North Texas Daily

As someone who is new to Denton, I have been exploring the restaurants around town and trying new things. 

But as a poor college student, finding fun and more importantly cheap places to eat and hang out is not the easiest. These are some of the places I checked out that are pretty cheap for what they give you and are incredibly close to campus.

I first went to the bar and grill, Cool Beans, with my roommate Jake after moving in some of our junk into our new apartment. We were both tired, hungry and in need of a beer. 

Cool Beans

Cool Beans has a great atmosphere and it has a classic bar/pub look with service that is better than some sit-down restaurants in my hometown Fort Worth. The food was pretty cheap with a classic burger costing five dollars. I got myself a Texas burger and I thought it was awesome. For those who don’t enjoy or agree with meat, they do have a line of vegetarian burgers. Cool Beans is also a great bar for 21-and-ups because they have great drink deals every day which adds some suspense to your visit, depending on the day.

The Taste

Denton is not known for having a wide selection of ethnic food, but if you love Korean food like I do, then The Taste is for you. It’s a small hole-in-the-wall place that you could very easily miss, but despite being right next to a gas station, the food was awesome. I got the Korean beef which is one of the more expensive items on the menu at 10 bucks per plate, but what it comes with is more than worth it. Getting a plate of juicy beef, rice, soup, fishcakes and kimchi was more than enough to fill me up after not eating all day. There is a wide variety of food, from barbecue to bulgogi and there are options for vegetarians as well. If you like asian food, then don’t miss out on The Taste.

Killer Tacos

Of course this wouldn’t be a Texas town without a taco place, and Killer Tacos really fills that role. The store is based in a house a couple of blocks away from campus. They have a wide selection of tacos with wild names such as the “slap your mama” taco, and the “Thai me down” taco. It was a solid homemade taco that really held a robust flavor that really impressed me. With most of their tacos being less than four dollars per taco, and their quesadillas and burritos being around six dollars, there really is no better deal on good Tex-Mex. 

Free Play

Lastly we have Free Play, which is an arcade not too far from campus. I loved playing video games growing up, so having an actual arcade to go again was a dream come true. They have a standard six dollar entry fee and after that all the games are free to play. There’s beer so those who are 21 or older can grab their friends and hit up the arcade after a long day of class or work. There are policies for those who are younger than 18 and 21 that restricts hours during the week and the weekend, but it is only after 9 p.m., so there is plenty of time to check out the wide selection of games they have to offer. They claim to have 60+ arcade games and pinball, which is a lot of games to play for only six dollars. I love it there and you can probably find me at the Street Fighter II machine working on my combos. 

Featured Image: Cool Beans on Fry Street on August 6, 2019. Photo by Kara Dry