An Average Joe in San Antonio

I am often asked where my favorite place in town to get a margarita, and I have to say that I really like the margarita’s at El Jarro de Arturo.  I like the Arturo margarita because it is not syrupy or all that sugary sweet.  I one time talked to a waiter about how they make it, and took his advice, added a little more tequila and a twist of orange and have my margarita recipe which is seen below:

*2 shotglasses of Patron Silver
*1 shotglass of Cointreau
*1 shotglass of freshly squeezed lime (using a lime squeezer this is about 2 limes)
*twist of a fresh orange

Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker; shake and serve in a martini glass.

I like it because you can still taste the tequila (hence the importance of using good tequila) and it just tastes fresh.

That’s it. Simple. Easy. Fresh. Potent.

Be sure to vote for El Clásico inn the Patrón Cocktail Lab on Facebook so that it becomes the most popular margarita!

Back in December of 2008 I was at HEB and I had what most people might deem the weird idea of mixing General Tso’s Chicken with mashed potatoes and fried okra. I know that this sounds odd, but it is really not all the bizarre at all. I mean, HEB’s General Tso’s (they call it General Joe’s) Chicken is chicken nuggets in spicy sauce, essentially a boneless wing.

The employee informed me that in no circumstance was I allowed to mix a Chinese entree with American sides. What was further aggravating was the fact that they were (1) about to close the food court so all the food was in the process of being tossed and (2) the cost of both meals are the exact same. So in no way did it make sense that I should not be allowed to mix the Chinese entree with American sides.

HEB is the great wall between Chinese entres and American sides mixing.

I was slightly upset, more because to me it just didn’t make sense. This situation was akin to your parents telling you to do something and upon being asked why giving the answer, “Because I said so.” I mean, I am a rational person. Had the American plate been $1.50 more than the Chinese plate, I would have paid the difference, but they were the same price. Why couldn’t I have them?

I was up for the challenge and had some time on my hand so I wrote a letter and sent an email to every HEB email address I could find, sent a paper letter to Charles Butt (CEO), the Corporate Customer Relations Team, and the Store Manager. I actually ended up getting a message left on my machine (which I left for over a year because it cracked me up) from a lady telling me that I could absolutely mix my entrees. She assured me that we would not have this problem again. NOTE: I appended the letter I wrote in 12/2008 at the bottom of this post.

Fast forward to tonight. I had a long day. I had seen a lot of potential clients. All I wanted, for whatever reason, was General Tso’s Chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I mean, I haven’t seen a vegetable in sometime now and was craving one.

I finished my grocery shopping and went to the food court. You could tell that the food was picked over and they were about to fold up shop. I asked for General Tso’s chicken and as the lady began scooping rice, I informed her that I would prefer mashed potatoes. She stopped scooping and informed me, “We aren’t allowed to mix.”

I couldn’t believe it! I let her know that, “Yes, you can mix, they do it for me all the time,” to which she replied, “No, I can’t mix, I’m sorry.” I assured her that I had been through this before and even had a voice message from a lady from the corporate office who said I could do this. “No, you can’t mix.” I ended up sending out a couple of tweets that I hope @HEB will soon notice.

Ugh! Imagine how unfulfilling guacamole would be if you could not combine a Mexican avocado with a Roma tomato? Or not putting a French vanilla scoop of ice cream on that apple pie? Or no French’s mustard on a Swiss and Turkey sandwich? Uncle Ben would not even be able to make Spanish Rice for cryin’ out loud! What type of world would that be!

Don't forget, Turkey's a country too.

This is why I am upset. It is 2010. I support interracial food mixing and I hope that you do to. Be sure to leave a comment so that HEB knows that they should allow us to once again mix Chinese entrees with American sides.

You can also click here to Tweet out this story with the hash tag of #supportinterracialfoodmixing

God bless food with diverse backgrounds, God bless America.

Original Letter from 12/2008

Sir or Madam of the Customer Relations Department,

Hello, my name is Garrett Heath and I am a regular shopper at the H-E-B on I-10 and DeZavala. I enjoy your selection of produce (particularly the Honey Crisp Apples that are now in season) and overall I am content with paying slightly higher prices than Wal-Mart because the quality is better.

I do, however, have a problem that I would like to see addressed as soon as possible. I often go to the food court inside the store and often order some of the Chinese or American food. Tonight, I was in an adventurous mood and wanted to order the General Tso’s Chicken along with mashed potatoes w/cream gravy and fried okra. I don’t know why I wanted to order that combination other than the fact that it sounded good.

I was informed by the employee that I cannot combine American sides with a Chinese main course. I asked the employee which combo meal is more expensive, the American or the Chinese, and offered to pay the higher price. He told me that they were the same cost but I could still not combine the American sides with the Chinese main course.

My question is why? I mean, the food court was shutting down; they were probably going to be throwing the food away anyway. This is the 21st century where different ethnic groups get together all the time, why are they not allowed to do the same at the H-E-B food court?

Needless to say, I was not happy. No, I did not want rice and an egg roll. I wanted mashed potatoes and okra! Fried chicken is an American entrée, so I did not see the big deal in getting a chicken entrée from the Chinese menu. I was aggravated and simply decided to leave. Not only did you lose out on my food court purchase (which was roughly $5.00) but also on my grocery purchase for the evening (which was substantially more) as I decided to do my shopping at Whole Foods instead.

Does this not seem insane to you? Why can’t you combine the American sides with the Chinese main course? I don’t imagine that this happens often, however, I can’t be the only one that you have upset.

I hope that you can resolve this issue in the near future, after all, they are the same price! I will be checking back soon to see if I can get my mashed potatoes and okra with the General Tso’s chicken. If you are unable to accommodate this request, I will just shop elsewhere.

Thank you for hearing out my complaint; I have also sent a letter to the CEO, Charles Butt, and to the grocery manager at DeZavala, Rick.

Regards

SanAntonioJoe.com has been around for a little over a year now, and I realized that I had not yet reviewed my favorite restaurant in all of San Antonio, El Jarro de Arturo.  I have told countless number of people how great their margaritas and food are, but I guess I completely forgot to make a post.  This is about to be remedied.

El Jarro is a family owned business since 1975 and is run by owners Arturo and Sandy Cerna.  You can really tell the emphasis is on family as you will see many of the same folks working in the restaurant year to year.  I really like it because in addition to the management, many of the waiters and staff have been there for a while.  You really feel like part of the family when you dine there.

Entering the restaurant takes you away from the hustle and bustle of Highway 281 and transports you into the interior of Mexico.  On the weekends, there is a band that will play a combination of Latin and 60s/70s pop music.  You can even shake it on the smallish dance floor.

The outside patio is nice, however, it is pretty difficult to get away from the fact that you are in a strip mall next to a major highway and Party City.  In spite of this, they do a pretty nice job of trying to set up an oasis to escape the work day with one of their patented margaritas.

Speaking of, I think that the margaritas at El Jarro are the best in the city.  Don’t waste your time with a frozen one or one with a swirl.  Opt instead for the real deal, The Arturo.  Made with Patron, Cointreau, and lime juice, this potent mixture is served in a martini glass instead of the more traditional rounded margarita glass.  The margarita is $8 but packs a punch that makes it completely worth the price.  A word to the wise – if you will be drinking a couple of these you better plan on having a designated driver for the trip back home.

Normally served in a taller martini glass, this margarita packs a punch. Have a DD if you plan on drinking two.

Their chips and salsa are pretty addicting.  The salsa is always made fresh and pretty chunky.  It is almost like a pico de gallo but not quite; depending on how hot the jalapeños are that day it can be medium to really spicy heat.  Arturo recently talked to the San Antonio Express News and gave them his salsa recipe which is pretty quick and easy to make.  Apparently they make 40 gallons of it a day!

If I have a friend visiting me in San Antonio for the first time, we will inevitably make a stop here for dinner.  For all first timers, I make sure that we order the Queso Flameado as an antojito (or appetizer).  As opposed to queso that most gringos are used to (the kind at Super Bowl parties), this is more of a thicker consistency that has some peppers and chorizo mixed in with it.  They will usually bring it out and light it on fire while mixing all the ingredients together.  It is best eaten on a corn tortilla.

In addition to having the traditional Tex-Mex fare, El Jarro offers a nice variety of Mexico-Mex including Norteño and coastal food.  This is why I typically rotate between three main options for my meal:

If I am feeling a little Tex-Mex, I usually order the El Jarro #3 which is two cheese enchiladas, a crispy taco (be sure to sub in the puffy taco!), rice, beans, and guacamole.  At just above $10, this plate will leave you completely full and satisfied.

For all you seafood lovers, you won’t be remiss to go with the Red Snapper a la Pepe.  More on the expensive side (about $22), the fish is served with a tequila tomato sauce that is really nice. You also get a Salad a la George with this meal, which is a Romaine lettuce salad with mango, jicama, red bell pepper, purple onions, avocado and a vinegar dressing.  The salad almost equals the fish; I love this meal because after I eat it I am full but I do not feel weighted down.

The third option I usually go with is a Norteño delicacy called Cabrito, or baby goat.  I know firsthand that this might sound strange to a lot of folks because when I moved to San Antonio 5 years ago and visited El Jarro for the first time I was kind of shocked to see it on the menu.  I kept going back to restaurant and wondered what it tasted like until one day I got the courage to ask my waiter about it.  He said that it was a specialty and one of his favorites so I ordered it.  I’ve been hooked ever since.

Apparently, I’m not the only one.  In 2009, a foodie for the New York Times wrote an article about how he learned to love goat meat.  The taste of cabrito is really nice because it is so tender and really isn’t a greasy meat.  I was a little afraid that it might have a gamey taste (I don’t like venison for this reason), but I don’t think it is gamey at all.  Cabrito is good either by itself or by making a taco on a corn tortilla with a little bit of guacamole.

The cabrito is a specialty at El Jarro; I ordered it this past visit.

After telling folks how much I liked El Jarro’s cabrito, some of my Mexican friends told me I should check out El Rey de Cabrito in Monterrey, Mexico.  Always up for an adventure, a buddy and I took a midnight bus down to Mexico back in 2006 with the express interest of getting the cabrito.  I will say that El Rey de Cabrito is better, but it is only by the slimmest margins.

El Jarro is one of my San Antonio staples.  I go there to celebrate birthdays, new jobs, or life in general along with going there to commiserate after a bad day or a failure.  It has been a place to take friends and family the first time that they visit me in San Antonio, and a place to return time and time again to catch up.  In short, the overall friendliness of the staff and exceptional food at El Jarro is San Antonio to me.  God willing, their doors will be open for years to come.

Value: 9/10 (you can get a Tex-Mex dinner for $10 that will fill you up or some higher cuisine for $20; the margaritas are $8 but pack more of a punch than two of the typical $4 ones elsewhere)

Atmosphere: 9/10 (Inside atmosphere is really nice and cozy; the patio is good, but you are in a strip mall)

Service: 9.5/10 (really nice servers who will guide you through the menu; I would give it a 10 but the thing is that the service can sometimes be slow; don’t worry, you are in the land of mañana, sit back, relax, and visit )

Salsa: 10/10 (different than most in San Antonio, chunky with a nice heat; don’t forget the recipe seen here)

Taste: 10/10 (my favorite spot in town; if you visit me for the first time we are probably going there)

Website: http://www.eljarro.com

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It’s officially summer with Fourth of July right around the corner which means time for picnics, block parties, and get togethers.  I know that a lot of times you might be asked to bring a dessert to one of these functions and you just might not have the time or desire to create something.

You end up going towards the prepackaged cookie section (heck, even if you get the chocolate cookies made in the store bakery, people know that they are still store bought), show up with the dessert that no one touches because it is not homemade, and end up going home with 22 of the 25 store bought cookies that even you don’t want.

There is a simple solution to this, Mama Heath’s famous Lemonade Ice Cream Pie!  Now, I don’t know if the recipe originated with her or not, but I really don’t care.  I always looked forward to summer because that meant it was time for Lemonade Ice Cream Pie.  I mean, it just tastes like summer and is perfect for all the shindigs you are going to.  The best thing yet, it is super easy to make (roughly 10-15 minutes of prep) and all your friends will think it is amazing.  Trust me.

Ingredients:

• ½ gallon of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla (don’t skimp out and get the off brand, you can tell)
• 1 can of Minute Maid Pink Lemonade from concentrate
• 1 large Keebler graham cracker crust
• 1 smaller Keebler graham cracker crust

Step 1: Drive home from the grocery store in the Texas summer heat.  Don’t fret if you hit a couple of stop lights on the way home as this will make Step 2 much easier on you.

Step 2: Get a big mixing bowl and dump the starting-to-melt ice cream in it along with the can of pink lemonade that is equally melted from the searing outside heat.

Step 3: Get a spoon and mix, mix, mix (I guess you could cheat and use beaters, but come on, it is soft ice cream and isn’t worth making more of a mess to clean up).  You will want to mix where two things happen: (i) there are no pockets of pure white or bright pink but instead a consistent pale pink color throughout and (ii) it is pretty creamy and smooth.

Step 4: Dump the mixture into the graham cracker crusts and smooth out the top with the spatula.

(Step 4b: Lick the bowl and spatula clean.)

You want the color to be this light pink; mmmm, I am getting hungry just looking at the picture.

Again, Steps 1-4 should take you all of 10 to 15 minutes and the payoff will be worth it.

Step 5: Put it in the freezer for like 2.5 to 3 hours to refreeze.  Serve and enjoy!

I will admit, just like the Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa recipe for Christmastime, the name does kind of sound gross.  However, you will find that the taste is light and crisp with a little bit of tartness.  The cold is refreshing on a hot summer day or evening – one bite and you will agree that it tastes like summer.

For like 15 minutes of time and roughly $10-$12 worth of products, you will make two Lemonade Ice Cream Pies that will not only be “made from scratch” but also be the hit of the party.

Tin Star is the newest restaurant to come to San Antonio on the hopes that the “gourmet” taco will catch on.  One of my friends had suggested that I check them out as he was possible that I wouldn’t be disappointed.  He even promised that there were green chili so I really I decided to go give them a shot to see what they were all about.

When I walked into the restaurant, I was greeted by a lot of people who were very friendly.  I even got to talk with the head guy (not sure if he was the owner or not) and he let me know that Tin Star is a regional franchise and that this was its second attempt at trying to relocated to San Antonio.  I did ask him about the green chili and it turns out that they did not have any to pile on the tacos, but there were traces of it in their rice.

The restaurant itself has a cool feel with free wifi and is really clean.  There were flat panel TVs playing the world cup and really had a nice open, clean feel to it.

As part of this gourmet taco experience, expect to pay higher than usual prices.  For two tacos, a side of rice and black beans, my ticket was over $8 with tax (and this is with a water); obviously this is not the prices that a San Antonian is used to paying for two lunch tacos.

They do have some more exotic tacos, and for a full list, I would suggest that you click here to see what they are all about.   I decided to try something unusual, since I was at a gourmet taco place after all, and go the pork tacos with honey chipotle BBQ and the fish tacos.

Before eating, you can dish up some chips and salsa (in the same vein as Mamma Margie’s) to take back to your table.  I think that the salsa was pretty disappointing as it was sweet with really no spice to it.  I don’t know how this salsa will last in this city.

Now, I will have to say that the tacos themselves were not terribly bad, but they didn’t live up to the $8/lunch plate expectations.  I thought that the fish tacos were superior and really liked their chipotle sauce that they put on it.  The pork taco had a good flavor on the meat, but the sauce really was too much and I didn’t really care for that sweet of a sauce on my taco (I know, I know, this is my own fault for getting the honey chipotle BBQ, I’ll accept that).

Would you pay $8 for two tacos in San Antonio at lunch?

The green chili rice was a little above average but the black beans were awful.  Now, I love me some black beans (especially with a lot of spicy seasoning), but these were just way too salty for my taste.  I couldn’t get through more than a couple of bites.

While the food isn’t terrible (with the exception of the black beans), I don’t think I will return because as an Average Joe I can’t warrant $8 for basically two tacos at lunch, gourmet or not.

Value: 5/10 ($8 for two tacos in the Alamo City at lunch doesn’t do it for me)
Atmosphere: 9/10 (Really nice atmosphere and is incredibly clean)
Service: 9/10 (Super friendly folks)
Salsa: 5/10 (Not spicy at all)
Taste: 7/10 (The fish tacos were good, pork was above average, but the black beans were awful)
Website: www.tinstar.us

For about a year now, there has been a group of Marketing and PR professionals that have been promoting the use of Social Media tools not only for businesses, but also for individuals and nonprofit organizations here in San Antonio.  They go by the name of The BMPR (Business Media and Public Relations) and offer an open invitation for anyone to attend the monthly meetings to “learn more about the exciting technologies and applications of social media, meet new people and connect with peers.”

I had been following Donna Tuttle, one of the founders of The BMPR, for about a year now on Twitter when I did a random search for “San Antonio” and found something interesting that she posted.  From seeing her tweets, I had been aware of this organization but just could never make a meeting.  I was finally able to be in attendance this past June which had a focus on blogging.

Now, for any of you folks who are like me and are as technical as a blue dry erase marker and about as PR savvy as BP in the current Gulf Crisis, a meeting with techies and PR professionals might be intimidating.  Let me allay your concerns as all the people were incredibly friendly as easy to talk with.  If they have a topic that is of interest to you or your business, I would highly encourage you to attend.

As far as the meeting went, I was able to learn a lot from some folks who are quite good at the craft of blogging.  I basically do this blog for fun and enjoy it nothing more than recording some of the places that I enjoy eating at in hopes that I can drive hungry folks to them.  I think I scored in like the 43^rd percentile of SAT II Writing, so I know my abilities as a writer are inane, but it is fun none-the-less to get to post ideas.  That being said, here are some things that I learned from meeting on blogging:

• Get a Little Technical – Be sure to insert Google Analytics into your blog and submit it to Feedburner; if you don’t know how to do this or are afraid, just bake some cookies as ask your technical friend as it won’t take him/her very long; it is fun to see who visits your blog and how they go there
• Fill Up Your CUP – Change, Understand audience, Post updates regularly; I will try to get better at this
• PINE is More Than a Longing for a Tree – Plan (have goals and focus), Interest (provide valuable content), Niche (rich focused content), Expert (get credibility)
• Use Grammar and Spell Check – To paraphrase Dawn, a speaker at the event, “ee cummings could use grammar and spelling however he liked; he’s a literary genius and you are not.” Yeah, I got to get better at this

For multimedia files on what was presented at the June BMPR meeting, be sure to check out the June BMPR Wrap Up + Tips and Tricks.

I think that they presented some valuable information and I got to learn a lot.  While I have employed some of them (the analytics pieces), plan to use some in the future (especially CUP), there will be some I ignore (notably the “Niche” in PINE as I realize that I am not a professional and want to sometimes talk about more things than just food or food in San Antonio).

Next time they have a topic that interests you, be sure to go check them out!

Website: http://thebmpr.com

Not too long ago some friends and I were out having drinks at a local bar and we happened unto a pretty funny idea of having a scavenger hunt that would make players find people with different kinds of characteristics in the bar (tall people, short people, people with red hair, people with red shoes, etc.).

More drinks came and we had more and more ideas where not only would you have to find a person with characteristics, but you might have to get a person to do something funny (do the moonwalk, sing a Miley Cyrus song, tie a knot in a cherry stem without using their hands).  This craziness served as the conception of an iPhone app that would become BarCards.

Upon release, the app has gotten a decent amount of press from Apple and was on the front page of the iTunes App store for several weeks.  BarCards was also picked up on different blogs including some major ones such as Mashable and Gizmodo.

I got to say though that tonight one of the cooler stories has just been released.  Jason Buch, writer for the San Antonio Express News, came out with photographer Ivan Aguirre to see BarCards in action with my friends and I this last Friday night at Rebar.  He ended up writing this story that was in the Business Section where he interviewed folks playing the app and even some people who were asked random questions.

In case you might be interested, I have also started a blog over at Piñojo Productions that gives insight into the app development process from a VERY non technical person’s point of view.

I am pretty pumped how an app that started out over a couple of beers has taken a life of its own!

This is the newest bar game that is sweeping the Alamo City.

What is Mr. Gameshow?

Most people have dreamed of being on a gameshow at one time or another but have never had the chance to meet Vanna, Alex, or Bob Barker.  For all you aspiring gameshow contestants, there is only one place to hone your skills in preparation – at the bar with Mr. Gameshow.

The game is a real life gameshow complete with a host, buzzers, and even gameshow music!  I was told of this new phenomenon by DS, one of my friends on my volleyball team.  He had been raving about Mr. Gameshow for some time now, so this past Thursday after our game we decided to go and check it out at Rebar.

Seriously, how can something like this not be awesome?!?!??

The game is pretty simple; three players answer toss up style questions each worth 100 points.  The first player to 1,000 points (or the player leading after 15 minutes) wins the game.  The fun part is the variety of questions that Mr. Gameshow asks.

There will be stock trivia questions (name the colors of the rainbow), musical questions (think “Name That Tune” as players have to buzz in as soon as they know the artist singing the song), questions to test levels of inebriation (how many fingers am I holding up), and even questions to see who is the best dancer (judged completely by the other patrons in the bar so you better get your “lawnmower” on).

What I particularly liked was the fact the Mr. Gameshow himself crowdsourced additional questions from the patrons of the bar. The types of questions were a grab bag of serious, such as “What is the only city to straddle two continents?” (Istanbul), or silly such as “Why don’t you shower with a Pokemon?” (because he might Peek-at-chu).

If you are looking for something fun that is completely out of the ordinary, I highly recommend checking out Mr. Gameshow’s website to find out where he will be next.  He also is available for parties and I’m sure it will be one that you or your friends won’t soon forget.

Mr. Gameshow Website

Mr. Gameshow on Twitter

They say that you can never go home again, but I firmly believe that you can at least visit.

I’m a West Texas boy through and through; you probably have noticed it from my colloquial style of writing, and if you ever heard me open up my mouth, you would know immediately that I am not from South Texas.  I know that West Texas is incredibly flat and treeless, but to me, there is a charm in that desolate landscape.

To paraphrase a comment that I once heard Joe Ely say (and this is not verbatim): West Texas is strange because if you sit in the middle of a cotton field and look up you feel two diametrically opposed things.  At one time, you feel like you are the center of the world and everything kind of is centered on you.  At another time you realize how small and insignificant you are and how big the universe truly is.  Go stand in the middle of a cotton field and you’ll know what he’s saying.

Lubbock is my hometown, and I had the fortune of getting to return for a family member’s graduation in the middle of May.  Being recently unemployed, I had a lot of time to spend with my family and decided to go up in the middle of the week.  By doing this, I was able to visit a good friend and one of my favorite places to eat, Giorgio’s.

Giorgio’s is a pizza joint in downtown Lubbock on Broadway and it is owned and run by George, one of the most friendly and smart people that you will ever meet.  George has a diverse background and speaks something on the order of six different languages, has a mechanical engineering degree, and has a ton of experience in a wide array of businesses.

The front of Giorgio's Pizza off the brick street Broadway in Lubbock, TX.

I have been going to Giorgio’s since I was a sophomore in high school back in 1998.  From that time until I graduated Tech with my Master’s Degree in 2005, I ate at Giorgio’s at least once a week (if not more).  The restaurant became more than just a place to eat, it because a place to congregate, celebrate, and just have a lot of fun.  There were many good memories (and good meals) that happened at Giorgio’s in high school and college.

When I went to Tech, I started getting a group to go there every Friday; being further away from campus and in a part of town most students don’t venture out to, it was a tough sell at first.  But after the first bite, people became hooked and many made the pilgrimage every Friday for some good food.  I particularly enjoyed going in college because there was no “time limit” on how long we had for lunch.  Often times, meals would turn into events full of lively conversation, storytelling, and full on clowning around.

George has his doors open Monday through Friday from 11:00AM – 6:00PM, so it was always difficult for me to get up to Lubbock to eat there when I entered the corporate world.  In fact, I don’t think I have been there in some two and half years.  I was thrilled to get the chance to finally get to catch up with a good friend and eat some really good food.

I was greeted by the familiar awning, window paintings having the prices (from 1998 to 2010, George only went up a buck and a quarter to $5.50 on his famous two slices of pizza and drink combo (tax included)), and the red and white checkered floor.  Walking in, George hollered at me, “Hey my friend, long time no see!” It seemed like only a week had gone by since my last visit.

Since this blog primarily focuses on food, I will write a little bit about it here. I always favored the two slices of pepperoni pizza as my meal of choice; it will definitely fill you up as it is pretty much a quarter of a pizza! What really makes it is the crust, it is the perfect thickness and a little chewy.  The sauce also busts out with fresh flavor and that combination just makes it awesome!

Recently (and by recently, I mean probably since 2003), I started ordering the meat calzones (particularly on cloudy days); they are gigantic and filled with sausage, pepperoni, cheese, and sauce.  You can ask for a specialty made one stuffed just with pepperoni (quite the gut buster) or one that is vegetarian.  I always opt for a side of sauce to pour a little extra in the calzone and have to dip the  crust in.  My mouth is watering right now thinking of it.

This calzone will fill you up for sure! I like to get mine with a side of sauce.

As you have read my blog you probably realized that food and eating out is, to me, as much about the experience and the people preparing the food as it is about the food itself.  George really delivers on this by really making you feel glad that you chose his restaurant to dine.

He greets everyone with the cordial, “How are you doing my friend,” and for anyone who has been in more than a couple of times, he already knows something about that person to carry on a casual conversation and will ask, “Do you want the usual?” In fact, Andrew, one of the guys who would always go every Friday with me in college, was in Lubbock on a recruiting trip recently and George not only remembered his name, but also enough about him to ask what he was up to in Houston, how the other folks were doing who used to come in with us, and also if he wanted the usual.  This had been something like 3 years since he had seen him last!

I value George as good friend and mentor; he is one of those entrepreneurs who has inspired me in my life and made me realize that I want to start my own business.  Many days around closing, I would go into Giorgio’s just to talk with him about business, life, and pick his brain about how to make it on your own.  These conversations left an imprint on me to this day and I try to adopt many of his philosophies and ideas.

Giorgio’s has experienced its fare share of changes as well.  Neighboring business has come and gone around his storefront.  Prices have gone up slightly.  Students who eat their religiously graduate and move on and new ones fill their chairs.  Employees turn over and new ones come in to help out; this was kind of a sad point for me as one of the guys I really enjoyed talking with left for another opportunity.

Yet the food, friendliness, and red and white checkered floor remains constant.  I might not be able to go home, but at least for now I can go to Giorgio’s, and that is close enough.

Value: 10/10 (At $5.50 for a full plate of pizza and a drink (includes tax), how can you go wrong?)
Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (In downtown Lubbock, this joint feels like a throwback with red and white checkered floors)
Service: 10/10 (Can’t beat it; everyone is greeted with a “How are you doin’ my friend!”; go there a handful of times and the owner will know your “usual”)
Taste: 10/10 (Some of the best tasting pizza, calzones, and lasagna in the world!)
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You might wonder why I decided to eat at two restaurants right next to each other for two days in a row.  I actually tried to eat there on Monday but it turns out that the restaurant is closed then.  This was another restaurant that I had a Groupon too and was excited to check it out.

The inside of The Little Aussie Bakery is similar to Sweetie’s Deli where it is an older house with hardwood floors and a warm atmosphere.  While we didn’t talk to anyone with an Australian accent, we were told that the woman who owned it was indeed Australian.  Additionally, this is a gluten free bakery, however, being gluten free doesn’t mean that the desserts look any less decadent!

Strangely enough, even though I was at the bakery, I didn’t really order any baked goods!  I decided to get the same thing as my friend which was a salad with mango chicken curry.  Now, I have never really had any sweet curry, but this worked really well.  The chicken had a little bit of spice and you could really taste the mango in it along with brown sugar.  The salad was HUGE and incredibly fresh with cherub tomatoes, cucumbers, and assorted colors of bell peppers.  It was accompanied with a little bit of fresh baked bread that had this garlic butter that was to die for.

For some funky and fresh food, you can't beat the mango chicken curry.

Our waiter was incredibly cheerful and friendly and talked with us offering suggestions on the menu along with just chit chatting.  The light and pleasant conversation went well with the light meal to just leave you feeling good as you went back to work.

Value: 7.5/10 (A little expensive for lunch at $10/plate, but you pay for freshness)
Atmosphere: 9/10 (Another chill restaurant with a quirky feel to it)
Service: 10/10 (The waiter made you feel good and happy to be there)
Taste: 9.5/10 (Everything was fresh, fresh, fresh)
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