Elaine (Phillips) Bicknell

Elaine Bicknell

Elaine Phillips Bicknell passed quietly on April 3, 2025.

Born in the Texas panhandle town of Borger on August 22, 1950, Elaine was raised on an oil camp founded by her grandfather Jake Phillips, a famed wildcatter in north Texas and Oklahoma. Elaine’s family consisted of her parents Bill and Lavaughn, her younger brother Will and Elaine. The family moved to Marshall, Michigan, where she graduated from high school in 1968. Elaine then attended Mackinac College, Kellog Community College, and Grand Valley State University.

Elaine traveled extensively in her youth, living in San Diego, CA—where her son, Abbot, was born—as well as New York City, Grand Rapids, and Baton Rouge before settling back down in Marshall. In 1987 she married Bruce Bicknell, and they relocated to Sutton’s Bay, MI. When the frigid winters finally became too much to bear, they moved to Texas to be near her parents.

Both food and hospitality were Elaine’s gifts and her way in the world, so it was only natural that, in 1998, she opened the finest restaurant in Hunt, Texas: Elaine’s Table, on the banks of the Guadalupe River. It quickly became a Hill Country fixture and received accolades from Texas Monthly Magazine and the San Antonio Express News among other publications. But more meaningful to Elaine were the joyful smiles and laughter emanating from the “family table,” which was filled with regulars who held court near the front door.

Elaine’s Table was renowned for many dishes, such as tortilla-crusted trout served with wheatberries (a holdover from Elaine’s California years) and Bruce’s smoked tenderloin. But it was Elaine’s dessert table—ladened with her famous carrot cake, chocolate cayenne cake, and other divine creations—that was particularly beloved.

The restaurant was a regular destination for many Hill Country residents and visitors. During the summer months, it was crowded with families visiting the various summer camps that dot the Hunt area. Elaine’s Table also drew celebrities, including First Lady Laura Bush (the Secret Service came back for dinner the next night!), Governor Greg Abbott, Karl Rove, Thomas Hayden Church, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Madeleine Stowe, Rob Kennedy (the producer of the Kerrville Folk Festival), and Gary P Nunn.

In addition to her success as a restaurateur, Elaine was an originating member of the Hunt, TX, chapter of the Sweet Potato Queens, which to this day still entertains Hunt on and around Saint Patrick’s Day.

Elaine was preceded in the big transformation by her parents, William Robert Phillips (the original Billy Bob) and the always lovely Lavaughn; and very recently her brother, William Robert Phillips II—a true Austinite and hugely loved musician, photographer, and bartender. Pete, Buddy Dell, and Beau, her favorite four-legged buddies, greeted her with tails wagging.

Elaine is survived by her husband, Bruce Bicknell; her son, Abbot Low Moffat III, and his wife, Emily Wolman; her grandchildren, Scarlett Maeve and Ronin Wolman; and her cousin, Ann Clary Old.

The fragments of Elaine’s legacy shared here are just that… small pieces of a much larger, more complex life. And much like the quilts that she loved to make, when stitched together and viewed as a whole, it was beautiful in the end. She will be so missed.

In lieu of flowers or donations, the family encourages all who miss Elaine to gather loved ones, sit together, and enjoy a good meal, and tell a favorite story about our dear Elaine.

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