San Antonio - Merged topics

[Rosie]

A friend asked about dining in San Antonio. Do you have any suggestions. I loved it there and ate at Boudro's. Las Canarias is another suggestion.If you have a chance ask about a place about 1/2 hour out of town called Blue Bonnet. It is a cowboy bar the size of a football field with a rodeo inside of it. We had a blast there. There is a bull you can ride and the cowboy dancing is fabulous to watch.

[Ed DeMarco]

For authentic Mexican must go to Mi Tierra. It started out as a 24/7 bakery with strolling Mariachi's years ago. Now has become a large retaurant (still strolling Mariachi's-ŭ/request)Mixed crowd, Gringo's and Mexican/Americans. Plenty of native mexican dishes, but also Tex/Mex for those less adventuresome.

[DFW_Dave]

In San Antonio, if your wallet is full, go see Andrew Weissman at La Reve.

[southern girl]

La Fogata...killer margaritas...great food....chips and salsa yummmm...

[frankj]

Some say Le Reve is the best restaurant in the entire state.

[LonghornGal]

If I knew how to work the search engine properly I wouldn't be posting this thread...

Next week I'll be in San Antonio and most likely need to round up dinner most of the nights. Anyone got any mid-priced or cheapie restaurants that I should check out while there? Never been to SA before so bring on the tourist traps and the holes in the wall!

Oh, and I'll eat anything so no worries on food types.

Thanks!

[Mayhaw Man]

I'm sure that you will get lots of advice-

Mi Tierras as a late night thing can be wonderful (good anytime, but the late night crowd is really fun) and it is a hellof a late night snack. Superb Huevos Rancheros.

Los Barrios probably has better food than Mi Tierras IMO

[theabroma]

Mayhaw Man's right about the food being better at Los Barrios, but ...

Mi Tierra's, especially on the weekends at about 3am was the best people watchin' place for 5 states around: good migas or huevos rancheros, nice pan dulce, and an incredible mix of San Antonio PD's finest having coffee and doughnuts next to a group of San Antonio's finest drag queens. It was a portrait on velvet with sequins of 'The Peaceable Kingdom."

A little more expensive, but not overly so is the Liberty Bar on Josephine St. just west of Hwy 281 - it's not too far from the old Pearl Brewery. Quail in green mole is wonderful, they have freshly baked white and wheat bread, wonderful rosemary scented, olive oil brushed grilled potato slabs, and my favorite salad: cress & arugula, bosc pears and stilton cheese. Sometimes for dessert there's lemon curd with rose geranium shortbreads. They also have a great bar, they used to serve grilled calf's sweetbreads, and besides all that, the building, an old German dry goods store, leans a an angle that would give the Pisan tower vertigo.

Theabroma

PS: This gives me an excuse to call an old friend in SA and see what his latest 'finds' are. If there's anything major, I'll let you know.

T.

[Captain Hongo]

All right, let's get down here and down home. First, A.H. Burritos, home of the soft tacos. This is a hole in the wall that started the soft movement and the basis of that is the taco shell, bursting with its own flavor and just right for the outstanding fillings they have. It's at 516 East Houston, between the Alamo and River Walk.

Then there's the Zuni Grill, a higher class tourist trap on the River Walk at 223 Losoya. Take the shortcut across from the Alamo, next to the Visitors Center down to the River and turn left, go about 4 stores and it's at the first bridge. The Prickly Pear cactus Margaritas are great and so are the crab cakes and the sashimi nachos.

My last "real" San Antonio favorite is the Pig Stand at 1508 Broadway. This is about 1 1/2 miles from the Alamo. Home of the "authentic" chicken fried steak. "nuff said.

In a thread about Biga On The Bank I reported a dinner spending big bucks.But you can file it under "special occasions", for now.

Have fun.

Edited June 6, 2004 by Captain Hongo (log)

[Timo]

oh, i agree with theabroma and would give liberty bar a shot, if only to see the building! this month they've been knocking down bits and pieces of that brewery across the street... (don't worry - just the ugly parts so far) not sure where that is going... but i think the bar will stay.

i also like mexican manhattan; there is an entrance on st. mary's as well as on the riverwalk. it has much more character than your average riverwalk joint.

[KatieLoeb]

It's interesting that this thread should come up today. I just found out that an old acquaintance of mine is a partner at Ocean Star Seafood & Grill in San Antonio and I was meaning to post an inquiry. Any opinions on this place? The reviews I've managed to find online have been mostly quite positive. I might be helping my old buddy with some wine list suggestions since I have experience with doing the list for a seafood house. I'm just waiting for him to e-mail me the menu so I have a better idea about the cuisine. If anyone has any feedback about the restaurant or the wine list I'd love to hear about it. Hopefully so will LonghornGal.

[Scott -- DFW]

For something regionally distinctive, get "puffy tacos" somewhere (e.g., Henry's).

Scott

[LonghornGal]

Well, I'm back and I did go to La tierra - something to be said for a place that can seat a crowd of 13 wihtout reservations in the time it takes to order a margarita at the bar. Of course, it was raining cats and dogs so there wasn't a huge roaming dinner crowd. The food was tasty but I would have liked a bit more zip to the salsa. I had fun examining all the mexican-style pastries at the panaderia. :)

Where else did we go... oh, the Aramark-run cafeteria (decent BBQ chicken and brisket, tasty grilled veggie wrap, avoid the stir fry like the plague), Sonic (mmmm Cherry Limeade), and catered BBQ. Also, the Radisson hotel restaurant had the worst evening service I'd ever experienced. The morning crew was great (a decent edible hot breakfast buffet that was regularly freshened up) but the afternoon / evening crew took 15 minutes to bring out some ranch dressing for my salad, and the appetizer came out after we'd finished eating the entrees.

I'm glad to have y'all's suggestions as we go back again in October. I'll hit the "real" taco places. What the heck is a puffy taco???

[twilight]

Hi,

I am going to SA in two weeks. Does anyone have non-Tex-Mex recs, as my mother does not like tacos and such? Also any brunch recommendations? Close to Trinity U would be preferrable.

Thanks!

[mighty quinn]

man, liberty bar-that brings back some serious memories. i had my first celas wheat beer there ("make 'em jealous, drink a celas") what i came to realize was that it wasn't just me leaning after a few too many, it's the entire restaurant tilting!

[spoonbread]

I agree The Liberty Bar is an excellent place to eat. Don't be put off by the "leaning" building, the place has great food. Also Cappy's and Boardwalk Bistro are in that area, they are both great.

[bobdavis]

I just found out that an old acquaintance of mine is a partner at Ocean Star Seafood & Grill in San Antonio and I was meaning to post an inquiry. Any opinions on this place?

They just opened, but I know the chef is formerly of the Fig Tree, and Las Canarias - two of the best places in San Antonio. The owners have nice places (Formossa Garden), so it should be good. I haven't had a chance to eat there yet, but it's on the list.

They're just off 410 at Broadway, I think. (outside the loop)

[bobdavis]

Hi,

I am going to SA in two weeks. Does anyone have non-Tex-Mex recs, as my mother does not like tacos and such? Also any brunch recommendations? Close to Trinity U would be preferrable.

Thanks!

The Liberty Bar isn't too far from Trinity, and Ciao Lavanderia, which is a really good little Italian restaurant, is just up the road a few minutes. I don't know a lot about brunch though - sorry. Just the "Champagne Brunch" kind of things at restaurants like Las Canarias (French regional food - not Mexican - which I think hovers in the >$35/person range, but it's very good).

If you feel the need for a very good milk shake, go to the Olmos Pharmacy on McCullough (I think it's at the corner of McCullough and Hildebrand, which will put it just a few blocks West from Trinity). Nice place. Turn right on McCullough, then right at the traffic circle, and you're at Ciao.

Nice little burger joint? Take Hildebrand east to Broadway, then turn right (South). Cheesy Janes is right across from the big SBC building. Good burgers, dogs, and shakes. For even older style diner type food, go to the Pig Stand (especially on a Friday night - they have hot rods!). It is the oldest drive in restaurant in the US (something like 87 years old?). I just ate there this past week end. For the real San Antonio burger experience, you have to go to Chris Madrid's though - eat the nacho burger (or is it called the bean burger...). Great stuff!

Have fun!

[Timo]

phew, thank you pat! i can now eat my puffy tacos in peace - without worrying that they were contaminated with baking powder.

i second the suggestion for earl abel's. i found it very creepy eating there, because it was like it doesn't age. the light fixtures, the mirrored walls, even the waitresses look like they have been there since it opened. (and i mean that in a good way!) so creepy, but extremely fun.

[twilight]

Thanks so much for the Liberty bar rec! My sister had seen the restaurant from the outside and was skeptical, but the inside was beautiful, the menu impressive, and the food delicious. It certainly made up for the mediocre meal we had at Sushi Zushi. We did not get to Ciao Lavanderia since it was closed on Sunday; maybe next time...

Edited June 29, 2004 by twilight (log)

[spoonbread]

Too bad Ocean Stars' chef got a mediocre reveiw in the local SA paper. I've heard some good things about him and Ocean Star.

[KatieLoeb]

Too bad Ocean Stars' chef got a mediocre reveiw in the local SA paper. I've heard some good things about him and Ocean Star.

Thanks Spoonbread. I received the menu via e-mail recently (and it looks delicious!) and I'm working on some wine list advice for my friend. Unfortunately since what's available to me here in PA may be unavailable in TX and vice versa, I'll just be making "categorical" suggestions. But I hope it's useful to them and helps with the merciless reviewers!

[bobdavis]

As a follow up - I ate at the Ocean Star on Saturday. In truth, I wasn't impressed. I ordered the "Flash Fried Rainbow Trout" after tiring of trying to find something that looked like a real Pacific Rim/Fusion dish. It was ok. The fish was a little mushy, the mashed potatoes (yeah - that's Pacific Rim fusion - mashed potatoes!) didn't taste like much and the asparagus was cooked too much for my liking, but it wasn't bad.

There was a hair in the tempura batter on one of the pieces of fish.

My wife had grilled lemon pepper shrimp skewers on saffron rice, which, again, was ok. Not great, but not bad.

Everything needed salt - and there was none on the table. No soy sauce or any kind of condiments for that matter except for the sugar packets for our iced tea.

I was looking forward to some Asian influenced seafood - but got nicely presented original recipes that needed a little work to be really good. Nothing was flat out bad, but nothing was "Wow!" good. The service was pretty good though. Our waiter wasn't the most experienced, but he was attentive, as was the manager.

Here's a full review from Ron Bechtol. I think he's trying a little to make the review good - comments like:

That Paprocki has had little or no Asian experience might even be considered a plus in a fusion situation that, according to the menu, "is an open-minded approach to food which blends flavors and cuisine of the Pacific Islands and the Orient with a dash of California freshness and Southwestern spice ... the chef's imagination [is] your passport ..."

In short, if I were with some people that wanted to go there, I'd go again, but I wouldn't be the one to suggest it.

[erin360]

My parents will be visiting San Antonio at the end of January. I live in Austin, and the only restaurants I've visited in San Antonio have been pretty bad. Any recommendations? My parents live in Minnesota, so reasonably priced Tex-Mex or Mexican would be especially appreciated.

[pamjsa]

If you're looking for something on the Riverwalk, I'm a big fan of the Zuni Grill. Very reasonably priced, and they have a wide variety of options. The spinach and shrimp quesadilla is particularly good, as are the blue corn enchiladas. Boudro's is also on the Riverwalk--good food, but overpriced, imho.

Beyond the Riverwalk--Mad Hatter is the King William district. It's a funky little place with good sandwiches and breakfast stuff. Beto's Comida Latina, on Broadway, has excellent empanadas and fish tacos. They're famous for having everything "hecho a mano" daily.

If you know what part(s) of town you'll be visiting, I might be able to offer other suggestions.