An Average Joe in San Antonio

Just South of Alamo Heights past the Witte Museum is a little side street that has converted little old houses into restaurants.  One such restaurant is Sweetie’s Deli.  The atmosphere is very cozy and the staff is incredibly nice.  It is a real chill atmosphere which some jazz softly playing over the speaker.  I am not certain, but I am going to guess that the owners are originally from Louisiana judging by their accent, but I could be completely wrong.

When you walk into the restaurant, be sure to pay attention to the black chalk board that tells you what the daily lunch specials are.  A word to the wise: be sure to order off the lunch special menu as it is significantly cheaper than ordering off the main menu.

I decided to go with the Mama’s Delight off the lunch special menu.  For $7 I got three half sandwiches (chicken salad, turkey, and ham) along with a side of pasta salad.  As I mentioned from a previous post, I am trying to save some money, so this was a great option as I got to eat the half chicken salad sandwich and the pasta salad and take the turkey and ham halves home!

Mama's Delite is a lot of food; look for it as a lunch special when you stop by!

I really liked the pasta salad; it had a rich taste to it along with a little bit of spice from red pepper flakes.  I had never had spicy pasta salad and it was really a treat.  I really liked the chicken salad sandwich which is strange because I hate chicken salad sandwiches (that tells you how good it is).  I just decided to try it out since I could order three, and was pleasantly surprised.

For dessert, I decided to get the cheesecake brownie because they just looked so good.  The waitress decided to heat it up and drizzle chocolate syrup over it.  At a $1.50, you would be remiss to not finish your meal with this dessert!

I enjoyed the chill atmospher and chill music.

I will say that the best part of the whole experience was just being in a chill environment that was not rushed at all.  It was nice just getting to sit back, relax, hear some tunes and eat good food.

Value: 8/10 (Can be pricy if you don’t order off of the lunch special menu; if you order off the lunch special you are looking at $7/plate)
Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (Pretty chill atmosphere where you can just go in and relax; loved the jazz music; this is not a “blackberry” restaurant)
Service: 9.5/10 (Exceptional service; heated up my brownie which was awesome.)
Taste: 9/10 (very tasty, especially the dessert)

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Schilo’s is a restaurant that I have wanted to go to for several years now but just have never been able to make it.  This is mainly due to the fact that whenever I think about going, it is Sunday and Schilo’s is closed on Sundays!  I heard great things about Schilo’s from a variety of people and it is even one of my neighbor’s favorite places to eat in all of San Antonio.  Needless to say, I was pretty excited to FINALLY go eat there!

The inside of the restaurant harkens back to the good ole days.  There are plenty of seats in old wooden booths and the open floor plan has high ceilings.  As you enter, you will notice the display cases with all the deli meats and cheeses and old pictures from San Antonio’s past on the wall.

Our server was incredibly friendly and offered some great suggestions.  She told us that we absolutely had to try the lentil soup, so I found a plate that had a sandwich on rye, cup of soup, and warm German potato salad for like $7; I think it was called Fritz’s plate or something along those lines.  To wash it down, I ordered a Spaten Oktoberfest beer which was on tap.

The soup came out first and it was really amazing!  It was really thick and a dark brown color with lentils and sausage and was accompanied by a slice of rye bread that really went well with it.  Trust the waitress on the fact that you will absolutely want to get a cup of that lentil soup, especially on a cool fall/winter day.

Not soon after, the meal came out.  The German potato salad was really good, but the sandwich was unbelievable!  It was stacked high with turkey, ham, two types of cheese, and fresh vegetables all on the fresh rye bread.  After the soup and potato salad, I was only able to take down half of the sandwich and I was going on a ghost tour later that night so I couldn’t take the other half home.  I know when I go in the future, I am going to be able to take a doggie bag because it was so much food and the other half of the sandwich could serve as another meal all by itself!  The fresh vegetables were really good, but the mayo was what made the sandwich.

Look at how thick this sandwich is!

I love sandwiches and have been to many different places around town, but I have to say that not only was this a terrific value, it was also the best sandwich that I have had in San Antonio.  Be sure to treat yourself to this San Antonio institution on your next sojourn to the river!

Value: 10/10 ($7 for dinner… that will fill you up… that includes a soup… that is down near the Riverwalk!  What a deal!)
Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (cool old school atmosphere from a place that has been in San Antonio for many, many years; our waitress even told us that on some night they have an “Um-pah” German band come in and play)
Service: 9.5/10 (friendly waitress who made knowledgeable suggestions)
Taste: 10/10 (the best sandwich I have found to date in San Antonio!)
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