The Daytripper

- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

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Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

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Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.

(rock music) - Long ago when the cattle drives crossed the Texas plains, they stopped over at our destination.

And today, we're following in their hoof prints.

We'll chow on some Texas beef in the form of an epic burger and a tender filet.

We'll tantalize our senses with everything from candles to olive oil, to milkshakes and wine.

We'll go ankle-deep in a lake and sink some putts, chasing the mythical Jackalope.

This frontier town is really heating up, even if the weather's a bit chilly.

Ooh, oh man, y'all have a jacket?

- Why?

- I'm a little bit cold, man.

Oh, huh, well, that explains why, (grumbles), oh boy.

(uptempo banjo music) (upbeat music) Coleman is located a couple hours southwest of DFW and about an hour south of Abilene.

It's a Texas town, if there ever was one.

So Coleman was named after Sam Houston's right-hand man, Robert Coleman, who was also a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

Now, this town wasn't established until the 1870s, when it was a supply stop for the cowboys and cattle driving the Great Western Trail, the Dodge City, Kansas.

So if you rewind the clock, this street would've had thousands of head of cattle roaming up and down, and we would've had to watch our step.

(cow pie squelches) Oh, no.

Lucky for us, the days of cow pies on the corner are long gone as downtown Coleman is going through a bit of a renaissance.

But despite the changes, the spirit of the cattle drive lives on, just in a much tastier way at the Cattle Drive Cafe.

Here, they're big on beef, not just in the food, but in the puns scattered about the restaurant.

You can grab some fresh air on the cow pattyo or take a seat on the cowch while you wait.

But rest-assured, Cattle Drive's owners, Todd and Vicki Virden will have you chowing down on Texas's favorite food group, cow.

But here cow comes in many forms.

- That's a cowboy sushi is wrapped with a hamburger meat and bacon.

It's a jalapeno popper on steroids.

- Well, you've wrapped a jalapeno popper in a hamburger patty.

- Yes, sir.

- How doesn't that be bad?

- Yeah, wait 'til you try the dip?

- It's kind of an, a one, a little bourbon and apricot.

- Very good.

The owners originally came down from Abilene just to remodel the building, but ended up falling in love with Coleman and decided to open a restaurant.

- I think it's wonderful.

We're very, very proud of our little town.

Todd wanted to name it The I Don't Care Cafe.

Really?

- Where you wanna go eat?

- I don't care.

- I don't care.

- But because the cattle drive came through here, that's- - Cattle drive.

- The cattle drive.

They wanted to be a true community spot and even asked the locals to name the bull that hangs (coughs) proudly over their bull bar, big Willy.

And he's even inspired a menu item.

- Willy nuggets.

- Well, again, what's a Willy nugget?

- That would be a Rocky Mountain oyster, deep-fried.

- So that's expected, yeah.

City folk don't eat that much.

- Not too much.

- And the cattle drive doesn't just serve Texas beef.

They serve Coleman Texas beef.

Because while big Willie's watching, well, the beef better be boss.

- We buy all of our meat whole, we cut it all ourselves.

All of our hamburgers ground in-house.

- No kidding.

- Which is just basically our trim off of our steaks.

- So this might be ribeye hamburger meat.

- Right, ribeye, sirloin.

That's what you're getting.

- Okay, this is why it's so good.

- Right.

- The chicken fries and the KC steaks on the menu sure do look delicious.

But I can't pass on a good house-ground burger.

(cheerful music) I mean, if you were hungry walking in, you definitely won't be leaving.

So this is the Hangry Heifer.

It's 12 ounces and that's the standard burger.

Let's see if my math is right, that's eight, four, something, dib, dib, dib, dib, dib, dib.

3/4s of a pound.

Normal burgers like quarter pounders.

Oh, ooh, with grilled onions, grilled jalapenos, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, this burger's awesome.

Yeah, bacon hanging outta my mouth, hand-cut fries, hand-battered onion rings.

I mean, they're going to the trouble of grinding their own beef.

And when a place is gonna take that much care just to get the burger right, that's a burger you wanna eat.

I gotta say, this is a Willy good burger.

(chuckles) He's just staring at me from that room over there.

(Willy moos) The eyes of Willy are upon us, but I'm stuffed and it's time to hit the road.

- Hey, I'm in Coleman.

I'm in Coleman I'm in Coleman - None of us know the rest of the lyrics to that song.

- But despite having a county courthouse, you won't find a county square in Coleman.

Instead, this town has one long main street punctuated by some truly iconic businesses.

And the question is not which businesses are iconic, but who?

Welcome to The Owl, the oldest operating pharmacy in Texas, keeping folks healthy since 1923, while simultaneously sabotaging our diets, because they don't just bill prescriptions, they also fill bellies with breakfast, burgers and ice cream.

Old-fashioned Coke float.

It was a little fuller than I thought, that's okay.

Oh, that's good.

Yeah, I love this place, 'cause there's not that many of them left like a true small-town drugstore complete with a soda fountain.

And like Owl Drug's been here for a hundred years, like a hundred years folks have been coming in here doing essentially what I'm doing.

My friends, we're living right today.

(lively music) Now Coleman's charm is hard to miss.

It's a tapestry of small-town Texas, but with big, bold murals, adding new colors and renovations, bringing new businesses and ideas.

For instance, the old Coleman High School is being turned into a family residence.

- Can you imagine being a kid going to school all day and then coming home to school?

- My worst recurring nightmares have to deal with school.

I've got a test coming up that I haven't studied for- - Still?

- ... in a class I haven't gone to.

- I've had that dream before for sure.

- You did really?

- Sure, yes, yes.

- I get lost in the hallways all the time.

- If I was sleeping in the school, I wouldn't get any sleep, 'cause I would have the same nightmare every night.

Like, "Ah, the test bio."

- Y'all are lucky.

I always have a killer trying to kill me in every dream.

- That's weird that we all have that same dream.

- We all shared feelings of impending doom.

- Yeah, but at the end of the day, you fail at class.

- I die.

- Yeah, that's different, a little different.

(gentle music) For decades, downtown Coleman echoed the feelings of doom and gloom as crumbling buildings set vacant, but the tide is turning and now rising with new energy.

So let's set off on foot and see what sort of tripping lies ahead.

What mysterious dark tripping there may be at the Wicked Wick Candle Shop?

(suspenseful music) This has gotta be the creepiest candle store in all of Texas.

I wonder if the scents are like stolen souls and baby doll parts.

Captain Jack Sparrow?

(dramatic music) - Whoa!

- Anything you'd like to light?

- Where did you come from?

(Chet laughs) This is owner Jasmine Speer, and while this may be her inner sanctum, she's no witch, just a candle-loving entrepreneur, and perhaps the weirdest wick in the west.

It sort of is like a little hallway into this.

- It is my little creepy dusty hallway.

- Yeah, but it smells really good.

- It does.

- Yeah, so.

- It does.

Everybody knows they're gonna find something weird in here.

- Jasmine's hand-poured candles capture scents from the eerie to the enchanting, infused with a bit of mystery and maybe even magic.

- All the weird smells have honestly been probably my bestsellers.

Old Books and Fancy People.

It's like the spine of a book with a touch of vanilla perfume at the end.

My bestseller all year round is Stiff Drinking and Smoke.

It's like a charred oak barrel whiskey.

- Both of these are great.

- Thank you.

- And they're definitely not, you're just like- - They're not normal.

- ... outta the box.

That's cool.

- And we have a lot of the normal too, but I love the weird and odd.

- So there's a spot even for the weirdos- - Absolutely.

- ... in small-town Texas.

- Everyone's welcome here, especially the weirdos.

- Yeah, that's right.

Now do they come pre-programmed with an incantation to make people do what you want?

- Right, absolutely.

- When it was, oh, okay.

- So we can include spells in those if you want.

- More productive television crew.

- Right.

- That doesn't eat so much.

- Excuse me.

- All the time.

- All right, let's leave.

- Gotta go.

- Let's go.

- And if you have a special, maybe even weird request, Jasmine will hand-pour your very own candle.

- Chet, you know this is a witch's favorite part.

They put the wick in.

- Oh, I see.

- It's a little chemistry project.

- I think we're gonna be here a while.

You gotta lick it to taste it, make sure it's good.

- I mean, if you want.

- I almost did like a soup pot or something just in the middle, and I need to spread.

- Yes, in the middle.

We'll see how good I did on measuring.

You know how your grandma throws seasoning into her best things and it's like, "How much did you put?"

and it's like, "Just a skoatch."

- Right.

- Hey, look at that.

I'm a measuring queen.

- Boom, oh my gosh.

The truck is gonna smell so much better from now on.

- I mean, that's kind of big for a truck, don't you think?

- Nah, nah.

- Nah, nah, nah.

And in about an hour we'll have a candle.

So let's step literally next door for a trip out of the weird and into the world, through the flavors of Coleman Olive Oil.

Olive oil connoisseur and owner Laura Taft traveled the world as a flight attendant before retiring in Coleman with a new passion.

- I got the bug and I thought, "I wanna share this with everyone."

- Laura believes olive oil ain't just for cooking, it's for living well, full of antioxidants and flavor.

And after sampling the world selection, well, she decided to source her signature oils, not from Italy, but the Mediterranean coast of Tunisia.

- That is great.

- Good stuff.

- And it doesn't coat the mouth like in a big oil balm.

- Exactly.

- Laura stocks over 50 infused oils and about as many balsamic vinegars.

- How are you with a little bit of spice?

- People have different definitions.

I'm doing okay sometimes.

- Now this is a citrus habanero.

You get the citrus first.

- There's a, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That is an orange first.

- And about 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

- Dang it, you're right.

- Ah!

- Oh, that's spicy.

- It gets worse before it gets better.

- Oh, thank you.

- We also have fresh bread if you would like to help.

- Yeah, yeah, let's go ahead and get a piece of that.

Not that I need it, it's just good on bread.

Ah, I need some milk or maybe just dessert.

- Chocolate olive oil.

- I don't believe it, it sounds terrible.

Tastes like cocoa powder.

Begging to be put into brownies.

- Absolutely.

- So do you recommend subbing out olive oil for other oil?

- Yes, that's one reason that we chose the Tunisian oils.

It really lets the infusion shine through.

- And if you wanna dip over to vinegar land, your taste buds will be baffled.

- Peach balsamic vinegar.

- I mean, you could just sip that.

- Yes.

- It tastes like a fresh summer taco.

Wow, that is so good.

And I think- - Chet, we need to cut you off.

- I don't know, more, get these little cups.

Okay, I may be a little lost in the sauce, but Laura's passion gives me passion and I'm bagging that up to take home.

Let's keep exploring.

And just across the street is another delicious form of the humble grape grown right here in Texas and turned into the wines of Watson Vineyards.

Here, every sip tells the story of what happens when lone star spirit meets the art of wine-making.

These are owners, Stephen and Mary Watson.

And Stephen is an army vet who before opening his vineyard, found himself on the front lines.

- So our platoon of tanks led the invasion of Iraq.

- And you were in a tank?

- Oh yeah.

- In an Abram?

- Yeah, yeah.

Our company commander was behind us.

He basically said he stopped counting after we were hit with 25 RPGs, basically when we took Baghdad.

- Talking about war stories.

Anyway, no, truly, thank you for serving.

- Yeah, thanks.

- Stephen realized during his second deployment that he needed to think about life after the army.

So he started studying and even learned wine-making while stationed in California all before coming back to his roots in Coleman.

- We were just planting a vineyard and we're gonna find jobs and we're gonna make it work.

- I had a baby on my hip and planting vines in the soil.

- Literally starting from the bottom.

- Oh yeah, absolutely.

- That's great.

They went all in on the vineyard and pulled from their past to honor their future in Texas wine.

- My grandfather built a farmhouse back in the 1930s.

It's what's on the label for the very first wines that we did.

- Let's get started, if you wanna try some.

- I would love to.

- Yeah.

- This is a viognier.

This is from the high plains.

Really nice soft palette.

- Ooh, the fruitiness in it.

- Yeah.

- That's really good.

Stephen's Texas-grown wines dip and dive across numerous varieties and flavors and each label tells a story.

Yeah, I think I recognized that lady on the label.

- Artist rendition, of course.

- Red 1 Delta.

That sounds like- - Okay there's, yeah.

- So that was my call sign on the invasion.

- Wow.

- It won the gold medal.

It won the best-in-class.

That's an Italian blend.

So it went up against the Italian wineries and beat 'em out.

- Man, well, congratulations y'all.

This is fantastic.

These are all mine.

Crew, you're not thirsty, are you?

Nah.

You can still work the gear with that, right?

- Sure.

- Yeah, yeah, okay.

And if wine wasn't complicated enough, Stephen recently started brewing beer.

Sometimes you rush around on day-trips, you hop from one place to the next and you need a little break.

Just sort of slow down, have a pint with friends.

I wish I had friends.

- I wish we had pizza.

- I mean, come on.

- Oh, y'all are there.

That's right, y'all all right?

I keep forgetting there's people watching me.

You know, I do love my crew and yes, they are my friends, even if a bit stinky at times.

(upbeat music) I knew this would come in handy.

Y'all stink.

Have you ever a candle before Daniel?

I'm trying my best.

- Drive, you pay attention to the road.

- Car candle's a thing yet?

- They should be.

- They should be.

- Yeah.

- You hold it for a little bit.

- Did anybody bring marshmallows?

- You wanna toasteresis.

- Toasteresis, let's see here.

It's a slow melt, I think it's what it is.

- Some serious witchcraft stuff back here.

How done do you like yours?

(Chet laughs) Yeah, it's almost like hot chocolate in a cup right there.

- Why are the windows fogged up?

- It's full of heat and smoke.

- But it smells way better in here.

- It does definitely smell better in here.

- Kids, don't try this at home.

(lively music) Y'all know I like to spend some time outside on every day-trip.

But outdoors in this part of Texas is all about hunting on private ranches.

However, if you know where to look, you can find nature everywhere.

All right, so this is Hords Creek Lake and you know it's a little cold to swim, but hey, a little fresh air never hurt anybody.

It's a great place to cast the line, hit the water or just stare off into the distance, like you're in some deep country zone.

You got the calming water all around you and the breeze, you know, and you come out here on the right day, you might have this entire lake to yourself.

Did you bring a reel?

- Would it matter if I did?

- No, no.

There could be a million fish in here, doesn't matter.

Now I know the water this time of year is a little bit, we'll say refreshing, but hey, I came all this way.

That's not too cold to wade.

But first off, I'd appreciate these socks right there.

Where's my boot horn?

Ah, thank you.

He's multipurpose.

Get yourself a buddy that can run sound and do all kinds of other special tasks.

She says, safety first.

- One designed for your childlike attitude or- - Oh, snap.

Don't think that will fit on me.

Safety first, that's why they provide life-jackets, you know, you can never be too safe.

Ooh, ha, ho-ho!

Okay, it is cold I had all that healthy olive oil and a cold plunge in one day.

My system is gonna be so healthy.

Go to my happy place.

Wait, I'm day-tripping.

This is my happy place.

Why in the heck am I doing this?

This is not fun, it's cold.

Ah, ah.

I'll leave the cold plunge in to all you crazy people.

I need to thaw out back in town and find a cozy dinner.

Some of y'all are probably like me and a bit surprised that everything happening in Coleman.

Now, let me assure you, none of this popped up overnight.

It took a visionary who saw the charm of this historic town.

That visionary was Robert Williamson, who left a life in Dallas as a fashion photographer and director to open amazing restaurants in Coleman, just like this one, Black Cur Steakhouse.

So what did you see in Coleman that got the fire burning in you?

- The beauty of the land, the people are friendly, reinforced my feeling about humanity.

I remember I had experiences at the bank, withdraw money and they never asked for an ID.

I don't know that- - That's amazing.

- Don't know if you wanna say that.

- A lot of people just got a whole lot, bunch of ideas about bank fraud on TV.

But that's the way small towns were and I'm glad to hear that they still are.

Robert started with a retreat and restaurant outside of town called Rancho Loma, a place I've stayed multiple times.

That led to a winery and Rancho Pizzeria back in town serving some of the best handmade pies in Texas.

He's now added a craft barbecue joint called Smoke Smith, and of course this steakhouse.

- We decided to come back and try to change this community.

- You know what downtown's missed for so long was just places for people together and have a shared experience.

- Food is the key.

And my philosophy was food, wine, and conversation.

But you gotta have it all going.

- Robert's brought all of his creative juices to bear on the restaurants, both in the design and on the menu.

But this is Lori, his business partner and culinary mastermind along with a whole heap of apps.

Walk me through what we have.

- Okay, fried crispy Brussels sprouts.

On the board is milk bread.

- Just pull it apart, there you go.

- I feel like I'm in a nice steakhouse though.

- No, use your hand, that's... - A little pinch of salt.

Yeah, you're good, you're good.

I think you washed your hands.

- All right.

- Oh my gosh.

How do you not eat the whole thing before dinner comes out?

- That is some beef tartare.

- Tartare means raw.

- It does.

- Yes.

- Oh man, that's so good, incredible.

- And then this is an avocado hearts of palm salad.

- Balsamic, so it has a little sweetness to it.

Pick at it with your fork, like- - Ooh gosh, that's good.

It's not hard to find a steak in a small town, but this place and all their restaurants are simply on another level and truly bringing something different to small-town Texas.

Yeah, y'all built a few restaurants.

Bigger than that, y'all built a community in Coleman and inspired a community.

What's been Coleman's overall reception, like, "Hey, open more restaurants"?

- I think we're done.

- You think?

- Yeah.

- I've got one more idea.

- No.

(Chet laughs) - I'm done.

- Robert's still building.

So the next decade looks pretty bright for Coleman.

- Yeah, we need people here.

- People to move here and visit here, eat here.

- Yeah, come to Coleman.

- I'm doing my part, Robert.

- Yes.

- I'm doing my part.

As the projector plays vintage images of Coleman and flames kiss tender cuts of beef, I think it's time for me to eat a proper dinner, a beef tenderloin sitting beside roasted potatoes and pureed carrots.

This is definitely not your small-town country steak, I'll tell you that much.

Deep-fried parsnips on top.

Ooh, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo, it's a perfect medium rare.

It's the seasonings, it's the attention to every detail.

You gotta be up there with the most tender steaks I've ever had in my life.

That's magic.

You know how when you eat something, you love it so much that it makes you slightly sad, because you know you're not gonna to eat it again for a very long time, 'cause I don't know the next time I'm gonna be in Coleman, so I'm gonna eat this very, very slowly.

I mean, you would never expect the collection of restaurants like Robert and Lori, have built the elevated food, the design, it's all top-notch.

But then it also feels very comfortable.

Like that's the best of both worlds, right?

A steak like this could easily be the exclamation point to any trip.

But in Coleman, we're going to keep the magic going.

I'm blaming the candle, because we're setting off in search of magical, mythical creatures at Jackalope's Golf and Games.

Jackalope's are rare, but even more rare is blacklight mini-golf in a 100-year-old building.

Or the other shenanigans that make this the best family hang in town.

But why simply play golf when you can play everything on their giant simulators?

This is owner Jennifer Hansen.

- So what would you like to play?

- I mean, look at my options.

Cornhole, Quarterback, Wildwest.

Oh, come on.

- I think you should do zombie dodge ball.

- Yes.

- There you go.

- These zombies won't know what hit 'em.

Ooh, ah, spin move.

Y'all they're coming from everywhere.

- You gotta hurry.

- I won, I mean- - That's a good score.

- I'm retired, I'm retired.

Put me on the leaderboard for the rest of time.

Maybe I should have been a cowboy.

(gun fires) I mean, like, it's hard, but nothing brings out true friendship like some friendly competition.

(crew member screams) Wrong sport.

(ball thuds) - Oh!

- It's good.

Greg, what are you doing?

Laces out.

It was the hold.

What are you... I look like an idiot out here.

Man, I can't look like a fool on my own TV show.

Time to golf it out.

All right y'all, it's time for the real competition, blacklight mini-golf.

And we gotta pick teams, but I knew they would be uneven, and so I recruited a ringer.

- What?

- You could bet your boots.

- That's it.

- What?

- Let's go, mom.

- I'm just here, 'cause I love you.

- Let the games begin.

(upbeat music) You're good at this, right?

- What?

- Well, this is what you did back in your day.

We could still win this.

Tap, tap, taparoo.

- Yay.

- All right.

- Woo-woo!

- Tappy, tap, tap.

- Yeah.

- All right.

Could be the spirit of competition or maybe the spirit of the mythical Jackalope that has brought us straight down the rabbit hole.

Remember the Alamo!

All right, the game is neck and neck.

Mom's gotta pull off a miracle.

If you make a hole in one right here, we win this whole thing.

- Feeling good.

- We're all counting on you.

- Good, good, ready?

(ball taps) (Chet roars) - In your face!

- Eat dirt.

- Suzan?

My mom's hardcore.

And now our win is documented forever.

But the real win is spending the day in Coleman.

And whether you're here for some of the best beef in Texas to sample the crafty goods or to just meet the Texas-friendly folks, Coleman's got soul man.

And that alone is worth the trip.

Hey, you're the hero.

I think you should take the sign off.

- We'll see all of y'all out on the road, buy you some???

amigos.

- It's not bad, good job.

- The "Daytripper" is made possible by Rudy's, real Texas barbecue.

Shipping nationwide at rudys.com.

Karbach Brewing Company from Houston, Texas, makers of Karbach Lager, a beer that is proudly partnered with Don't Mess with Texas, please dispose responsibly.

Visit Georgetown, where big ideas meet small town charm.

Georgetown, the most beautiful town square in Texas.

Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, protection and peace of mind for Texans since 1952.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick in Georgetown.

Making Texas road trips possible for over 50 years.

Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick, Texas True.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, Texas' local bottler providing the Lone Star state with a variety of Coca-Cola products.