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.
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.
Deb in Taste and See
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 veggedout 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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
The view at Chart House atop the Tower of the Americas
TRAVEL THERE: SAN ANTONIO’S CHART HOUSE RESTAURANT
If there is one thing I hate, it’s a reviewer that can’t find anything good to say about any place they stay or eat. I wasn’t loving the place we stayed the first night in San Antonio, but I wasn’t going to let that color the rest of my experience.
Going with the Flow
I was the one who wanted to stay in a cheap hotel, but I had high hopes for the rest of the stay. One of the reasons I’d opted for the first night in a bargain was because I really didn’t expect to arrive in San Antonio until late that night, but travel is really all about dealing with change.
I’d expected sight-seeing in Austin, another town I love, but taking the tollway just got me to my favorite city a little faster. Having a meal in the Tower of the Americas had been on my list for a long time and the change in plans gave me the opportunity to do just that.
The Way It Was Before
Way back in the summer of 1968, on a family visit to the Hemisfair, we did not have dinner in the tower. If memory serves me right, I’m pretty sure we didn’t pay the price of ride up the elevator either. I think something like that would have stuck with me. I remember the wonder of walking through all of the amazing pavilions and adored the Institute of Texan Cultures, but all my memories of the tower are from the ground looking up.
In subsequent visits other things kept me from visiting the tower:
budget
bad reviews of the restaurant
not enough time
traveling companions who thought it was a tourist trap
I thought that the “not enough time” issue might come into play on this trip, too. I always have so many favorite things to return to in San Antonio that it’s hard to find time try new experiences. Arriving hours before I expected to, paved the way for an experience I’d wanted to have for a long time.
The Way It Was This Time
With a map, instructions from the hotel clerk and a GPS we set out for downtown San Antonio. Just as the clerk promised we found parking at RiverCenter Mall with no trouble. Somewhere inside my head is a map of the Riverwalk, but it always takes a little while for that map to sync with all the development around the popular attraction. We could see the tower and my mind told me where we should go, but we kept running into obstacles that my old mental map didn’t know about.
It didn’t help that the “You Are Here” map provided by the city next to the river did not have the promised red dot telling me where we were. Still it was only a minor irritation, because I followed my gut around the obstacles and soon recognized we were on the Hemisfair grounds – then all we had to do was look up.
The tower at night
If I was ever in San Antonio with time to kill, I think I’d kill some of it just enjoying Hemisfair Plaza. It’s a very pretty place, but I had my eye on the top of the tower. There was a booth selling elevator rides and the ticket salesmen pointed us to the other side of the tower for the Chart House Restaurant. We sidled up to the desk and asked if they had room for us. To my great joy, they did.
We had to walk back around the tower to the elevator, but this time we were inside. After a short wait and a quick conversation with a couple of guys who were also on their way to dinner, we arrived. From the picture above, you can tell that it was a pretty spectacular experience. The view alone was amazing. The restaurant was also nice.
I’ve been in Dallas’s Hyatt Regency Reunion Tower and the Westin’s Peachtree Plaza Tower in Atlanta, so I can tell you that the experiences are very similar. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that the same architect designed them all. I can also tell you that this was not just a me-too experience. San Antonio is a town very different from Dallas and Atlanta. The spontaneous opportunity turned into a evening I won’t forget for a long time.
We were not seated immediately, but that was OK. We hadn’t had reservations and it was obvious that a lot of other people did. What was not OK, was that if I was going to wait I would have liked to enjoy a drink. The hostess pointed us at several groupings of leather chairs and told us to wait. I assumed it would be a short wait. There was an observation deck above, which may or may not have had a bar, but if I’d known we’d be cooling our heels for a while I would have at least gone exploring.
Still, I wasn’t an unpleasant experience. I sat in the big comfy leather sofa and enjoyed the view. I also enjoyed the arriving dinner patrons. Many were dressed to the nines, suggesting the meal was a special event. The restaurant was also recovering from a big busload of diners. Observing them go down the elevator in batches of a dozen was somewhat interesting.
After the noisy bus tour was back on the ground, a sort of calm settled of the restaurant and I smelled a fragrance I couldn’t at first identify. I pointed it out to Deb and we agreed it wasn’t a food smell and kept trying to guess what it was. Saddle Soap!! The leather sofas had been recently cleaned with saddle soap. There was no residue and the fragrance was subtle, but I enjoyed the little smell association game. Finally, they seated us.
Seated at the Top of San Antonio
We were looking north-ish when we first sat down – sort of toward our lovely Microtel. Not that we could pick it out from up there. As the evening played out we enjoyed the view until we were south-ish, but by then the city had disappeared into the darkness and all we could see was the lights. One disappointment was that you cannot see the Alamo for the big Marriot which is attached to the RiverCenter. That would have been quite wonderful.
What was wonderful was the food. The prices were a little steep. Not that they were expensive for what they offered, they were just more than I usually pay for a meal. We made choices around the outskirts of the menu, not so much for the cost, but because that’s what sounded good. And of course, we ordered Margaritas!
I started with Lobster Bisque – thick, creamy and delicious – just the way I like it. It was not the best I’d ever had, but it was a treat. Deb chose a salad and it was HUGE. Our next course was side orders – sauteed mushrooms, asparagus and an OMG order of Lobster Mac & Cheese. Good thing Deb and I had decreed that nothing had any calories during this entire weekend, otherwise we would have just scored about two days worth of them. OH – and we had a souffle for dessert. My mouth and stomach were in heaven and the view was out of this world.
Farewell to a lovely experience.
Since this trip was my belated birthday celebration, when we met Cousin Brenda she had a belated birthday present for me. Along with some lovely fragrance gifts for my house, she also gave me one of those gift cards you can use for whatever you want. What I wanted was dinner at the Tower of the Americas. Thank you Brenda. We didn’t have to wash dishes to leave the tower.
Maneuvering back to the car was no problem. My internal map had synced with the city. We did have an adventure getting back to the hotel. First the GPS couldn’t figure out where we were when we left the parking lot and then there was the back road approach to the hotel, but all’s well that ends well – right?
Our next stop? The McNay! You’re going to love it, so come back next week.
jane sadek 