Mission: Community & Food

World Cup Café
1321 N. 15th Street— The Corner of 15th & Colcord
254-757-1748
Mon-Fri: 7am-2pm Sat: 8am-1pm
Website

World Cup Café is a local joint that has been around for nearly 5 years. I had never really heard of them until I saw their advertisement on Wacoboard.com. They opened around the same time I headed off to college at TAMUG. They work with Mission Waco and apparently TSTC to help train students from the culinary department (something I noticed both times I went in, as I knew both chefs); which is great deal I think, since it isn’t always easy to find a good job right away in the food industry.

I’ve eaten there twice now; once for lunch and once for breakfast. For lunch I chowed down on their “World Cup Burger” and some sweet potato fries. For Breakfast I chowed down on the Colcord and some French toast.

The first time was lunch, they had a decent crowd. I sat at a side booth and glanced over their menu. They have burgers, sandwiches, chicken fried steak, melts, specials for the day, a kids menu, even a light and healthy section and plenty of side items. I ordered their World Cup Burger, which they claim is their customers #1 choice. The burger consists of a seasoned 8oz patty, American cheese, pico be gallo, mustard/mayo all between grilled parmesan sourdough bread and one side of your choosing (I chose the sweet potato fries). The fries are above average run of the the mill sweet potato waffle fries; sweet, nice and crispy with good sweet potato flavor. Now the burger… that was something to be reckoned with. The cheese was nice and gooey, the pico was fresh and flavorful, the meat was nicely cooked with slightly crunchy edges… and the bun was just awesome- great cheesy parmesan flavor, nice and crunchy… a great bun indeed. Altogether, it’s probably one of the best specialty burgers I’ve ever eaten and I can see why it is a local favorite. When you take a bite you get a hit of the crunchy parmesan, then you move down into the soft and gooey cheese all melted into the pico which carries a little kick of its own.

I usually almost always order pancakes when I go out to eat for breakfast, cause I love my own French toast and waffles too much to eat others…. But today I decided to venture out and try some one else’s. For the breakfast I ordered the Colcord, which consists of; 2 eggs cooked to order (I ordered mine poached, runny), hash browns, toast/biscuit, and you can add a meat for a little extra. I decided not to add any meat to stay one budget. But I did order some French toast to go with it… it’s a carb kinda day. I ended up with a full plate; The eggs were cooked just perfectly, nice and runny so I can sop it up with the hash browns and toast. The hash browns were pretty good, not as crunchy as I usually like them… but they still had a good texture and great flavor. They went real well with the eggs and a little bit of ketchup… just a touch. The regular toast was nice and toasty, wasn’t burnt nor really dry, throw a little hash browns or eggs whites on it, was delicious. The French toast was really good; 2 full slices of Texas toast, battered up and fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with syrup on the side. It was good to eat with just the powdered sugar, it was good with the syrup, but it was best with the egg yolks and a tad of syrup. Near the end of my meal, I wasn’t sure what I was going have as my last bite… so I made it a little of everything- hash browns topped on the French toast and soaked up what was left of the egg yolk…. Was one last delicious bite.

The atmosphere is pretty nice; the customers are all generally pleasant; the manager is very nice and courteous, and most of the customers seem to be regulars and like to chat it up with everyone, even the cooks. The only downside to this is if it gets busy, it seems the employees get kinda caught up in the moment (if that makes sense)… -- the first time I went it took a while to get my check and my to-go order for my pop; cause they seemed more focused on chatting. But even I get caught up sometimes at my job, and get a tad behind, but not very often. It comes with the territory of the business. So, besides that one time wait, I’ve had two very good experiences while dining in at World Cup Café, and suggest you give them a try… and Ill will be going back soon to try some of their daily specials and to snag another one of their World Cup Burgers.


-Oh and apparently they have plenty of coffees to choose from. Obviously I am not a coffee drinker, can barely stand the aroma of it.

BBQer Cookoff Adventure

The

National Championship

Barbecue Cookoff

http://bbq.htcomp.net/

Last month I read in the Wacoan about a National BQQ cook-off in Meridian, Texas…. A city only about an hour’s drive from Waco. I have never been to a cook off—not as a cooker or as a foodie, but I had always wanted too… just could never get off in time for one. So for this one I put in a request off nearly a month ahead- and the stars aligned; No Baylor Game, No Big Caterings, and nothing going on with the family. So I was all set and ready.

Meridians National BBQ Cook-off has been around since 1989. It was created in an effort to promote the communities of Bosque County. It is an invitation only event for cookers who have won or placed in a recognized barbecue cook-off during the past year. I believe last year over 200 cooking teams competed for roughly $19,000 in prize money.

For the general admission, which was only $6, you are enabled to quite a bit of fun stuff; You can sample several of the cookers Q and vote for your favorite (for people’s choice), you can be picked to judge one of the main Q’s (Chicken, Ribs, and Brisket- apparently they are always looking for general judges), you can watch the tractor pulls, there is live music, and several venders you can hit up.

I went down with my friend Lunar and cousin Nick. They decided to come along at the spur of the moment… which was most excellent. It was a great day for it too, not too hot, not really humid, had a nice breeze all day. As we pulled up you see a thick plum of white smoke covering the area, you step out of your car and the beautiful aroma whacks you upside your head… LOVE It. We couldn’t wait to get in and start the day.

One of my favorite parts is not really trying the Q, but checking out the types of rigs people use. You see people with the simplest oil drum smokers, some with the ceramic eggs, and a few with these monstrosities of a smoker. You have people who have built their own, who have turned them in to creative designs and those who have bought pre-made ones and put a wicked customized paint job on them.

I did try some of the Q, mostly the pulled pork samples and the ribs. There was some really good pulled pork out there…. But sadly to say, one of the items I ate had something in it that I’m apparently very allergic too and it caused my throat to swell (Go Figure). No fun at first, but I coped with it. Lunar and Nick did plenty of eating for the three of us. As I mentioned earlier, you can sign up to judge the meats; Lunar was able to judge Chicken and Brisket, Nick was able to judge the Brisket. They pigged out, judging 18 chickens & 19 briskets, and all the cooks samples, they were too stuffed to judge the ribs.

But before the throat problems one of the last tents I hit was a porker. They had a badass buffet line; Pulled pork sandwiches with home-made sauce on the side, spicy buffalo wings, baked beans and Adult snow cones (they doused the snow cones with a liqueur of your choice). It was all pretty good. Their smoker was pretty cool too, as they made it to look like a pig- they were smoking ribs on it. They also had a full bus painted up like a pig, and one of the team members kid was wearing a pig suit… yes I took a photo with him/her. Did I mention I love pulled pork? It’s by far my favorite BBQ; second would be brisket then pork ribs.

There were other cool teams as well; There was one team that had there station all pimped out with a dance floor, TVs, speakers & mic system, a huge pit and for 2 tickets ($1) you could get a sample of their ribs and a beer. A lot of these guys partied pretty hard the night before, as I heard one guy admit he could barely stand he was soo hung-over. Awesome.

After checking out most of the BBQ teams, we headed over to the vendors section; picked up a National BBQ Cook-off koozie, listened to some live music, watched some wicked modified tractors, and watch a “gun show”. Later on I met a real nice lovely girl, Laura, who just moved here to Texas and she was working the snow cone stand. Talked to her for a while about BBQ and why she wasn’t fond of Dr. Pepper. Good times. There was also a live blacksmith, working his magic with cast-iron making all kinds of stuff. Nick picked up a bracelet from him and john wanted a ring, but they were all too small (he has big ole Goliath hands)

Over all it was a great experience and will be going to these more often and hopefully soon I’ll be on the contestant’s side rocking my BBQ skillz and new barrel smoker. John and Nick are ready for me to put a team together (which they want to join), a team name, make shirts and find a local event that we can enter into it. These other BBQers won’t know what hit them, that’s for sure!!!

Can Food Save Your Mortal Soul?

Beatnix Burger Barn & Cafe
1700 Colcord
Waco, Texas
254-235-9555
Mon. - Sat.: 11:30am - 3:30pm
Fri. & Sat. Nights: 1:00 am to 4:00 am
Website

I am still without kitchen, except my grill & smoker. So I go out to eat for breakfast and lunch most days. Early last week I decided to pop in to Beatnix try their Texas Philly & their Funnel Fries (funnel cake batter made into the shape of fries- who can say no to that?). They recently just got done remodeling their joint; new floor, new ceiling and new chairs- all of which looks really good and fits the joint perfectly. Especially love the new seats and the crazy man that was staring down my chow the whole time.

The Texas Philly is slice beef, pepper jack cheese, mayo/mustard/ and jalapenos on a small French baguette. When I say small, it’s about half the size of a regular Philly cheese steak; but a foodie knows that its Quality not quantity that makes the food. The quality is all there; a good portion of well-seasoned and tender meat, nicely melted & slightly spicy cheese, freshly sliced jalapenos all on a fresh crispy baguette. Very filling and carries a punch. Will definitely be grabbing another one of these soon.

Now those funnel fries were MOST EXCELLENT. Hot, crispy, great flavor, with honey drizzled over them. Who’s ever idea it was to make and serve these- Hit the jack pot. I told my dad about them, and he asked me to bring him one to try. I fought over whether I should eat the last one and just order another batch…. Which was very tempting… but I was able to resist the urge and save one for him to try. Was probably the hardest decision I had to made all week.

Together these items really hit the spot, great combination; the crispy, the sweet, the spicy…. Yum yum. I highly recommend that you try them together; but if one doesn’t fit your fancy and the other does, dig into the one that does.

Ben and Penny are two of the friendliest restaurant owners out there, I think. Always glad to see ya, tend to remember you and what you like to eat, keep the atmosphere going nice and calm with their banter. If you haven’t hit up Beatnix yet, you are definitely missing out.

One Delicious Lunch

A skit from my cousins sketch comedy act- MooseStache.

Checkk them Out

Bánh mì club

Club Sandwich
400 South 4st.
Waco, Texas 76710
254-304-9424

Tue- Fri: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

https://www.facebook.com/clubsandwichwaco?sk=info

I wish I knew ever joint in Waco, especially the good ones, but Im generally a little slow on learning about them. I learned about this place last week on a “freak” happening. One of the guys who runs WacoFork.com had some extra Baylor v Iowa state tickets, and would gladly trade them for some golf balls. I had some spare golf balls from when I used to play and I had the weekend off, so I called him up. He went for it and we discussed where to do the trade; Star Bucks (cant stand smell of coffee) or at a joint called Club Sandwich, that doesn’t serve club sandwiches.

We decided to meet up at the Club, trade items, then chow down on some Asian inspired food. Club opened up 2 years ago from tomorrow; which they will be celebrating with special deals on their menu.

It is owned and run by Youngdae Moon, who decided to try his hand at food and really impressed his friends with the dishes he perfected. He seems to be there almost all the time, very friendly guy. Likes to chat it up and check on how you enjoyed the food, like every owner should be. The rest of the staff is also super friendly; makes you really feel welcomed there. Probably has one of the best atmospheres in town when it comes to friendliness and relaxed.

They are a little tricky to find, if you don’t know what you are looking for. It took me a couple passed and thinking about beating my iPhone to death for “lying” to me about the directions. But I found it; while you’re driving down 4th street, look for the Phoenix Ball room and Orange over hangs in the parking lot next to them.

It’s a pretty roomy joint, plenty of seating for a party or big crowd of any kind. They have a simple menu; 7 items, 1 of which they only serve on Fridays- The Flied, I mean Fried Rice. The rest of the menu consists of a couple Korean tacos, wraps, pasta and a couple sandwiches- including the traditional Banh Mi, which is a Vietnamese sandwich that consists of grilled cuts of thinly slice pork marinated in lemon grass, sweet pickled carrots, cilantro and cucumbers served in a crispy baguette. Simple menu and a delicious menu from the looks of it… I love Asian Food! There is a Vietnamese sandwich shop down in down that I always hit while visiting to snag me a Banh Mi…. sadly I haven’t had a chance to eat one at Club Sandwich yet, but that’ll hopefully change tomorrow after work. After I chow down on one, Ill definitely post my thoughts on it.

What I have chowed down on is their Kalbi Jjim (Beef short rib taco) which consists of; “beef short ribs slow-braised in a mixture of sugar, soy sauce, mirin wine; shredded and served in a warm tortilla with fresh cabbage, cilantro, onions and choice of sauce.” They have two sauces to choose from- Lime Cilantro or Blackberry Chipotle Vinaigrette… and we’ll get to those here in a bit.

The short rib tacos, to say the least are Most Excellent! The first time I went, I just ordered one, just to try it and since I wasn’t really hungry. Well after eating the first one, I went and ordered 2 more. They are decently sized tacos, with ample portions of meat and veggies.. and for just $2.25, they can’t be beat. The meat is cooked perfectly; nice and tender, very juicy and wonderful flavor. You can taste the sweetness of the sugar, the light saltiness of the soy sauce and the savory mirin wine…all combined it is just great. The cabbage, onions and cilantro are all fresh. I must admit I’m not a huge fan of cilantro since it can be overwhelming, so I pick most of it off.

I have tried both of the sauces, and the Blackberry Chipotle is by far my favorite. Homemade sauces are always great additions, and this brings a slight smokiness & bitter-sweetness to the meal. Really really good, I bet it’d be good on plenty of other items as well.

Over all I’ve really enjoyed both experiences there and plan on going back several times more. The only “down side” to the whole deal is, since they make it all fresh and use local products, they can sometimes run out of items on the menu. Like today they only had 3 items still available. But if they are selling out of stuff, they must be doing something right in the flavor department. It’s what some of the best BBQ joints do, so why not a sandwich shop? Snooze ya loose!!!

If you are ever in Down-Town Waco or over on Baylor campus and looking of a good Asian sandwich you gotta hit Club Sandwich…. And tell’em DavieG sent ya! You wont be disappointed. One of Waco’s hidden Gems.

Oh, and if you are a non-beef eater or vegan; they also have tofu that can replace the real meat. But don’t expect to ever catch me near that spongy odd stuff.

Whos Your Popper?

Off the Cob- Gourmet Popcorn
5301 Bosque Blvd Suite 150
Waco, Texas 76710
254-776-7800
Website

Mon: 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Tue - Sat: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sun: 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Today while running errands I decided to FINALLY stop by Off the Cob to snag some popcorn for the season. It is right next to Target, which is a great location, central to Waco and who doesn’t shop at Target these days? It is a locally owned and operated joint that opened up earlier this year. Appears it might be a mom and daughter business, but that’s just a guess based on what I observed… I didn’t go into too much detail while talking to the nice lady behind the counter.

When you walk in you are greeted with a light scent of sweetness and of course popcorn- it isn’t over powering, just a nice hint of it all. To the left you got your counter, to your right you got shelves covered with tin cans to choose from, sample views of the popcorn sizes and plenty of other sweet treats to satisfy your sugary needs, in the back there are dozens of tubs filled with a variety of colorful and tasty popcorn.

So while scanning over the many flavors to choose from, the lady explains to me how the whole deal works. There are 3 main categories to choose from: Savory, Sweet and Specialty; and they are each priced differently. Example; A small savory is $1.75, while a small specialty is $2.25. I’m sure it’s due to complexity of flavors and ingredients. They also have classic popcorn, kettle corn, several different chocolate popcorns, nut blends, popcorn balls, gift boxes and tins.

So after looking over the choices and sampling a couple of flavors I settle on a 2 Gallon Tin that comes with 3 Flavors (minus chocolate & nut), I choose; Mac N Cheese, Carmel Apple and of Course Dr. Pepper (had to get Dr. Pepper, this is Waco after all). This runs me about $18, and next time I come in I get it filled for half price. Good Deal.

First I try the Mac N Cheese; its powered cheese popcorn. The popcorn tastes fresh, the cheesiness is definitely there. Much better than the cheese popcorn you get in those premade ones at the super market around this time of the year. Next I try the Caramel Apple- which is a mix of two different flavors; part of the popcorn is Apple, the other half is classic caramel. The apple alone looks like something out of a sci-fi movie with its bright neon green glow with a great aroma. It tastes pretty dang good, a lot like a green apple candy. The caramel is your classic, but it is a lot fresher, and the kernels are covered much more… unlike the prepackaged stuff that has a lot of gapped corn or pieces not really covered. Together it is a pretty awesome combination… this is one of their Seasonal Specials. Last but not least the Dr. Pepper. To be honest, upon looking at this I had my reservations… It’s a rather solid Purple glaze on the kernels with a sweet aroma to it. At first bite you get sweetness and popcorn, then a medium-strong lingering of… Dr. Pepper. It reminded me of the Dr. Pepper bubble gum I used to buy at the Pepper Museum. The Dr. Pepper was my favorite. But the whole time I was trying to clean my room, I kept going back to the tin to snag some more of each flavor. I finally had to move it to another room to keep it from distracting me. This is great for snacking, for the munchies, for a gift, or just for the hell of it.

So next time you want some flavored popcorn, forget the stuff prepackaged at HEB or Target stop by Off the Cob. Not only will you be getting a much better product and more choices, you’ll also be supporting one of Waco’s fine Locally Owned and Operated Joints.

And we all know its popcorn season with Halloween (horror movie nights and parties), Thanksgiving (great way to end a big ole meal), and of course Christmas. So stop on it and tell’em Davie G sent ya.


I can’t wait to go back and try more of their flavors… I hear they are working on a Pumpkin Flavor.

Not Healthy? Says Who?

Health Camp
2601 Circle Road
Waco, TX 76706-3805
(254) 752-2081
Open Mon-Thu, Sun 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat 11am-10pm
Website

As most of you already know, Health Camp isn’t exactly healthy. Instead it is deliciousness, greasiness, fried and plenty of ice cream. They have been a part of Waco community since 1948, living on the Circle, and have become a local institution of quality food. Locals, Baylor students and tourists driving off I-35 all love to visit this great joint. I’ve eaten here a few times with family and friends. I must admit, I used to hate driving here cause I can’t stand the Circle. But let’s face it, it’s totally worth it to snag a good ole fashion burger and malt or shake.

It’s a decent size joint, which can probably seat a little over 30 people… and on Baylor Game days it can get packed, before the game starts. They have a pretty simple menu of burgers, hot dogs, fried sides, malts, shakes and if you bring in a banana they’ll make you a Banana Split for $2.99… pretty shweet. When it comes to their malts and shakes they have a bunch of different flavors to choose from, which is pretty awesome since most joints only have the basic- vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

I get pretty much the same thing every time I go; A bacon cheeseburger or cheese burger, a RC Cola, fries and a Butter scotch malt to finish it off. I do have to say I eventually stopped getting the bacon cheese burger, since I always felt that the bacon was too chewy… and I don’t like chewy bacon. They might have changed since I left had one with bacon… but I can’t say for sure. I think next time I’ll try one of their chili dogs and different flavor malt. Gotta break away from the routine every once in a while.

I have only been maybe once or twice since I left TAMUG, which was roughly 4 years ago… that’s a long time to go without visiting Health Camp. So I went earlier today to get my fix. I ordered their cheese burger, fries and butter scotch malt. The burgers are pretty good; fresh, good flavor and properly cooked. The veggies used are nice and fresh, not soggy or old. The cheese is nicely melted and gooey. The bun is your run of the mill, hamburger bun. All together it makes one damn fine Burger. The fries are alright, nothing special; throw a little salt n pepper on them with some ketchup and you gott’em made. The malts are pretty good. I usually get the butter scotch malts, they are pretty tasty, but I wouldn’t mind if they made the flavor stronger. The peanut butter malts are also pretty good. MY dad prefers to get the vanilla shake. Both are nice and think, with good flavor, made to order.

Waco has more burger joints than I can shake a stick at, and Health Camp is definitely one of the tops ones. Not just in quality but in historic value and a great atmosphere. If you haven’t been to Health Camp yet you really need to make time in your schedule to hit them up… you definitely won’t be disappointed. Then pick yourself up a burger and a shirt from them that claims “You Survived the Circle.”


Malt/Shake Flavors I have Tried So Far:
Score 1-5

Toasted Marshmallow  3
Butter Scotch     4
S'mores     3

Breakfast, Burgers and Drive

Cupp’s Drive In
1424 Speight Ave
Waco, TX 76706
(254) 753-9364
Mon-Sat

Today I was in the mood for some breakfast, something I don’t eat very often… cause well, I like to sleep in late. But I had to get up early this morning anyway… there are a couple of places I usually snag it, but I decided to try a different joint. Last week I ate lunch (and enjoyed it) at Cupp’s Drive In and noticed they also served breakfast… so Cupp’s it was.

I get there around 8:30am and it looks closed, so I call’em up. Apparently the cook is running a little late… So I wait outside jamming to some Darius Rucker. He arrives in a few minutes later, and while Im finishing up the song an older couple pulls up and a nearby resident stops in to eat there as well… now I don’t feel completely awkward. These people timed it just right. So I pop in and glance over the menu; I decide to order 2 flapjacks, bacon and hash browns with an ice cold Coke. While waiting for our food, we all discuss Dallas and Baylor’s catastrophe the day before… let’s not get into that though… no fun.

Halfway through taking orders they realize they need to make a quick run to the Heb for a couple of supplies… been there, done that. I know how it goes. Least they had enough to make my order… cause we ALL know, the world revolves around me and I get MY food! Right? No? Dangit!

My food arrives not to long after throwing it down… looks and smells delicious. 2 decent sized flapjacks, 3 good strips of bacon and a mound of hash-browns. One thing I noticed while chilling is the brand of pancake mix they used… it’s one of the most common household brands used… but not every house has a flattop that’s been seasoned with bacon fat, burger grease, egg run off and everything else they throw on it. Giving everything they cook on it bits and pieces of that awesome flavor. I dug in; the flapjacks were pretty good, for the previous reasons, they were also nicely cooked… not runny and not burnt. Just the right amount of crispy edges. The bacon was really good, nice and crispy with good flavor. The hash-browns were a tad disappointing- crunchy on the outside but a little soggy on the inside. Still, with a bit of pepper and some ketchup they were just fine. I munched it all down, left feeling deliciously full.

Earlier in the week I stopped in to try one of their burgers and pick one up for my dad while he sat at home waiting on the guys to finish up fixing our laundry room. They had a nice crowd when I pulled in. I order a bacon cheese burger for myself, a BLT for my dad and a large fries to split. The burger was pretty good; they use fresh patties that they pound out on a marble counter and then throw on the flattop. The meat has good flavor, and the way it’s pounded out, it forms crispy edges around the meat. The bacon was pretty good too; good flavor and crispy. The fries were alright, I’ve never had this brand before. They weren’t anything special, had decent flavor… with a little salt and pepper they were good. Will definitely be grabbing another burger there soon.

The people there are super friendly and it has a great atmosphere. I talked to the manager there a bit and apparently she and her brother run the place for their mother. Their mother bought the place back in the early 80’s after working there under different owners for a couple decades. Since she bought it, its been family owned and operated serving up great food to Baylor Students, Travelers off I-35 and local Wacoans.

So if you are every down by Baylor or traveling down I-35 and are craving some good breakfast or good ole burger stop on by Cupps Drive In- Another Great Breakfast & Burger Joint Waco has to offer. The only down size to the place- limited seating. But even that can be a blessing in disguise sometimes.