So the bad news is that Coach’s downtown won’t arrive until early 2015. But the good news is they’re making the downtown space at 3rd and Austin Avenue their own. This downtown location has been a few different things in recent years with varying levels of success, so it's good that Coach's won't be just another thing rolling in.
I stopped by today and spoke with co-owner Gary Zacharias as he was hard at work on the remodeling of the outside. Coach's has constructed an adjoining house for its barbecue pit along with other cosmetic changes to the building.
I'm not sure the anticipation of Manny's on the River has quite kept pace with just how cool this new restaurant might be.
I stopped by Manny's on Tuesday morning to check on its possible opening date and spoke with Manny's rep Mike Anderson. He said the restaurant is hosting a private event on Sunday evening and then swinging open the doors to the public on Monday.
EAT FOOD!
Burgers, Texas BBQ, Mediterranean cuisine, tamales and gorditas, brick-oven pizza, homemade pasta, soup, popcorn, award winning cheese, desserts, ice cream, specialty coffee drinks... Also free samples!
I tasted:
Soft taco - pretty good but not amazing. Except for the salsa: delish.
Homemade eggnog latte - sweet for me, but tasty.
Green chili mac & cheese - excellent & unique flavor, but expensive and rather cold since it was pre-prepared.
Mediterranean chicken sandwich with roasted red papers & feta - tasty but a bit greasy.
Horseraddish pecan cheddar - yum.
Schwarma with lamb & chicken - awesome awesome awesome.
BUY FOOD
Homemade jams, local honey (I recommend the lemon honey), baking mixes from the gristmill, including gluten-free options. They have the best grits around!
LEARN ABOUT FOOD
I highly recommend the cheese making demonstration! The bread making seminar has interesting info, but presentation was rather dry.
For food growers: there are heirloom seeds for a sale, and a seminar about why preserving them is important. Get info about aquaponics & sustainable agriculture.
There are also booths and demonstrations on pasta making, beekeeping, food preservation, and distilling essential oils.
FAIR HOURS THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY 9am - 9pm | SUNDAY 12pm - 5pm
Go here for $3 off a parking pass. Admission is free.
World Hunger Relief, Inc., known around town as “The Hunger Farm,” is launching a new Veggie Van program to bring organic, locally grown produce to food deserts in our community. WHRI describes a food desert as “a geographic area where affordable and nutritious food is difficult to obtain, particularly for those without access to an automobile.”
Here’s a little demographic data for you:
And now, the dramatic conclusion to the blog I just typed 20 minutes ago.
Previsouly on The Hippodrome: Dine-in Theater: I mused what it would be like if Katniss Everdeen could just have a chilled-out normal life, which was really just a literary device to brag about my own Thursday.
I wish Katniss Everdeen could experience days like the one I enjoyed on Thursday.
I wish she could just piddle around most of the morning before meeting a friend for a late lunch that also involves taking some pictures of the food for a blog to be written later. Then she could go home for a nap, since she ate a burger (with a fried egg on it) and french fries and pizza and, oh yeah, washed it down with Guinness and finished with apple pie. When she woke up, she could do a little writing and then go back downtown for the premiere of a hot new movie at the cool renovated downtown theater.
There was a moment last night when — as I was enjoying delicious straw french fries and chicken fingers, both dipped in honey mustard, while watching a delightful musical performance — I realized I was having a unique experience in our town.
Granted, the Hippodrome's Christian concert night wasn't a big fancy event and there were a few kinks that need working out, but it was cool.
I'm psyched to go to the new Hippodrome twice this week.
Because of football, I didn't make any of the first weekend's slate of Hippodrome grand-opening events, so I'm doubling down this week beginning with The Gladsome Light and Joel Sprayberry show on Wednesday night.
Whether you’re cooking for one or for 30, kick up your feet and let the pros handle some (or all) of the Thanksgiving meal.
Thank you, dear readers, for dishing out so much new foodie gossip that we have to do a follow-up blog. Our little #wacotown is growing up to be delicious!
A GOOD SIGN: Saltgrass at Legend’s Crossing
They are now hiring a manager in Waco, which hints that this is a done deal.
