with her church to their downtown and feed the homeless every weekend. “I used to think, what if that’s the only time they’ll get to eat.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and apologized. “So, I’ve always just wanted to feed people.”
Today, Priscilla Jordan and her husband Cliff Jordan, own and operate Jordan’s Home Cook’n in Hockley, Texas. With a population of just over 21,000 people, Hockley is a quiet little town, but it’s quickly expanding with the new developments being built. But if you blink, you might just miss the cafe, snuggled in behind Jimbo’s Road House.
Priscilla was the youngest of ten kids and grew up loving to cook. Cliff was a Marine who came home, got his degree, and among other things opened a pizza shop. So good food is not new to this couple.
Unfortunately, the pizza shop burnt down and Cliff went to work at HEB. Priscilla would send him to work with goodie boxes for his employees, and that was the beginning of her catering business. Soon she was taking orders for other, larger food things like tamales. Then eventually she was catering for multiple HEB, Targets, and others. One day, they were out for a drive through Hockley, TX, and noticed a little cafe that had a for lease sign. They stopped in and checked it out, and before Priscilla knew it, Cliff was saying yes, they wanted it!
That was just the little push…. Or big leap, that they both needed. Cliff had wanted to get back into the food service industry, and Priscilla has always loved feeding people. As Cliff looked back toward Priscilla he said, “She’s great at experimenting with foods and flavors; she’s a great cook.” So together they make a great team, side by side every day.
The walls of this little cafe are decorated with pictures of Veterans, kids coloring pages, and items that have been donated by the community. The Jordans weren’t born and raised in Hockley, but the community has embraced them since opening, in June 2024.
It was quiet when I arrived, they were just barely getting opened up, and I’m glad I got there early. I chose a table out of the way to set up and watched as business picked up, rotating who I was interviewing. When Priscilla needed to get up to go cook, she’d send Cliff over to visit, and vice versa; making sure I had what I needed.
The chicken fried steak came out first; a tender steak, fried to golden, crispy perfect, and
topped with homemade cream gravy. It was served with a helping of cajun corn and garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. The corn was seasoned, but not spicy, and the potatoes were a mound of fluffy, garlicky perfection.
The Big Tex, aptly named, was a ground brisket hamburger with a slice of melty cheddar
cheese. On top of that were slices of moist smoked brisket, a drizzle of homemade BBQ sauce, and a crispy homemade onion ring. It was all piled up on buttery, grilled Texas toast. This bad boy was huge, so if you order this one, be prepared to smash it down a little bit, and get your napkins ready because the juice from the brisket and the burger makes this one one of the juiciest sandwiches I’ve had yet. The helping of fries with a light dusting of cajun seasoning made for the perfect side.
The chicken tenders were just that, incredibly tender. Hand-battered in a well-seasoned, light batter and fried flawlessly. The chicken stayed juicy, while the breading got crisp. Served with a huge pile of fries and a bowl of cream gravy. Every kid in my life would love to get this served to them for dinner, but so would I!
While it was hard for me to pick my favorite dish of the day, I’d have to say it was the grilled chicken club. The combination of all of the flavors and textures just knocked it out of the
park for me. The chicken was impeccably seasoned, then grilled till there was a nice char, but it was still so moist. Then a slice of munster cheese nestled between the chicken and a few slices of warm, crispy bacon. To balance all of the rich flavors, were the layers of garden-fresh green leaf lettuces and ripe sweet tomatoes. A schmear of mayo on Texas toast to finish this masterpiece. It was a huge sandwich, served with crunchy tots on the side.
The creamiest, dreamiest banana pudding came out last. Okay, I said the grilled chicken club was my favorite, but really we all know that I loved the banana pudding the most. The pudding was a thick, creamy custard, with fresh sliced bananas. The whipped topping, obviously from scratch, was almost a meringue-level fluffiness. All of it was dusted with a light crumble of nilla wafer and just a hint of cinnamon.
If you’re out looking for some from-scratch cooking, with a welcoming atmosphere, make sure you take the backroads to Jordan’s Home Cook’n in Hockley, Texas. Tell Priscilla and Cliff I said hi, and make sure you try that banana pudding. You’ll be glad you did!
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35228 Hempstead Rd Hockley, TX 77447
As always, be sure to check their hours of operation before heading over there.
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