Great Texas craft beer and family fun. The Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston brings Texas together under a great banner of new ideas with a divine drink for beer fans.
The Texas Bucket List – Luckenbach, Texas
If you’ve never been to Luckenbach, you’re missing out on a country music culture that lives in the air and in the hearts of the people of this town. On our very first episode on The Texas Bucket List, we sit beneath the mighty oaks that have had years and years of musical notes pick their way through the branches. In the breeze and in the air everywhere is the sound of a good ole’ country twang, dust scuffed up from boots at the dance hall, and the constant picking of guitar strings. Celebrate the country, celebrate music, and come have some fun where everybody is somebody in Luckenbach on The Texas Bucket List!
The Texas Bucket List – Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana
Corsicana – When it comes to Christmas confectionery, there are all sorts of sweets that one can savor here in the Lone Star State. There is one cake that keeps people coming to Corsicana, and it goes hand in hand with the holidays, Collins Street Bakery in Corsicana.
“This is a part of Texas history,” Sarah Keathley said. “It’s unique. The world’s greatest fruitcake.”
Since 1896, the Collin Street Bakery has been getting a rise out of customers by providing carbs that are well worth craving. Back in the beginning, baking bread was the business’s backbone, but after too many bakers starting popping out of the oven, the Collin Street Bakery took a different approach.
“They sold all of their bread equipment and made this decision just to go and gamble on this product that nobody heard about,” Hayden Crawford said. “They did it and it was a home run.”
Hayden’s family bought into the business in the 1960’s back when Corsicana’s craving for fruitcake started to become a fruitful fixture during the holidays.
“Historically, the fruitcake has always been a celebratory cake,” Hayden. “It was a product of the fall harvest with the pecans and some of the fruit, and then this was all put together in a delicious cake. [It] was put back in the root cellar and held back until Christmas and pulled out so that everybody could enjoy the bounty of the harvest.”
Today, the fruitcakes are a bit fresher thanks to a bounty of bakers that help make one million fruitcakes every year!
“So what you see is freshly shelled native pecans, big decorative halves to decorate the top of the cakes,” Hayden said. “We use pineapple from our Costa Rican farm. We have the largest organic farm in the world. Cherries from the pacific northwest, raisins from California, all go into this fruitcake to make one of the finest Christmas products in the world.”
Each cake is carefully topped, baked, and prepared to be enjoyed by somebody.
“I’ve been coming to the bakery ever since I was a kid but believe you and me fruitcake was not always on my favorite list,” Steve Keathley said.
Despite what you may think of fruitcake, you just never know how good it is until you try it.
“We’ve put free samples everyday because we have to prove to people ‘hey this fruitcake is really a quality product’ and people walk in and the worse thing I ever heard them say is ‘Hey this isn’t bad,’” Hayden said.
Turns out what was once equivalent to getting coal for Christmas is now cool again, and people are going nuts for fruitcake.
The captains of industry, leaders of nations,” joked Hayden. “Everyone loves to enjoy fruitcake.”
With Christmas upon us here in the Lone Star State, filling your face with fruitcake in Corsicana is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“Because it is the world’s finest,” Hayden said. “There’s no other product like it. It’s just a combination of pecans and fruit all bound together with local clover honey. It’s a fantastic product. Everybody needs to try it before they kick the bucket.”
The Texas Bucket List – The Centennial Club
A modern throwback to the speakeasies of the prohibition era, The Centennial Club in McAllen powerfully captures the feel of the 20s era style with rich and luxurious decorations, drinks, and designs. If you want to revisit the Roaring 20s at cocktail hour or have a succulent, scrumptious meal, The Centennial Club is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
The Texas Bucket List – The Big Texan
Everything is bigger in Texas – especially the steaks! The 72 ounce steak challenge at The Big Texan in Amarillo is no easy feat. Serving as an establishment to perpetuate the Texas traditions and customs that make this state great, The Big Texan will give their customers a FREE 72 oz steak with all of the fixin’s – but there’s a catch! Can we finish the steak within an hour and join the World’s Most Exclusive 72 oz. Steak Club? Add this one to your own Texas Bucket List – if you dare!
The Texas Bucket List – Cocoamoda in Calvert
CALVERT, Texas – Over in Robertson County, in between Waco and Bryan, you’ll find the quiet community of Calvert. With a population just over 1,000 you wouldn’t expect to find more than just your typical antique shops and kolache stops, but if you happen upon Cocoamoda, you’ll come across one the most unique, interesting, and exquisite stops on Highway 6.
Chef Ken Wilkinson isn’t from these parts. He hails from jolly old England but now he considers himself something else.
“I’m Texan,” Ken explained. “My wife is Texan.”
Yes, this Texan that happens to hail from London, and his wife Jacqueline own this chocolate shop that has some of the most decadent and delightful desserts.
“They could very well be considered artwork but really it’s for the eating,” Ken said. “It’s for the flavor. It’s for the knowledge that you’re eating something absolutely fresh and nice.”
Ken has been a chef for over 45 years, even though he claims to be 36. While he appears to be a bit older than that, it seems his chocolate might be keeping him young at heart.
Ken’s career in cooking all started in London where he first worked in a kitchen during his teens, by his 20’s he was a head chef, by his 30’s he headed up 43 restaurants in and around London. He even served the Royal Family on Sundays. But a chance to consult with a line of restaurant and hotels in Houston lead him to an adventure he never saw coming.
For a few years, the comical chef had his own cable cooking show and was earning a lot of clams. Eventually the show was cancelled and Ken needed something to do.
“Then I started twittling my thumbs and thinking, ‘My goodness haven’t I always thought that I would like to start a chocolate business,’” Ken said.
Instead of opening his confection creation in a big ol city, Ken instead opted for a more centralized Texas location with some old world charm. When he found the old Calvert State Bank building built in 1870, he knew he had found his factory.
“I really thought it spoke European quality, the whole building,” Ken said. “You could airlift this to any major city in Europe the whole building and nobody would question the ability of it haven been built there.”
With some flavors you wouldn’t expect to find, such as bourbon, lemon, praline, and key lime, Ken’s chocolates are creations you won’t find in any old cookbook.
Each morsel is way more amazing than you might imagine. You see each one of these little chocolates takes three days to make, start to finish, and what’s inside might surprise you.
With exotic insides like Madagascar Vanilla beans, Persian saffron, even roses imported from India, you’re sure to find a sweet sensation you’ve never tasted before.
“My pride won’t allow me to use anything but the best ingredients,” Ken said. “Every ingredient is thought about.”
But there seems to be so much more to each one of these chocolates. It’s as if Ken has found a way to add his elegance, charm, and witty banter to each of his creations.
“It’s about following your passion. Being passionate about what you do,” En said. “Living life to the fullest.”
Leann Schroeder and Chris Nixon drove an hour to try these treats.
“Well I was a merchant marine so I’ve been around the world and I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate from a lot of different places,” Chris said. “It’s hard to beat this stuff.”
All Texans have a sweet spot for the Lone Star State but now the state has a sweet spot of its own thanks to a man from England, a town frozen in time, and delicacy that comes from deep within the heart of Texas.
“I’m proud of Texas and I really wanted to put Texas on the map for chocolates,” Ken said. “Why the heck not? Why not give the French a run for their money? You know what I mean? Texas can certainly do it.”
The Texas Bucket List – Los Ebanos Ferry Crossing
The town of Los Ebanos down on the southern Texas border boasts one of the last hand-pulled ferries in the United States. Hearkening back to its days as a ferry for soldiers across the sparkling waters of the Rio Grande, the Lost Ebanos Ferry now serves as a simple, slow way to mosey across the border. For any Texan, it’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!
The Texas Bucket List – XIT Museum
Everything is bigger in Texas, and so is our rangeland! The XIT Museum in Dalhart stands as a testament to the pastures and plains roped into the XIT Ranch property in the 1880s. Learn about the history of the largest ranch in Texas, the cowboys, the cattle, and the well-worn saddles that make this trip well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!
The Texas Bucket List – Pinballz Arcade
Flashing lights, ringing bells, and mechanical melodies – Pinballz Arcade in Austin has all this and more! Featuring more than 250 arcade machines, there’s fun and games for the young and old alike. From pinball to skill shot games, this is a stop you won’t want to miss on The Texas Bucket List.
The Texas Bucket List – Tower of the Americas
Witness glorious views at one of the tallest observatories in the nation. The Tower of the Americas in San Antonio is an observatory with a restaurant where you can wine and dine and see all 360 degrees of the surrounding area. Be sure to stay for a sunset, because it’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!