AWAKEN TO WACO, TEXAS

It never occurred to me that a city such as Waco would keep me occupied for a few days. I think of larger Texas cities such as Dallas and Houston to keep me busy. Waco, as it turns out, is about an hour plane ride from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport.

That Dallas airport is huge and just getting to the next plane to Waco was a trip in itself. Arriving, I checked into the Hilton Waco that looked out upon the Brazos River. I had use of the VIP lounge that gave me access to breakfast, snacks, refreshments and a spread of some pretty good food during the early evening.

Rather than "dine" there, I opted to eat at Diamond Back's restaurant, located within walking distance from the hotel. In fact there was a shopping center of restaurants and the River Square Center's Spice Village on the second floor of what was previously a set of warehouses.

A tower of tuna was the opening to my meal. Chopped raw tuna atop rice and guacamole with seaweed salad. Needless to say, I had to have a steak for my entree. Steak stuffed with crab meat and a few large shrimp.

The next morning I was off to Uncle Dan's BBQ to see how they make both their delicious smoked meats as well as their famous potato salads. They have two of which they are most known for their "White Potato Salad". I not only watched them make six batched but hand tossed one of them. The Idaho potatoes are cooked, pealed and then sit for a bit to cool before the process. Rather than sliced, they are put into a machine that sort of chops it. Placed into large pans, the ingredients are added in a particular order. If I remember correctly, it included chopped onions, garlic powder, salt, mayonnaise, parsley and one special ingredient that really makes the taste.

As for the meats, the secret to the taste and juiciness lies in the oven, which looks more like a huge rotisserie. The meat is placed on the rack and as it goes around, the juices fall upon the other meats. BBQ sauce is added afterward.
I later returned for lunch to taste test all. It was truly the best BBQ I've encountered anywhere and as for the potato salad, it was addicting-ly scrumptious. I dare to find a restaurant to top this one. There was also a yellow potato salad which basically differed in that mustard and some other ingredients were added.


A tour is the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum was next on the list. The Texas Rangers were used to deal with law breaking that involved more than one county in Texas. Yes, there was a thing on the Lone Ranger as well as Texas Walker Ranger. History, exhibits and photos of current rangers could be viewed that included three women.