An Average Joe in San Antonio

Recently, Godai opened up a new restaurant in The Ridge shopping center off of 1604 and Lockhill Selma.  This is the latest restaurant of Mr. Goro who is a staple of the sushi scene in San Antonio having opened Goro’s (since sold) and the old Godai on West Avenue.  This restaurant was to capture a more sleek and upscale feel, and in talking with our server we learned that he was going for more the Asian Fusion feel on his entrees and rolls.  I went with some friends to check it out. Please note this review is specific for THIS location as they are very different.

First and foremost, I should be fair and state that we went during their Soft Opening.  The three of us completely  realized this and knew that there would be a few minor bumps in the road as they work out their kinks.  This is completely understandable, but… Well, we will get to that in a moment.

The meal started out promising as we were given some bread with a pureed edamame dipping sauce that I really liked.  We decided to order drinks and chose three different ones: a cucumber drink (don’t remember the name), Geisha (an Asian themed cosmo), and a Zen-tini (lemon flavored with a popular zen green tea liquor).   The ladies I was with also ordered a spinach salad as an appetizer.

The drinks came out and looked nice, but man, two of them were pretty rough.  I liked the cucumber one as it was rimmed with a chile limon seasoning that caused you to pucker up and then be quickly relieved by the cool (as a cucumber) concoction.  To be quite honest, the Zen-tini that I got tasted like I was drinking Pledge and the Geisha smelled like some sort of bodywash and didn’t taste much better.   My friend couldn’t finish the drink, so I tried to gulp it down because I am not going to leave $7.5 on the table!

From left to right, Zen-tini, Cucumber, and Geisha.

We decided to order four rolls so we could sample a variety.  Since one of my friends is allergic to shellfish, we had to be careful in what rolls we chose.  I was interested in one of them that had shrimp, so we ordered it and she planned to avoid it.  We went with the California roll, Scorpion roll, Longhorn roll, and the Heart Attack roll.  One of the rolls had eel sauce on it, and my other friend (who is not as adventurous of a food person, but who will try most things at least once) exclaimed, “That’s friendship right there, eating eel sauce.” We made sure to throw in an order of pomme frites just in case the sushi didn’t sit well with her.

The order came out and was impressive looking.  Our server placed the rolls on the table, and it was at this time the meal started to go downhill.  We had asked her what each of the rolls were and, with a little hesitation in her voice, she went through and named them all.  We said thank you and started to eat.

As we were eating our rolls, I noticed that one of them had this pink sauce and I was pretty sure we didn’t order anything with a pink sauce.  We she checked on us, we pointed out this one plate of rolls and again asked her to confirm it.  She said that it was the Heart Attack to which I questioned the pink sauce on it (also the Heart Attack was fried (hence the name) and this clearly was not).  She decided to investigate further and found out that the rolls were incorrect and promptly brought us out the right rolls at no charge.  I was really pleased with the customer service and how our waitress handled the situation.

Let me divert from the experience and write a note on the food.  I have to say I was underwhelmed.  I have enjoyed Mr. Goro’s food in the past, but this just wasn’t that good.  It was as if they decided to simply pile a TON of stuff on the rolls purely to pile a ton of stuff on them.  The rolls were unmanageable and extremely difficult to eat.  When you did finally get one in your mouth, it was as if it just tasted like a bunch of mush and you weren’t able to really tease out the flavors.  I couldn’t really tell all that much difference between the rolls, which kind of plays into what happened next…

We couldn’t remember what roll had the shellfish in it, so we stopped another server and asked for another menu so that we could make sure that the friend who was allergic to it stayed away.  From the menu we identified the roll with shellfish as the Scorpion roll.  My picky friend was trying to eat part of the alleged Scorpion roll and was trying to half it (again, way to big to eat) and noticed something in the roll.  She picks it up on her chopstick and asks us what it is.  My other friend took a stab at it and replied it was a mushroom.  My friend was like, “There is no way that is a mushroom, it is an eel!”  Now, she is adventurous, but she definitely has no desire to eat or even try eel.  While this was happening, I was eating another roll and found a fair amount of fish bones.

When the server stopped by to pick up the menu, we decided to ask him what the names were of all the rolls.  He proceeded to name one as Roast on the Coast (the one with the red sauce that we knew was wrong), the Heart Attack (the one that we got back that was corrected), the Yum Yum (one we never ordered), the California roll (of course, easy), and one he wasn’t sure of but thought it might be the Widowmaker (the eel one, again we didn’t order).

Our original rolls, only the back left California Roll was correct. Don't know what the other three are? Don't worry, neither did anybody else.

At this moment all three of us were kind of laughing because we knew that of the four rolls we ordered, only one of them came out correct (California roll).  We also were just munching away and couldn’t really tell the difference.  One thing I will say for my friends is that we are a pretty easy going bunch.  I know that people make mistakes; heck, I make them all the time.  I want you to know that we were not being tacky, rude, or jerks in anyway.  We just let him simply know that 3 out of 4 entrees were screwed up.

Later, we were asked if we could have the plates picked up, but we wanted to wait until we got to talk with one of them so they knew we weren’t making a story up.  In all sincerity, we knew it was a Soft Opening, and if this restaurant is going to be successful they needed to know about this error.  After a while, no one had came to talk to us, so my friend stopped Mr. Goro.  We asked him to identify the rolls, which he did with the exception of the eel one (I thought this was curious that the owner didn’t even know what roll that was!) and apologized profusely.  He told us he would make it right and again, I want to reiterate that we were completely cordial while letting him know.

The restaurant manager later came over to apologize and to visit with us about the meal.  In this conversation, he said something like, “So we made a little mistake.”  Yes, we had been cordial and friendly and joked how know that no one could really identify our rolls.  However, at this point in time, I kind of felt like he was taking advantage of our friendliness and young age because he would have never said that to a staunchly dressed 40-something from Alamo Heights.  In a jovial manner (but wanting to make a point) I retorted, “Little mistake? I kind of see messing up 3 out of 4 entrees more like a major mistake.”  He immediately got defensive and said something about it “not being intentional; it’s not like we were in the kitchen planning to mess up your order.” I was kind of taken aback that he wouldn’t just let that slide and fess up to a mistake.

Soft Opening or not, you have to know your product.  That is the one thing that has to be right.  You don’t go to a soft opening at a steakhouse and order a filet mignon and are brought out a New York Strip.  The fact that 3 of the 4 rolls were screwed up was a pretty major infraction in my mind.

He did right the ship and said that he was going to cover the ENTIRE bill.  I have to admit, I was shocked.  I mean, I was hoping we could a little something but not the ENTIRE bill.  So I guess when it came to the rubber hitting the road, they really were interested in making sure they corrected the situation.  Major props in this area.

Soft Openings and screwed up orders aside, I have to say that I don’t plan on returning to the 1604 location.  While the location was sleek, it was pricey, and the food and drinks were not up to the quality that the price commanded (although the pomme frites were really good).  I’ll tell you what to do instead.  Save a little money, get better tasting food, and make the drive down to West Avenue and eat at the old location.  Hopefully they remain as good as they have been in the past in spite of this new location.

Value: 5/10 (thought it to be overpriced for the quality; $7.5 for drinks; specialty rolls in the $15-$22 range; go to the original Godai for value)
Atmosphere: 10/10 (Sleek and hip; they really got this right from the furniture to the holders of the bread and pureed edamame appetizers; captures the feel of an upscale sushi restaurant)
Service: For the first time ever I have to actually split this area out into two sections:
Service (Friendliness and Correcting Problems): 9.5/10 (really friendly and nice people; reacted to a bad situation quickly and made sure we were taken care of; for this I can’t thank them enough; would have been a 10 if not for the “little problem” gaffe)
Service (The Nuts and Bolts aka Getting Orders Out): 2.5/10 (really dropped the ball here; to this day I STILL don’t really know the name of the roll with the eel; they screwed up 3 out of 4 entrees, so they lose 7.5 points…)
Taste: 5.5/10 (edamame and bread, pomme frites, spinach salad kept them above 50%)
Website: http://www.godaisushi.com/

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I don’t know if you have noticed, but I have started to get into a rhythm with blogging.  I think that one of the reasons is because I have kind of started a weekly ritual where I stop by Sip coffee house downtown to read the paper, knock out some posts, and enjoy some good coffee.

Situated on the corner of St Mary’s and Houston Street, Sip offers its customers the kind of feel that you would expect in a bigger city.  There are large windows flanking two sides of the coffee shop with a bar that travels along one side where many of my posts have been typed up.  I like this shop so much because it is a way to feel like you really are in a big city since you can “people watch” the tourists and locals as they walk by, see trolleys/buses/traffic buzz by, and be surrounded by tall buildings.  All the while, the high ceilings and large windows are perfect for a Texan like myself because, even being downtown, I still like to feel like I am in an open space.

The bar that I often like to sit at to type up blog posts.

I think that you have to look at the cost of Sip to something comparable like Starbucks.  For starters, the coffee is pretty reasonable and you can get a cup of Joe in a refillable mug for just under $2.  While there is not really an abundant selection of self service coffee (I would like to see a “bold” offering), the coffee is good and always fresh.

They have an assortment of fresh pastries that they purchase from different bakers around town.  I’ve enjoyed the chocolate cream cheese muffin several times and the chocolate chip cookies are really good as well.  I have yet to try a slice of pie or cheesecake, but they are always tempting.  While I usually keep it to coffee, expect to pay about $4 to $5 if you throw a pastry in with it.

Assortment of pastries at Sip; sorry for the glare! The chocolate cream cheese muffins are at the top right.

Additionally, they have all the specialty drinks that you would expect to find.  This past visit, they had made a mocha freddo for a customer and had a little left over in the blender and offered me a sample.  I liked the balance of sweet and coffee taste and think it would be a good summer drink for tourists navigating downtown in the hot sun.  However, being an Average Joe I usually stick to the basic cup of Joe.

Finally, they do offer some different sandwiches for the lunch crowd.  I have to admit, I have never ordered a sandwich as I am usually just ordering a cup of coffee or a pastry.  If you try one out, leave a comment on this post about how you liked it.

The staff is incredibly friendly and always up for a little conversation.  I enjoy chewing the fat with them a little bit and to find out how business is going.  Additionally, stars staying in the nearby hotels (Robert Duval, the band Buckcherry, Kathy Griffin and others) often stop by before or after a show.  If you are visiting San Antonio and staying at the Valencia or the Gunter, I highly recommend you eating breakfast and grabbing a cup of coffee at Sip and enjoy some of the San Antonio hospitality.  Who knows, you might even see a famous person to boot.

Value: 8/10 (In like with Starbucks and other coffee houses, but you do get free refills!)
Atmosphere: 10/10 (Modern, hip feel with big windows that let in plenty of natural light; get to “people watch” all the folks on the street)
Service: 10/10 (really friendly and always willing to chew the fat)
Taste: 9/10 (good coffee, but would like to see a little more diversity in the self service offerings; never met a pastry here I didn’t like)
Website: http://sip.bigz-burgerjoint.com/ (guess they are owned by the Bigz Burger people??)
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If you have ever been just a little south of downtown, you have seen what I call the “Pioneer Castle” which is where C. H. Guenther & Son, Inc. make Pioneer Pancake mix, some of the best pancake mix that you will find, along with the White Wings Tortilla mix.  Founded over 150 years ago, the mill was the primary business of one of the great families of San Antonio.

The Guenther House was the original residence of the family and has since been renovated, placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and converted to a restaurant that is known for its breakfast and brunch menu.

I have been to the Guenther House quite a few times and have tried to write an article several times, but for whatever reason the articles always turned up flat; hopefully this one is a little better.

I like the Guenther House because it is one of the few places in San Antonio to find an American styled breakfast; while breakfast tacos and chilaquiles are easy to find, a place that serves good waffles, bacon, and eggs can be more challenging.  Furthermore, since I have moved to San Antonio 5+ years ago, I have always enjoyed Southtown and have been going down there since the property values were pretty expensive until now where they are more ridiculous than Alamo Heights!

The building that the restaurant is located in takes to days long and past, and while you wait (yes, there will be a wait of 30 minutes to an hour), grab a complimentary cup of coffee and wander around the old Victorian styled house and store.  If you aren’t from around Texas, be sure to grab some Pioneer pancake mix in the store to take home with you.

I will either order the featured waffle or, what I got this last time, the Guenther Favorite Breakfast Platter which includes two homemade biscuits, sausage gravy, preserves (the jalapeño is interesting but I really like the blackberry), applewood smoked bacon or sausage (go for the bacon), and a side of fruit.  For good measure, I always through a fried egg on the side because it goes so good with their bacon.

The Guenther Favorite Breakfast Platter with an extra egg; the biscuits are really good!

While this might seem strange if you are visiting town from somewhere other than the South, biscuits and gravy are really good.  You should try it, because unlike most outfits down here, the Guenther House will put your gravy on the side so you can sample it and see if you like it.  If you don’t, you will most definitely enjoy the blackberry preserves on your biscuits.

The bacon is absolutely delicious, thick, and crispy; be sure to get that fried egg so you can mix the bacon with a little bit of the yolk.  Really, really good.  Furthermore, the coffee is interesting and they have a special blend just for their restaurant.  To me, it tastes like it has a little chocolate flavor in it, but then again, I am not the most discerning when it comes to coffee.

My only complaint about the Guenther house is that it is a very expensive breakfast; now, you will definitely be full, but for the Gunther Favorite, a fried egg, and a cup of coffee, you are looking right at $12 for breakfast!  That makes it kind of pricey, but the atmosphere, the service, and the fact that you get to eat something that is made with a product from the mill right next to you makes it a treat to enjoy every once and a while.

Value: 7/10 (Personally, I think that $12 a person for breakfast is a little ridiculous, but…)
Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (…the atmosphere is really nice; the grounds of the restaurant is gorgeous, the outside eating area is really pleasant because you are right by the south part of the San Antonio River, and the Victorian house is interesting to tour; the inside seating area is a little plain though; if it is nice, eat outside)
Service: 10/10 (some of the best; I have seen many of the same waiters/waitresses since I have been dining there)
Salsa: 6/10 (they do have salsa for their breakfast tacos that I think is weak; again, go there for the American breakfast, you can find better breakfast tacos at many other places in the city)
Taste: 9.5/10 (I always have a good meal there and have tried a variety of dishes!)
Website: http://www.guentherhouse.com

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I was walking around downtown today and saw some really cool street art that someone had did on the sewer cover.  I think that is interesting how a little creativity can make something that we pass by every day really stand out.

I came across these sewer covers on St. Mary’s Street between Pecan and Travis Street.

I wonder how many people were working on this if they were doing it at night to get all the colors just right.

A little art doesn't hurt anything.