Best Places to Drink in Texas

Our Texas Issue (March/April 2013) is dedicated to drinking in the Lone Star state, and for our cover story we take a road trip through Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, drinking in all each city’s coffee, cocktail, wine, beer scenes have to offer. But beyond the big cities, there’s still plenty of Texas to savor, so here are our picks for 10 delicious side trips around the state.

CLOSEST TO DALLAS

Bloom’s Candy & Soda Pop ShopSweet tooth alert! Birch beer, sarsaparilla, fruit sodas and candy, candy, candy—if it fizzes or comes in a candy wrapper, chances are this sweets shop on Carrollton’s Main Street carries it (and if not they’ll do what they can to special-order it). 104 W. Main St., Carrollton; 972-416-5230; candycarrollton.com

Palace Coffee CompanyAbout 20 minutes south of Amarillo, the four-square-mile town of Canyon serves up some superb coffee thanks to the Palace situated right on the city square. Expect single-origin Evocation coffees prepared via Chemex, pourover, Aeropress and French press, as well as homemade scones, sandwiches and sweet treats. 420 15th St., Canyon; palacecoffeeco.com

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & BarA name like Whiskey Cake is enough to entice, and this Plano hot spot delivers with whiskey-spiked cocktails, high-end pub grub (think fried green tomatoes, mesquite-grilled mussels and duck fat fries) and, as its name suggests, boozy cake. 3601 Dallas Pkwy., Plano; 972-993-2253; whiskey-cake.com

World of BeerIn between Dallas and Fort Worth in the city of Arlington, the menu at World of Beer offers up a galaxy’s worth of options including 50 rotating draft lines and another 500 or so bottled brews. Pop in for live music on the weekends, or check on dates for its occasional meet-the-brewer nights and beer pairing dinners. 5005 S. Cooper St., Arlington; 817-471-1101; wobusa.com

CLOSEST TO HOUSTON

Another Time Soda FountainLess than an hour southwest of Houston, this fountain features old-timey phosphates, powdered malt shakes and fountain floats alongside patty melts and burgers and fries—just be sure to save room for the banana split, which weighs in at a full pound.800 Third St., Rosenberg; 281-232-2999; anothertimesodafountain.com

Beerfoot Beach BarGrab a frosty pint and a window seat for a view of the Gulf at this Galveston seawall beer bar, which offers more than 100 different frothy brews (and complimentary peanuts).  2816 Ave. R 1/2, Galveston; beerfootisland.com

CLOSEST TO SAN ANTONIO

Soda Pops Patio Grill & BarEvery town needs its own retro diner, and this one on Boerne’s historic Main Street fits the bill with homemade malts, sodas and shakes (made with Texas’ Blue Bell ice cream, no less). But the retro roots go deeper still—Soda Pops recently added a hot rod shop to the roster, and plan to launch a dedicated soda fountain later this summer. 103 N. Main St., Boerne; 830-331-8799; sodapopsboerne.com

Stagno’s Coffee Shop & Soda FountainFrom Cuvée-roasted cappuccinos to ice cream floats to handmade sodas with syrups and seltzer, this downtown San Angelo café offers it all. Try a traditional egg cream, or a Black Cow soda with chocolate and root beer syrups, seltzer and vanilla ice cream. 221 S. Chadbourne, San Angelo; 325-659-8999; stangoscoffeeshop.com

CLOSEST TO AUSTIN

The Pink PigIf your Texas travel plans including exploring the Fredricksburg Wine Road 290 (and it should), then plan a stop by this newly minted bakery and café where you can sip from a mix of local and international wines while noshing on sweet and savory plates that are perfect for any time of day. 6266 E. Hwy 290, Fredricksburg; 830-990-8800; pinkpigtexas.com