Restaurants & Bars – Page 18

Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Travel There: Groovin’ in Gruene

January 1, 2014January 1, 2014 Jane Sadek

Happy New Year!!

Most Austinites and pretty much the rest of Texas know about Gruene, but maybe you’re not from around here. First of all, forget how it’s spelled, it’s pronounced Green.

Now I’d always heard about Gruene, but I’d never been there. Most of what I heard made me think you either had to be into tubing or antiques to enjoy it, so I wasn’t too worried about the fact that I hadn’t been there. However, since I was officially “rambling” to San Antonio, I thought it deserved at least a fly by.

I was traveling with my copy of the Texas State Highway Guide from http://www.traveltex.com, so I whipped it open and read the blurb about Gruene to Bill. “I really just want to drive down the main street,” I told him.

Well, we found the quaint little town, drove through it and then ended up right by the Comal River where all the tubers jump in. Not that there were any tubers on this chilly day, but there was some pretty scenery. Bill parked right by the water’s edge, even though the signs all warned him that this was private property and hauled out the good camera. Once that was in play, I knew we’d be there awhile.

After our time at the riverside, we wandered back into town and found a place to park. The picturesque town begged to be photographed and Bill obliged. He started with a nearby B&B, checked out the dancehall and just kept clicking away.

Now the dance hall is of some significance. Gruene Hall has a lot of history tied to it. When Gruene was a small rural town, rather than part of New Braunfels, the dancehall was an integral part of the community. How else were farm girls going to meet farm boys and get together to make little farm children?

The tradition of the Saturday night dance is probably what kept the little town alive all these years, but nowadays, it’s more likely going to be frat boys and frat girls from nearby UTAustin getting together, rather than any one from a farm. Anybody who’s anybody in Texas music has played there and I’m sorry we weren’t there when the toe tappin’ was a-happenin’.

Then we found The Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar. Unfortunately, our hearty breakfast was still sticking to our ribs, but they let us come in and peek around. I decided I’d be coming back to Gruene someday and when I did, I planned to be hungry.

After The Gristmill, we returned to the Gruene Mansion Inn and explored their backlot. Lots of photo opportunities there, too. In fact, I’m just going to shut up and share some more of the great shots Bill got, but come back next week, because after our quiet visit to Gruene, things got a lot more exciting.

When I come back to The Gristmill, I think this would be a great place to sit.

Oma's Secret (Beer) Garden — Oma’s Secret (Beer) Garden

I thought about The Blogress when I saw this. What about you?

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

Austin’s Amazing Amaya’s

December 25, 2013August 13, 2015 Jane Sadek

Ranchero Deluxe, Amaya's Taco Village, Austin TX — Ranchero Deluxe

TRAVEL THERE: AMAYA’S TACO VILLAGE – AUSTIN TX

On our way out of Austin a few weeks ago, we breakfasted with my cousin and her husband at one of their favorite spots, Amaya’s Taco Village. It’s right on I-35, making it easy off/easy on.

What Decor? What Atmosphere?

Amaya’s is all about the food, because there isn’t anything else. Oh, there’s a spacious parking lot and a very clean building, but you have to bring your atmosphere with you. The walls are beige with basic orange peel texturing and the floor in linoleum. The tables are Formica. Most of the dishes are of either white or beige melamine. The flatware was really flat (you know what I’m talking about). In other words, we wouldn’t have been there if my cousin hadn’t taken us.

But my oh my oh my, are we ever glad my cousin took us. I ordered the Ranchero Deluxe. I knew I could eat the eggs and some carne guisada. I even planned to take a few bites of the chorizo con huevo. Yum, yum, yum. My cousin and her husband got huevos this and that, but Mr. Bill was not feeling very brave. He ordered the Pancake Plate.

The Pancake Plate, Amaya's Taco Village, Austin TX — The Pancake Plate

When they delivered the food to us, they seemed to put about a million dishes on the table. There was queso with carne, salsas of every description, tortillas and on and on and on.

I tucked into the eggs first and they’d gotten them perfect. I order my eggs hard, because I don’t like the runny stuff, but I really don’t want hard yellow disks in the center of my whites. The guy in the kitchen knew that somehow. Nothing ran, but the yolk had just gelled the very second he took them off the gill. Then there was the carne guisada. Tender beef in a perfectly spiced sauce. Nothing to take the top of your head off, just delicious. I even had a few bites of the chorizo. If I’d had any room, I might have eaten more, because they were good, but I was full. The refried beans and potatoes looked tasty, but they didn’t seem to mesh with my South Beach Diet.

Bill seemed to forget that he’s on the South Beach Diet with me. Yes, that’s a piece of sausage peeking out from under that huge pancake and that’s real syrup he poured on there. Way to support me, Pancake Man.

With a hearty breakfast under our belts it was time to head further south. We discovered the wonderful little town of Gruene, so come back next week so I can tell you all about it.

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

Austin’s Cover 3

December 18, 2013August 13, 2015 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: DINNER AND A FUNDRAISER AT COVER 3

Next on my South Texas Ramble was Austin. Now there are lots of reasons to go to Austin, but this time my primary objective was spending time with one of my favorite cousins. However, while I was there, she was busy. She’s an Altrusan and they had a fund raiser that evening. Being a long time fan of Altrusa International, I was thrilled to participate. The event was sort of a happy hour at Cover 3, an Austin hotspot.

We were able to visit with my cousin for a little while before she scurried away to set things up. We arrived later with her husband. Let me tell you, Cover 3 is very popular. It was early on a Tuesday night, but you’d have thought we arrived at 7:30 on a Saturday evening.

It’s a Busy Place

Cover 3 is a sports bar and restaurant. The buzz was roaring when we arrived and the big screens were beaming action into the crowd. We asked after the Altrusans and were directed upstairs. WOW – how do you spell success? Every available couch and chair was full and making out way through the crowd was a challenge. In one corner folks were chatting up The Daytripper and in the other they were checking out the raffle baskets. We dutifully bought a handful of raffle tickets and looked for a place to have some dinner. My cousin had worried the proceeds of the event wouldn’t cover the minimum for booking the space. I think her worries were groundless. We gave up and found a table downstairs.

I’ve recently become a South Beach Dieter and this vacation was a trial run of what life is like on the diet. I quickly noticed the things I can eat are usually on the more expensive parts of the menu, but they’re also among the most delicious. Hubby had shrimp tacos and my cousin’s husband a burger. I ordered Sauteed Gulf Snapper with Fresh Blue Crab. Everyone else was very happy with their choices, but I’ve got to tell you, I was BEYOND happy. If this is dieting, then I can live with it. Since the menu didn’t say anything about the huge mound of mashed potatoes which would accompany my entree, I didn’t know I needed to select another side, but Bill was thrilled to clean those non-SBD potatoes off my dish and the huge entree completely satisfied any vestige of hunger I might have developed. I confess, I was jealous of the beers they were drinking, but I was a good girl and stuck with my water.

After the meal, we made our way back upstairs for the big finale, the raffling of the baskets. Everyone who won was happy with their haul, but I was not among the winners. We made our way to my cousin’s home and visited a little more before hitting the sack. It was a lot colder when we woke up the next morning. The Polar Express was on its way.

Come by next week and I’ll tell you about an amazing place to have breakfast in Austin.

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