3 Best Restaurants in Waco, Texas

Chicken-fried steak, burgers, and the Big O (a frosty two-handed-size mug of beer) top the menu at this family-friendly Waco landmark that has been around since the 1930s. Popular with college students—especially on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights—as well as an all-age cross section of Waco, Georges is packed on Baylor football game days and busy most other times, though it's usually easy to get a table for a hearty, reasonably priced breakfast. For the youngsters, there's a kids' menu.

This casual, friendly diner quickly became a favorite of locals when it opened a dozen years ago. Pizza, available as whole pies or by the slice, is the best in town. Also outstandng are the chicken pasta dishes—cacciatore (with onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes), cachovie (with artichoke hearts), aristocrat (with eggplant and mozzarella in a white-wine cream sauce and diavolo (with basic, garlic and onions). From the basic spaghetti and meatballs and fettuccine to the sandwiches, everything's good here. There's no beer or wine, but feel free to bring your own.

It's a Korean restaurant, and yet Kitok's been mentioned in The New York Times as home of one of the best burgers in Texas. The Liplocker (double cheeseburger) and Oriental fries (a battered, deep-fried nest of thinly sliced vegetables) comprise what is arguably the best meal for the money in Waco. Korean cuisine fills out the remainder of the menu. Chicken and beef bulgogi receive rave reviews, as does the kimchee, a side dish of spicy, fermented (in a good way) cabbage.