We flew down to Texas for the weekend for my brother-in-law P’s graduation from Texas Christian University. The ceremony was lovely and the campus was beautiful. TCU has the most immaculate greenery I have ever seen on a campus: hedges trimmed to a perfectly uniform length, spotless green grass, and beautiful flowers everywhere. The rest of this post is mostly about all the delicious food we ate!
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop: This is a popular college Tex-Mex spot. They have $5-7 margaritas and beer-itas as well as cheap tacos and other Mexican food. I though the tacos were okay but nothing to write home about. However, their chips with queso (get them with chorizo!) were to die for.
Spiral Diner and Bakery: Spiral is a vegan restaurant with a huge variety of options. I ordered takeout, so I can’t speak to what the restaurant itself is like, but the food is delicious and filling. They have a whole bunch of fake meats, cheeses, salads, quinoa, quesadillas, ice cream, you name it. I think I. (who is vegan) was very happy that we stopped to get food here!
Cooper’s Old Time Pit Barbeque:
This is the perfect place to eat dinner before a night out in the Stockyards area. You get free parking if you validate it at Cooper’s, and Billy Bob’s is just a two minute walk away. The atmosphere is very casual, and there is a lot of outdoor covered picnic bench seating.
I had never been to a proper barbeque place, and I was blown away by how delicious it was. We had the beef ribs and brisket. The ribs were good, but the brisket was out of this world. As for the sides, I didn’t like the corn or the beans. The macaroni and cheese was okay but not great. The meat was definitely the star of the show. If you’re dining with non meat-eaters, Cooper’s will allow them to bring in their own food.
Billy Bob’s Honky Tonk:
A honky tonk, according to Wikipedia, refers to a bar that plays country music. But a honky tonk is so much more than that: it’s a place to get your country on. Billy Bob’s Honky Tonk is the largest such honky tonk in the world, and it did not disappoint. It was the most Texan thing I have ever experienced in my life! I felt like I was in a country music video. The bar includes an indoor bull riding arena (yes, with actual bulls), a stage for live acts, a huge Texas two-step dance floor complete with shiny saddle-shaped disco ball, numerous places to get alcohol and food, pool tables, and a stuffed bull that you can take touristy photos with (see below).
By sheer coincidence we managed to arrive on a night when Lee Brice was playing a concert. I don’t listen to country music, but apparently he’s pretty famous. I thoroughly enjoyed dancing the Texas two-step, drinking my Shiner Bock, and people watching. Going to honky tonks is so much fun that it almost makes me wish I was country.
Vickery Cafe:
Vickery Cafe is an old school diner that serves delicious breakfast. We went here for Mother’s Day brunch. They don’t accept reservations and it can get quite busy, so we showed up at 7:40am. I think if we had showed up at 8am-8:30am we wouldn’t have had to wait that long for a table, but we also had some time constraints due to flights. I had the best chicken and waffles (with Cajun syrup!) that I’ve eaten in my life there. Sadly, the vegan options were limited to oatmeal and fruit, and I’m not sure the vegetarian options were much better.
Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship: After brunch we went to church at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Grapevine, where Tony Evans (one of A’s favorite pastors) is pastor. I’m not sure what the qualifications for megachurch are, but this one might fit the bill. They had a 50 person gospel choir, multiple lead singers, ushers all over the place, and a balcony. The music was incredible – I think some of the singers would have a decent shot at a professional singing career! I really enjoyed the part of the service that we got to attend (we had to leave early to catch a flight). It was fun to attend a more energetic service. People were dancing and clapping their hands, but not everyone was doing it, so I didn’t feel awkward about not dancing.
WanderLiz 