Someone is going to have to explain to me why a bagel would ever be preferable to a donut.
As of right now, no restaurant in town prominently features the bagel. Oh sure, there are plenty of places where a bagel could be obtained, I suppose. But as of right now there's not an Einstein Bros. Bagels, nor is there any longer a New York Bagel, which used to be located in the Toys R Us shopping center on Waco Drive, nor is there any Bob's Bagels or anything like that.
If nothing else, the future of Sebas' Cocina is in doubt.
However, Sebas' Cocina owner Sebastian Garduno told me directly on Thursday afternoon that the rumors about the restaurant's imminent closing were false.
Yesterday, I submitted the final spec to our lead developer for building WacoFork Mobile, a mobile app for accessing all of the restaurant listings, ratings and reviews on WacoFork.com. This has been in the works for a couple of months, and now we're really kicking development into high gear. The first version of the app will be for all iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and Android devices. This app will make it easier than ever to figure out "Where you wanne eat?"
Chad and I had the opportunity to talk about WacoFork today on Texas Today on KCEN with Teal Jennings and Kris Radcliffe. I'm pretty sure we're getting an Emmy for this one.
I've been hearing quite a bit about a worthwhile initiative in town called Project254. My friend Tye Barrett, who works for the AmeriCorps VISTA program, first mentioned it to me on a recent Saturday Mexican food excursion. Then, while the WacoFork team was talking with the good folks at The Olive Branch, they explained it to us a little further.
Essentially, Project254 is a way for Waco businesses to go to bat for those less fortunate in our community.
Chad has been begging me to write a blog post for a couple of weeks (ok, maybe "begging" is a strong word, but he did ask). He's the writer, not me, so I've been content to just let him handle all of the blogging. But today, we got a post on Twitter that brought me out of hiding and into the blog. So for my debut blog post, I'm exploring the question, "Is WacoFork a restaurant discover engine for Waco?"
Today would be a good day to take a walk around Waco's buzzing downtown for two reasons: 1) It's sunny and 70 degrees with a pleasant breeze and 2) there's new stuff to check out.
I personally took a walk downtown just a few minutes ago to drop in on 3 — 3! — new restaurants within a 12-minute walk of each other. (That's according to Google maps. How do they know how fast I walk?). It's definitely an exciting day for downtown Waco, especially because the 3 restaurants fit into 3 distinct categories. Garrett's for fine dining, Jimmy John's for sandwiches and Oso's Oh So Good Yogurt for dessert.
I have good news for the fans of the Mexican seafood cuisine formerly served on Dutton Avenue. While El Siete Mares is absent from the Waco restaurant scene at the moment, it's plotting a return.
I caught up with El Siete Mares proprietor Sergio Garcia on Monday at his new place, El Potosino. He said he opened El Potosino about seven months ago as a place to land while he thought through the relocation of El Siete Mares.
Never doubt the power of sarcasm.
Or perhaps more accurately, for once my snarkiness paid off.
In a previous blog about the opening of a new cafe called Newk's, I surmised that the staff of Newk's could play the staff of Panera Bread in a football game to take place in the parking lot between the two restaurants with area sandwich supremacy at stake. To which Keith Schroeder, general manager for Waco's Newk's restaurant, replied that he had complete confidence in his crew to dominate such a contest. He shot my sarcasm right back at me and then invited Cory and me out to the cafe for a sneak peek on Friday.
Now and then, I'll hear a rumor that instantly grabs my attention. It's a specific rumor about a specific kind of fast food restaurant that began here in Texas.
The rumor: Freebirds World Burrito is coming to Waco.
This rumor surfaced recently when a friend said she heard Freebirds was coming to town and then another friend from a separate circle of friends remarked that he heard Freebirds had purchased land on which to build a store.
As far as I've been able to tell, these are only rumors. According to Freebirds' media representatives, Waco isn't on the openings list for this year and specifically, "No leases signed in Waco yet." That was the one-line reply that followed a phone conversation and an email request, brining to an end two weeks of digging for Freebirds information from the company.
