An Average Joe in San Antonio

One of the fun things about having a blog is getting to suggest some of your favorite places to the world.  Locals and tourists alike come to my site and get to find out what restaurants I think are a great representation of San Antonio.  I love sharing what makes this city unique.

It’s always a thrill when someone writes a positive comment on my blog or Facebook page about a review I wrote, so you can imagine how excited I was to be selected as a local food ambassador when Dish Trip came to town.  Dish Trip is the brainchild of Mary Bingham, a Philadelphia based food blogger, where she and her team travels to different cities, meets up with a local food blogger, and explores the culinary scene.

A representative from Dishtrip reached out to me via email with their itinerary and asked me for my suggestions.  After visiting with them, I was excited about their breakfast stop at Blanco Cafe and lunch stop at La Gloria Ice House.  I thought that these places would be a great way to show the traditional alongside the new.

Later, Mary gave me a call about her travel plans and I during the conversation I was so amped up that I was pacing along the front of my house telling her all the amazing places to eat in San Antonio.  There were so many more things to see and do than was listed on her itinerary.  Mary said they landed on Memorial Day Monday, and was curious if I would take her team out to some of my other favorite spots to which I replied, “Of course!”

Day 1

Mary, Amy (the social media guru), Jason (the techie genius), and Gary (the video expert) arrived to San Antonio late in the evening on Memorial Day.  Many of my friends were over at my house for a backyard cookout, so a bunch of us went out to give them a crash course in San Antonio.

After picking them up from the downtown Marriot, we headed for the Hofbrau Quarry, home of the Dosarita.  If you are not familiar, the Dosarita is a schooner of frozen margarita with a Dos XX flipped upside down in it.  While I don’t know if the Hofbrau was the first place to invent it, they were the folks who really popularized it here in town.

The Dosarita from the Quarry Hofbrau; I have to say that I am a fan of it made with Dos Equis Amber now!

Mary and her team were a little skeptical of how the drink would taste, but I assured her that it was going to be amazing.  When we all got our round of drinks, the group from Philly was not disappointed.  Not only were they impressed by the sheer size of the Dosarita, they couldn’t believe how smooth it was.

Mary with Amy at the Quarry Hofbrau drinking Dosaritas.

I actually tried a sip of the Dosarita made with the amber beer and enjoyed it far more than the Dos Equis lager that I typically order.  We had a couple of orders of the queso blanco, with a dollop of guacamole in the middle, which is a perfect sidekick to the Dosarita on the patio.

Since the crew was feeling good from the Dosaritas, I took them to Chachos so they could sample the King Kong Nachos.  There was no description that I could give that would prepare them for the mound of nachos that they were about to experience.

Gary had a great idea to film the making of the nachos, and he got some great footage of how they are actually put together.  When the platter of food arrived at our table, the Dish Trip folks couldn’t believe how large the nachos were and were amazed that they got a bowl of queso as a side!  I loaded the table up with tons of different salsas to dip the nachos in and was excited to learn that they now come with a bowl of enchilada gravy to dip your chips in!

Gary manning the camera at Chacos; he can make anything look good on film, including yours truly.

The Dish Trip crew was a lot of fun, and Mary even went up on stage to sing “Sweet Home Alabama” with the band that was playing that evening.  She sang her little heart out and even changed the lyrics to “Sweet Home San Antonio!”  Such a fun night!

Day 2

The Dish Trip team began their official Dish Trip where they stopped at Blanco Cafe for breakfast, La Gloria Ice House for lunch, and Sazo’s Latin Grill for dinner.  Because I had to work that day, I wasn’t able to go out and about with them, however, check out their video if you want a recap of all the great things they ate.

After their early dinner, I suggested that they chill at Schilo’s and drink some of their world famous homemade Root Beer.  I left work and met them there and we planned out the rest of the evening.

The official Dish Trip was over and it was time to sit back, relax, and have some drinks.  Since I hadn’t eaten, I took them to Titos where I ordered the enchiladas Tejanas and a michelada made with a Victoria beer.  Titos enchiladas are the best in town and I have been a fan of the restaurant since moving here.  Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to try something new, the Dish Trip folks ordered some enchiladas and a puffy taco to try as well.

Michelada at Titos!

One of their sponsors is Victory beer, a popular craft beer in Philadelphia, and they brought down a few bottles of the seasonal Summer of Love.  Being inspired by the Dosarita the previous night, Mary wanted to create a “Victory-ita” and flipped it over in a margarita she ordered.  I was a little unsure of how it would be, but it made the margarita have an interesting grapefruit taste.  I guess it goes to show that we should experiment more with what we dump in margaritas!

After Titos, we walked up the street to the Friendly Spot where the team was excited to find that they served Victory beer!  Amy has recently become enamored with beer and has been devouring books on the subject.  She loves to try new brews (and has the perfect job to do so!), so she ordered a beer from the 512 Brewery from up in Austin along with Oatmeal Pale Ale from the Ranger Creek Brewery here in town.

After the whirlwind of the previous day and a half, the team was just glad to kick back, relax, and watch some basketball on the outdoor screen.  I really enjoyed getting to visit with them, talk about the differences between Philly and San Antone, and learn how Mary had started her blogging career.

Since Amy was such a beer aficionado, I knew that our next stop would have to be the Blue Star Brewing Company so she could try some of their microbrews.  We ordered a sampler and all got to try six different beers.  The bartender was friendly and told us a little about each brew as we drank it.  I believe that Amy favored the smoky mesquite flavored beer.

Amy enjoyed the beer sampler at the Blue Star Brewery.

After all this food, the only way to end the evening was to take the team to Lulu’s for a 3 pound cinnamon roll and a chicken fried steak as big as your head.  Gary was pretty impressed that the cinnamon roll was note only huge but also really tasty.  Even though we were all full, we put a large dent into the chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and okra as well.

The gigantic cinnamon role at Lulu's! The night is finally over!

They came. They saw. They ate.  The Dish Trip had finally come to an end and all of us were stuffed.  I am so happy that the team reached out to me to show them San Antonio.  I had such a blast getting to meet Mary, Amy, Gary and Jason and learned a lot about professional blogging.  Be sure to check out the Dish Trip Site to see where the team winds up next.

These folks put in a lot of time and effort and it shows in their final product.  It was great for an Average Joe to become a food ambassador for a couple of days. Vaya con Dios Dish Trip team and safe travels on your next adventure!

Check out the Dish Trip article on their San Antonio Trip on Southwest Airlines blog.

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There are many places that make San Antonio unique.  Most of them are historic, but with the renovations of the Pearl Brewery, our city has a new hot spot that is attracting many interesting stores and restaurants.  La Gloria Ice House moved into the complex this past year and has fit right in.  Everything from the building to the menu proves that both the restaurant, and San Antonio’s culinary scene, has some chops.

As you walk towards the restaurant and see the calavera sitting on the bench, you know that you are in for a good time.  The restaurant gets every small detail perfect: from how their name is cut out of metal piece that holds items on your table, the table side purse rack for the ladies, and the really cool basket that the chips come in, the restaurant makes you feel carefree, like you are on a vacation.

The Margarita La Gloria: very blue, not so tart, and potent.

I had some friends who came into town from Austin and were looking at possibly relocating to San Antonio.  I wanted to highlight that our city also has a funky kind of vibe, so I decided to show off the Pearl Brewery, the Museum Reach river extension (they loved the F.I.S.H. sculptures), and La Gloria.

My friends have a 13-month year old daughter, and I knew that La Gloria would be the perfect place to take a toddler.  There is a good buzz in the air from all the conversation and how the acoustics work, so I knew she could be a little rambunctious without disturbing any restaurant goers.  Furthermore, with Pearl’s policy of “Please, Play on our Grass” I knew that mom or dad could take her outside to play.

La Gloria serves Mexican street food, so there are an abundance of tacos, tostadas, sopes, and tortas to choose from.  The portions are small to medium sized and are designed for you to eat and share with your table.

We wanted to try a little of everything so we got a molcajete of queso with chile, ceviche verde (on the suggestion of @ShrinkingFoodie), a traditional tlayuda (think Mexican pizza), panucho cochinita pibil, and tacos dorados de pollo verde (on the suggestion of Eva at Mesa a Mesa).

You absolutely have to order a molcajete when you go to La Gloria.  A molcajete is like a morter and pestle that is used to grind spices or prepare salsas in Mexican cuisine.  If you ever decide to purchase one, the best are made out of volcanic rock and you have to cure it out by grinding rice in it.  This will smooth out the molcajete which is very important because if you don’t do it the sharp edges will tear at your ingredients instead of grind them.  Trust me.  My friend tried to make a salsa with one I bought her before she cured it and it wasn’t working…

At any rate, the molcajetes at La Gloria come out of the oven at like a billion degrees and the contents are bubbling hot.  Don’t believe me? Check out this video that I shot.

My girlfriend went to La Gloria once before and raved about the queso molcajete so we ordered it.  The one we got was a little different because in addition to the queso there were a lot of chiles mixed in.  Regardless, it was delicious with just a very mild spice.  We spooned the boiling hot cheese onto corn tortillas and devoured the bowl in no time.

Since we ordered so much food and to avoid being verbose, I am going to show a picture and briefly say what I liked about each of them for the remainder of this post.

Ceviche Verde at La Gloria Ice House

I am not that big of a fan of ceviche, but the ceviche verde was working; what tied it together were the olives.

Traditional Tlayuda at La Gloria Ice House

The traditional tlayuda was on an enormous fried tortilla and had black beans, cheese, lettuce, avocado, and some really nice tomatoes.  Kick up the heat by topping it off with some of their house salsa.

Panucho Cochinita Pibil at La Gloria Ice House

The panucho cochinita pibil is the item that I would have left out (although it still was very good!).  The pork was similar to pulled pork that you might get at a barbecue joint without the BBQ sauce.

My favorite dish of the night, Tacos Dorads de Pollo Verde at La Gloria Ice House

The tacos dorados de pollo verde was my favorite dish of the night, and I don’t even like tomatillo sauce! (Whenever I hear of a verde sauce I immediately think of New Mexico green chiles so my taste buds are never prepared for the tartness of the tomatillo.)  You get three mini tacos that are stuffed with perfectly marinated chicken and topped with farmer’s cheese and crema that give it a smooth taste.  Be sure to get this dish when you visit!

To wash it all down, I had to try the Margarita La Gloria, which is a blue colored margarita.  While it is not as tart as traditional margaritas, it is every bit potent.  They also have a wide variety of aguas frescas, and when they brought out the sandia, or watermelon drink, I had to get a cup of it.  I liked that it was not too sweet and there was a good amount of pulp in it, in addition to the fact that you get unlimited refills!

Be sure to leave room for dessert! The Tres Leches Cake at La Gloria Ice House rocks!

Finally, you would be remiss not to order the tres leches cake at La Gloria.  Instead of garnishing the cake with sauce or chocolate, they let it stand on it’s own merits and it works quite nicely.  Incredibly sweet and moist, regardless of how full you are you have to have a bite.

Chef Johnny and his staff have created such a great experience for locals and tourists alike.  You would be well served to make a stop in midtown for not only a great atmosphere that extends from the restaurant to the river, but also for some incredible food.

Value: You can spend a little or a lot at La Gloria; while the plates can add up, you do have the ability to control how much you get.
Atmosphere: Such an amazing atmosphere! The devil is in the details and La Gloria gets it! What’s even better is that you are right by the Museum Reach portion of the river so you can go for an after dinner stroll
Service: The service had a couple of hiccups, but overall was pretty good (in fairness, they were slammed when I went); the main thing was  when my friend ordered a Caipirinha and got a pink fruity drink; the waiter said that it was correct but I know that the drink should not be pink; we pressed further and he finally got the right drink from the bartender.
Salsa: Fantastic salsa with the right amount of heat! The chips were delicious as well.
Taste: You aren’t going to go wrong with a meal at La Gloria, there is something for everyone and it all tastes fantastic! They are very deserving of the best new restaurant nod!

Twitter: Follow @LaGloriaSA
Facebook: Like La Gloria
Website: http://lagloriaicehouse.com
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Having won several awards from the newspaper and often lauded as one of the better pizzas in the city, Rome’s Pizza has been serving the Alamo City since 1986.  They have four San Antonio locations that canvas the Northside with most recently opening one in Stone Oak.

Having eaten at Rome’s in the past, I decided to take advice from some of my readers who left comments on a previous post that encouraged me to get out of my pepperoni comfort zone and try something more exotic.  I was glad that I did.

The restaurant has a classic pizzeria feel that is open with red and white checkered floors that I really love.  There are tons of different pieces of Italian ephemera that add to the environment.  It has a nice feel that accommodates larger groups (one time I ate there with a big group after we had helped move a friend).  The only thing about the atmosphere that didn’t work for me was that there was a sitcom on the television with the volume loud enough to be a distraction but soft enough to not make out the words.

I really love this salad and that is saying a lot coming from a guy who never eats salad.

I started with their Greek salad, which is one of my favorite salads in town.  They have a good amount of feta cheese mixed with red pepper that compliments the oil and vinegar dressing.  The tomatoes were super red and looked liked they were fresh picked.

I split a couple of personal pizzas with my girlfriend so that we could try two of their more exotic creations.  We ordered The Sauté, which was one of their white pizza selections alongside the Rome’s Deluxe pizza.  While I decided to get out of my comfort zone with The Sauté, I wanted to make sure that I had something more grounded to what I was used to with the Rome’s Deluxe.

Upon seeing the white pizza, I was glad that I decided to try something new.  The Sauté is made with mozzarella and Parmesan sauce and is toped with caramelized peppers and onions.  This alone would have made for a good pizza, but what kicked it up was that it had chunks of bacon on it.  Not like the soggy bacon, but the crispy bacon that had the right amount of gristle to make it salty when you bit in.  Delicious.

This white pizza was really good; the little pieces of bacon were the best part!

The Rome’s Deluxe came with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, red onions, and I subbed in jalapeños for the green bell peppers.  The sauce was pretty solid and I really enjoyed the crust – it was soft but had that crunch right around it.

For folks who like more traditional pizzas, you'll like the Rome's Deluxe. Sub in the jalapeños for the bell peppers to kick it up!

Yes, Rome’s can do a the typical pepperoni pizza well.  However, go out on a limb and try something different.  You’ll sure be glad you did.

Taste: Their specialty pizzas were really solid; thanks to all you guys who commented on the previous blog article who suggested that I get out of my comfort zone and try something more exotic.
Value: Dinner prices are more than you would pay at a chain pizzeria ($18 for a large specialty pizza); if you are really value conscience, check them out for their lunch specials to make your dollar go farther.
Atmosphere: Love the red and white checkered floor and the random things on the wall; the TV playing the sitcom just loud enough to be distracting was my only complaint.
Service: Straight to the point; the bus boy was on it getting our plates removed when we finished the salad.

Website: http://romespizza.com
Facebook: Like Rome’s Pizza

Juice in the City, a popular daily deal site for parents with kids in the “juice box” phase of life, reached out to me to see if I would stop by and grab some grub.  They sponsored the following meal that I reviewed. Get $20 worth of Rome’s Pizza for $10 (newest location at Stone Oak only)! You can purchase this deal from Juice in the City through July 4^th.

Daily Deals on Juice in the City

On rare occasions I have a meal where I get so amped up that I have to blog about it immediately. Today I had one of those meals and it was completely unexpected.

Rocker Dogz is a food truck idea by Chef Kris Martinez, except it is not a truck at all.  Instead it is a grill that Kris hitches up to the back of his vehicle and takes to cook up some mean hot dogs. Not being a full sized truck, he has a wider range of flexibility where he can set up shop to sell his food.

There was an email on the company list serve today telling us that Rocker Dogz would be cooking out back. I didn’t bring my lunch so a friend and I made our way outside to be some of the first people in line.

The menu was simple and offered four unique dogs: Thai Kick Boxer Rocker, Chicano Style Rockero, Italian Stallion Rocker and The Bella Bleu Rocker. Due to my love of Mexican food, I knew I had to get the Chicano Style Rockero and I couldn’t pass up The Bella Bleu Rocker because who wouldn’t like a hot dog with blue cheese and bacon?

As I worked my way to the front of the line, I got a chance to visit with Kris. Originally from San Antonio, he told me that he was a chef on some of the hottest music acts in the country including the Vans Warped Tour in addition to rapper extraordinaire Jay-Z. He was asked to go on another big rock and roll tour, but decided to try to start up his business here in San Antonio.

While Kris was preparing the hot dogs, he told each customer a little bit about each dog they ordered and what makes them unique. I was impressed at his attention to detail and the freshness of his ingredients; I could only hope that the dogs tasted as good as they looked and smelled.

Chef Kris Martinez cookin' up some mean Rocker Dogz!

I decided to start with the Chicano Style Rockero and was blown away on my first bite. The homemade chili was complemented by the poblano queso that made for a really rich sauce. The pico de gallo raised up the heat and provided more of a bite to the lingering spice of the sauce. There was a little drizzle of Mexican crema on top that helped temper the heat. The hot dog itself tasted like one that you might get at a ballgame and was very juicy.

After having the Chicano Style dog, I was fully expecting the Bella Bleu Rocker to be a little bit of a let down. To my surprise it was every bit as good as the first but in a different way. It was chopped full with chunks of blue cheese that further helped to calm the spice from the previous dog. The saltiness of the bacon went well with the smooth blue cheese. Kris apologized that he was out of the spicy onion sauce, but the hot dog was no worse for the wear.

Make sure your momma ain't around when you eat your Rocker Dogz, otherwise you might be slappin' her!

After getting my food, the line had grown exponentially with more and more people going outside after they had heard everyone raving about it. Some folks waited in line up to 25 minutes to get their dogs, but they were glad to suffer through the heat after they took their first bite.

I wish I could tell you where to go to try out Rocker Dogz, but right now there is no set plans of where the cart will be. Since he has been in business for only for several weeks, Kris is working on creating a social media following on Facebook and Twitter where he can update his location for the day.

Don’t delay, follow them today and you’ll not only get one of the best hot dogs that you’ve ever had, but also some of the best grub in the Alamo City.

Value: 9/10 (I know, I know, I HATE to pay over $6-$7 dollars for lunch, and at a price of $4-$5/hotdog you would think I would be complaining about how expensive it is… the fact is, yes, it is a little expensive (I paid $11 for two hot dogs and a Mexican Coke), but you know what, it is freakin’ good)
Atmosphere: N/A (it’s a cart so this isn’t really applicable; however, Kris plays some pretty rockin’ tunes while you wait)
Service: 10/10 (such good service, the head chef will tell you about what makes your hot dog unique as he prepares it and is incredibly personable)
Taste: 10/10 (what can I say, the best hot dog I’ve had in town and some of the best food you’ll find)
Twitter: Follow @RockerDogChef
Facebook: Like Rocker Dogz

Many times my friends have accused me of being overly optimistic in my reviews.  They can’t believe that everything that I eat is good, but I do enjoy most restaurants that I visit in the Alamo City.  Since I am not being paid to review restaurants, I typically go to places that folks recommend to me, so of course my reviews are going to be good.  How many of you recommend a bad restaurant?

This review, however, is for all those people who may be interested in where NOT to eat.

I have had my eye on the 410 Diner for a while; for the past three summers, I have played outdoor sand volleyball with the San Antonio Sports and Social Club and have driven past the 410 Diner en route to the courts many times.  I love the architecture and retro feel that the building projects.  I am a sucker for old 50s diners; Back to the Future must have something to do with this.

At any rate, the other day the stars aligned and I was near 410 and Broadway with my girlfriend and we were both hungry.  We decided to swing by the restaurant and give it a shot.

The inside of the diner was retro and pretty cool.  I liked the feel, the music, and everyone seemed friendly.  So far the experience was off to a good start.

We were both hungry and after viewing the menu chips and queso sounded like it would hit the spot, so we ordered that for the appetizer.  For my main meal I went with the Sonora Platter which is essentially a Mexican zucchini casserole that supposedly has a spicy tomato sauce.

I know what you are thinking, “Why in the heck did he order two Mexican food entrees at an American diner?”  Well, to me chips and queso are a pretty standard and the Sonora Platter was one of the few things on their menu that had a box around it.  I equate box-around-menu-item to mean that it is a house specialty.  Call me crazy.

This is probably the worse queso I've ever had at a restaurant.

The chips and queso came out and immediately I knew where this meal was going.  The queso was essentially Ricos Nacho Cheese with random stuff mixed in (tomatoes and peppers from a can no doubt) and was not hot at all.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love Ricos and am proud to have them as a business here in San Antonio.  I will eat the hell out of some nachos at a baseball game with the best of them, however, for an appetizer at a restaurant I expect a little bit more than that.  I basically didn’t eat much of the chips and queso; there was no way I was going to ingest all those calories for lousy food.

The only reason I wasn’t more disappointed in the Sonora Platter was that the chips and queso had already set the stage.  This is akin to seeing the third Jurassic Park after the Lost World; I mean, did you really think that it would be any good?  The spicy tomato sauce was not spicy at all, but did taste familiar.  I asked my girlfriend to try it and she said it reminded her of something from elementary school cafeteria.  I think that description is pretty solid; I said it tasted like stale Ragu sauce.  Either way, you get the picture.

Want a trip back to your Elementary School Cafeteria? Get the Sonora Platter.

Our waitress was sweet, and I never like to fault a good waitress for a crappy restaurant, so I did tip her well.  Because I didn’t want to be asked what was wrong with my food (I only took a couple of bites), I employed the age old trick of children ages 4-11 and moved it around on my plate to look like half of it was eaten.  Luckily it did the trick and I wasn’t pressed on what I thought of the meal; I only wish that this tactic would have been half as successful when I was growing up.

Value: 2/10 (with tip and no drinks, two people cost $25 for terrible food; that is a lot of McChickens off the dollar menu…)
Atmosphere: 8/10 (did have a cool diner atmosphere, but was really cold)
Service: 7/10 (waitress was sweet, but not very good at offering suggestions; it was like she didn’t want to really suggest anything and after eating the food I can see why she was hesitant)
Queso: 1/10 (normally this is the “Salsa” section for Mexican restaurants, but since the queso was so bad, I thought I had to emphasize it to you so you don’t order it)
Taste: 2/10 (the best I can say is that my side salad was good; there, I ended on a positive note)
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