Barbecue Inn is frozen in time. At this place, it's still 1946. Just take a look at the menu, and sample some of its old-fashioned East Texas diner cuisine. Some people come here just for the chunky french fries. Others adore the old-fashioned stainless-steel merry-go-round of sour cream, bacon bits, green onions and cheese that comes with every baked potato. The barbecue is good, but there's a lot of great barbecue in Houston. The chicken-fried steak, slathered in milky cream gravy, has a devoted following. But it's the fried chicken that takes you back. A visiting cooking expert once singled out Barbecue Inn's fried chicken as an outstanding example of the classic Southern style. Dipped in flour with a minimal hint of seasonings and then deep-fried, it's the crispy, crunchy, burn-your-mouth-because-you-can't-wait-another-minute chicken of Southern childhood memories.