GOING FOR A HAT TRICK
The owner of a Temple-based soccer club is opening a new Downtown sports bar complete with food, drinks and an indoor four-on-four soccer field. Manuel Velasquez, owner of Coyotes FC, a pair of Fort Hood food trucks and a Colombian food delivery service, is opening Hat-Trick Sports Barat 217 N Main in the former L&M Electronics building.
WINTER ‘PIE’ NEEDS FRITOS
The No. 1 sign that it’s cold in Texas? The Frito shelf is bare at H-E-B. I’m sorry, Amanda Sheppard, but it’s happening again.
Dinner and a Dance
Mo’s Railyard Saloon has expanded and added a Saturday Night Fever-style dance floor and a huge 5×12-foot LED television. But, the biggest change is the addition of a new cafe adjacent to the bar. The Grill at Mo’s features daily Blue Plate specials and traditional bar food.
THE 5-SECOND RULE
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of avoiding germs at all costs, even if it means missing out on that delicious M&M you dropped on the floor. The temptation for that melt-in-your-mouth-not in-your-hands goodness is strong, but is it worth taking a risk by snagging it off the ground?
SIMPLY SIZZLING
The Temple High School BBQ Pitmasters Team has only been in existence since the start of the school year, but the team is already off to a blazing start after competing in its first event last weekend. They head to state in May.
Wilson Valley is home to farm-to-glass distillery
The Evans and Wilson families have been farming a piece of land near Little River for about 155 years, and now in addition to corn, wheat, oats and cattle, the ranch also is home to Bell County’s first farm-to-glass distillery.
ELEVATING BRUNCH & CRAFT COCKTAILS
Callie Ring is remodeling the former Mexiko Cafe on South 1st Street into Melody’s, a high-end brunch and craft cocktail establishment that is expected to open in mid February. Melody’s will include an indoor stage, unique brunch dishes and a sidewalk mimosa bar during special occasions.
REVOL GREENS NEARS COMPLETION
Revol Green’s 20-acre greenhouse likely will be completed during the first quarter of 2023 and the first planting is scheduled for January or February, according to Tom Thompson, the company’s chief revenue officer.
DECONSTRUCTING TAMALES
You may not be thinking about jackets and sweaters yet, but I bet the holiday season is slowly coming to the forefront of your mind, and some of our favorite foods will soon be making an appearance at grocery stores, kitchen counters, and dining tables. One of those staples is the beloved tamale, but did you ever stop to think about its history?
The evolution of Texas foods
I can’t believe it’s been a year since I made a case for the chicken-fried kolacharito — a tasty kolache pastry stuffed with burrito fixin’s and smothered in country gravy — to assume the throne of Texas culinary royalty.