This article appeared on page 28 of the July-December 2011 issue of Denton Live Magazine. It features six restaurants that represent Denton with their unique food and culture.

The best way to experience a city is through its food. To make the experience authentic, go where the locals go. While these restaurants may lack white tablecloths and fine china, they make up for it with history, charm and good eats. We went looking for the hidden Triple Ds of Denton – the diners, drive-ins and dives that locals love. (Thank you for the idea, Guy Fieri!) From a Greek restaurant owner who racks up airline miles to shop for ingredients, to the guys who created a burger so hot that a release form is required to eat it, to the pizza place using family recipes 70 years old. Each restaurant is different, but they have one thing in common: They all serve up a side order of Denton culture with their food. 

J & J’s Pizza on the Square

118 Oak St. (940) 382-7769

A row of dining chairs and benches – none of them matching – lines the walls. The exposed wooden beams do nothing to muffle the sound of footsteps and voices coming from above. In the corner stands a small, wood-paneled bar lit only by the Schlitz Beer light fixture dangling above it. If it sounds like an old, dirty basement, it is. But it’s not just any old, dirty basement. It’s the Old Dirty Basement at J & J’s Pizza on the Square.

For the past 14 years, J & J’s has been providing dinner and a show with award- winning pizza upstairs and live music down below. Even though owner Joe Vulpitta has been cooking in restaurants for most of his 70-plus years, it took more than a little nudging from his business partner Jaime Ham – a guy half his age – to convince him that starting a pizza place was the right move 15 years ago. “I just kept telling him I was too old for it. Then one day, I said ‘Let’s give it a shot,’” Joe says. They have been serving up Joe’s family recipes ever since.

Joe’s parents were born in southern Italy (near Mount Vesuvius) and brought their culinary traditions with them when they migrated to the United States. As one of nine children, Joe remembers growing up with food fights in the kitchen of their Chicago home. “There were a lot of arguments about who was the best cook,” he recalls with a laugh.

J & J’s moved to downtown Denton’s Square in 2002 and gained a loyal following – for one reason. Almost everything on the menu, from the lasagna to the fresh meatballs and the pizza dough, is made on site. Joe still uses his mom and dad’s recipes. J & J’s is also notorious for what some consider the ultimate pizza sin. They serve both deep-dish Chicago and thin-crust New York style pies in the same place. Naturally, The Rolling Stone College Guide gave them the nod in 2005.

Joe and Jaime are also committed to keeping the culture of Denton alive. To give back to the town they feel has given them so much, they hire local college students and book local bands. Joe points out an elderly couple who come in, even in bad weather, to get her cold chicken sub and his hot meatball sub. “I love Denton,” says Joe. “The people are great. They’re the best people around.”

Rooster’s Roadhouse

113 Industrial St. (940) 382-4227

Framed and displayed for all to see is the one item that best sums up the attitude of Rooster’s Roadhouse: a customer complaint letter. The letter, which documents a customer’s dissatisfaction at never knowing his waitress’ name or receiving a drink refill, may not seem like the typical restaurant wall décor. But owners Johnny Law, Alan Pierce and Morgan Hill keep it as a reminder that you can’t please everyone, but you should never stop trying.

The three friends go way back. Johnny and Morgan, high school classmates, have been cooking together in restaurants since the 1980s. In 2008, they found a location on Industrial Avenue that seemed just quirky enough to work. The kitchen produces the standard fare but with a Rooster’s “twist” on it. Sure, they have burgers, but they top them with a fried egg and truffle mayonnaise. Nachos come smothered in pulled pork fresh from the on- site smoker. As for the BLT, it’s got double the B with homemade Canadian bacon. They smoke and mix and bake everything from scratch, continually updating the menu – most recently with a $10 burger. The King Brisket Burger, basically a barbecue sandwich and a hamburger melded together, isn’t even on the regular menu but customers can special order the 3-inch-tall monster. “We’re trying to challenge them and their palate,” says Alan.

Rooster’s challenges are famous. There’s the Texas Slider challenge (18 burger sliders plus an order of cheese fries to be finished in under 30 minutes) and coming soon, a Hell Burger Challenge (eating as many of their hell burger sliders as possible in 30 minutes). The challenge will be named for the winner. For most, the Hell Burger itself is enough of a challenge: a burger topped with a sauce that includes searingly hot Ghost chilis. While stuffing yourself silly or setting your mouth on fire may not sound fun to some, Johnny guarantees it is. “Even though tears are running down their face, they’re still smiling.” -D.C.

Sweetwater Grill & Tavern

115 S. Elm St. (940) 484-2888

Fresh snow falls, adding layers to the blanket of white already covering the ground. The Square is still. The only sign of life is two people dutifully shoveling snow at the corner of Elm and Mulberry. To get Texans out in the snow is no small feat, but there they are, digging away so regulars won’t miss their daily dose of Sweetwater Grill & Tavern. Inside, owner Jimmy Meredith and wife Karen are dishing out bowl after bowl of steaming hot, homemade soup, the perfect cure for cabin fever.

It’s this commitment to good food and the community that has made Sweetwater a draw for locals since opening in 1996. The building just off Denton’s downtown Square was once a car dealership and junk shop, but now the wall of windows and patio lure customers downtown for a menu that boasts ceviché as well as a fried bologna sandwich. At Sweetwater, plumbers and lawyers sit at the same bar – a testament to the power of good food. Jimmy makes as many of the dishes as possible from scratch, whether it’s hand stuffing the jalapenos for the fried jalapenos or home frying the potato chips. “There are no microwaves,” says Karen. In addition to the regular menu, which is heavily influenced by Jimmy’s Louisiana roots, there are daily specials and a different burger special every day.

Jimmy and Karen want Sweetwater to continue to evolve, adding music to the mix. The music started as a way for music professors and directors from the University of North Texas to continue playing after retirement, but now Sweetwater’s small music stage is booked up to four months in advance. It has even turned into a way for UNT music professors to introduce their students to playing in the real world. “We’re really interested in supporting the arts,” says Karen. Luckily, she means the culinary arts as well as the performing ones.