I wonder what people from outside of Waco say about dining in Waco when one of their friends is coming to our town.
I know that I have places I'm likely to recommend whenever a friend travels to Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, Lubbock, St Andrews, Scotland, Breckenridge, Colorado, Llano, Texas, South Padre Island, Chicago … you get the point.
Probably friends from out of town tell their friends to go to George's. That's ok. George's justly represents Waco. But I wonder if anyone ever recommends places like Schmaltz's or Kitok's. My friend Brian Patterson and I were discussing growing up with these two restaurants and how they have a firm place among Waco's restaurant institutions.
By the way, I know this doesn't feel like a Burger Week blog yet, but I'm getting there.
Kitok's made the Burger Week rotation because of the locally famous Lip Locker. I'm not sure how long a person, on average, lives in Waco before someone insists they have a Lip Locker at Kitok's. I regularly meet Baylor students in their final year who have heard of Kitok's but haven't actually made it there yet. And I always think that's a shame.
Anyone who eats meat and has lived in Waco for four years should have a Lip Locker, or at least a cheeseburger at Kitok's. Oh, and also Oriental fries.
It should be noted at this point that Kitok's has now made two of our weeks. I featured it in Asian Food Week and now in Burger Week.
The reason I chose to highlight Kitok's for Fried-day of Burger Week might be obvious from the photo with this blog. The Lip Locker is tasty for sure, but the burger alone might not separate Kitok's from other Burger Week candidates like Beatnix, Tom's, Health Camp, or Sironia (believe it or not, they make a mean burger).
It's the oriental fries.
Because what do we almost always eat with our burger? Something fried. Boom. Fried-day.
This week I've had tater tots, fries and crazy wings. I could have easily added onion rings, potato chips and any number of other fried choices. But none of it could match the inexplicable draw of Oriental fries. Is this what they mean when they say the mystery of the Orient?
Whatever the secret, it's difficult to stop eating Oriental fries, especially when they're dipped in ketchup or soy sauce or both. I'm not saying everyone should stop what they're doing a go down a batch of Oriental fries. But I will tell new residents of our town and anyone coming into Waco from out of town to make it a priority.
