It came to my attention last week, as I was testifying about our new WacoFork Club campaign while drinking beer at The Dancing Bear, that there's a nice little confluence of those things coming up soon this week.

First of all, happy ninth birthday to The Dancing Bear. Lord knows I've spent many a happy hour there since it opened in 2007. Secondly, we're pumped that two of our new WacoFork Club partners — Milo and Crazy Horse Grill — will be helping to celebrate on Tuesday night.

We're happy to have a true Waco tradition on the WacoFork Club list as both George's locations are along for the ride.

George's is offering free chips and salsa with the purchase of an entree (limit one per table).

I have access to all the deals for the upcoming launch of WacoFork Club and I just sort of did a doubletake when I looked up the deal for Pinewood Roasters. 

They're offering a free drip coffee or espresso with the purchase of whole bean coffee. Additionally, they're giving 10 percent off their early bird special between 7-8 a.m. on Saturdays. Those are dang good deals.

Sometimes things just line up perfectly. I've been enjoying the Olympics and writing WacoFork Club blogs this week. Today, I planned to write about Off the Cob Popcorn and realized some cheddar cheese popcorn would make an excellent Olympic viewing snack. 

That, as they say, is a bingo.

Man, we could call the WacoFork Club the WacoFoodTruck Club. We got a bunch of the awesome trucks around town to join with us on this deal. In particular, the one, the only Club Sandwich.

Club Sandwich has been working it around town for a couple of years now and developed a loyal following. I realize all these folks coming into town are here to purchase slightly worn, but somehow swanky home decor. But I bet if they stop by Club Sandwich while at the silos, they're like "dang, this place is big-time value added."

Cory and I met at Shorty's yesterday because he was posting the new WacoFork Club sticker ahead of the club's debut next week.

Shorty's has become one of the most popular meet up spots in town, particularly among the cool kids that I know. That's one reason we're so excited to have the pizza shack on board for WacoFork Club.

Shorty's is offering half-priced knots on Tuesdays. A knot is Shorty's pizza dough tied in a knot, deep fried and tossed in Shorty's Italian spices blend. I haven't had them as I always go for a couple of slices off the slice board, but I'm going to have to try them now. So the WacoFork Club is already working for me.

The WacoFork Club will officially begin officially launched on August 15.

I'm pumped to have Crazy Horse Grill on board for the WacoFork Club that makes its debut next week.

Crazy Horse has been up and running for almost a year now as it heads into its second fall. It's usually located in the beer garden at the Dancing Bear Pub, though Crazy Horse is also available for private gigs. It's adventurous yet accessible cuisine served in the most relaxed possible atmosphere.

While Crazy Horse offers an impressive variety of dishes (I really dig the disco fries), their tacos are a can't miss. For WacoFork Club, they're offering $1 off tacos. My favorite are the Korean Tacos.

The WacoFork Club will officially begin officially launched on August 15.

My Thursday morning coffee venture took me to the new coffee shop located in the old elevator at The Praetorian. Bru has been roasting coffee for sale for several years and it recently opened up a coffee shop serving the people who work and live in the building at 6th Street and Franklin, as well as anyone else who wants to pop in for a beverage.

I had a cold brew that raised my eyebrows. I like my coffee in the morning, but I'm not particular about it. Still, the flavor caught my attention and I will be back. I would like to be more specific about it, but there are now so many coffee experts in town, that I don't want to embarass myself with a half-roasted description. I'll leave it at this: with three coffee shops/coffee roasters in about a five-block radius in downtown Waco, we have a legit coffee district.

And how's this for a bonus during my morning coffee run? The folks at Pokey O's, who bake their cookies in The Praetorian, brought out a batch of cookies that were a little too crumbled to use for ice cream sandwiches. So I enjoyed most of a free cappuccino chocolate chunk cookie.

Back in the spring, the Trib reported that Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom has acquired a building permit for a location in Central Texas Marketplace. This came to my attention recently when a friend asked what Old Chicago was and why we were getting one.

I have a little experience with Old Chicago as it's a popular chain in the Midwest and I've found myself making frequent excursions into the heartland the last couple of years. When my dad and I stayed in Lincoln, Nebraska, during the 2014 College World Series, there was an Old Chicago restaurant across the street from our hotel in Lincoln's Haymarket District. We ate there once and then I returned to it to have a beer and watch the World Cup Final. As for my friend's query, it's actually a pizza and beer joint that originated in Colorado. I'm sure the creators had some sort of tie to Chicago, but that information wasn't readily available on the restaurant's website. And why are we getting one? Probably for the same reason we're getting a lot of things these days.

Speaking as a person who wears a Cubs hat and has adopted Chicago as my own personal big American city (i.e., I prefer it to New York or Los Angeles), I endorse just about anything with Chicago in the name. Except for Chicago the band. I think they're the epitome of lameness.

Therefore, I think Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom will be a fun new option to suggest in a group. However, it remains to be seen whether it will bring something unique to our restaurant scene that's not already well covered by Poppa Rollo's, Rosati's, Bubba's 33, BJ's Brewhouse, et al. 

The Methodist Children's Home is hosting the MCH 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run on Saturday at the Waco MCH campus. The event will raise money for MCH, which serves 1,400 children each day through residential programs, foster care and family outreach services.