“The password will be on the receipt. Take a right into the alley and look for the door with the mask.” I’d just finished a nightcap at a cigar-and-cocktail bar in charming downtown Bryan, twin city to Texas A&M University’s College Station, when the server asked if my husband and I had tried out the speakeasy around the corner. My long-ago memories of nights around the A&M campus are littered with shots at the Dry Bean, in Northgate, and dinner at the Dixie Chicken. No, I had not tried out the speakeasy.
Mashing a four-digit code into the keypad of an alley door was not how I was expecting things to go that weekend, which was meant to be a quick family trip to see a friend’s production of Cinderella at the Theatre Company of Bryan–College Station. Word of Mouth, the speakeasy—one of two in as many blocks—was a surprise, as were its light-up menus and Thursday-night burlesque show. (And that’s not even the only burlesque show in town.) College Station’s population has nearly doubled since 2000, and continued growth is expected for the entire Bryan–College Station region as graduates stick around and new business and cultural developments attract transplants. Indeed, these formerly cozy twin cities turned booming metro have much to offer new residents and weekend travelers.
And as hordes descend upon the area this fall for the long-awaited revival of the Aggie-Longhorn rivalry, they might find it’s worth making a long weekend of it. Here’s a handy guide for where to eat, play, shop, and stay in Bryan–College Station.
See + Do
Pop outside for a cool midmorning stroll through charming downtown Bryan and suddenly, you’ve become one of those Texans who uses “antique” as a verb. Bird’s Nest Gifts & Antiques, with its treasure trove of vintage pearl snaps and classic candies, is a good place to start. Then grab a fresh brew—and admire the historic building’s architecture and art—at Tavo Coffee Co. before heading over to browse the bounty of used and rare books at Ed’s Bookshop. The shop specializes in Texana and the West, but I found its twentieth-century literature offerings of note and grabbed a Modern Library imprint of Les Misérables. Tell Ed where you’re taking your precious purchase, and he’ll add the location to his map of “where books go,” chronicling the extent of “what a little 450 square foot store can do.”
Burn off some of that extra shot of espresso with a hike through College Station’s Lick Creek Park. The trails are mostly flat (this is the Brazos Valley, after all) and on the shorter side, but you can link them together (or not!) for a lovely stroll exploring native plants, such as the spiral staircase–esque Navasota ladies’ tresses. Don’t miss Butterfly Alley—which is exactly what it sounds like—and check out the park’s nature center.
Century Square is the new(ish, think 2016) hub for the eat-drink-play crowd in College Station. If you’re on the hunt for a Kendra Scott bauble or the latest Lululemon it-shade leggings, the open-air mall is a great spot to roam, and it offers plenty of options for a quick meal. (Texas Monthly’s Dining Guide praises Porters’ pork chop and filet, but I’d recommend going for weekend brunch, where you can grab jalapeño chicken and waffles or bananas Foster pancakes.)
Dine + Drink
Texas is now the second-most-visited wine region in the United States, with nearly five hundred wineries. That wasn’t the case back in 1977, when Messina Hof in Bryan became the state’s fourth winery. In the nearly fifty years since, founders Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo have gone from experimenting with one acre of grapes to producing more than 60,000 cases of wine a season. The original Bryan tasting room and wine bar (other locations are in Fredericksburg, Grapevine, and Richmond) offers a variety of options to sample the winery’s extensive list.
Hush & Whisper Distilling Company goes heavy on the speakeasy vibe at its elegantly appointed, spacious lounge in the Varisco Building, in downtown Bryan. You can sip a gin rickey and take in the scene from the rich leather couches, admiring the brass fixtures and deep-hued accents surrounding the massive, yet somehow decor-appropriate, industrial still. Hush & Whisper distills gin, vodka, and white whiskey (its first batches of whiskey are currently aging in barrels) and crafts its own mixers, including a tasty house-made tonic.
Downtown Bryan is also home to some of the area’s best dinner spots. Elia Cafe Tapas Bar tops the list. Housed in the Old Bryan Marketplace, Elia stuns as much for its airy and welcoming design as for its menu and impressive wine list. From its traditional Spanish dishes such as albondigas, paella, and patatas bravas to its simple omelets and salads, Elia maintains a high level of execution. (It also somehow made my picky eight-year-old a fan of duck eggs.)
Down the street, visit another top pick, Ronin, known for its farm-to-table menu and family-style dining tables. I now know it as the place to get a grilled pompano as big as your head. (It was delicious.) Located in the renovated Ice House on Main, the restaurant glows amid its dim lighting, wood floors, and exposed brick—a cozy gathering spot.
Stay
The Texas country classic “This Old Porch” is an ode to the unique friendship born from the real-time nostalgia of small-town college days. In the song, A&M alums Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Jr. live out that friendship in part on Main Street in downtown Bryan, over the LaSalle Hotel’s “greasy plate of enchiladas / With lots of cheese and onions” washed down with cold iced tea. The LaSalle, built in 1928 near the old train depot, still stands, though its newest iteration is a far cry from the diner depicted in the song. (Its lobby restaurant, Station 36, does serve a sweet tea–glazed chicken breast; no greasy enchiladas to be found.) Renovations of the fifty-room boutique hotel, along with its basement speakeasy, the Boiler Room, were completed in September. Its location on Main Street, across from the historic open-air Palace Theater—also name-checked in Lovett’s song—makes the LaSalle a convenient jumping-off point for walking to a handful of downtown Bryan shops and restaurants.
If the intersection of accessibility and funk is more your thing, take a ten-minute drive from the A&M campus to Hotel McCoy, just off Texas Highway 6. The hotel group (with locations in Pullman, Washington, and Tuscon, Arizona) has transformed an old-school motor lodge into the vibiest stay in the area. Color explodes from all corners of the courtyard, and enclosed within are a saltwater pool, a giant chessboard, a mushroom sculpture garden, a pickleball court, an adult-size teeter-totter, and other sporadic delights. The hotel hosts a monthly art walk and live music each Friday and Saturday, and guests can grab a Texas-made brew or glass of wine from the all-day lobby bar.
The Bryan–College Station metro offers plenty of other chain hotel options, as well as higher-end spots such as the Stella and the George. A convenient option for an extended stay is one of the many downtown Bryan loft rentals just above Main Street’s attractions—including the Word of Mouth speakeasy and its burlesque show.
