Wednesday is free sample day at Crav at Gourmet Gallery and I have to say they got me.
I stopped by to take some photos, sample a little and chat. I left with two containers of chicken salad and one container of piquillo pepper and lime hummus. Good business practice for them. Good lunch for me.
[ "How 'bout …" is the logical extension of our tagline "Where you wanna eat?" Because we've all been there when someone says "Where you wanna eat?" and then everyone stands around a little awkwardly until someone cautiously offers up "How 'bout …" and then the name of a restaurant. It's also a way for us to highlight the restaurants that we want to highlight. Here it goes. ]
With a new year underway, most of us are trying to gain some traction and really begin 2013 with a fast start. We're on the move, so if you need a place to grab a quick lunch that will also be delicious, stop by the Vitek's Gut Pak Shak.
One of the new restaurants coming to town in 2013 wants our opinion about what it should be.
Right now, the website 1401speight.com is taking an online poll that lets viewers choose between three types of restaurants: gourmet tacos, upscale franks and sausages or a burger bar. Whichever choice is the most popular is the restaurant that will appear later this year.
You know at the beginning of the TV news when they say "Here's the stories we will be bringing you tonight," and then they show brief clips to get you to watch the rest of the broadcast? That's this entry in the One More Bite Blog as it relates to 2013.
First, here's what we know most certainly: SmashBurger and Mama Fu's will be arriving in the new Valley Mills Drive shopping center in the spring. Probably March or April. Also arriving of interest will be Dichotomy Coffee and Spirits, which is already operating out of The Croft Art Gallery. Dichotomy is moving forward with its own space, so we will be actively following that story.
Just a quick barbecue-related anecdote from the holidays.
I had the fun of traveling to cover the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas in Houston and the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on the last weekend of 2012. I intended to make this a little tour of Texas and enjoy some of the dining features those towns have to offer. Alas, in the process of claiming press credentials, making sure I arrived at press boxes on time and filing stories late at night, I didn't have as much time for restaurant adventures as I thought (unless you count Taco Cabana and room service).
We're rolling out a new feature we think is going to be a big hit for both restaurants and our users: Fork Deals is here!
WiseGuys has our inaugural coupon on the page, but we will be adding more very soon. Check it out here and keep checking back for new ones. We'll also give a shout out on Twitter when we have new coupons.
Oh, and one more thing: using the coupons will help participating restaurants know that advertising on our site is working. So if you dig what we're doing, then take advantage of the offers on Fork Deals.
We're ready to launch into a new year, one which prognosticators are prognosticating will be a great one for Waco's economy. Part of that, of course, is new businesses, especially new restaurants, coming to town and opening up. Later in the week, we will unpack some of the things ahead of us in 2013.
The first item of interest on the Waco restaurant calendar is Restaurant Week coming up in a couple of weeks. We're glad to be teaming up with this event as it will feature the same thing we feature — restaurants in our town — and benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters.
On Thursday afternoon and evening I watched a pair of competitions. One on television, the other live. One a dramatic and ultimately heart-breaking athletic battle on the grandest possible stage for the two competing teams; the other an informal challenge between baristas to see who could draw the pretties pictures in lattes as judged by the gut reactions of three randomly chosen spectators.
Since my two main pursuits are WacoFork and sports, the afternoon and evening made for an interesting dichotomy?
I've been following the Waco Trib's coverage of the plans to renovate, expand and reopen the Hippodrome. It's good news. The Hippodrome is a constant source of curiosity when people discus possibilities for downtown. It's one of our historic places and we don't want to let it slip away.
So the latest is that a group called Waco Hippodrome Inc., headed by brothers Shane and Cody Turner of Kunkel Construction, are working on a deal to buy the Hippodrome from Waco Performaing Arts Co. To that end, the area's Tax Increment Financing board recommended subsidizing 20 percent of the proposed $2.1 million project, according to the Trib's report. And part of the deal is that the Waco Performaing Arts Co., a nonprofit organization that couldn't afford to keep the historic-but-faltering structure open, would be able to lease the renovated Hippodrome for 15 nights a year.
Cafe Homestead will be hosting a special holiday evening on Thursday as the restaurant is partnering with The Ploughshare Institute for Sustainable Culture.
The event, A Holiday Evening at Homestead, will offer dining, shopping, live music and horse-drawn surrey rides from 6-9 p.m.
