Archive for the 'San Antonio' Category

Pico de Gallo

Published
by
Gastronomer
on March 6, 2007
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 2 Comments

March 2, 2007
Cuisine: Mexican

111 South Leona
San Antonio, TX

Telephone: 210-225-6060
Website: http://www.picodegallo.com/

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Tortilla chips with salsa (complimentary)

Entree I: Qui-Kiri-Ki - A sample platter consisting of chicken mini-flautas, mini-chalupas de picadillo, cheese quesadillas, and bean and cheese nachos with guacamole and sour cream ($8.25)

Entree II: Caldo Del Mercado - Our famous tortilla soup is prepared with tender chicken, chicken/tomato broth and topped with Monterey Jack Cheese, avocado slices, fresh cilantro and crisp tortilla chips ($5.95)

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A local recommended that my colleague and I dine at Pico de Gallo before we left San Antonio. She said enthusiastically, “All the tourists go there!” I generally avoid tourist traps, but my colleague was hungry and the place was nearby.

The first thing I noticed upon arriving at the restaurant was the ridiculous amount of decorations strung on the ceilings—piñatas, Christmas lights, and colorful banners covered every possible inch (see pictures). The décor reminded me of Times Square, Tijuana, and my high school Spanish classrooms rolled into one. While some may be turned off by such gaudiness, I must admit I kind of loved it.

We munched on chips and salsa while we perused the menu. I was surprised we were not served pico de gallo! The salsa was initially mild, but had a surge in spiciness toward the end that was too hot for me.

As I’ve said before—for a SoCal gal, I don’t like Mexican food as much as I should. It’s mainly because the cuisine is too heavy on cheese, meat, and deep frying. To avoid the post-Mexican food heaviness, I ordered the tortilla soup. The large bowl of soup was full of chicken and cheese, but skimpy on avocado and served with fresh tortillas (corn and flour) and tortilla chips on the side. I have never thought to eat fresh tortillas with tortilla soup, but will do so from now on because it’s delicious. The soup was fantastic, especially the melted cheese and aromatic broth.

My colleague ordered a sampler platter consisting of everything I dislike about Mexican food. She gobbled it all up like a champ.

Biga on the Banks

Published
by
Gastronomer
on March 5, 2007
in New American, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 0 Comments

March 1, 2007
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Southwestern, Asian

203 S Saint Marys St # 100
San Antonio, TX 78205

Phone: 210-271-7603
Website: http://www.biga.com/

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Sesame, corn, and white bread (complimentary)

Espresso Martini ($8.50)

Appetizer I: Chicken-fried Gulf oysters, squid ink linguine, Swiss Chard, pancetta, mustard hollandaise ($13)

Appetizer II: Sweet potato, tomatillo and tortilla soup, cilantro sour cream and corn crisps

Entree I: Seared natural scallops, on riso pasta with gruyere, crispy pancetta, hydroponic basil, citrus butter sauce ($32)

Entree II: Roasted beef hanger steak, boulangère potatoes, jammy tomato, broccolini, house-made steak sauce, béarnaise

Dessert: Toasty Chocolate Nib Waffle with Mexican hot chocolate, orange-vanilla marshmallows, strawberry compote, sweet cream

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Prior to my visit to San Antonio for business, I consulted Gayot for restaurant advice. Biga on the Banks received a highly respectable score of 16 and was not overly pricey to expense so I went ahead and made a reservation. My colleague and I were seated at a table for four overlooking the famed Riverwalk, which is a cross between the Venetian in Las Vegas and Disneyland.

My colleague relaxed before dinner with an Espresso Martini. She is a boozehound and Starbucks addict so this drink rocked her world. In fact, she raved about the martini for the rest of our stay in San Antonio. Since I do not drink my calories, I sampled the breads. The cornbread was the best of the bunch, but would have been much tastier warm; bread ought to be toasty for the butter to melt. The sesame and white breads were so-so.

I ordered the Chicken-fried Gulf Oysters for my appetizer. Each oyster was deep-fried to a golden crisp and sat atop a bed of squid ink linguine, Swiss Chard and pancetta. A creamy mustard hollandaise topped the oysters and thick balsamic vinegar was drizzled on the plate. The squid ink added a somewhat sweet and salty flavor to the pasta. I liked how the savory pancetta contrasted beautifully with the pasta and oysters, but the hollandaise was too rich for my taste.

Whereas I ordered a la carte, my colleague chose the three-course Winter Fare menu for $35. Her appetizer was the sweet potato soup. Even though she is not a fan of sweet potato, she finished the entire bowl. She was glad the soup was more tortilla soup than sweet potato bisque.

For my entree I settled on the seared scallops. Each scallop was placed on a slice of sweet grilled tomatoes and garnished with a strip of fried bacon. The scallops were huge and delicate, but a bit over-salted, especially with the bacon. The citrus butter sauce was excellent, but not strong enough to cut the dish’s overall saltiness. The accompanying risotto was simple and delicious.

My colleague enjoyed her entree immensely. She loved the rare meat coupled with the oven-baked potatoes. She sadly avoids carbohydrates in her everyday diet, so this meal was a special treat.

For dessert we shared the Toasty Chocolate Nib Waffle with Mexican hot chocolate, orange-vanilla marshmallows, strawberry compote, sweet cream. The waffle with strawberry compote reminded me of Sunday brunch at Swarthmore, which is not a good thing. The marshmallow was tough, but good once I was able to bite all the way through–the orange flavor was subdued. The highlight was definitely the hot chocolate. It was intensely rich and absolutely decadent. I enthusiastically drank every last drop.

Freddy’s Mexican Restaurant

Published
by
Gastronomer
on November 30, 2006
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 1 Comment

November 29, 2006
Cuisine: Mexican

1201 S Flores St
San Antonio, TX 78204

Phone: 210-277-1515
Website: none

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Entree I: Gordita lunch special - two gorditas served with beans and rice

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For our final meal in San Antonio, some locals took us to a hole in the wall Mexican joint for some authentic native fare. The restaurant was definitely off the beaten path and was packed for lunch. While I’m not the biggest fan of Mexican food, I was curious to see how Freddy’s compared to San Diego’s Mexican fare.

Freddy’s looked a lot like a SoCal taco shop (plastic tables and booths, funky yellow walls), but was a lot bigger and did not have a drive through. The locals ordered the gordita special, so I did the same even though I was leaning toward the tamales. Let me tell you, I felt really funny saying, “I’d like a gordita, please.” It’s kind of like saying, “I’d like to be fat, please.” I ordered one chicken gordita and one beef.

I had heard of a gordita before thanks to Taco Bell, but really wasn’t sure what it was. According to Wikipedia, “A gordita is a food which is characterized by a small, thick tortilla made with corn flour. The gordita is typically baked on a comal, a small pan similar to a skillet. The gordita’s thick tortilla is typically split and filled with guisos (soups or stews) or casseroles, like chicken, cochinita pibil, nopales, carne al pastor, etc. These are made mostly for lunch and are accompanied with many different types of salsas.”

My gordita did not come with different types of salsas, although red and green salsa were already on the table. The gorditas came with small sides of rice and beans. The rice and beans were very similar to the ones I’ve had in San Diego. The gorditas were quite tasty. The beef gordita contained ground beef that was well seasoned, if not a little on the greasy side. However, I feel that grease is to be expected and welcomed when it comes to Mexican food. The chicken gordita was slightly less greasy and surprisingly flavorful; I tend to expect the worst when it come to chicken. The chicken was shredded and also seasoned nicely. Both gorditas were stuffed with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. I discarded the iceberg.

The best part of the gordita is the thick corn tortilla. The texture is just so yummy–kind of like nacho chips that have lost their crispness due to a heavy dousing of cheese and meat.

Acenar

Published
by
Gastronomer
on November 30, 2006
in Mexican, Restaurant Review and San Antonio
. 0 Comments


November 28, 2006
Cuisine: Tex Mex

146 E. Houston St.
San Antonio Tx 78205

Phone: 210-222-2362
Website: http://www.acenar.com/index.htm

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Appetizer I: Ceviche / Lime Marinated Fish - Lime marinated fish served with housemade tostadas and slice avocado ($9.75)

Appetizer II: Ostiones / Oysters - Buttermilk fried oysters on yucca chips, jalapeno honey mayo & charred pineapple ($7.95)

Entree I: Oyster Tacos - Chicken fried oysters drizzled with a jalapeno honey mayo, charred pineapple and micro greens ($12.95)

Entree II:Crab Tinga Tacos - Gulf blue crab tomato, onion, chipotle, avocado ($14.95)

Entree III: Pescado Veracruzano / Fish Veracruzano - Fresh Gulf Red Snapper simmered in tomato, olive caper sauce served with green rice and watercress ($17.95)

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For a girl from San Diego, I don’t like Mexican food as much as I should. While there are some exceptions, namely guacamole and fish tacos, the genre doesn’t evoke any cravings if you know what I mean.

While on travels to San Antonio for work, two colleagues and I dined at Acenar. Acenar’s Tex Mex/fusion is far from authentic Mexican fare, which is definitely a good thing.

I started off dinner with the cerviche, while my co-worker had the oysters. The cerviche was fresh and sour, but nothing amazing. I wished the pieces of fish were larger. The avocado was a little unripened and the shredded icebrerg, which is sadly a staple in Mexican fare, was a waste of space. The oysters on the other hand were really great. In fact, they were the same oysters as my entree — the oyster tacos.

According to the waiter, the oyster tacos were recently voted best tacos in San Antonio, so I had to try them. The oysters were dipped in a batter that tasted like the Colonel’s Original Recipe from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Mmm. The pineapples added a nice tang to balance out the savory batter. I couldn’t really taste the oysters due to the adornments, but that’s really unavoidable. The corn tortilla didn’t do much flavor-wise for the tacos, so I ate the oysters alone. The tacos came with rice and beans, which were pretty good. The cotija cheese atop the beans were a nice touch. Overall, a very creative dish.

I had one of my co-worker’s crab tacos and thought they were great. The corn tortilla was essential for this taco because the crab was a bit salty. There was plenty of crab, but sadly the avocado was not perfectly ripe.

I had one bite of the Fish Veracruzano and found it to be overly dressed. The buttery sauce overpowered the fish’s natural flavors. I prefer fish preparations to be on the light side so that the fish shines through.