Texas Highways

Texas Highways Magazine has featured the lake and Arrowhead Resort in their October issue. The story describes all the fun things you can do in the area as well as mentioning our Friday night buffet. The author also seemed to have a fondness for the fried bananas, but then who wouldn't?

End of Summer

Another busy season has come and gone. This makes 12 for us! It has been a summer of economic worries for the whole country, low lake levels for Whitney, and concerns over the H1N1 flu. Through it all we have enjoyed seeing those of you who shared the summer with us. We hope that however brief your visit was that it brought peace, comfort, and joy to your life. We truly believe that we have a little slice of heaven and love sharing it with you.

If you didn't make it this summer please know that we missed you. I was thinking just yesterday about the families that we did not see. It's almost as if there's no real closure to our summer without seeing some of you who have become like extended family to us. You are in our thoughts and we hope to see you soon.

The leaves are already falling and sometimes in the early morning I can almost smell the change of seasons. The quiet is settling in and as much as we like sharing summer, we LOVE sharing fall! Hope to see you soon!

A word or two about online reviews

Ever get a punch in the gut when you least expect it? That's how we feel today. Someone left a nasty review about us on one of those review sites. There's no telling what actually set them off. Maybe they spent more money than they intended. Maybe the kids screamed all the way home. The bothersome part is that their review included false statements.

We can take valid criticism. Come on, give it to us. If you stay with us and something is wrong with our cabins or our service we EXPECT to hear about it at the time it happens. AC not cool enough? Tell us and we'll do our darnedest to fix it. Can't get the VCR to play? Call 254-580-3044 and we'll come running. It's what we do, but we can't read minds and we can't fix something for you after you leave.

If you feel the need to share your experience here with the world, good or bad, our only request is that you not exaggerate either way and that you give the whole picture. Give people a balanced view.

These people ate our chocolate chip cookies, fresh cinnamon rolls, and got a special brushing session with Dixie and Crystal, but do you think they mentioned any of that in their review? How could they not have liked those cookies? And Dixie & Crystal are downright insulted to have been left out.

We not only get our feelings hurt by inaccurate sucker punches, but it hurts our livelihood. This place is our life. We give it EVERYTHING we've got. So if you've got something to say, please say it to us first.

Concerns About the Lake Levels-- Come on out the water's fine.

We are getting lots of calls about the lake levels so I thought I'd answer some questions here. Keep in mind that Whitney is 108' deep at normal level. Twelve feet under normal means there's still 96' of water in the main body of the lake.

1. Can we launch boats? Gary has gone to launch our 21' pontoon boat as I type this. There have been a few ramp closings around the lake, but many are still open.

2. Can we swim in the lake? Several public swim areas have been closed due to safety reasons, but guests staying at Arrowhead have access to a wonderful area, perfectly suited for swimming-- low boat traffic & no sudden drop offs.

3. Are you still renting canoes? Yup. Water levels on the lake don't affect our canoe rentals because we are on wide open lake.

4. Can we leave our boats in the water? Lower lake levels are actually better for guests with boats at Arrowhead. Since we don't have docks, our guests beach their boats and tie them up. Lower water levels have exposed any potential hazards that were previously submerged and leave quite a nice stretch of shore for beaching boats.

5. Can you still see the lake from the cabins? Our cabins are situated roughly 200 yards from the water at the current level and no views of the lake have been changed.

Lake Fun

Need some fun in your life? Lake Whitney is the place to find it. We think this picture kind of says it all. Even falling here can put a smile on your face!

Sweet Mimosa

The smell of mimosa blooms in the quiet of the night is one of my favorite summer things. I don't know if they actually release more scent after dark or if I am just finally still enough to notice.

We have three mimosas on the property, one at the Bunkhouse, one at Cabin #3, and a rogue growing in a large pot at our personal deck which refused to be removed so many times that we finally left it alone and let it live. I guess someday we'll cut the pot away.

This week we lost 1/2 of the one at #3. A windstorm on Tuesday night broke two of the four main trunks. Gary carefully trimmed up what was left and we hope it's strong enough to survive. It's always been an interesting looking tree-- mostly hollow with multiple twisted trunks, but now it borders on artistic. And it still smells nice.

Tribute to the Kitchen Staff

We wanted to take a minute to say thank you to the Mel's Steakhouse kitchen staff. We are picky about who we allow into our kitchen family and I am not an easy boss to please.



These folks work tirelessly in a very hot kitchen week after week. They must either be crazy or truly share our passion for serving good food. It's probably a little of both. Even though they are responsible for the quality product we offer, they rarely get to bask in the glow of customer praises or the weekly excitement of converting first-timers to repeaters.



Crystal is our grill chef. She has been with us off and on for more than eight years. Her real job is raising four energetic girls. She has done every job in our kitchen at one time or another, but the grill is where she shines. It's hot. On busy nights the pressure to keep steaks, chops, & grilled seafood coming off the grill perfectly cooked at the appropriate time is intense, but she does it with a quiet smile. Did I mention it's hot? The grill is 2' x 4' of flame-heated ceramic bricks and her only relief from it is reaching into the nearby cooler for more steaks to put on the grill. She is also responsible for food cooked on the stove -- veggies, sauteed mushrooms, and pan seared fish or chicken. It's a big job and she does it almost effortlessly.



Deborah is our prep and fry cook. She works the longest hours in the kitchen, starting on Thursday receiving trucks, toasting croutons, and whipping up that lovely cinnamon butter. Actually, her week starts on Monday morning when she arrives first thing to face the task of draining the fryers and detailing them until spotless, followed by grueling hours of steam cleaning the red tile floor in the kitchen. She hand cuts and breads every piece of catfish, every chicken fried steak, every onion string. She handles hundreds of pieces of catfish for the Friday buffet every week! Her quick zingers keep the dining room staff on their toes, but the quality of food she prepares is testament to her love of the job.



Kelly takes care of the salad bar and desserts so efficiently that to the untrained eye it looks easy. It is anything but. She manages the production and supply of almost 50 food items and does it while maintaining spotless conditions in her area. She is the kitchen staff member most visible to dining room guests and she always has a smile for everyone. She is first and foremost a mom to Haley and Jenna , but we are thankful to have her as part of our family on Friday and Saturday nights.



Denise is our Saturday expediter. That means she sets up every plate in preparation of the food being cooked. When a steak comes off the grill or a chicken fried tenderloin comes out of the fryer, Denise has a warm, decorated plate waiting for it with steak knife, side dish, and accompaniments in place. Her job allows Crystal and Deborah to focus on creating their food magic without worrying about the finished plates. Denise has been with us for seven years. She is currently the Bakery Manager at the Hillsboro Walmart. We are extremely proud of her accomplishments there, but happy that she chooses to continue as part of our family here on weekends.



Donald keeps clean plates, soup bowls, silverware, glassware, and cookware flowing. His speed and efficiency are hard to fathom. We simply could not operate effectively without Donald, and on the very rare occasions when he was not here we all suffered. He works in a kitchen full of women and does so with quiet humor and grace.



That's our crew. We don't thank them often enough, but without them Mel's Steakhouse would not be possible.



Thanks gang. See you next Friday.