Any suggestions on something to do in Wichita Falls this weekend? Or a good restaurant?

I've only been there once for work, but we ate a place called McBride's. It was awesome. It's like a steak house, but very reasonable priced. Three of us ate for under 30 bucks (for lunch).

Thanks. Anyone else?

How open are you to driving an hour or so?

There's a great place to eat right outside of Lawton called Meer's. They make the best damn burgers I have ever had. Made from longhorn beef. They are totally worth the drive, even if it is to Oklahoma.

McBride's is a good call. The McBride family used to own a place called Zocalo, which was my favorite restaurant anywhere. I think it has since closed (haven't been to WF in quite a while). But it would be worth checking on. Outstanding Tex-Mex food.

Also, don't know how much time you'll have or if you're interested, but Archer City is about 12 miles south of WF. Home of Larry McMurtry and his book shops. Definitely some interesting things to see.

i'm from wichita falls, and first of all, let me say good luck.

mcbride's is decent, but it's more of an everybody's been eating there since they were kids thing than it being a great steak place. i would not think of this as a great place to go. zocalo's is closed, but it sucked pretty badly anyway.

the meers store that the person above recommended is absolutely a good idea. scenic drive for the area through the wichita mountains (hills) also. the portions have gotten a bit smaller over the years but still dang good.

hole in the wall joints are generally better around there. there is a burrito place called sevi's burritos that is really good (not like freebird's - it's a lot more mexican food like).
downtown is a place called matlock's grill that serves huge portions and has a dang good chicken fried steak. burgers are good there too, and everyone else i've eaten with there always thought it was really good.
there's an old mom and pop type joint called gene's tasty burger, but it's gone downhill quite a ways since it got bought out. other old burger places around town tend to all be good: scott's, glass kitchen, and a place on i think indiana that i can't remember the name of.
wf has a couple hibachi places that are all pretty decent. my favorite one is called samurai of tokyo and is right off of kemp (the main drag).

funwise, i was never into the party scene, and it really depends on how old you are as to where you'd want to go. the main club in town is graham central station, but i really couldn't recommend one way or the other on that one. several bars have live country music pretty much every weekend, which i also was not a big fan of so can't help you much there either.

there's an antique mall/tea room downtown also called somewhere in time that middle aged women tend to enjoy. if you have a wife or someone like that with you, many like to go walk out at the falls around dusk. at night that's prolly not a great idea though.

if you like sports bars, parkway grille is probably the place to go. it has a bar side, and a side that is fine for families. pretty decent food but not spectacular.

they had an amateur league hockey team and an arena league football team, but i never heard if either one of those made it through financial issues or not. if they did, they play at kay yeager coliseum towards downtown.

there's really not much there at all. there's a reason wichita county is always in the top 10 in teen pregnancy. bars are generally about all anyone over 21 does there.

i hope some of that helps. if i remember more food places, i'll post them later too. i could probably be more helpful if i knew what type of atmosphere you're looking for ranging from family to bar to topless bar.

There's a well-known drive-in hamburger/beer joint that's the only place left in Texas whose liquor license allows carhops to serve you beer in your car.

Or you can go inside.

Don't remember its name, but it's right next to the old library building on Lamar Street that's been turned into the Kemp Center For The Arts.

I played music for a wedding reception held there last year.

There's another beer joint named "Scoots" on the opposite side of that same Kemp Center that had outdoor rock and country live music.

I looked around and asked around, but those were the only places I chose to spend any time.

I did notice a titty bar on the highway going West out of town toward Seymour, seems like it was called something Greek like "Plato's" or "Aristotle's Retreat."

But I wasn't looking to get into that much trouble.





Gig 'em, FAST FRED '65.

Before the world wide web, village idiots usually stayed in their own village.

[This message has been edited by FAST FRED (edited 7/14/2004 11:55p).]

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There's a well-known drive-in hamburger/beer joint that's the only place left in Texas whose liquor license allows carhops to serve you beer in your car.

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Hmmmmm! Sounds like the Land That Time Forgot!

Thanks, everyone.

Kellers in Dallas still has carhops that serve you beer.

just for reference i've never even heard of those last two places after having lived there for 18 years. i'm not the party, bar, or nudey bar type, but that one is called maximus, and there's some other place that caused a big stink called babe's. you know names like this when the churches protest their openings. biergaten (sp?) is a bar that has music and neon spur is another bar that has music that i forgot. i've never been to either one of those though, but many frequent them.

The drive-up BBQ and beer joint is the Bar L, on Lamar Street opposite the Kemp Center.

From a tourist perspective, this isn't prime tourist country. If you are into books, and don't mind the heat, you can check out Larry McMurtry's book operation in Archer City. He owns about half the buildings downtown, and uses them for selling old books. You'll find things there you couldn't find anywhere else. From Wichita Falls, you head into Archer City and drive just past the courthouse--check in at the office, in the building next to the Methodist Church. Be warned--the buildings are not air-conditioned, or have limited air conditioning.

If you are a nature lover, a trip to the Wichita Mountains (and the Meers General Store) just northwest of Lawton (approx. 50 miles) is a good idea. If you've never been there, you'll be surprised to see these moutains pop out of nowhere. You can drive to the top of Mount Scott for a great view, then drive west through the wildlife preserve and see buffalo and other exotic creatures.

As to eating out, McBride's is a pretty good value if you want a steak, and particularly if you go early enough to get the early bird special (or at lunch). People in this town won't spend a lot for food, so you can find some good cheap eats, as mentioned above.

If you have kids in tow, we have a brand new water park on 287 East at Windthorst Road--not to be confused with the size you would find in the Metroplex, but they've got the big slides, the river running through the park, the wave area, etc.

Do not plan on seeing a movie while you're here--we have the worlds worst theaters, with a lot of first run movies playing in tiny mall style theatres from the '70s. We're still waiting for our first megaplex.