In Denton, baristas are everywhere. Take a look to your left, there's probably one there beside you right now. Or even behind you. Watch out! In fact, chances are, you might even be a barista. See what we mean? Who are these people anyway? They are people, after all, real people - with hopes, dreams, and stories. They have more to offer than just your frothy, espresso drinks and iced vanilla mochas. So, that is why we are setting out to learn more about our beloved baristas - to interview them and learn about the people behind the bar. Sure, the coffee you made me today is from the Yirgacheffe region in Ethiopia, but tell me barista, what is your origin?
Read MoreWHAT TO EAT AT FOOD TRUCK FEST
Denton has been food truck friendly for a few years now. Heck, we even have a food truck park now. There are a dozen or so trucks that either are based out of Denton, or make it a point to stop by on a weekly basis. While we don't always get to see every single truck we'd like to, and we haven't seen a night as packed as that food truck festival at the DCTA station a few years ago, we still love having the option around. Tonight, however, there are fourteen trucks visiting various parts of Oak and Austin St. and we're pretty pumped about it. Read on to find out what we're looking forward to eating this evening. Warning, we're going to be eating a lot so get ready now (maybe skip lunch).
Read MoreLOST IN THE DESSERT: NV CUPCAKES
If you haven’t sallied in to NV Cupcakes on Hickory since they moved to 231 W. Hickory St., prepare for a treat of Denton ingenuity. Sharing a space with Sprockets allows the couple behind the Sprokets/NV combo to host dance parties, concerts, and other fun events in town.
Read MoreTHE ALWAYS UPDATED GUIDE TO THE DENTON COFFEE SCENE
The coffee game in Denton has drastically changed in the past two years. Seven Mile Coffee started the shift to third-wave coffee almost three years ago (if we're ignoring The Hydrant), but since then, the local coffee scene has expanded in size almost exponentially with Shift, West Oak Coffee Bar, Big Mike's, Cultivar, The Whitehouse, and even a few more opening shop in town. Having so many options can be a little stressful - especially if you're the type who doesn't just pick and spot and stick with it. All of the new shops have their own specific strengths. Below, we've got a bit of a Choose Your Own Adventure tour of the Denton coffee scene in the spring of 2015, let's get to it. Also, anybody remember Cappuccino Cafe?
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WHAT THE HECK IS TASTE OF NORTH TEXAS?
We sat down with Aaron Newquist of First State Bank and chatted about Taste of North Texas, the amazingly gluttonous fundraising event that he helps run for Denton Kiwanis Club. We’ve heard about this one for years (26 to be exact) but we haven't really ever known what it was or why it even happened. Turns out, this is another little slice of Denton that you can literally eat your way through. Check out how you can sample food from the likes of Oak St. Draft House, Mellow Mushroom, Beth Marie's Kolache Haven, La Milpa, Nothing Bundt Cakes and lots more for one low price in our interview with Newquist.
Read MoreNOW OPEN: HICKORY AND FRY
Hickory and Fry serves kangaroo nachos, y'all. And they aren't just some sort of gimmick. These are legitimate, tasty as hell fried wontons with kangaroo and habañero jam on top. We, having never tasted kangaroo before (the closest we came was watching Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome), had our minds blown upon taking a bite of these. The meat is extremely tender - almost creamy and the homemade habañero jam cuts right through it to create one of our new favorite dishes in Denton. And that's just one thing Hickory and Fry has to offer.
Read MoreSUBWAY ON THE SQUARE IS DEAD
The drama that is the Subway on the square has finally come to an end. After just a few short years of being the infamous sub shop on the corner of Oak and Locust, Subway will cease operations on the Denton square today, Friday, January 30th, 2014.
Read MoreREVIEW: CRICKLES AND CO.
It's an age old story... two friends meet in the sandbox, dream big, grow up and accomplish their goals. Well, kind of. Chefs Cristal Barnard and Cassie Ballard met at the Art Institute of Dallas and became fast friends with big dreams. They both moved off and accomplished great things in the culinary world under some pretty impressive world famous chefs in some pretty infamous restaurants. After some time away they finally brought their talents and experience right back here to Denton. Thank goodness for that. These two whip up culinary delights ensuring only the freshest ingredients. You won't even find a jar of Smuckers in their kitchen. Everything, from the top to the bottom, is made fresh by-hand in-house.
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TEN RESTAURANTS WORTH THE DRIVE
Summer is a great time for road trips. We love Denton, but even we need to get outta dodge every now and then. Sometimes it's Dallas or Fort Worth, but we're surrounded by so many small, Texas towns that have tons of little treasures. Sometimes it's fun to pay 'em a visit and grab a bite to eat. We've included a few of our favorites that we like to stop by and some other info about 'em in the post below. Let us know your favorite nearby small town restaurants in the comments section below.
The Spot: Prohibition Chicken
Location: Church St. in Lewisville
Distance: About 15 miles
The Food: Prohibition Chicken is all about really good fried chicken. We're gonna put ourselves out there and call it better than anything you'll get at Babe's. Prohibition serves everything family style and offers a variety of fried chicken (we were partial to the smoke fried) along with a few other options and plenty of delicious sides. Post-dining, make your way into the phone booth at the back of the restaurant. Pick up the phone and dial "0." The bartender in the secret speakeasy will answer and ask how many are in your party. Answer correctly and a secret door will open, allowing you entry to the small, dark bar full of bartenders serving delicious cocktails.
Sweetie Pie's Ribeyes in Decatur, TX.
The Spot: Sweetie Pie's Ribeyes
Location: The Decatur Square
Distance: About 25 miles away
The Food: Sweetie Pie's is another restaurant from the minds behind Babe's, but this time instead of fried chicken, we're focused on steak. More specifically, ribeyes. We visited their location on the beautiful Decatur square recently and had a blast. It's very..."Babe's-like" on the inside, and the food is great. How can you go wrong with chicken fried ribeye anyway? The steaks are cooked pretty well, too. Broccoli cheese soup is an unlimited side and is a meal unto itself. We also loved the rolls, but missed the mashed potatoes and biscuits that Babe's always has ready for ya.
The Spot: Bebo's and Kathy's Cafe
Location: 377 in Pilot Point
Distance: About 14 miles
The Food: Keep going on 428 past the water park in Denton and you'll eventually come across a few restaurants worth checking out. You'll read about Mom's on Main further down and we'll talk about Upper Park (which just opened another restaurant on the Denton store) later, but a little further down the road is Bebo's and Kathy's Cafe. Bebo's serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is currently slinging out some of the best diner food in Denton County. Check this place out if you're interested delicious fried catfish, fried green tomatoes, chicken fried steak, and burgers that are four patties deep. Oh, yeah and live music and/or Elvis is there sometimes.
The Spot: The Table
Location: Flower Mound
Distance: About 14 miles
The Food: Highland Village may have a few of the nicer chains that are afraid of coming to Denton (we didn't want you anyway, Gloria's), but they also have a local gem in The Table. This modern American restaurant with global influences is located on 407 across from The Shops at Highland Village. The restaurant serves handmade pastas, locally made cheeses, and more. Also, the cocktails are kinda killer.
The Spot: Clark's Outpost
Location: 377 in Tioga
Distance: About 25 miles away
The Food: While Clark's recently suffered a fire and renovation, they are now back open and smoking meat once more. This historical barbecue restaurant is a short drive up 377. Along the way, you'll get a good view of the close country-side, too. Clark's is North Texas BBQ done classic-style. This isn't the Central Texas, thick-cut brisket you'll find at Bet the House, but Clark's is well-vetted and fun to visit. The corn on the cob with horseshoe nails stuck on the end as holders are plenty of fun. We love the ribs, and the sides are all pretty danged good. Just watch out for naked Randy Travises while you're up there.
The Spot: Ranchman's Steakhouse
Location: Ponder
Distance: About 13 miles away
The Food: This place has a hunk of bleu cheese on the appetizer menu. Just a hunk of bleu cheese. Also, there are "calf fries" (AKA fried cow testicles with ranch) and you can also ‘add a quail’ to your order for $5. Aside from that, their pan-fried steaks are pretty damned good and worth the drive all on their own.
The Spot: The Bear's Den
Location: Pilot Point
Distance: About 19 miles away
The Food: If you're the type of person who likes eating pizza with bears in captivity, this is the place for you. The Bear's Den serves old school brick oven pizza, but the interesting thing about this place is definitely the two 400lb. rescued black bears they have on property. Which may or may not be your thing, but definitely makes this place immediately more interesting than your average bear... we mean pizzeria.
Mom's on Main in Aubrey, TX.
The Spot: Mom's on Main
Location: Aubrey
Distance: About 12 miles away
The Food: Mom's on Main is pretty regular diner fare, but in an awesomely photogenic old building in Aubrey. Also, you get free cake on your first visit, so it's worth at least one trip. The drive is also one of the prettier ones you'll find in Denton County.
The Spot: Go Go Gumbo
Location: Boyd
Distance: About 35 miles away
The Food: This seafood facility has some of the best cajun food around for miles. They sell out quite often so if you're going, get there early. Also, they have cooking classes that are about $50 bucks that also include dinner. We recommend the "TV Dinner" which is kinda like a Japanese bento box and is a good introduction to this place. Go Go Gumbo is BYOB and we recommend getting there early as there is often a wait.
The Spot: Earl's 377 Pizza
Location: 377 in Argyle
Distance: About 9 miles
The Food: This spot from some of the folk that brought ya LSA and Barley and Board is the one that you've most likely heard of and/or been to before. We've talked about it a bunch and it is so close! The space is perfect for a night out with friends, family, or just to satiate your pizza cravings. What was once an old fire station has been transformed into a beautiful family-friendly restaurant with interesting details at every turn. And the food doesn't disappoint either. The pizzas may be the best in Denton County (top three at least). Not only are they cheesy and crisp, but they're fresh with made from scratch dough and fired in the high temp pizza ovens just like classic pizza should be. Also, Alyssa loves the hoagie and meatballs and talks about that a lot. Not into pizza? Head over to Bumbershoot BBQ in the exact same location. Stop by Kimzey's afterwards for a pastry and cup of coffee.
The Spot: Ancient Ovens
Location: St. Jo
Distance: About 59 miles away
The Food: Ancient Ovens is definitely the furthest away on our list at 50+ miles, but it's well worth it. This brick oven pizzeria sits on a lovely hillside in St. Jo, TX. The pizza isn't anything better than you'll get at a pizza place in town, but Ancient Ovens is worth it for the ambiance and nearby wineries. We recommend going with a large group unless you are the type who enjoys sitting with people you don't know. They have a fixed menu, but will the pizza is served buffet style (think of a fancy Cici's). Reservations are a must and they're often booked up, so plan ahead. The view is also awesome if you go at the right time of year. Like we said earlier, there are a few local wineries nearby, and they are a must visit before your reservation at this BYOB facility. Make sure to give yourself an extra hour to stop, sample some vino, and pick a bottle (or three) that suits your tastes.
Ancient Ovens in St. Jo, TX.