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San Antonio Review
Posted on 7/21/10 at 7:58 pm
Posted on 7/21/10 at 7:58 pm
Spent the weekend in San Antonio recently. Stayed at a great B&B called the Gardenia Inn at Beauregard and South Alamo. We were within easy walking distance (10-15 minutes tops) of the Riverwalk but embedded in a local neighborhood. It was nice to be able to walk to the Riverwalk to do all the touristy stuff but also get away from the crowds and noise at night. Inn keeper was really nice and had some solid recommendations for food, sites to see, and such. I'd really recommend this B&B to people looking for an alternative to staying in a hotel near/in the riverwalk area.
We ate at a number of places there were recommended on here, by our inn keeper and that we saw on foodnetwork. Overall, we had a lot of good meals but no "wow, that was fantastic" meals. We ate at: The Cove, Boudros, Azuca, and Liberty Bar. I would recommend all, with no hesitation.
In honor of Ole Geauxt, we had drinks at Durty Nelly's. Wife loved this place, primarily because of the piano player.
The Cove
featured on the foodnetwork show, Dinners, Drive-inns, and Dives. Located in a somewhat rundown neighborhood, the restaurant is sandwiched between a coin laundry and a self-serve car wash (all in the same building). In other words, pretty unassuming. If you park in the front and walk in the main entrance, you will enter a small area where you can order and get your drink (self-serve). After ordering, you exit through the back door, where you can either sit outside on the patio or walk around to an entrance for the indoor seating/bar area. It was pretty hot but we sat outside (covered patio, so there was some shade). The two meals featured on DDD were a lamb burger and fish tacos. Being the good, mindless, tourists that we are, the wife and I order these two items.
The lamb burger, apparently locally raised in Texas, was a relatively thin patty (less than 1/2 inch) but still pretty juicy. It was well seasoned, with some sort of sauce (poblano, maybe) that gave it a nice bite. It was topped with mixed baby greens. On the side, I had fresh cut fries but you could choose sweet potato fries or a salad. Overall, the burger was excellent. A nice lamb flavor but not overpowering. well seasoned and very juicy. The home cut fries were ok but not great because they were a bit soggy.
Wife had the fish tacos, which were made with, according to the online menu, tilapia. I think she got what they called the "Lisa special", which is two tacos and a baby spinach side salad. The fish was nicely seasoned and grilled. There was a red sauce on the tacos that had the consistency of an aioli, with a good chile flavor. They were topped with mixed cabbage. The wife liked the tacos quite a bit. I only took one bite but thought they were good. Overall, we were happy with the meal. I would definitely go back and, if I lived in SA, this would be a place I'd frequent. The outside patio looked like a fun place to hangout and it appears they bring in live music on a regular basis.
Boudros
Boudros in on the Riverwalk, with outside seating. They have a number of tables for two right along the river or some tables closer to the building, away from the foot traffic. Wife and I took a table for two close to the river; if you wouldn't like the idea of tourists constantly streaming past your table on the sidewalk, you might choose one inside or near the building. we didn't mind and it was nice to sit outside, people watching as tourists walk or boated (guided tour boats) by.
The big thing at Boudros is guacamole made table-side, so we felt compelled to give this a try. Waiter rolls out a table with fresh avocados, oranges, limes, as well as chopped red onions and cilantro. He makes small talk while cutting up the avocado and squeezing fresh citrus juice. He then adds the onions and cilantro and muddles the ingredients together in a faux stone bowl. They give you tortilla chips to eat the guacamole. I think it costs 9$ but well worth the show. If you like guacamole, this is a must--the fresh made, table-side stuff is excellent.
For entrees, the wife ordered an herb encrusted drum and I got a dish called Big Tails, Little Tails; we order both based on server recommendations. The drum had a chipolte red pepper sauce, couscous, and sauteed mushrooms. I didn't try it but the wife was quite pleased. The big tails, little tails dish was a mixture of shrimp, lobster, and crawfish. Lobster and shrimp were pan seared in butter, placed on top of a bed of risotto and then covered with red sauce with crawfish tails. The red sauce had a nice flavor but was advertised as spicy; i didn't get a real spice flavor but it was good nonetheless. The shrimp were huge and cooked perfectly. lobster tail was very tender and tasted good as well. Risotto had lemon, tomatoes and avocado in it, as well as grilled scallions on top. Sounds like a busy dish but it really worked well together. Guacamole, 2 entrees and 2 rounds of drinks came out to about $90, pre tip.
We ate at a number of places there were recommended on here, by our inn keeper and that we saw on foodnetwork. Overall, we had a lot of good meals but no "wow, that was fantastic" meals. We ate at: The Cove, Boudros, Azuca, and Liberty Bar. I would recommend all, with no hesitation.
In honor of Ole Geauxt, we had drinks at Durty Nelly's. Wife loved this place, primarily because of the piano player.
The Cove
featured on the foodnetwork show, Dinners, Drive-inns, and Dives. Located in a somewhat rundown neighborhood, the restaurant is sandwiched between a coin laundry and a self-serve car wash (all in the same building). In other words, pretty unassuming. If you park in the front and walk in the main entrance, you will enter a small area where you can order and get your drink (self-serve). After ordering, you exit through the back door, where you can either sit outside on the patio or walk around to an entrance for the indoor seating/bar area. It was pretty hot but we sat outside (covered patio, so there was some shade). The two meals featured on DDD were a lamb burger and fish tacos. Being the good, mindless, tourists that we are, the wife and I order these two items.
The lamb burger, apparently locally raised in Texas, was a relatively thin patty (less than 1/2 inch) but still pretty juicy. It was well seasoned, with some sort of sauce (poblano, maybe) that gave it a nice bite. It was topped with mixed baby greens. On the side, I had fresh cut fries but you could choose sweet potato fries or a salad. Overall, the burger was excellent. A nice lamb flavor but not overpowering. well seasoned and very juicy. The home cut fries were ok but not great because they were a bit soggy.
Wife had the fish tacos, which were made with, according to the online menu, tilapia. I think she got what they called the "Lisa special", which is two tacos and a baby spinach side salad. The fish was nicely seasoned and grilled. There was a red sauce on the tacos that had the consistency of an aioli, with a good chile flavor. They were topped with mixed cabbage. The wife liked the tacos quite a bit. I only took one bite but thought they were good. Overall, we were happy with the meal. I would definitely go back and, if I lived in SA, this would be a place I'd frequent. The outside patio looked like a fun place to hangout and it appears they bring in live music on a regular basis.
Boudros
Boudros in on the Riverwalk, with outside seating. They have a number of tables for two right along the river or some tables closer to the building, away from the foot traffic. Wife and I took a table for two close to the river; if you wouldn't like the idea of tourists constantly streaming past your table on the sidewalk, you might choose one inside or near the building. we didn't mind and it was nice to sit outside, people watching as tourists walk or boated (guided tour boats) by.
The big thing at Boudros is guacamole made table-side, so we felt compelled to give this a try. Waiter rolls out a table with fresh avocados, oranges, limes, as well as chopped red onions and cilantro. He makes small talk while cutting up the avocado and squeezing fresh citrus juice. He then adds the onions and cilantro and muddles the ingredients together in a faux stone bowl. They give you tortilla chips to eat the guacamole. I think it costs 9$ but well worth the show. If you like guacamole, this is a must--the fresh made, table-side stuff is excellent.
For entrees, the wife ordered an herb encrusted drum and I got a dish called Big Tails, Little Tails; we order both based on server recommendations. The drum had a chipolte red pepper sauce, couscous, and sauteed mushrooms. I didn't try it but the wife was quite pleased. The big tails, little tails dish was a mixture of shrimp, lobster, and crawfish. Lobster and shrimp were pan seared in butter, placed on top of a bed of risotto and then covered with red sauce with crawfish tails. The red sauce had a nice flavor but was advertised as spicy; i didn't get a real spice flavor but it was good nonetheless. The shrimp were huge and cooked perfectly. lobster tail was very tender and tasted good as well. Risotto had lemon, tomatoes and avocado in it, as well as grilled scallions on top. Sounds like a busy dish but it really worked well together. Guacamole, 2 entrees and 2 rounds of drinks came out to about $90, pre tip.
3
Posted on 7/21/10 at 7:58 pm to Eddie Vedder
continued....
Azuca
Recommended by the Inn keeper as one of his favorite restaurants. Bills itself as Nuevo Latino cuisine; think Central/South America and Cuba, not Mexico. After taking drink orders, they bring you a loaf of corn bread but with a cake-like texture. It had whole pieces of corn/peppers in it, was piping hot and tasted pretty good.
We started with soup--wife got the soup of the day, a chickpea soup/ tomato broth. It was very light, so good on a hot day, but not particularly flavorful (except for salt---lots of salt) and the chickpeas could have cooked a bit longer. I got the black bean soup, a regular on the menu. It was a thick black bean soup, garnished w/ cilantro, tomatoes, onions. They also sprinkled some chicharrones on top (think pork rinds or cracklin). The soup was great, with lots of flavor and the beans were cooked perfectly.
For entrees, the wife order a sandwich: "Pepito...ha! Trandicional." it was seared beef tenderloin on a sour dough roll with sauteed onions, guacamole, and a black bean spread. Beef was cooked medium to medium rare, and was quite delicious and tender. black bean spread was very tasty and a nice touch as a condiment for the sandwich. Her meal came with a side of curly fries; it wasn't listed on the menu as a side for that sandwich (I don't think any side was listed, if I recall) but the curly fries seemed out of place for the theme. in any event, they were clearly from a frozen bag--she left most of them on the plate. also came with a cold jicama slaw: julienne jicama, zucchini, squash and carrots (NO mayo, thank goodness!). i don't like traditional slaw but this stuff was great.
I order the Pork Shank in a lima bean ragout with roasted vegetables. Overall, my dish was pretty good. the pork shank was very tender, easily pulled apart with my fork. the roasted vegetables were also very good. I did have two complains with my dish: 1) the dish was a bit bland; nothing tasted like it was seasoned. the only thing that saved it, flavor wise, was that the roasted vegetables proved solid flavor but the ragout and pork shank really could have used at least some salt and pepper; 2) the lima beans were undercooked. i don't know if they just didn't cook them long enough or they tried to shoot for al dente to prevent them from melting into the ragout but i think they undershot a bit--too firm for my taste.
overall, this place had a great atmosphere and the service was top notch. i'm sure it is a popular place for evening drinks. Even though I thought the meal was uneven (my soup was great but the wife's was not; both entrees had strong and weak points), i'd like to go again for dinner. We went for lunch because we wanted to hit Liberty Bar for dinner on our last night. Lunch and dinner menus were pretty different, so i'd like to go back and check out dinner.
Liberty Bar
I think many people familiar with the food scene in San Antonio have heard of Liberty Bar. It has also been featured on TV shows before, in particular because the original building had an obvious lean to it...think tower of pisa. alas, the Liberty Bar has recently moved locations. for traditionalists, it probably lost some charm but, given i've never been to the original, this didn't bother me at all. plus, the "new" building is an old renovated convent--so it still has lots of charm...just different charm, that doesn't include the fear of walls/ceiling collapsing around you.
After ordering drinks, they brought us a plate of fresh baked bread and butter. There were three types of bread: white, wheat, and multi-grain. As a starter, I order the house potato and cabbage soup. Soup was broth, not cream, based--so it was not too heavy but there was still enough potato and cabbage to give it some substance. I liked that there was just enough cabbage so you knew it was there but not enough so that it dominated the dish. really enjoyed the soup.
For entrees, they have two menus. One appears to be the regular menu and the other a special menu that changes either weekly or daily, not sure which. Wife ordered off the regularly menu, getting the venison burger. she ordered the burger medium but it was probably closer to medium well/well. I was worried it would be dry but, overall, it was quite flavorful and not too dry (although might have been better if cooked just a bit less). Can't recall what her side dishes were.
I ordered the "Codorniz con mole verde" or grilled quail with green mole sauce off of the daily special menu. You could get one or two quail (for a slight increase in price) but I got one because of the bread and soup. It was a partially deboned quail (back removed but bone still in legs), grilled, and placed on top of the green mole sauce. The side items were wood grilled tomatoes and potatoes. The quail was excellent, not dry at all, and went well with the mole sauce. wasn't sure what to expect with a green mole--didn't like it as much as a traditional mole but it was still good. the grilled tomatoes and potatoes were ok but I couldn't detect any seasoning at all, not even salt and pepper. salt and pepper from the table fixed that problem.
For desert we had a cream (think cream cheese consistency), flavored with some sort of flower (I can't remember which one), and topped with a raspberry sauce; it was served with fresh baked shortbread. very good.
Azuca
Recommended by the Inn keeper as one of his favorite restaurants. Bills itself as Nuevo Latino cuisine; think Central/South America and Cuba, not Mexico. After taking drink orders, they bring you a loaf of corn bread but with a cake-like texture. It had whole pieces of corn/peppers in it, was piping hot and tasted pretty good.
We started with soup--wife got the soup of the day, a chickpea soup/ tomato broth. It was very light, so good on a hot day, but not particularly flavorful (except for salt---lots of salt) and the chickpeas could have cooked a bit longer. I got the black bean soup, a regular on the menu. It was a thick black bean soup, garnished w/ cilantro, tomatoes, onions. They also sprinkled some chicharrones on top (think pork rinds or cracklin). The soup was great, with lots of flavor and the beans were cooked perfectly.
For entrees, the wife order a sandwich: "Pepito...ha! Trandicional." it was seared beef tenderloin on a sour dough roll with sauteed onions, guacamole, and a black bean spread. Beef was cooked medium to medium rare, and was quite delicious and tender. black bean spread was very tasty and a nice touch as a condiment for the sandwich. Her meal came with a side of curly fries; it wasn't listed on the menu as a side for that sandwich (I don't think any side was listed, if I recall) but the curly fries seemed out of place for the theme. in any event, they were clearly from a frozen bag--she left most of them on the plate. also came with a cold jicama slaw: julienne jicama, zucchini, squash and carrots (NO mayo, thank goodness!). i don't like traditional slaw but this stuff was great.
I order the Pork Shank in a lima bean ragout with roasted vegetables. Overall, my dish was pretty good. the pork shank was very tender, easily pulled apart with my fork. the roasted vegetables were also very good. I did have two complains with my dish: 1) the dish was a bit bland; nothing tasted like it was seasoned. the only thing that saved it, flavor wise, was that the roasted vegetables proved solid flavor but the ragout and pork shank really could have used at least some salt and pepper; 2) the lima beans were undercooked. i don't know if they just didn't cook them long enough or they tried to shoot for al dente to prevent them from melting into the ragout but i think they undershot a bit--too firm for my taste.
overall, this place had a great atmosphere and the service was top notch. i'm sure it is a popular place for evening drinks. Even though I thought the meal was uneven (my soup was great but the wife's was not; both entrees had strong and weak points), i'd like to go again for dinner. We went for lunch because we wanted to hit Liberty Bar for dinner on our last night. Lunch and dinner menus were pretty different, so i'd like to go back and check out dinner.
Liberty Bar
I think many people familiar with the food scene in San Antonio have heard of Liberty Bar. It has also been featured on TV shows before, in particular because the original building had an obvious lean to it...think tower of pisa. alas, the Liberty Bar has recently moved locations. for traditionalists, it probably lost some charm but, given i've never been to the original, this didn't bother me at all. plus, the "new" building is an old renovated convent--so it still has lots of charm...just different charm, that doesn't include the fear of walls/ceiling collapsing around you.
After ordering drinks, they brought us a plate of fresh baked bread and butter. There were three types of bread: white, wheat, and multi-grain. As a starter, I order the house potato and cabbage soup. Soup was broth, not cream, based--so it was not too heavy but there was still enough potato and cabbage to give it some substance. I liked that there was just enough cabbage so you knew it was there but not enough so that it dominated the dish. really enjoyed the soup.
For entrees, they have two menus. One appears to be the regular menu and the other a special menu that changes either weekly or daily, not sure which. Wife ordered off the regularly menu, getting the venison burger. she ordered the burger medium but it was probably closer to medium well/well. I was worried it would be dry but, overall, it was quite flavorful and not too dry (although might have been better if cooked just a bit less). Can't recall what her side dishes were.
I ordered the "Codorniz con mole verde" or grilled quail with green mole sauce off of the daily special menu. You could get one or two quail (for a slight increase in price) but I got one because of the bread and soup. It was a partially deboned quail (back removed but bone still in legs), grilled, and placed on top of the green mole sauce. The side items were wood grilled tomatoes and potatoes. The quail was excellent, not dry at all, and went well with the mole sauce. wasn't sure what to expect with a green mole--didn't like it as much as a traditional mole but it was still good. the grilled tomatoes and potatoes were ok but I couldn't detect any seasoning at all, not even salt and pepper. salt and pepper from the table fixed that problem.
For desert we had a cream (think cream cheese consistency), flavored with some sort of flower (I can't remember which one), and topped with a raspberry sauce; it was served with fresh baked shortbread. very good.
Posted on 7/21/10 at 9:52 pm to Eddie Vedder
quote:I was there last week!
In honor of Ole Geauxt, we had drinks at Durty Nelly's. Wife loved this place, primarily because of the piano player.
Posted on 7/21/10 at 10:04 pm to Ole Geauxt
i didnt steer u wrong at Boudros ........ its about as good as u will get onthe riverwalk...
san antonio has good grub, just not aton on the river.......
san antonio has good grub, just not aton on the river.......
Posted on 7/21/10 at 10:08 pm to bossflossjr
lots of folks call it a tourist place, but, I still like Mi Tierras for a bunch of stuff..
Posted on 7/22/10 at 5:52 am to bossflossjr
quote:
san antonio has good grub, just not aton on the river.......
very true. Boudros was the only place that our inn keeper recommended trying on the boardwalk. everything else he suggested was out in the surrounding neighborhoods.
San Antonio is a fun city; we had a great time.
Posted on 7/22/10 at 6:42 am to Eddie Vedder
That trolley car is a good deal to travel around on, $1.35 or something like that... I remember when it was .10 cents...... 
Posted on 7/22/10 at 8:11 am to Ole Geauxt
quote:
I remember when it was .10 cents......
damn, you really are an "ole geauxt"....
Posted on 7/22/10 at 8:58 am to Eddie Vedder
thanks for the reviews, I'm in SA quite a bit for work. Love Boudro's guac, but as a whole the riverwalk pretty much disappoints when it comes to food.
nice to see some recommendations a bit off the beaten path.
nice to see some recommendations a bit off the beaten path.
Posted on 6/16/11 at 8:20 pm to TJRibMe
We are going Sunday for 8 days. Anyone been to Ernesto's?
Posted on 6/16/11 at 11:04 pm to Gulf Coast Tiger
I live in San Antonio but I'm originally from Louisiana (Houma). There is some great food here in S.A. Boudro's has been mentioned and it is really good. I would also highly recommend a place called La Gloria in the renovated Pearl Brewery. The chef was inspired by the traditional street food of Mexico and built his menu based on an 'upscale' interpretation of that food. It's very casual but very, very good.
If you want good traditional Mexican food (not TexMex) go to La Gloria!
If you want good traditional Mexican food (not TexMex) go to La Gloria!
Posted on 6/17/11 at 8:24 am to Gulf Coast Tiger
Nice bump
Posted on 6/17/11 at 8:35 am to Eddie Vedder
Was in SA last week, tried a few of these you mentioned.
My fav we visited was Mi Tierra, the food and bakery were great. Its open 24 hours and I'd say its a must visit.
We visited Lulu's which is the MVF location where the giant cinammon rolls were served. That was pretty overrated IMHO. The rolls were okay at best and thoroughly burned when we had them.
We also did a few restaurants on the riverwalk including County Line BBQ. Probably among the better Texas style BBQ joints I've hit.
A low point was Rosario's Cantina. The food was garbage and yet the place was packed. The fresh salsa was made from a roasted/grilled chile which was interesting but it was hard to get past the burnt acrid taste.
My fav we visited was Mi Tierra, the food and bakery were great. Its open 24 hours and I'd say its a must visit.
We visited Lulu's which is the MVF location where the giant cinammon rolls were served. That was pretty overrated IMHO. The rolls were okay at best and thoroughly burned when we had them.
We also did a few restaurants on the riverwalk including County Line BBQ. Probably among the better Texas style BBQ joints I've hit.
A low point was Rosario's Cantina. The food was garbage and yet the place was packed. The fresh salsa was made from a roasted/grilled chile which was interesting but it was hard to get past the burnt acrid taste.
This post was edited on 6/17/11 at 8:36 am
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