Arepitas – Harker Heights, Texas

We were looking for pizza, but ended up with an unexpected and delicious Venezuelan dinner. We had never heard of arepa or arepita, but after dinner that night, we were hooked. The restaurant is called Arepitas, in Harker Heights, Texas, and this place is a keeper.

We walked into what had been our favorite pizza restaurant. We noticed that the sign was missing from the storefront, but two men were working on ladders and we figured they were remodeling and had temporarily taken the sign down.

Bella Sera – Copperas Cove, Texas

Many of us go to a restaurant expecting, or at least hoping for a spectacular meal. I have been fortunate to have experienced this at several places, and Bella Sera in Copperas Cove, Texas, provided one recently. It was nothing fancy, but it was the best lunch I've had in recent memory – their exceptional Stromboli.

Down Unda Trading Post – Lampasas, Texas

Who would have thought that a pleasant forty-mile drive through the Texas countryside would lead to – Australia? Well, not exactly, but such a trip will give you a nice taste of the country 'down under.'

The 'Down Unda Trading Post', located on US Highway 281, sixteen miles north of Lampasas, Texas, provides a tasty glimpse of Australian food, including Vega Mite, Anzac biscuits, Australian Chocolate, and meat pies. It was the meat pies we were interested in, so we set out on a warm, sunny Spring day in search of this unlikely Aussie outpost.

Where the Present Meets the Past

Less than a mile southeast of the Glasgow, Scotland Airport, the intersection of Renfrew and Dundonald Roads in Paisley, Renfrewshire, is a place where the present meets the past. Where those two roads cross sits a Kentucky Fried Chicken store. Next door is an Esso gas station, and beyond that, a Tesco Express grocery. Directly across Renfrew Road from the Esso station is a stone cairn, sitting on a concrete triangle that splits the lanes of Dundonald Road. The cairn contains a plaque commemorating an event that happened on that spot seven hundred years ago – long before anyone bought gasoline or ate chicken made famous by a Kentucky Colonel.

The Blue Bonnet Cafe - Marble Falls, Texas

Who doesn’t love home cooking? Who doesn’t want to eat the food that you grew up with – food so good that only a Mom can make to your satisfaction? That kind of food only exists at Mom’s house, right? Not quite. There is a place where you would swear your Mom must be in the kitchen, cooking your favorite food – The Blue Bonnet Café, in Marble Falls, Texas.

The Elusive Pappy Van Winkle

If you are a bourbon drinker, you probably know of the legendary Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve. It is allegedly one of the world's greatest bourbons, produced in extremely limited quantities by the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery Company. I say allegedly, as I have not had the privilege of tasting it. In fact, the chances of me ever getting a taste of this magical spirit are close to zero.

Zio's Italian Kitchen – Georgetown, Texas

You have to wonder about a restaurant where the appetizers outshine the entrée. It doesn't happen often, however, at Zio's Italian Kitchen in Georgetown, Texas, the salad and appetizer were so outstanding that it was a bit of a letdown when the main course showed up.

Off-Centered With Dogfish Head

The recent craft beer popularity explosion affords beer drinkers more quality choices than ever before. Sam Calagione and his Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware, is one of the best of the microbreweries. With a name like Dogfish Head, you know this has to be good stuff, and Sam and his team produce an incredible array of unusual and extremely interesting craft beers. "Off-centered ales for off-centered people," is the official description.

Kentucky Bourbon: Great American Whiskey

I did not know bourbon was whiskey. I didn't know what it was made from, how it was made, nor had I tasted it. I've tried drinks with Canadian whiskey, Scotch whiskey, tequila, vodka, and gin, and didn't enjoy any of them enough to stick with it, always returning to beer as my adult beverage of choice. Then, a trip through Kentucky in the summer of 2014 got me interested in bourbon.

A Special Texas Kind of Feeling

Luckenbach, Texas has a special feeling about it. It's the feeling you get when you meet a legend in person, although of course, Luckenbach is not a person. It may only be a place, but it has a distinct personality, located deep in the heart of Texas – literally and figuratively. If you've been there, you know what I mean. If you've never been there, you owe it to yourself to make the trip to this Texas landmark, ten miles southeast of Fredericksburg, Texas.