As a student at Baylor University, I often hear or participate in the following conversation:
“What should we do tonight? I want to do something fun!”
“I know, me too, but… it’s Waco.”
Waco is no one-horse town, but it’s nothing compared to the more exciting cities that surround it, such as Austin and Dallas. It’s mostly known to outsiders as the place with crazy Branch Davidian compound. What is there to do for fun in this funky little town?
There are, of course, the supposed typical college student hangouts– bars. Most notable are Cricket’s and Treff’s in the downtown area. For a small, quirky option there’s the Dancing Bear Pub, located next to the local restaurant, Food for Thought on 12th street. If you prefer your liquor at home and with a humorous name, Bad Bear Liquor on Valley Mills sells alcohol along with a side order of mockery for the Baylor mascot, the bear.
Waco also has three movie theaters. The Starplex Galaxy 16 near Valley Mills and Franklin and the Hollywood Jewel on Woodway Drive are your typical theaters, but I think the most exciting theater in Waco is the Supersaver 6. It plays older movies for $1.25 during the day and $1.50 at night, plus a special deal each Tuesday where movies are just fifty cents all day. Sure, the selection is small and the floors are sticky– but the prices can’t be beat!
There are also some great local restaurants. Teriyaki Park on University Parks serves delicious and relatively cheap Japanese food and sushi. Bangkok Royal has moved next door and serves amazing, though spicy, Thai food. I recommend the tempura shrimp roll at Teriyaki Park. The aforementioned Food for Thought is a yummy health food sandwich shop that offers delicious blue chips and salsa with their sandwiches. Rudy’s BBQ near the traffic circle will feed you more barbecue than you can eat for less than $10. Even though I haven’t been to it yet, I read online that the Elite Circle Grill was once patronized by Elvis. What could be a better recommendation than that?
There are also quirkier options for entertainment, such as the Dr. Pepper Museum downtown. Yes, it’s true, Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco, and you can learn all about it at this cute little museum, complete with adorable gift shop and a creepy talking model of Dr. Pepper’s inventor. I have a lovely vintage Dr. Pepper poster from the museum hanging on my wall right now. Cameron Park has playgrounds and many places to grill and picnic, as well as Waco’s only zoo. Armstrong Browning Library on the Baylor campus is also a small museum, showcasing objects owned by Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It’s a beautiful place to study and read if you’re a student and a must-see in Waco. Waco also has a theater company, and touring shows occasionally come to the gorgeous Waco Hippodrome.
I’m sure that there are more fun things to do in Waco that people that are cooler than me know about, but these should be enough to get you started having fun. And if you run out of things to do, there are always midnight runs to Wal-mart!
