Nice second location for Cherry Street! Beer is good as expected; had a Hefeweizen, Triple IPA, and a Belgian Tripel while here; everything was tasty for its style. I’ve been to Cherry Street before but only at the Cumming location, so knew what to expect. The beer never disappoints. The original location has a bar vibe to it, but this is much more upscale. The contrast is nice as you don’t want to do the same thing twice, but hard to beat a quality bar vibe. Sadly, the bar was packed, so sat at a two person table. Abbie was my server and she was very friendly and attentive; definitely elevated the experience. Also ordered the ‘chicken lips’, which are fried egg rolls with chicken. They are on the spicy side and pretty enjoyable but not quite 5-stars. I really hate the name ‘chicken lips’ though. Good spot that I’m glad I checked out, and will be back sooner than later.

Great atmosphere in the heart of the Halcyon- plenty of seating (omit weekend nights) and things to do for the kids. I can only rate the drinks as I haven’t tried the food, but there’s a large selection on draft including seasonal brews and cocktails. The summer Tiki Bar menu offers options unique to their usual, however it’s fairly limited (offering half as many sours). The dog friendly patio makes drink ordering a breeze, I only wish that they would take advantage of the window to keep traffic flowing better. Higher prices than an average brewery at $7-8 per 16oz. Regardless, I highly recommend the Guava Lemon Cake Sour (5% ABV) for its unique flavor and strong tart.

We got take-out from Szechuan Chinese Restaurant in Copperas Cove on a Thursday in our quest to find good Chinese food in the Central Texas area. The restaurant is located well off the main road in a large strip mall. Except for the sign, from the outside it doesn’t even look like a place to eat. Inside, it looks like what you would expect of a Chinese restaurant. The owner was working at the front counter and was very friendly. We got the Bo Bo Platter (for 2) as an appetizer. It has (2 of each) egg rolls, beef steak (sticks), fried shrimp, BBQ ribs, crab puffs, fried chicken wings. The egg rolls and fried shrimp were okay, but we wouldn’t get them again. Both the beef steak and BBQ ribs had good flavor but were overcooked and not worth getting. The crab puffs were our favorite and we also like the chicken wings. Next time, we will only get an order of crab puffs and skip the rest. For our main courses, we got the House Special Lo Mein and the Orange Chicken. The House Special Lo Mein has chicken, beef, and shrimp. The Lo Mein had good flavor and just the right amount of sauce. We both liked it and would get it again. The Orange Chicken was okay. The flavoring was right on, but there was way too much sauce and breading on the chicken. It sometimes seemed like we were eating only breading and no chicken! The fried rice that came with it was good. Finding a good Chinese restaurant is challenging in Central Texas without going down to Georgetown, Round Rock, or even Austin, where there are a lot more options. Szechuan Chinese Restaurant is a family owned and operated local business, and the owner told us that she has been in this location for 30 years. I have been pretty critical of some of the food, but overall, I recommend that you give this local business a try. I’m confident that you will find something that you would like to eat here (without having to drive all the way to Austin!).

Been in Cove for 3 years and never tried this place, wish I’d tried it sooner. I’ve tried the Szechuan and kung pao chicken, as well as the chop suey. Excellent, and the portions are huge. It’s really for take out, (looks like it used to be full service restaurant years ago) but they have tables and the owner will bring out plastic plates and forks if you want to eat there. I go once a week or so and she has a regular stream of folks picking up food or sitting eating at the tables. The owner is very friendly, but she is the only one serving up front, so if she’s not there when you walk in, ring the bell on the counter or yell - she’ll come right out 😀