Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Exploring McKinney, TX

 This weekend we grabbed the camera and pointed the mini-van north to McKinney. This is a really neat, historic town and the main road approaching  downtown is lined with colonial style homes with turrets, large porches, and tall trees. I half expected a young Haley Mills to bop down the street in braids. 

Our first stop was the farmers market at Chestnut Square. The buildings of the historic village provide shade for market. Seeing as this market is open on Saturdays year-round, the shade is big advantage in the summer heat. 

We learned a bit about local agriculture, discovered 'Three Happy Cows', a local dairy that makes amazing yogurt, and heard some great live music. 



After the market we walked back toward the main stretch of shops. If you're big into antiquing then there's a lot to love. For us, the grail was discovering Loco Cow Poke Salsa Shop, pictured to the left. 

Featuring flavors and heat from all across the state, this little shop is a wonderfully interactive introduction to the tastes of Texas. Each day they feature several hot sauces, salsas, dipping sauces, nut butters, and more that are available to taste. They also sell a wide variety of rubs. As far as we could tell everything was made in the state with primarily Texan ingredients. Happy husband walked out the door with a bag full of inspiration for his next trip to the butcher. 

Our next stop was the Landon Winery.  When looking at places to visit in McKinney, I had mistakenly thought this was an actually winery, which was part of the attraction for the stop. Instead it is a lovely wine-tasting room. While not the picturesque vineyard I'd been hoping for, the experience was still fun and the wines, our first Texas wines, were surprisingly good and the bartender was a hoot. 

We finished the day with a light lunch at Rick's Chophouse and then hopped in the car for a little more exploring and then turned toward home.

1 comment:

  1. Funny you should mention Pollyanna, as it was filmed a few blocks from my apartment. And if you're looking for picturesque vineyards and farmers markets, I've got those too. Sounds like you and Tex Eck should have moved HERE. :) Although my hubs would be in heaven at that salsa/spice shop.

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