Waco recently got some love from Eater.com. Not as much as West, relatively speaking, but still.
Former Wacoan and now Austinite Nick Piesco passed this along to us via Twitter earlier this week. With so many Texans and non-Texans wandering around the state during Spring Break, and so many people making a journey to Austin for South By Southwest, Eater.com decided to give tips on places to stop on the way.
So, naturally, the tailor-made "hey, let's stop here" location of the West kolache hotbed took prominence on the list. Is there a better combination of a signature food item on a heavily traveled route in the whole state? In the country? How about the whole world?
If Lewis and Clark had traveled through Texas, they probably would have stopped in West for a kolache.
If there was a Czech Stop on the Road to Damascus, Paul would've been like "Hey, even though I can't see anything, I still want a kolache."
Anyway, both the Czech Stop and Gerik's Ole Czech Bakery made the list of 32 along-the-road-in-Texas joints.
As for our fair burg, Michna's Bar-B-Que, Elite Circle Grille, Vitek's and Health Camp made the list. That seemingly random sampling has me scratching my head a little bit. What's the criteria? If it's proximity to the highway, I really don't get the inclusion of Michna's. Vitek's is right there on the road and certainly more unique. And why Elite but no mention of George's?
The omission of Clay Pot is just wrong. Find me a better Vietnamese restaurant on the access road anywhere along Interstate 35 and I'll buy you lunch there (theoretically).
I want to know what you think. Let's say you have friends traveling through town and they need a place to stop for a meal. What three restaurants would you recommend? Rank them.
