An Average Joe in San Antonio

If you are like me, you might have grown up with going to smallish churches and having the Sunday pot-lucks when all the little old ladies at the church brought in dishes to serve the congregation.  In the present day of tele-evangelists, mega-churches, and overall swell of population, you might not have had the opportunity to get some of that down home cookin’.  If you find a pang in your heart for this type of food, be sure to go check out the 4th Street Cafe.

Owned and operated by the First Baptist Church of San Antonio, the staff comprised of all volunteer servers dishes out comfort food from 11:00AM – 2:00PM Tuesday through Friday.  Often, they will have a blue plate lunch special, but expect to spend right around $7.00 for lunch.  All the proceeds go to support their ministry and the website states that the tips go to support the San Antonio Food Bank Community Kitchen at  Haven for Hope, Christian Assistance Ministry (CAM), and Haven Chaplaincy Ministry.

Being a chicken fried steak fan, I couldn’t resist the daily lunch special of chicken fried steak, two sides, cornbread, and a side salad; I ordered mashed potatoes and fried okra as my sides.

I knew I was in for a treat when I first got my side salad and tasted the ranch dressing that came with it.  The dressing was incredibly creamy and rich with little pieces of bacon added in it; later, I confirmed my hypothesis that the ranch dressing was homemade while talking with the lady at the register.  In fact, she told me that EVERYTHING is homemade all the way down to the dressings.  This was a nice touch that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a cafe run by a church.

Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, okra, cornbread, and a side salad at the 4th Street Cafe.

The main course was really good; the gravy made the mashed potatoes and you could tell that it didn’t come from a package.  The fried okra was piping hot and the cornbread was dense and sweet (some people don’t like sweet cornbread, but I really do).  While the chicken fried steak was not near as big as Lulu’s (then again what is?!), it wasn’t far off the mark of the taste.

I have to admit, I was skeptical about the chicken fried steak going in.  Any sort of “church” chicken fried steak always seems to have that breading that is greasy and not all that good.  4th Street Cafe really delivered on the goods here, the chicken fried steak had that flaky, crispy breading that I love.

Finally, I have to mention the service.  Everyone is extremely nice and it is a very welcoming atmosphere.  Because of the fact that everyone is a volunteer who is serving the meals, you get people who are truly happy to be there and who are truly happy to have you there eating their food.  Remember to tip well as the proceeds go to helping out some of San Antonio’s homeless community.

The 4th Street Cafe is so good that it will cause you to dance with joy; in this case, I don’t think the Baptists would even mind that kind of dancing.

Value: 9/10 (maybe a little on the higher end for a lunch, but the money does support different ministries in town that help those in need)
Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (down home feel in the middle of downtown)
Service: 10/10 (volunteer servers are happy to be there and happy to have you there; and don’t worry, they are not the least bit “preachy” either)
Taste: 9.5/10 (great meal that will fill you up for the day; the salad dressings are amazing)
Website: http://www.fbcsa.org/templates/cusfbcsa/details.asp?id=34507&PID=354546

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Sometimes you feel a little down.  Sometimes the weather is just bad.  Sometimes you are just flat out hungry.  If you are experiencing any of these things, it is always a good idea to go grab some soul food.

Mama Lee’s has two restaurants in San Antonio, and for lunch I decided to eat at the one off of Walzem Road.  As you walk in the door, you are greeted by a staff that is happy to have you at their restaurant.  My buddy and I pulled up a chair, and the waitress was incredibly friendly.  The menu had tons of down home favorites, and I couldn’t decide between the catfish or meatloaf.  I asked the waitress which she would go for and she said, “Oh you got to go with the meatloaf; it is really good here.”  I got the meat and two plate and for the sides she recommended the macaroni and cheese and string beans.

As we sat at the table, we noticed that the restaurant started filling in nicely; it looked as though this was the place to be!  I didn’t have to wait very long until I had a plate of heaping food in front of me!  There were two big slabs of meatloaf, a major portion of macaroni and cheese and of green beans, and a cornbread biscuit.

The smell coming from the plate was amazing and I dug in.  Now, I kind of have a love/hate relationship with meatloaf.  I think this is for several reasons, most namely the fact that the name has always been a turnoff to me.  I mean, “meatloaf” just kind of sounds gross.  Taking a bite out of this meatloaf was heaven; it was really juicy (I don’t like dried out meatloaf) and you could taste the influence of the bell peppers and ketchup.  The pieces of meatloaf were so big that I was only able to eat one and a half of them!

In the need for a little soul? Go no farther than Mama Lee's.

Even though the meatloaf was amazing, the macaroni and cheese stole the show!  This was the best mac n cheese that I have ever had (and I have even gone to the restaurant in New York that ONLY serves macaroni and cheese)!    It seems that there were several types of cheese and there was plenty of it that was gooey and just mixed right.  The temperature was perfect as it came out piping hot (I hate lukewarm macaroni and cheese).  I could have made a meal just on that alone!  The green beans were pretty good and the bacon seasoned them excellently; even though I was full, I had to try to pack them away because I haven’t been eating enough vegetables lately.

As we left we ran into the owner who was really nice; it seems like happy people always make the best food.  I tell you what, if I am ever feeling down and out, I sure know the place I am going to get some good comfort food!

Value: 8.5/10 ($8 for a lunch of meat and two sides might seem a little pricey, but you get so much food that you could easily have an extra meal from the leftovers!)
Atmosphere: 8/10 (a very open floor plan with lots of paintings on the wall)
Service: 9.5/10 (everyone was so friendly and the waitress was great at interacting with us and making suggestions)
Taste: 10/10 (EVERYTHING I had was exceptional; regardless of what you get for the main course, be sure to get the macaroni and cheese!!!!!)
Website: www.mamaleessoulfood.com
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