An Average Joe in San Antonio

After playing volleyball, you can work up a pretty good appetite; this is why my team and I always go snag some food after the big game.  I suggested Martha’s after last game because of the fact that I saw an advertisement for $1.00 margaritas during happy hour if the temperature was over 100 degrees!  Now, I realize that it was well after happy hour, but hey, a catchy advertisement still gets me thinking about the place!

This is some great advertising during the summer heat!

Apparently, this Wednesday night was a biker night at Martha’s – there were tons of motorcycles, leather, a dj spinning some tunes, and a chip/salsa/queso bar set up outside!  One of the guys on my team brought some chips and salsa to the table and they were inhaled.  The salsa was incredible fresh made primarily of tomato and some peppers.  I went back to refill and noticed that there was also some free queso!  I gave my friend some grief, because it is common sense to NEVER turn down free queso!!!!  Not only that, but the queso was really really good; had just the right amount of spice in it.

Now Martha’s is a clever restaurant.  You see, they have some really good combination specials, and the #1 automatically comes with guacamole on the side; the other combinations are appealing, but they do not come with guacamole.  Having seen the guacamole listed first you are like, “Man, I want some guacamole,” but you would have to pay an extra buck to get it added thus blowing the cost of the combo out the water!  I didn’t want the #1, but I did want guacamole so I looked all over the menu for a platter that had it on the side.  I ended up going with the Taco Salad.

Have you ever heard the Budweiser “Real Men of Genius” commercial about the Taco Salad Guy?  Well there have never been truer words spoken with regards to Martha’s taco salad – they pile all sorts of goodness in it including cheese, sour cream, guacamole, rice, chicken tomato and lettuce; I even took mine over to the spot on the patio and loaded it up with queso (this is an excellent touch and I would advise you to do the same).  The shell was really flakey and held its crispiness throughout the entire meal.  I was stuffed after eating only half of it!

Here's to you, Mr. Taco Salad inventor guy!

In spite of the patio being packed, our waitress was extremely proficient; she was pretty good at getting all our drinks out to us in a timely fashion and also interacted with the table both in dishing out and receiving a bunch of cracks/jokes/grief.  We accidentally let her know we wanted a split ticket at the very end, and again in spite of the large amount of people there, she was able to accommodate us without issue.

So while the heat has been brutal here in San Antonio, there is a place where you can relish in it, be nice and full, and even have a shot at a dollar margarita!

Value: 8.5/10 (there are some good patio specials, especially during happy hour but some of the entrees are a little high when they aren’t on special)
Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (loved the patio, especially during a biker night!)
Service: 10/10 (waitress was incredibly prompt and nice ESPECIALLY considering how packed the patio was)
Salsa: 7/10 (I liked the fresh salsa, but it was not one of my favorites in town)
Taste: 8.5/10 (overall pretty good flavor and will make you full!)
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Do you truly like to have a burger your way?  And by your way, I mean not only with just the lettuce, onion, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, and ketchup?  What if you wanted some grilled seranos? Or capers? Or artichoke hearts?  You would think you would need a place that was part burger joint and part supermarket, but you would be wrong.  What you really would need is Order Up.

Order Up is a popular restaurant near my place of employment and the menu is remarkably simple: Pizza, Burger, Taco, Soup, and Salad.  What makes it amazing is the level of customization that the consumer has over each of those items with an assortment of cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and sauces.

They have a terrific soup and salad combo, but this time I decided to opt for a hamburger.  When I go to Order Up, my goal is to make the most ridiculous hamburger that I can possibly create.  I don’t know why, I guess it is because I view the hamburger as my canvas, the options as my paint, and myself as the artist.  With so many possibilities, I feel like I cannot just create an ordinary burger but a masterpiece.

This time I opted to create a hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, grilled seranos, grilled mushrooms, and grilled pineapple.  The heat of the pepper really mixed nicely with the sweet of the pineapple.  The other thing that I like is that the meat is always good from Order Up; it is never overly greasy, but the little amount of grease that it does have gives the burger a nice flavor.

That is a highly customizable burger!

Lastly, be sure to park either in front or behind the main façade of the restaurant.  If you park in the lot on the side of it, you will be harangued by a female security guard, who will aggressively tell you that if you leave you car there you will be towed.  Just a thought.

Value: 8/10 (the base models (pizza and hamburgers) are reasonable, but it can get pricey adding on all the different toppings)
Atmosphere: 9/10 (I am amazed at how good I feel upon entering the restaurant; it has a lot of windows and the atmosphere feels as fresh as the food)
Service: 8/10 (friendly folks behind the register)
Taste: 9/10 (I enjoy the fresh taste of all the food)

Location is at I-10 and Wurzbach in the Colonnade