waco is a wonderland

Here is an excerpt of an actual conversation that took place between me and my college roommate at homecoming a few weeks ago.

Me: So should quit my job and move to Waco?

Sarah [semi-horrified]: LIZ, NO

I am #blessed to have people in my life who discourage me from making ridiculous decisions. But then again…this whole ‘insufferable snobby city girl’ schtick is [mostly] an act…that I have apparently come up with because I want people to think I am the worst? Let’s be honest here. I would THRIVE in Waco. And the cost of living there is, like, free. Plus, low humidity year-round! My hair would also thrive in Waco.

Y’all think I’m kidding about the title of this blog post and everything I just said, but other than the ironic use of ‘#blessed' (the only acceptable way to use #blessed, and I am still slightly ashamed of myself), every word has been sincere. I may be cynical and pretentious, but I truly believe this.

Waco is a wonderland.

Below is an extremely incomplete, but also extremely qualified [I did live there for five years, after all] guide to Waco, Texas.

Dichotomy Coffee & Spirits

To paraphrase Perd Hapley, one of the greatest minor recurring sitcom characters in the history of television, "let’s begin this list by…starting it.” Obviously, I’m starting with my favorite coffee shop to ever exist in the world. A bold statement, that stems mostly from nostalgia of the year 2015? Possibly. But this place is important (both to me personally and to the actual city of Waco). I remember driving around downtown Waco as a freshman, thinking that it had so much character and potential, but needed some good businesses to come through and fix it up. I never thought it would actually happen…but it did, and Dichotomy was one of the first new places to appear. I remember the first time I ever went there, senior year. I had never been to such a cool coffee shop before, let alone in WACO of all places. I really didn’t even like coffee yet (well, unless it had half a cup of creamer and six tablespoons of sugar in it), but I desperately wanted to. Actual coffee snobs on the internet were raving about the place, and I wanted to understand the culture, and what made the coffee at Dichotomy better than the coffee you could get at any random place. So I went back, a LOT. In a way, Dichotomy (not anything in Houston) has shaped my love of coffee / coffee shops, which has become a significant part of who I am. This place is also partially responsible for me passing the CPA.

Needless to say, I make at least two obligatory Dichotomy visits every time I end up in Waco. I promise the rest of this post will be actually informative and devoid of personal ramblings, because it’s late and I need to go to bed. Oh wait, did I even mention that Dichotomy is also a bar?! Now I did.

Balcones Distilling

It is still absolutely insane to me that there is an actual, legitimate, award-winning distillery in Waco. Whenever I see Balcones whiskey in the wild (I once found it in a liquor store in New Jersey), I get really excited and start telling everyone how cool it is that it’s made in Waco, and not one person has ever actually cared. Whatever. I finally made it to the distillery, and it was exactly as perfectly trendy and cool as I had hoped, while still feeling perfectly “Waco.” It was a beautiful night, so we sat outside to enjoy our flights. The young guys one table over were dressed in flannels and engaged in a pretty deep theological discussion that we totally eavesdropped on. It was just so Waco. And the building is an old warehouse. Super minimalist vibe, exposed brick and concrete, random succulents, cool light fixtures. It was just so Liz.

Waco Wine Shoppe

Come on now…please look at these pictures. If you’ve ever met me and / or have read like, any of these posts…I don’t need to explain to you why I am recommending this place. It’s not super clear from the picture, but vinyl records are spinning at all times. All the wines here are pretty unusual; there were no brands I had seen anywhere else. I believe they are mostly natural / organic wines as well. The people there are super nice and helpful, and let me try several different wines before I decided to try a Port, because I was feeling fancy that day.

Pinewood Coffee Roasters

I feel like I’m cheating on Dichotomy when I go here, but I definitely can’t complain about the…booming?…coffee scene in Waco. I went to Pinewood for the first time back in September, with high expectations. Those expectations were shattered. The coffee is great, the space is fantastic, it also has vinyl records constantly playing of that type of indie music that’s like…just a little left of mainstream, slightly folksy, but still accessible (okay now I see why no one wants to talk music with me). A law student I met that weekend told me that this is the new go-to coffee and / or study spot, and that Dichotomy is lame now. So I kind of hate him for that, but he was right about this place being awesome.

Milo All Day

This may actually be the (second) most painfully basic / trendy thing that has ever happened to Waco, even more so than everything else I just wrote about. I’ve only had the brunch, but it was solid. I think I had a burger from Milo way back in the day when it was just a food truck. According to the menu, most (if not all) of the ingredients are locally sourced. Oh, and there were lots of cookies and pastries and coffee for sale at the front!

Some classic Waco establishments and other assorted pics…

If you ever find yourself in Waco on a Saturday, check out the surprisingly great farmers market in front of City Hall. And eat one or seven of these donuts from this adorable little trailer.

I would never forget Common Grounds.

The inexplicable Instagrammable door next to the Hippodrome!

I take back everything I said about Waco being trendy or whatever…THIS is as Waco as it gets, folks. This is also the exact designated meal of every business school function I ever attended (minus the beer, of course).

Shorty’s is almost up there with Dichotomy on my list of obligatory Waco stops.

Oh. Baylor. I have so many questions. I can’t decide if I love this or if I hate it with every fiber of my being.

The best part about Health Camp is that you have to take the traffic circle of death to get there. Also it only serves ice cream, milkshakes, and greasy burgers. It’s amazing.

The sky just looked really cool that day. But my iPhone camera didn’t do it justice.

In conclusion…go spend some quality time in Waco. I know I’m forgetting so many places and I could go on and on but it’s past my bedtime and I’m pretty sure you lost interest somewhere during the first unnecessary personal story. Stay tuned for part two, at some point when I get around to it.

<3 liz