Restaurants & Bars – Page 14

Accommodations, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL

What Do You Eat on a Viking River Cruise?

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THREE SQUARES A DAY & ALL THE WINE YOU CAN DRINK ON THE VIKING TOR

From first meal to last, Viking River Cruises does everything right. Everything I loved about meals on other cruises they incorporated into their food service and what I hated they left out.

Single Seating Service

The overriding difference between river and ocean cruising is size. For me that was good news. Everything I wanted was either on the same floor as my stateroom or one floor down. I could be in my room one minute and in the next I could be sitting in the dining room.

Here's a peek of the dining room on the evening of the regional buffet. dig those desserts! — Here’s a peek of the Restaurant on the evening of the regional buffet. Dig those desserts!

Each meal was served in one seating and you sat wherever you wanted. One thing I had really liked about assigned seating on ocean cruises was that your server really got to know you and within a day or two they had all your preferences down. It also narrowed down the thousands of possible table mates to a table-full of people to have dinner with and I’d always been lucky enough to really like the people we sat with. Well, on the riverboat, we got to know all the servers and by the end of the cruise each of them knew us well enough to provide incredibly individualized service. The small number of passengers also made cruise friends a lot easier to find.

Two Dining Venues

We chose to eat all our meals in the Restaurant. The spacious room had tables of various sizes spread comfortably around the room. On both sides were large windows looking out onto the river, sometimes at a city where we were docked and at other times at changing scenery, as the boat made its way to the next destination. In the center of the room was a three-sided buffet for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was usually from the menu, except for a special regional buffet one evening.

The Aquavita Terrace Buffet on the Regional Buffet night. — The Aquavit Terrace Buffet on the Regional Buffet night.

The other venue was the Aqauvit Terrace. Had the weather been a tad warmer, we would probably have been all over this, especially at lunch. The Terrace was at the bow of the boat, offering a view of the scenery ahead. Half of the seating is actually outside on the deck, but some is inside a glass-encased section at the end of the lounge. That’s where the buffet is and all the meals in the Terrace are served buffet style. Rumor had it that the Terrace menu focused more on sandwiches, salads and small plates, many of which were included on the Restaurant’s menu. Perhaps I should have checked it all out for you, but I was on vacation after all.

All the Wine You Can Drink

This was one of my favorite things about the cruise. The battle of the bottle on the other ships was a confrontation we could not win. On Viking we couldn’t lose, because there was no battle. Each evening they had a small selection of wines, both red and white, which were included in the price of the cruise. Most nights it seems there were only two (one red, one white) but on some of the evenings regional specialties were included which expanded the selection.

My husband, who is a little more picky about wine than me, was always quite pleased with the red choice. I adored the white wines, especially the regional specialties. If you are a wine snob, there is a package you can buy that affords you premium wines, but we didn’t need it and we didn’t meet anyone who did.

It really is all the wine you can drink. Once the wait person finds out which color you prefer for the evening, they’ll keep pouring it for you until you tell them to stop. If mid-meal you want to change colors, that’s fine too. I don’t exactly know how they afford to be so generous, but this single act of generosity endeared me to them forever.

I’ve still got a lot more to say about food, but I’ve run out of words today, so come back next week for a description of the meals.

Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL

The Question of Food When Cruising

May 11, 2016May 10, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: WHAT I LIKE AND DISLIKE ABOUT DINING AT SEA

Food is one of the biggies on a cruise and Viking has it down pat. You’d have a hard time feeling hungry at anytime on board, yet it’s not the obscene food orgy of ocean cruising.

Cruise Food I Have Loved

My favorite food I’ve ever had on any boat was a dessert on the Carnival Ecstasy. I ordered it the first night, because it was chocolate. I ordered it the rest of the nights, because it was the best thing I had ever put in my mouth. The name of the chocolate creation, which I cannot for the life of me remember, did it no justice. I have no picture of it, but will never forget it. The rest of the food on the boat was good, sometimes really good, but it wasn’t the best overall I ever had.

The best dining experience on any ship was on Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas. I was traveling with all the people I loved best, so that may have enhanced the enjoyment. This was old fashioned cruising where you really dressed up for dinner and had assigned seating at a specific time in a single venue. Every meal, every night was a unique and wonderful experience. We also had the best waiter I have ever had aboard any ship any where.

What You Won’t Suffer on a Viking River Cruise

I am not a fan of multiple restaurants on a cruise. I don’t want to make reservations. I don’t even want to have to make a decision about which restaurant I’m going to choose. I don’t want to pay a premium. I like it the way Viking had it. They just fed me.

On our “Free-styling” Norwegian cruise a few years ago, my husband felt like the only style unavailable was the one we wanted – particularly when it came to breakfast. Breakfast is his favorite meal. He loves to linger over the menu and the meal. The only sit-down breakfast service on that cruise was quite early in the morning and on a cruise, Bill doesn’t do anything early in the morning. On top of that he had to navigate the huge buffet, when all he really wanted was for someone to bring him exactly what he wanted for breakfast and he wanted it piping hot. Was it a lovely breakfast buffet? Yes, but he didn’t want a breakfast buffet. Viking solves all of this.

Another of our pet peeves with Ocean Cruising has been the battle of the bottle. We like wine with dinner. While we love a particularly good wine, we’re perfectly happy with a decent wine. On-board various ships we’ve ordered by the glass, ordered by the bottle and pre-ordered a selection of wines. Either way we’ve done it we’ve felt the ouch of the price, because we know we can get a perfectly good wine at Trader Joe’s for around $10 a bottle and it bothers us to pay more for less. To make things more interesting Bill loves red and thanks to my sinuses I prefer to drink white. Viking made wine with dinner a breeze for the same price of a breeze.

And speaking of bottles, even getting a glass of water on your average cruise ship is a hassle. They’ll sell you a soft drink package, they’ll tempt you with fancy cocktails and they’ll charge you for a bottle of anything – even water, but try whetting your thirst for free. It’s not easy. Viking completely abandoned that business model. There were bottles of free water all over the place and a dispenser for bubbly and still water at the coffee station.

On most cruises I sort of feel like the emPHAsis is on the wrong sylLAble, as my mother used to say. There’s entirely too much attention paid to shoving food down your mouth. It takes a page or two of the daily newspaper to explain all the food choices and then if all else fails, they will deliver food to your stateroom 24 hours a day. I had all I could eat and more on Viking, but I didn’t have to make a career of managing my food choices.

So now that we have discussed cruise food in general, next week I’ll introduce you to the way Viking does food.

ART, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Hanging Out at DFW

May 9, 2016May 13, 2016 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES AT DFW

I’m not exactly a fan of DFW, but if I have to go out there I hope I’m flying out of terminal D. For one thing, that means I might be going out of the country, which is always good news to me. For the other, it is by far the best terminal from which to depart.

New and Improved Travelers

There was a time when my husband tried to push the travel envelope to the very edge. He wanted to find out just how close he could cut it. It seemed every trip we were the passengers breathlessly running aboard as they closed the door. Unfortunately, I had been raised by a father who considered earliness to be next to godliness. That race for the plane thrilled my excitement junkie hubby, but I would go into pure panic mode.

Over the years we’ve both mellowed out. This is a good thing, since these days, travel is a very different endeavor from what it was twenty years ago. Anybody pulling a last minute maneuver, like some we did back in the day, would find themselves cooling their heels in some TSA holding space.

Nowadays we get to the airport with hours to spare. We treat the terminal like a tourist attraction, tasting the local treats and checking out the souvenirs.

A Plug for Park &’N Fly

When we fly, our car is parked at the Park ‘N Fly facility on Park Lane. We drive in. A bus pulls up and a nice driver pops out to help us with our bags. Frequently we are driven directly to our terminal, but even at busy times we get from our car to our gate lickety split. The nice driver offloads your bags and you’re almost done.

Over the last year, we joined Costco and guess what! Park ‘N Fly, which is already a bargain at full price, has discounted rates with Costco coupons. You buy 5 day blocks of tickets for $35 and we’re talking discounted. The price is so cheap that we saved money with the coupons even though we had to buy and extra day. The coupon never expires, so we’ll jut hold on to it until the next trip – maybe the one we’ll make to visit our new friends in Oregon we met aboard the Viking Tor.

Our driver for this trip may just be the most charming we’ve ever had. He was filled with the joy of his salvation and was listening to a sermon on his sound system. He politely asked if that was OK with us, but we just amen-ed with him and said a few hallelujahs. He asked where we were headed and when he found out about our cruise on the Danube he really wanted to go along.

Hurry Up and Wait

At the Lufthansa check-in we stared down the kiosk and tried to determine which number or piece of paper it preferred, but we were grateful when someone came to assist us with the check-in, especially since I had already theoretically done that online. It seems to me that all this digital stuff just makes more work. Used to be you called up your travel agent to buy your fare, got a hard copy ticket, took it to the desk and were checked in. Now you dabble online to find a ticket, get a virtual ticket, check-in online, get a virtual boarding pass, fritz with the kiosk at the airport, get pieces of paper and still have to report to a live agent to check-in your bags. Convenience, schamenience!

The line for the TSA security check was not too bad and then we were in, with a couple of hours left to kill. I had visions of sitting down over a good meal at Cafe Izmir, Cool River Cafe, III Forks or Sky Canyon. Then I made the mistake of allowing Bill to see the directory of restaurants and ended up at Popeye’s. You may think I’m kidding, but it’s the truth. Bill loves Popeye’s and since we’re usually trying to eat healthy we stay away. With all food being calorie free on vacations (wink wink) he wanted to get some.

Murdering Time

After our chicken we roamed the terminal and looked at all the places we could have eaten and checked out the shops. Along the way we saw some interesting art installations spread throughout the space. We really began to feel like tourists. Many of the most beautiful installations were mosaics on the floor which photograph poorly. We also found this interesting public interactive.

We decided it was getting close enough to departure time that we should get to our gate. They’d decided to start boarding early to beat some turbulence, so getting there early had been a good thing.

If you’re coming through Dallas or leaving from our airport, I hope you’ll get to enjoy Terminal D. If not, you’re stuck with the usual. Maybe if you’re stuck there long enough on a layover you could take the train over to D and dine in style.

On Wednesdays I’m sharing my Viking River Cruise, the reason we were at the airport in the first place. Please check back and share the adventure.

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Legends at DoubleTree Wichita KS

December 30, 2015October 15, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: LEGENDS RESTAURANT AT DOUBLETREE BY HILTON IN WICHITA KS SERVES TASTY AND CONVENIENT FOOD

When you stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Wichita KS, you’re out at the airport and away from everything else. The hotel is lovely and once inside you can forget you’re even at an airport. At mealtime Legends Restaurant & Bar, in the lobby of the Hilton is a safe bet for a good meal.

Breakfast As You Like It

The Executive Level of this hotel is a sweet deal during the week, because you have a breakfast buffet and an evening social hour right there on your floor. If you are up on the Executive Level on the weekend, breakfast is still a sweet deal, because it’s comped. Everybody else has to either pay $12.95 for the breakfast buffet or order a la carte. Since it was comped, we opted for the breakfast buffet.

The breakfast buffet has pretty much anything your heart desires. There’s all the cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries and such. There’s a do-it-yourself waffle maker with all the trimmings. They also have omelettes, Eggs Benedict, breakfast potatoes, sausage and bacon. You know, the usual. Well, maybe not so usual. Eggs Benedict are kind of a treat.

On Saturday, I tried the Eggs Benedict. Everything about them was fine, except for the fact that I’m funny about eggs. I don’t like scrambled eggs or omelettes, and any other egg should be well done. Well, a properly cooked Eggs Benedict should be over easy, but I’m not fond of the runny yellow goo. The sauce was good, the muffin fine and I ate my egg white. I left a lot of yellow goo behind.

The next day was Sunday and after 10 there is a Champagne Brunch with an elevated price tag. They had an extra buffet table all ready to fill up with additional goodies, but we got there before 10 so we could get on the road and to avoid having to pay extra. On that morning I went for some cereal and a biscuit. OMG, that biscuit was good. There can be some pretty sorry excuses for biscuits on a buffet, but these were amazing. I only ate one and since I’m not fond of gravy had no problem avoiding it, but I really, really wanted another biscuit.

Saturday Night Seafood Buffet

After breakfast on Saturday morning, I noticed on the way out of the restaurant that they had a $34.95 Seafood Buffet in the evening. That sounded pretty darned good to me. We’d be at the Living Proof Event all day long and I just bet we’d love to come back to the hotel and veg. I was right. What I didn’t know was everyone else in the general vicinity was also going to realize this was a good deal. I’m guessing that most of the people we saw hanging off the rafters in the restaurant lived in Wichita and came out on a regular basis. They all seemed to have the drill down pat.

There really was all the seafood you could eat. From broiled cod to shrimp cocktail and mussels to crablegs, you could eat yourself into a stupor. I love crab legs and they were sweet enough that they didn’t need butter as far as I’m concerned.

Oh and dessert. There was a chocolate pie good enough for someone’s mother to claim. It had a denser meringue than my own mother made, but the chocolate and the crust tasted just like home. There were other delicious looking choices, like a chocolate cake, but that wasn’t as amazing as the pie. After dinner we were glad to waddle back to our room and call it a night.

The New Year is upon us. I hope itis going to be a good year for you and yours. Party hardy, but get home safe. And come back in 2016 for a little Wichita KS sightseeing.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Jason Febres’ Taste and See In Wichita KS

December 16, 2015November 21, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: A VISIT TO OLD TOWN IN WICHITA KS WITH DINNER AT JASON FEBRES’ TASTE AND SEE:GLOBAL CUISINE

The drive from OKC to Wichita has to be one of the most boring in the world. About the only excitement we had was gathering up change for the toll road. Things got more fun in Wichita. We found Old Town and then ate at a restaurant owned by a famous TV Chef, Taste and See.

Rolling Into Town

The first thing we had to do when we got to Wichita was find our hotel. Then we had to figure out how to get to the Intrust Bank Arena at 9 AM the next morning. I was hoping the hotel would be taking a vanload or two, but no such luck. We chatted with the bellman, but didn’t like any of his suggestions. It looked as if I’d have to drive down there and park. So as soon as we dumped our stuff in the room, we went back out.

Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita is not the American Airlines Center in Dallas, but I was paranoid about it all. (Am I the only one who hates having arenas named after businesses?) I didn’t want to be stuck outside trying to park while Beth Moore was inside the arena blessing the socks off everyone. I programmed Nancy the Navigator to find the arena and headed downtown. Deb tried to help Nancy and kept urging me to go ahead and turn left, but for once I ignored her. Come to find out, Deb had been trying to get me to the Convention Center rather than the Intrust Bank Arena. Nancy had it right.

I drove around a little more to convince myself that parking was not going to be an issue. Then we decided to explore Wichita a little bit. This time we turned Nancy off and I followed Deb’s instructions. She found a gas station and then got me to a parking lot in Old Town.

Discovering Old Town

Like Bricktown in OKC, Old Town in Wichita is an entertainment area. While much of Bricktown is new, most of Old Town is old. The first place we happened upon was Mort’s, which is a happening sort of a place, but it’s also a cigar-smoking place and my eyes wanted no part of that.

So we followed the map around to an area with several restaurants and landed at Taste and See: Global Fusion. Confession: We had no idea we had arrived at THE hot foodie spot of Wichita. For that matter, we had no idea Wichita was supposed to be a foodie destination. We just got lucky.

Taste and See

The hot foodie spot was not much into decor. Bare tables, concrete floors – a sort of diner vibe. At the back of the restaurant was an open kitchen with a lot of chefs. I’ve heard of too many chefs in the kitchen, but watching these guys seemed like a demonstration of just that phenomena.

Deb was in the mood for a steak and I just wanted to nibble a little bit, but first we wanted drinks. I chose Sangria. Deb ordered a glass of wine, but the waitress didn’t like her choice. After a bit of tasting Deb decided the waitress was right about the pinot being sub-par. I think she ended up with a merlot. My sangria was great.

Then there was the ordering. The tasting menu sounded amazing, but it was $35 and to get the paired drinks was another $45. I’m into a little splurging, but that was beyond my keen. So instead I picked out a couple of tapas. Deb chose a steak and she ordered it rare. The waitress took her order, but then a chef came and discussed the wisdom of rare and suggested medium rare.

The Famous Chef we didn't know — The Famous Chef we didn’t know

The conference was a success and Deb loved her steak. I loved one of my tapas, the Cornucopia, but the Pizzettes had too much dough – as in the toppings were just about right, but sat in the middle of too much bread.

All the while we kept our eyes opened for Jason Febres, the famous chef we knew nothing about. Lo and behold, he showed up, but after chatting up a few other tables he landed at a large group about two tables away. He stayed there for the rest of the time we were there, so I never got the chance to help him out with his Pizzettes.

Of course we had dessert. It was some Oreo Cookie thing, which was delicious, but didn’t begin to compete with the not-so-trendy Lava Cake we’d tackled in OKC.

Time to Call It a Night

I’m glad we happened upon the ultimate Wichita foodie experience, but I have to confess that it was not my favorite meal of the trip. In fact, if we were handing out foodie awards, we’d have to give it to OKC, not Wichita.

We took another route back to our car. For a Friday night the area was actually pretty tame. Mort’s was rocking, but we could smell the cigar smoke long before we heard the live band on the patio, so I’m not sorry we missed that hot spot. Nancy the Navigator took us back to the Doubletree and we tucked ourselves in for the night.

Here’s a few more pictures from our foodie experience. Come back next week and I’ll tell you about the hotel.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Museum Cafe at OKCMOA

December 9, 2015October 23, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: DELICIOUS LUNCH AT OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART’S CAFE

One thing I’ve learned over my years of travel is to eat at art museums whenever possible, or at least check them out. If you find a service window, a chalkboard and bare table tops, move on. However, if you see crisp white tablecloths and a printed menu, you’re in luck. The Museum Cafe at OKCMOA is one of the good ones.

We’d Seen It All

Deb and I had been sightseeing all morning. We’d had a good breakfast at the hotel, but that was several hours and many, many steps ago. As we left the OKCMOA’s gift shop I suggested the restaurant in the museum for lunch and Deb didn’t argue, but she sort of used her go-along-to-get-along voice, instead of her I-can’t-wait-to-do-that voice. We wandered toward the end of the building to look things over. It was possible this was just an add-on opportunity with bags of chips and over-priced sandwiches.

When you enter the cafe from inside the museum, a sign tells you to find the hostess at the other entrance. As we strolled through we saw upscale patrons enjoying delicious-looking platters at tables covered in white tablecloths. The more she saw the more amiable Deb was to having lunch there. We were seated at a table near a large plate-glass window, looking out over a nice patio. Then we ordered wine. It was going to be a good lunch.

Tough Decisions

Whoever put the menu together knew all about us. We could have closed our eyes and pointed indiscriminately. We would have still come out with something we loved. Instead, with eyes wide open, we opted for the soup and salad platter – a generous cup of lobster bisque with a house salad on the side.

As we waited for our food we chatted about the many beautiful things we’d seen that morning and anticipated the event we’d be attending the next day. Then the food arrived. It was as delicious as its descriptions were. We loved every bite.

The lobster bisque was hot and creamy with huge chunks of lobster floating around with the tasty puff pastry disk. And let me tell you this was no iceberg lettuce and carrots salad. Oh no, this was spring mix, apricots, blueberries, grape tomatoes, candied walnuts and boursin with creamy champagne vinaigrette. The meal was perfect.

(Hello, Dallas Museum of Art, are you out there? I miss Seventeen Seventeen! I am not enchanted with standing in line and sitting at those bare-topped tables in your less-than-comfortable metal chairs. It may all look very cool and modern, but I haven’t eaten there in years. I’m a loyal patron and partner, but your cafe is not the reason. Give me back my restaurant!)

Let’s Hit the Road Again

We’d parked just outside the museum, so when our lunch was done we were just steps away from the car. We stopped on the patio just long enough to get this great shot of Deb. I was having a bad hair day. It was my own fault and I don’t want to talk about it. Come back next week and I will talk about Wichita.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Mantel Wine Bar & Bistro – Oklahoma City, OK

November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: BULLS-EYE ON BRICKTOWN – LOOKING FOR FUN IN OK CITY

It’s about three hours to Oklahoma City from Dallas and we needed every minute of that to shake off all the frustrations which tried to keep us from leaving town. Deb and I both needed this trip. We were seriously devoted to radical attitude adjustment. That’s why we put the pedal to the medal so we could start our adventure in Bricktown.

Bricktown

Though we were on our way to Wichita KS for a Women’s Ministry Event we were determined to have some fun along the way. Bricktown was a great place to start.

Oklahoma City is a conglomeration of several interesting neighborhoods and I thoroughly recommend giving yourself several days to visit the city so you can enjoy them. Bricktown isn’t a neighborhood though. It’s an entertainment area. There’s a baseball stadium, tons of restaurants and even a Riverwalk. It’s not exactly San Antonio, but it’s well worth your time.

Deb and I blasted into town, threw our stuff into our hotel room and headed to Bricktown. Along the way, Deb read through some of the brochures I had on the area and decided The Mantel Wine Bar & Bistro sounded like our kind of place. Boy was she ever right.

Dark and Cozy

There was still daylight left when we got to Oklahoma City. The GPS took us close to our destination but construction thwarted Nancy the Navigator’s efforts to get us to the restaurant. After a little wandering around, Nancy decided she knew where she was again and she delivered us to the front door. The exterior of the building is nothing to write home about, but there was a parking space right out front so we felt like we’d come to the right place.

The moment we stepped inside all hints of sunshine disappeared. The place has a clubby, steakhouse vibe. We were seated at a banquette. I can imagine that being romantic for a couple, but Deb sat on the upholstered seat and I opted for a chair across from her.

The waiter promptly arrived and offered drinks, but we hadn’t figure out our game plan yet, so he left us to peruse the menu and wine list. We decided to share an appetizer and an entree. The entree was fish, so we chose a nice bottle of white to go along.

Seriously Delicious

I obviously left my bad luck in Dallas. The wine selection was crisp and refreshing. The appetizer was to die for. Baked Brie is one of our favorite things in the world and when Mantel’s version of it was put down in front of us we wondered why we didn’t order two. It looked perfect and tasted even better.

The entree was every bit as good. The grilled mahi mahi was cooked to perfection and rested atop a scrumptious risotto banked by stalks of grilled asparagus. The more we ate, the more we wanted, so we allowed the waiter to show us the dessert menu. Everything sounded amazing so we asked for help. Before we could finish the question he took the dessert menus out of our hands and told us we wanted the Lava Cake.

I’m sorry to report that I failed to get a picture of the dessert. Two balls of ice cream were served next to a large ramekin of chocolate stuff. He told us it was hot, but we just had to dump it out on the plate to mix with the ice cream. The poor waiter nearly fainted when he came back to find us trying to handle the ramekin with our napkins.

Waiter Love

The waiter whipped up our plate and disappeared. He returned moments later with our freshly dumped lava cake rolling around among the ice cream balls and he was obviously amused. He told us we were the first patrons he’d ever seen try to attempt the feat. We reminded him we’d warned him about ourselves. He laughed and confessed he’d been very wrong about us. He’d pegged us as salad-with-a-glass-of-wine types. Then we’d ordered a bottle of wine, an appetizer, and an entree. He hadn’t been surprised we also wanted dessert, but us playing hot potato with the lava cake had made his evening.

A Stroll Through Bricktown

Oklahoma City is not exactly the Big Apple and Bricktown on a Thursday night with no baseball game is a ghost town. Still we decided to wander down to the Riverwalk and take a stroll. I imagine that it can be a pretty exciting place to hang out, but it was eerie to be the only ones down there.

With nothing to distract us we went back to the car and returned to the hotel. We had a fun day ahead.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Strolling Away from San Antonio

October 21, 2015October 23, 2015 Jane Sadek

Gristmill Restaurant, Gruene, TX — Lunchtime in Gruene, TX

TRAVEL THERE: FROM SAN ANTONIO TO DALLAS VIA GRUENE

All good things do eventually come to an end, one way or the other – even a girl’s trip to San Antonio – but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun on the way home!

Though everything had not gone exactly as planned, Deb and I had a pretty amazing time in San Antonio. Now it was time to go home. We left San Jose Mission after the Mariachi Mass and headed north on I-35.

What’s for Lunch

I’d suggested a few lunchtime possibilities which would be within striking distance of our ride home. Deb agreed they sounded interesting and we decided on the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar in Gruene.

Back in 2013, on my South Texas Ramble, Bill and I stopped by Gruene – a place I’d heard of but never visited. We enjoyed the town for several hours, but we’d just had a late breakfast in Austin and weren’t interested in a meal. We did meander through the Gristmill and I made a mental bookmark, because it looked like my kind of place.

Small Town Traffic Jam

When Deb and I pulled into Gruene on the beautiful Sunday afternoon in June, we realized just about everybody else in Central Texas must have also decided it was a good day to visit. We inched along at a snail’s pace until reaching the public parking lot, found a spot and headed toward the restaurant.

Watch the Board

The Gristmill has no pagers, they don’t call your name over a PA system and you don’t have to wait in line. You head over to the outdoor stage to enjoy a little music and keep an eye on the board. This was by far the most unique, most elaborate and most entertaining seating method I have ever seen or heard of.

Cute young things in cut-off shorts work themselves to death in this particular arrangement, but it’s a lot of fun. One group of girls stay busy writing names up on this board of folks whose tables are ready and erasing names of seated parties. Another group of cute girls play messenger between the hostess stand and the board monitors. I was just beginning to get the rhythm of the set up when they added my name to the list of parties being seated. Since I was hungry, I was glad to see it, but I confess I’d hoped to watch the activity just a little bit longer. I’d been so engrossed I hadn’t even paid any attention to the musician who was supposed to be entertaining us.

Onion Rings, Gristmill Restaurant, Gruene TX — Be Sure to Order the Onion Rings

The Gristmill really is an old mill, but it was a cotton-gin, not a place to grind meal. I’m still wondering why they didn’t call it The Cotton-Gin or just The Gin, but who can argue with success – and are they ever successful. The riverside venue was just made for throwing back a few cold ones while you nibble away at tasty vittles. Folks of all ages are gathered around the tables, but it did appear the lion’s share were college-aged or recently-college-aged. I’m not sure how they managed to get an occupancy permit, because the place looks like it might fall down during the next rainfall, but so far it hasn’t.

I had the Chicken Salad Sandwich. I think Deb had something with lettuce and chicken too, but in another configuration – though it might have been a burger. Before the main course, we did indulge in the house specialty – fried onion rings. It’s a good thing we declared the weekend a “no-calorie zone”. Even with all the walking we did, I’m sure there was the potential for more calories than our steps would have walked off.

Ready for the Last Leg

After our pleasant respite on the patio with great food and warm sunshine, it was time to do get back to the Metroplex. We did stop at the Buc-ee’s in Temple, but soon afterwards we were home. There’s no place like home, but there’s also no place like a road trip with your best friend.

Come back by next week and see what other kind of trouble I have managed to get into.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

A Little More Strolling in San Antonio

October 7, 2015August 11, 2015 Jane Sadek

Mi Tierra, San Antonio, TX — In the Mi Tierra Bar

TRAVEL THERE: MORE SAN ANTONIO STROLLING

On this trip we’d already hit some of my favorite culinary spots in San Antonio: The Guenther House in the King William District, Casa Rio and Boudro’s on the Riverwalk and NAO street tacos at The Pearl Farmer’s Market. We’d also tried and fallen in love with a new place, The Chart House at Tower of the Americas. Now it was time for brunch at Mi Tierra.

Mi Tierra

I’ve always known about Mi Tierra, but until I went with Bill back in 2013 I’d never managed to get anyone to go with me. It was everything I’d hoped it would be and more, so it immediately moved to my list of favorites – and since it’s open 24 hours I should always be able to find a way to squeeze it in.

Brunch

Sunday morning Deb and I packed up our belongings, checked out of Hotel Contessa and toted our belongings to the car, but we decided to walk to Market Square. It seemed as if every time we left the Contessa we either headed north or east. We’d been neglecting the west, something we were ready to correct.

Market Square is one of the oldest parts of town and during its long history it’s always been an area of mercantile. The actual old El Mercado isn’t what it used to be. It probably deserves the “tourist trap” slam many folks have given it on sites like Trip Advisor, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater – especially if that baby is Mi Tierra.

My previous visit to Mi Tierra had been during a freak winter storm that blitzed out about half of what I wanted to do. We made a mid-week visit for lunch and then headed over to the McNay. The crowd was primarily business people grabbing a quick lunch and a few of us tourists who had braved the cold. There had been no wait for a table.

Things were a little more lively on this Sunday morning. The bakery counter was busy and you had to wait for a table. Deb and I settled in the bar and watched for our buzzer to go off. Remarkably we only had a few minutes of cooling our heels, so I think they opened up the patio.

Once seated, we made selections from the breakfast menu and sat back to enjoy the show. Mariachis entertained us on the patio and just outside vendors were setting up booths from which to sell their trinkets. The food was delivered fresh and delicious. It was a little early for a margarita, but I couldn’t help wishing I had one.

Back to the Car

When we headed back to the car I spotted that one of my favorite shops was open. I never can remember the name of it, but you can’t miss it. It’s right next door to Mi Tierra. They have clothing and jewelry on the first and second floor and wonderful ceramics in the basement. Maybe next time I’ll actually write down the name. I’d love to be able to afford some of their beautiful embroidered dresses on the second floor, but I’m not paying three figures for a sundress.

Main Plaza, San Antonio, TX — Main Plaza

Along the way back to the car, we enjoyed the beautiful Main Plaza, but we agreed that the western part of downtown couldn’t compare with the eastern side. It won’t be my last trip to Market Square or Mi Tierra, but I won’t walk next time. I’ll either grab the trolley or hop in my car.

Next we’ll head out on the Mission Trail, so come back next week. You’ll love it.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Budro’s Texas Bistro on the Riverwalk

September 30, 2015August 11, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: BUDRO’S ON THE RIVERWALK

In spite of all the strolling we’d done so far in San Antonio, there is something about the Riverwalk which inspires ambulatory activity. After happy hour margaritas at The Cork Bar, Deb and I made another circuit of the Riverwalk to shop for a dining spot.

Bodacious Budro’s

We settled on a riverside umbrella at Budro’s Texas Bistro. Confession: I’d been hoping this was where we’d land. My mouth still had fond memories of my previous visit and I knew Deb would love it. We started with wine and worked our way around the menu.

The whole experience was perfect. I was determined to eat al fresco, but there was only one table left on the patio and another couple was discussing it with the hostess when we arrived. They stepped aside to consider their options, so I stepped right up and took the table. The couple ended up with inside seating, which I hope is what they preferred.

Our waiter seemed delighted we joined him for dinner. He rattled off the specials. Deb chose a seafood something and I went further down the menu to the meat. We were having so much we could have been eating hamburgers and it would not have mattered. We people-watched, nibbled at our dinners and polished off a bottle of great wine. Does it get any better than that?

The Evening Winds Down

When the meal was over we were, too. We’d been non-stop for three days and for most of that we’d been hoofing it. We discussed options our options, all of which sounded like entirely too much effort. We chose a movie in our room, but I needed a Diet Dr. Pepper. I always need a Diet Dr. Pepper, but this was an acute case, so we went on the hunt for a convenience or drug store. We found a CVS and I’m pretty sure something chocolate followed me back to the hotel.

Back at the room we put on our jammies and vegged out in front of the TV. I have no recollection of what we might have watched. Seems like it might have been an Ancient Aliens marathon or something equally paranormal, but then again maybe not. Lord knows we’ve watched enough episodes of Ancient Aliens that we feel like Giorgio Tsoukalos is one of our buddies, but if he really were he’d have better hair. I promise.

Have I mentioned how much we loved our room at the Hotel Contessa? Yes, of course I did. I just didn’t want you to forget. It was perfect for a couple of worn out girls. Each of us had our own sofa and a large round coffee table to prop our feet on. At bed time we each crawled into our own queen size bed and dreamed sweet dreams.

What’s Next?

Our final day was approaching. We had to be out of the room by eleven, but we’d be up and out before that, because we wanted brunch at Mi Tierra, the Mariachi Mass at 12:30 and if there was time a little bit of the Mission Trail. Come back next week and see if we squeezed it all in.

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