Waco, Texas

Of all the places that I've been dying to go...

I have the dubious honor of taking a three day deposition in Waco, TX this week. Asides from the promise of a great t-bone in the Hilton's house restaurant, can anybody offer any advice on something to eat that isn't shipped in flash-frozen?

I've never eaten in Waco itself, but if you're in the area, you should drop in the Czech Stop, a bakery (which looks a lot more like a convenience store, really) just north of Waco off Exit 353 of I-35 (I believe the town is actually called West). They sell sandwiches and other such fare, but the real draw is the kolaches, which are these little Czech-style yeast roll with fillin's - sausage, jalapeno, cream cheese, strawberry, apricot, etc. You can find kolaches at many, many places just off the highway in central Texas, and for lots of people (myself included), they are a must for any road trip.

The Czech stop and its kolaches ain't fancy, but they're mighty tasty, and if you want to eat what the locals eat, they're the way to go.

I'm sure that others more familiar with the Waco area can also recommend some good barbecue. All of my smoked meat eating has been much closer to Austin or Houston, however.

McClane wrote:I have the dubious honor of taking a three day deposition in Waco, TX this week. Asides from the promise of a great t-bone in the Hilton's house restaurant, can anybody offer any advice on something to eat that isn't shipped in flash-frozen?

I had the dubious honor of getting kicked out of debate camp at Baylor University in Waco (bourbon and Baptists don't mix. who knew?), and when my righteously pissed parents came to pick me up, I remember a very awkward (but tasty) meal at the Elite Circle Grille. But the menu was much more coffee shop/burger then, and ownership has changed hands. Looks like they've gone more upscale.

For a decent old-school burger, onion rings and an excellent shake, don't miss Health Camp (don't let the name fool you)--it's a Waco institution.

I cannot vouch for the chain Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q, but their web site proclaims 100 percent oak-fired pit barbecue.

Elite Circle Grille
2132 S Valley Mills Drive
Waco, Texas 76706
(254) 754-4941
(254) 754-7145 fax
Sunday - Thursday 11 AM-10 PM
Friday - Saturday 11 AM - 11 PM

Health Camp
2601 Circle Road
Waco, TX 76706
(254)752-2081

Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q
2510 Circle Rd
Waco, TX 76706
Phone: (254)750-9995

crrush wrote:I cannot vouch for the chain Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q, but their web site proclaims 100 percent oak-fired pit barbecue.

I've never been to Rudy's in Waco (and didn't even realize they were up there), but its a chain that also has outposts in Austin, which I have eaten at. While certainly not the best barbecue to be found in central Texas, they do a very acceptable brisket. I believe that it comes in regular, extra-fatty, and (shudder) lean. Kreutz's it ain't, but if you want a good example of Texas barbecue, it will work. It was fairly regular dinner stop for us in Austin when we didn't want to get all the way out to the Salt Lick.

I can't speak to the food, but Waco is home to the Dr. Pepper Museum. When I went there (10 years ago?) the gift shop sold cans of the stuff made with cane sugar. (Apparently, the source of the cane sugar DP is an old bottling plant 90 miles away, in Dublin TX.)

Best of luck.


Dr Pepper Museum
300 S 5th St
Waco, TX 76701
(254) 757-1025

ksbeck wrote:I've never eaten in Waco itself, but if you're in the area, you should drop in the Czech Stop, a bakery (which looks a lot more like a convenience store, really) just north of Waco off Exit 353 of I-35 (I believe the town is actually called West). They sell sandwiches and other such fare, but the real draw is the kolaches, which are these little Czech-style yeast roll with fillin's - sausage, jalapeno, cream cheese, strawberry, apricot, etc. You can find kolaches at many, many places just off the highway in central Texas, and for lots of people (myself included), they are a must for any road trip.

The Czech stop and its kolaches ain't fancy, but they're mighty tasty, and if you want to eat what the locals eat, they're the way to go.

Ditto. Make a point of getting you some kolaches. Czech Stop is a good option, particularly because it's barely off the highway, but there are some other better ones too should you wish to take a bit more of a detour (not much, though). I have only stopped at a couple of them, but the one I liked best are at Gerik's Ole Czech Bakery. Both the sweet and the savouries.

There are a number of Dr. Pepper bottlers in Texas using cane, Dublin is the most famous. That said, the cans were probably produced by the Temple, TX bottler, who even produces the cans sold on the dublin bottling plant's website last I heard.