Winks Saloon in Brownsville, Texas

This is the 19th installment of the series "Top 100 Things to do in the Brownsville/South Padre Island" area. Today we feature a booming business on the outskirts of Brownsville on Highway 1421 that is quite different from anything else you can experience in South Texas. It is called Wink's in honor of the owner, Winky Garza, a true cowboy at heart.

It has impressively rustic decor.

This is the sink in the restroom.

First, it is a restaurant with excellent food.

Offering the coldest beer in town to the hottest wings has kept this place busy every day they are open.

Look at the size of those onion rings.

The neatest thing about this restaurant/bar is that on Thursday nights you can watch the calf roping that is going on outside from the coolness of the air-conditioned dining area.

The horses are beautiful.

This one belongs to Winky, the owner.

The calf roping brings out the cowgirls. From the big girls...

to the little ones.

This place is consistently packed.

It is also a saloon and a great place to go have some drinks with friends.

There is live music and even touring bands make a stop to play there. They play nothing but country music.

You can ride kind of fast here.

This is a fantastic place you must see while you are in the area. In the winter, it is packed with Winter Texans. Here is the link so you can find out how to get there.

http://www.winkssaloon.com/index.htm