It has steaks and chops. And Tex-Mex food. And Italian food. And—look at these prices
OK, so it’s not lined with tinsel or Santas.
But Candlelite Inn in Arlington has its own classic Christmas holiday decor, and a 60-year history feeding families from across Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas.
In an old-fashioned dining room with booths and red-and-white checked tablecloths, the Candlelite, 1202 E. Division St., serves everything a family could want — and at family-friendly prices:
▪ Steaks, grilled chicken and pork chop platters for $10-$24.
▪ Tex-Mex combination plates for $9-$12, including chips and the restaurant’s legendary green sauce.
▪ Pizzas or spaghetti platters for about $10-$12.
▪ 10-12 different cakes and pies for dessert at only $3.99.
The Keith family opened the Candlelite in 1957, and it seems to have changed only little.
When it opened, it served pizzas and beer to motorists on what was then the major highway between Dallas and Fort Worth.
The Candlelite was there before the Cowboys or AT&T Stadium, before Six Flags Over Texas, even before Interstate 30.
It has outlived two Rangers baseball stadiums, and now offers a great view of the new Globe Life Field.
On a visit last week, the Candlelite shined at its signature dish since 1964: a chopped sirloin steak.
Once, the Candlelite sold travelers on old U.S. 80 hundreds of chopped sirloins with baked potato and salad for $2.99 or $3.99. The price now isn’t much more: $9.99.
For less then $10, you get a half-pound charcoal-grilled chopped steak, plus an old-time loaded baked potato and a small lettuce salad with a house Italian dressing.
Tip: Ask to roll the steaks or pork chops ($10.99 for one, $12.99 for two) in cracked peppercorns. That’s an option at prime steakhouses, and it really helps the less expensive cuts at Candlelite.
The top-of-the-line steak, an 8-ounce filet, sells for $23.99.
Sure, prime steakhouses might have a better filet. But they don’t have Candlelite’s complimentary chips and green salsa.
For a generation of local kids, it was the first green salsa we ever knew. Candlelite was the only restaurant with the only green sauce for what seemed like 10 years or more.
If you stray off the steakhouse menu, try the chicken Parmesan with spaghetti or the loaded chicken burritos. (Yes, Candlelite has both.)
Or ask to sit in one of the small booths and share a pizza or spaghetti.
There’s also a menu of burgers and sandwiches, but the chopped steak dinner is about the same price.
Desserts, only $3.99, include several chocolate cakes, a strawberry cake, a “Neiman Marcus” butter cake and a coconut chess pie.
So a chopped steak platter with potato, salad and pie costs less than $15.
The Candlelite is now owned by Alan and Bonnie Petsche, who bought and restored it lovingly in 2014 as a keepsake for generations of Arlington families. The decor includes a mural of the now-gone Eastern Star Home across the street, a tribute to local celebrities and portraits of recent city mayors.
(The building next door, the first Candlelite, was originally built as a Pig Stand and is one of the oldest remaining structures for the nation’s first drive-in restaurant chain.. It started on the same highway in Dallas.)
The Candlelite is open for lunch and dinner daily at 1202 E. Division St., near AT&T Way; 817-275-9613, candleliteinnarlington.com.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 5:45 AM.
