Category: Restaurants & Bars

the yums and the not so yums

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

Museum Cafe at OKCMOA

Jane Sadek

20150911_120326TRAVEL 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!)20150911_122755

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

Jane Sadek

20150910_201040TRAVEL 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.

20150910_202211Seriously 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.

My half of the entree
My half of the entree

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

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

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

Jane Sadek
From http://www.boudros.com/
From http://www.boudros.com/

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.

 

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

Cork Bar at The Hotel Contessa

Jane Sadek
Cork Bar, Hotel Contessa, San Antonio TX
From thehotelcontess.com

TRAVEL THERE: HOTEL CONTESSA’S CORK BAR

Where were you when American Pharaoh won the 2015 Triple Crown?  Deb and I were in Hotel Contessa’s Cork Bar.

Post-Siesta Margaritas

We’d taken a small siesta, gotten all gussied up and were ready for happy hour.  The Cork Bar, on the River level of Hotel Contessa, was a lively place.  Last minute guests were arriving for a wedding on the Las Ramblas patio and bridesmaids were being lined up for their entrance.  Televisions near the bar were tuned to a horse race.  Deb and I ordered up a pair of margaritas, then settled in to enjoy the activity.

Vicarious Wedding Guests Watch Acrobatic Nap Demo

The wedding was our first focus.  San Antonio is a big military town, so we weren’t surprised that most of the men in the wedding party wore uniforms – and impressive uniforms they were.  We didn’t know the groom, of course, but he had to be a tough guy just to carry around all those medals on his chest.  The bride was lovely, but being unable to hear through the glass wall of the bar, we soon brought our attention into our immediate surroundings.

We chatted about how much we loved the hotel, how great the service was – especially the doormen and commented on the decor.  About that time a woman came down and tried out a large upholstered bench close to us.  She was in town with her adult son and joked about the luxury of not having to take him to the potty as she had when he was young.  After several attempts at sitting on the bench in different positions she decided the appropriate one for enjoying that particular piece of furniture was to lay down, but she didn’t want her son to catch her.  So her little nap was only a couple of minutes long.

The Triple Crown

The wedding continued, but we recognized quite a buzz around the bar.  Someone had turned up the sound on the TV.  We were almost irritated until we figured out it was the Belmont Stakes and American Pharoah was poised to win The Triple Crown.  The last time anyone had done that was back in the 1970’s.

As the pre-race coverage gave us the background stories leading up to the Belmont Stakes, Deb and I reminisced about our own horse racing experiences.  Chief among mine were George and Ruth, my very Baptist parents who followed the Triple Crown religiously every year, “betting” on who would win.  Soon the newly married bride and groom, led their guests to a mezzanine nearby, but we noticed several guests lagged behind.  It was almost race time.

American Pharaoh was a clear favorite, but the commentators hedged their bets by pointing out potential spoilers.  American Pharaoh would have none of that.  When the gate opened she was out and away.  No one even got close.  It was a thrilling outcome.  When the race was over, the wedding guests made their way up to the mezzanine and the others in the crowd wandered away.  Dinner time was upon us.

Deb and I had not decided on a specific spot.  I had my eye on The Fig Tree, The Little Rhein Steakhouse or Boudro’s Texas Bistro, but I was open to other options.  Where did we end up?  Come back next week and find out!

 

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

The Riverwalk’s Museum Reach

Jane Sadek
NAO tacos at The Pearl Farmer's Market
Our Riverwalk destination: NAO tacos at The Pearl

TRAVEL THERE: ON THE MUSEUM REACH OF THE RIVERWALK

So, on a bright Saturday morning, we strolled from the Hotel Contessa to the point where the Riverwalk connects with Museum Reach. We took a flight of stairs to the River level and made a right.

Morning on the Museum Reach

To our surprise, we pretty much had the Museum Reach all to ourselves.  We saw a few bicyclists and joggers, but in a tourism city like San Antonio we were amazed more travelers weren’t enjoying the river. (Maybe the others went to the VIA Informatiaon Office and were on trolleys.)  Forget tourists, why aren’t the residents flocking to this lovely pedestrian thoroughfare.

It was cooler down by the river.  An occasional River Taxi offered to take us further, but we were minding our pennies.  By walking we were able to enjoy the lock and dam.  We saw the VFW post I’d read about, but I guess it was a little early for their libations.  Gardens graced each side of the river and there were a number of interesting art installations, including some sort of grotto.

Lunch at The Pearl Farmer’s Market

It wasn’t a hard walk, but we were certainly happy to arrive at The Pearl when we did.  There’s a big hotel under construction right by the Riverwalk, so we had to do some maneuvering to get past, but I’m sure it will be great when the hotel is finished.

First, stop was the NAO taco stand.  NAO, the Culinary Institute of America restaurant, is one of my very favorites in San Antonio, but it’s not open for lunch.  However, they do serve tacos from a stand at the Farmer’s Market.  My research indicated that we had plenty of time to get our tacos, but we were hungry, so we headed on over there.  We didn’t find it right off, but we should have known, it was the booth with the big, long line.

We grabbed a bit of the sidewalk and shuffled along with the slow moving line.  You might assume that tacos from a food booth would be fast food, but there was nothing fast about the service.   They were making some sort of beverage by hand and the aroma of cooking meat was amazing.  The folks in line were both patient and congenial.  We wished for some shade, but were otherwise happy to be there.

Then someone announced there were only a few orders of left.  Five to be exact.  There were more than five people in line ahead of us, so I was terrified we were going to miss this treat.  Thankfully, in one group ahead, only one person wanted tacos.  Everyone else was there for the beverage.  Then the pair immediately ahead of us got an order of tacos to share and some beverages.  WE WERE IN!  We ordered our tacos and white sangria, paid the rather hefty price and were given a ticket for our tacos.  We approached the grill and traded small pieces of paper for heaven.

We found a table on the plaza, but were still wishing for shade.  There was a sort of arbor, but the vines they are trying to grow on it haven’t made much headway. (Note to self: bring parasol next time.)  Then we bit into our tacos and sipped our sangria.  All other thoughts disappeared.  It was suddenly well worth the trek to have the delicious treats.  There were only one or two orders left when we picked up our tacos, so we were grateful to the Riverwalk gods for getting us there in time.

There was a Farmers Market going on and I had planned on checking it out, but our stroll along the Museum Reach had used up our shopping time.  We decided to head back to the San Antonio Museum of Art, which was right across the river and catch a trolley there.  We still didn’t know when it would arrive, but we had all of the SAMA to enjoy while we waited.

Don’t Miss Dessert!

Lick, San Antonio, TX
Go ahead and take a Lick

On the way back to the river we did make one detour – Lick!  This little shop offers what they call “honest ice cream”.  Everything is organic, vegan, non-GMO, etc. and some of it is even gluten-free.  They use honey instead of sugar.  I’m not that big of a fan of ice cream (which is a good thing or I’d have more weight challenges than I do), but they did have chocolate, which I love.  Deb on the other hand adores ice cream and she assured me this was equal to if not better on the ice cream scale as the NAO tacos were on the taco scale.  I’m sure you can trust her opinion.

Next up?  The SAMA!  Will we or won’t we connect with the trolley?  Come back next week and find out!

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

More Margaritas Before Fiesta Noche del Rio

Jane Sadek
Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, San Antonio TX
Souvenir of another trip to San Antonio

TRAVEL THERE: JUST A COUPLE MORE SAN ANTONIO MARGARITAS BEFORE THE SHOW

After the Margaritas at the Menger Bar,  we took ourselves on a tour of the Menger Hotel lobby. They have extensive displays related to the history of the hotel and you can tell from the architecture she’s a grande olde dame of the accommodations world. If you like staying in historic hotels, which I usually do, I’m sure it’s quite a treat, but I’ll be staying at the Contessa for the foreseeable future.

Touring the Menger Hotel

The front of the Menger is graced with a collection of retail establishments. The antique store, which looked amazing, was closed, but we did go into a toy soldier store and an exotic trinket store. When I say toy soldiers, I’m not talking plastic bags of green army men. I’m talking historically-correct, hand-painted metal soldiers. A chapter of Deb’s life is tied to these interesting collectibles, so we usually stroll through establishments that sell them. The exotic trinket store offered interesting junk that has nothing to do with San Antonio, but it was filled with marvelous aromas and Deb found a bracelet she liked.

Dinner at Casa Rio

Our next stop was dinner and for that we went to one of my favorite places, Casa Rio. I’m not going to tell anyone that it’s the best Mexican Food in San Antonio, but it’s still on on my list of favorites. There is something about sitting there on the Riverwalk, drinking Margaritas, eating Tex-Mex and listening to live Mariachis. I’m sure there are several places to do that along the Riverwalk, but this was the first place to offer it a very, very long time ago and it’s one of my San Antonio traditions, just like pictures of The Alamo.

I have to scold them a little bit though, the Margarita was awful, even though we paid a dollar extra to get the premium tequila. Shame on Casa Rio! The food was great though and we are grateful to each person that paid the Mariachis for a song, because we sure as heck weren’t going to fork over $20!

Every time I go to San Antonio I’m reminded of all the things I want to do there that I haven’t quite gotten around to. The Casa Rosa dinner boats are on that list. You need the minimum of ten people to reserve a dinner boat to ply through the waters of the Riverwalk as you eat your tostadas and tamales. I guess that’s a pretty silly thing to want to do, but there you have it, I’m a sucker for a party. I think I’m going to serve Caronas on my boat though. I’m still upset about our awful Margaritas!

Buckhorn Saloon, Museum, Arcade etc. etc. etc.

With dinner out of the way, there was just time to squeeze in one more thing.  Deb had gone to the Menger Bar for me, so I wanted to get to the Buckhorn Saloon for her. It was one place she mentioned having an interest in.  Now if you’d wanted to visit the original Buckhorn back in 1881, according to my official Centennial edition of their souvenir book, you would have gone to Dolorosa Street.  The bar would have been right across the street from the old Southern Hotel.

The Buckhorn Saloon
The Buckhorn Saloon

When I first the Buckhorn, sometime around its Centennial, it was out at the Lone Star Brewery, which is now the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA).  When the SAMA took over, the Buckhorn had to find a new home.  So nowadays, you’ll find it right around the corner from the Majestic Theater, just a hop, skip and a jump from the Riverwalk.

The Buckhorn establishment now has a very long name, because it houses two different museums, a saloon and an arcade, but when Deb and I arrived, the museums had closed for the day and the bar wasn’t yet patronized by the evening crowd.  Nonetheless, Deb and I ordered up Margaritas (for the sake of research you understand) and made ourselves at home in the virtually empty bar.

Memories, Margaritas and Rattlesnake Tails

Buckhorn Saloon, Rattle Tail Art, San Antonio TX
Rattler Tail Art from the Footnotes of the Buckhorn Souvenir Book

As we sat there comparing notes about our previous visits to the Buckhorn over the years, we agreed the museum part of the Buckhorn is a treat for kids – particularly the rattler tail art.  I started my visits to the Buckhorn when I was knee-high to a Longhorn steer and Deb brought her sons when they were young.  The whole Texas Ranger thing we can’t attest to.  We think the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco is the place to go for history of that sort, but you’ll have to follow up on that, because it was now time for the show.

Come back next week and find out about the best $15 dollars we each spent in San Antonio – and it wasn’t on Margaritas.

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

The Alamo & Menger Bar

Jane Sadek
Arneson River Theater, Riverwalk, San Antonio TX
San Antonio’s Arneson River Theater

TRAVEL THERE: THE ALAMO AND MENGER BAR IN SAN ANTONIO, TX

As soon as we moved in to the Hotel Contessa and got our ducks in a row, we hit the Riverwalk. First stop: Arneson River Theater to buy tickets for Fiesta Noche del Rio.

Fun Along the Riverwalk

It’s not very often that buying tickets rates as part of the fun, but then it’s not everyday that you’re buying tickets on the Riverwalk for the Alamo Kiwanas Fiesta Noche del Rio.

Deb and I enjoy life as if we were still the twenty-somethings we were when we met.  We strolled over to the theater and found a cute Kiwanas guy selling tickets along the Riverwalk, just as their advertisement had promised.  By the way, the advertisement promised they would be selling tickets.  It said nothing about cute guys.  We just got lucky.

Neither Deb or I have any use for any guys (on a permanent or even semi-permanent basis), because our husbands are more than enough (thank you very much).  But if you’ve got to buy some tickets anyway, it’s nice to do so from a personable young man who also happens to be cute.

He was probably young enough to be a child of either one of us, but we won’t go there.  As he rattled off the price of the tickets, he mentioned that seniors got $5 off regular admission.  We asked what age made you a senior.  Thankfully, he looked at us as if to say, “Not any age either one of you will be any time soon,” but what he actually said was, “No gentleman asks a lady her age.  If you’re willing say you’re seniors then that’s good enough for me.”  When we revealed our actual ages he remained incredulous, so he was immediately became one of our favorite people – but we did get the tickets for $15 instead of $20.

Visiting The Alamo

The Alamo, Riverwalk, San Antonio TX
And there she is – The Alamo!

The show would start at 8:30 so we still had hours and hours to fill.  We decided to head over to the Alamo.  Deb had a friend who said a relative of hers was in a picture on the Gift Shop wall.  We also felt somewhat obligated to go take a picture.  It’s like a rite of passage each time you visit San Antonio.

The landmark was about to close for the day, so we high-tailed it to the gift shop, but they must have remodeled since the Alamo defender’s descendant last visited.  No historical photographs were displayed in the gift shop.

Margaritas at the Menger

With the obligatory picture in our cameras, we decided to hit the Menger Bar for some Margaritas.  Now the Menger Bar is another of those spots I’ve wished to visit, but I never talked anyone else into it.  “You mean it’s just an old bar?”, I’ve been asked several times.  Well, nanny nanny poo poo, Deb and I went and we had fun.  The proximity of the bar to the Alamo and the prospect of margaritas, probably had as much to do with Deb’s cooperative nature as anything else, but who am I to complain about getting what I want.

Tom and Lula Mae on their 50th wedding anniversary.

See, the Menger Bar is not just any old bar.  It’s been around for a very long time.  Notable figures ranging from Robert E Lee and Theodore Roosevelt to Lillie Langtry and Mae West have sidled up to the Menger Bar to wet their whistle.  It’s most famous for Teddy Roosevelt using it as a recruiting station for the Spanish American War, but it’s also the place where barbed wire got its start.  I’m partial to the Teddy Roosevelt story, because my grandfather, Thomas Byron Mobley, fought in that altercation and Lula Mae, his wife, was the last one to receive widow benefits from that war.  A senator showed up one day to give my grandmother the check in person, but I don’t think Tom signed up down in San Antonio.  At least not that I’ve heard.

All that being said, the bar is a small dark hole in the wall with low ceilings and some historical memorabilia spread around.  It was great for people-watching, because several large family groups were there scarfing down their evening meals.  I can assure you the toddler who was so entertaining didn’t know or care about Teddy or Tom.  The bar also had a GREAT Margarita.  Perhaps the best we had the whole time we were there.  Certainly the best on that particular night.

Well, I’ve about worn out my welcome for the day, but it’s still not time to go see Fiesta Noche del Rio.  Come back next week for a tour of a few more Margaritas before the show.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

San Antonio’s King William District

Jane Sadek
The Guenther House, King William Historical District, San Antonio TX
The Guenther House

TRAVEL THERE: KING WILLIAM HISTORICAL DISTRICT IN SAN ANTONIO TX

If it’s art, I love it. If it’s Decorative Arts, Architecture and History, well I’m there.  That’s the reason we spent our first morning in San Antonio at the McNay.  It’s also the reason our next stop was the King William District.

The Guenther House

To be exact, our  next stop was The Guenther House, because I also like food.  The Guenther House is one of the jewels in the crown of The King William District.   The Guenther Family founded the Pioneer Flour Mills.  Ever hear of Pioneer Biscuit Mix.  Yep, that’s them.

The mill is still producing and you can sample their wares at the restaurant, right there at the home of their founder.  The home also serves as a museum and has a great gift shop.  Deb and I took a look at it all while we waited for a friend to arrive.

I met Clark in my SFA days and stay in touch on Facebook, but it’s always great to get a chance to chat in person.  We were able to get a seat right there on that covered patio.  Deb had a salad, I opted for the Champagne Chicken Enchiladas and Clark just kept us company.

Of the two dishes, I think Deb chose the better one.  Not that mine was bad – it just wasn’t everything I’d dreamed of when I read, “Tender slices of chicken breast and Monterey Jack cheese wrapped in Pioneer’s White Wings flour tortillas.  Baked in our special sauce made from San Antonio River Mill Champagne Chicken Gravy mix, garnished with jalapenos and cilantro.”  The tortilla was a little tough and by the time the melted cheese made it out to the patio, so was it.  The flavor was great, but I’m a real stickler for texture.

Steves Homestead, King William Historical Distict, San Antonio TX
The Steve’s Homestead

The King Willam Walking Tour

Soon Clark had places to be and I had the map a walking tour of King Williams in my hand.  Now I’ve been to the King William District numerous times, but I’ve never been to San Antonio with anyone else who is as patient with my passions as Deb is.  Every time I’ve been to San Antonio I’ve told my traveling companions how great it would be to walk through the district and spend some time looking at each house.  So far no one had taken me up on it.  I’d been through it on a trolley tour, I’d gone on the Steves Homestead Tour and I’d driven through on the way to Guenther’s, but walking tour and San Antonio had not clicked with any of my potential walking tour companions.

Villa Finale, King William Historical District, San Antonio Texas
Villa Finale

Of course, Deb thought it was a great idea and it turned out to be just that.  We left Guenther’s and figured out where we were on the walking tour map.  Then we did just what I’d wanted to do, strolled along and discussed all the beautiful homes with the Walking Tour Map & Guide as our reference.  Along the way we did take in the Steve’s Homestead Tour – delightful, by the way.  We were a few minutes late for Villa Finale, so we just enjoyed the grounds.  As beautiful as these homes are they only scratch the surface.  Each home in the five block area is a treasure.

So, yes, if you go to San Antonio you should do the walking tour.  San Antonio is notoriously hot and humid, and we walked the whole thing in ninety something  weather, but it was fine.  In fact, the tree-shaded sidewalk made it very pleasant.  On the way back to Guenther’s we dropped down to the River and enjoyed the serenity.  This is one of my favorite memories of this trip.

But the Riverwalk was calling.  We had reservations at Hotel Contessa and we wanted to see the Fiesta Noche del Rio at the Arneson River Theater.  Come back next week and I’ll tell you all about it!  In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from the King William Walking Tour.

In the Villa Finale Garden
The Joske House – important because my Mom worked for Joskie’s Department Store for years.