Sutton VanGunten had been a chef for many years before opening Market Street Cafe in Lockhart, Texas. In his last corporate kitchen, he was the chef and manager of Whole Foods in Austin, Texas. In 2011, he left that position, rode his bicycle around town, and enjoyed his life for about 8 months, while dreaming of opening up his own place. He just wasn't sure what yet. One day he rode by a food trailer parked on the side of the road. A 1949 Shasta bumper pull RV, a for sale sign taped to the window, and a gigantic rooster head attached to the roof. He took a peak inside, and saw that it wasn’t equipped with much; a 3-compartment sink, a handwashing sink, and a counter; there was barely room for multiple people. Sutton rode back home, contemplating what he could do with the trailer.
At home, he gathered up all of his assets. A pile of small wares, and $1000. He called the number on the sign and told the man on the other end of the phone that he wanted to make a deal. $500 down, and $500 a month until the trailer was paid off. The gentleman asked if Sutton had a plan; he did, he would sell salads and fresh squeezed juiced. The owner agreed to the terms and in 40 days, Sutton was operational in Austin, Texas.
After four years and multiple upgrades, Sutton was ready for a brick-and-mortar location, but he knew Austin wouldn’t work. He had always been a grassroots operation, never taking large loans; saving and scrimping until he could afford the next step. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to save his way to a location in Austin, Sutton started looking into the outlying areas. In 2015, He found a spot in Downtown Lockhart, Texas, and opened Market Street Cafe.
That’s where he met Shelby and they soon fell in love and married. In 2021 they’d grown so much that they moved the cafe to a new location, about five minutes outside of Downtown. Where the air smells of Shelby’s warm, fresh baked sourdough bread, there’s art for sale on the walls and a pickle bar filled with house-crafted pickled vegetables, olives, and more.
“We don’t make health food, we make delicious food a little bit healthier.” Market Street Cafe’s food is bright, filled with colors and fresh produce. The hearty, large-portioned meals are sure to fill any appetite.
To start the tasting Sutton brought out the Market Street veggie plate. A fluffy pile of housemade hummus, sprinkled with feta cheese and surrounded by sauteed vegetables; broccoli, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers. If that wasn’t enough to fill you up, it’s served with a thick, fluffy slice of grilled sourdough, and housecrafted pickled onions and carrots.
The cobb salad came on a bed of tender butter lettuce leaves, decorated with delicious and beautiful lines of sliced boiled egg, bacon, pungent bleu cheese, tomatoes, grilled chicken, and avocado, with a delicate vinaigrette to the side. It was a perfect balance of subtle and bold flavors, plenty of protein to help your lunch stick, and enough veg to make you feel good about your choice.
The boudin egg rolls are technically an appetizer on the menu, but this portion was large enough to make a full meal for me. Three large egg rolls come on the platter; stuffed with a mild boudin and fried to golden perfection. The platter comes with housemade jalapenos, pickles onions, and carrots. For dipping, there was a side ranch and a creamy, cool remoulade. The combination of the crunch of the wrapper, the perfect flavor of the boudin, and the creamy remoulade put this dish up as one of my favorites of the day.
The cheeseburger macaroni was a classic that so many people would enjoy. Spiral noodles, savory beef, and tender broccoli all tossed with a creamy homemade cheese sauce. This huge bowl of pasta was accompanied by a thick slice of grilled sourdough.
Spanish tortilla dish is similar to an omelet, but it’s cooked differently. It starts with frying up some potato chunks in a skillet, adding the egg mixture, and topping with very thinly sliced zucchini and onions. It’s cooked low and slow to create a thick, fluffy omelet-like texture. It’s then slid out onto a bed of fresh spinach which wilts under the heat. This savory egg dish was a heavenly breakfast; the eggs were so fluffy that they melted like cotton candy in my mouth, and paired with the perfectly cooked veggies for texture and savory flavor.
If you’ve ever thought to yourself, self - I’d really love a crunchy, gooey, flavorful sandwich - do I have a recommendation for you! The ham, munster, and avocado on sourdough. I can not get enough of the toasted sourdough bread that they serve, but then it was loaded up with all of those goodies and it was incredible, of course, I loved it even more because of the side of the housemade pickle assortment.
When you like all the fruit and you like waffles too, you should order the All The Fruit Waffle. A huge Belgian waffle, loaded with blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, dusted with powdered sugar, and served with large two scoops of fresh, homemade whipped cream. The perfect balance of sweet, but not too sweet.
The desserts are made fresh daily by Shleby, and as incredible as the rest of the food. The chocolate cherries and cream cupcake was a vanilla cupcake topped with a mountain of fresh whipped cream, a cherry on top, and a layer of crisp chocolate to bite through. The cream was sweet, smooth, and fluffy dolloped on top of the moist cake.
The German chocolate brownie was a decadent, gooey brownie made. A thick layer of icing covered the brownie; sweet, gooey, and filled with coconut and nuts. This was a rich and satisfying dessert; a chocolate lover's dream!
Citrus is one of my favorite flavors, especially lemon. So when I tried the lemon pie bar, I went in with high hopes, and it did not disappoint. A crispy, crumbly graham cracker crust was layered with homemade lemon curd topped with a firm layer of fresh whipped cream, and dusted with graham cracker sprinkles. Sweet, tangy, creamy, with a little crunch; it checked all the boxes.
I tried the key lime pie bar last and thought there was no way the lemon bar could be topped, but that wasn’t true. This bar had the same graham cracker crust, but then it had a layer of key lime curd, which packed an even bigger flavor punch, a layer of dreamy whipped cream, and finally, a generous sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes to really put it in as my favorite dessert of the day!
As I was packing up to leave, Shebly snuck over and dropped off a loaf of sourdough still warm from coming out of the oven. I’m not sure if she was being nice or trying to torture me, sending me on a drive with something that smelled so incredible! Just kidding, that was so incredibly amazing of her! Her bread is soft and so full of flavor, hands down, one of the best loaves of bread in my life. It made delicious sandwiches and toast for several days at my house. I will definitely be back for more!
If you’re on a drive and looking to stop somewhere fun, and a little funky, where everything is fresh, you definitely want to stop in at Market Street Cafe in Lockhart, Texas. Tell Sutton, Shelby, and the crew that I said hey, and make sure you don’t leave without getting dessert!
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1100 State Park Road Lockhart, Texas 78644
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