San Antonio Archives - Good For Spooning

My recent whirlwind trip was precipitated by two celebrations – a wedding and a landmark birthday. Travel for almost any reason is a good thing, but when you get to travel for a celebration it’s even better. “My Friend Brian”, dear Friend Nanette’s son, married his sweetheart Krystal in charming Texas Hill Country style and Mom turned 70 on a weekend cruise out of Miami to the Bahamas (read a little about that here).

When I was growing up in New York, there was only ONE WAY to have a wedding “The Right Way”. You start with a ceremony at a church, proceed to the reception hall after pictures. Then there is an open bar cocktail hour, toast by the best man, dinner, cake and bouquet/garter ceremonies and then dancing and more drinking. Clean, simple and in that order every time. Thankfully that mold has been broken! Now there is so much more variety and happy couples can truly express themselves and make their wedding more about THEM and less about traditional trappings. In a gorgeous outdoor setting amid trees at Ruby Ranch, a converted hunting lodge one used by LBJ, I was treated to a Hill Country wedding and I am honored to have been included.

The Bride and her attendants wore cowboy boots beneath their dresses and there was a completely relaxed atmosphere among the bridal party and the guests that I have NEVER seen before. What a pleasant surprise to feel relaxed at a wedding instead of keyed up and stressed out! Of course at every wedding something goes wrong, but when it happened here, there was laughter, not tension. And then there was the food. If you know me AT ALL, you know that my least favorite type of cuisine is BBQ (I despise the sauce and most of the traditional sides) and no respectable Hill Country wedding would be complete without it. I will say Bill Miller’s smoked sausage was much better than I remembered. But the CAKE was the star of the food show here. Usually wedding cakes are all form and no function. They LOOK great and taste like shit. Not so here! Letty’s Sweets made a wonderful cake for cutting and light, moist, delicious cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. The buttercream was so LIGHT and filled with flavor it was nearly a revelation. All my best to My Friend Brian and Krystal for many happy years together.

Brian and Krstal changed into something more comfy for the cake, dancing and singing portion of the evening.

My Friend Brian (2nd from the left) and his attendants waiting on the Bride's arrival

My Friend Brian (2nd from the left and brother Daniel 3rd from left) and his attendants waiting on the Bride’s arrival

The Newlyweds

And then there was more… Every Wednesday my pals in San Antonio bowl in the morning and then have lunch. The happiest change in the routine is that every now and then a new place opens and there is more variety. So is the case with Four Kings. I can’t say enough good things about Sandra and her team. Each and every thing I had was exceptional. House roasted meats for sandwiches, from scratch baked goods (including their sandwich breads and rolls) and homemade soups that made me wish I was there more than once. I rarely want to go back to Texas (you all know how much I love the west coast and Vegas), but this little lunch spot made me yearn for another trip soon. No website as yet, but you can follow along with them HERE!

Owner Sandra putting the finishing touches on a sandWISH.

Owner Sandra putting the finishing touches on a Bahn Mi sandWISH.

Sliced roast beef on a pretzel roll, grain mustard aoili, caramelized onion marmalade, spinach, and Colby Jack cheese served hot.

Pimento Cheese

Homemade rolls – YUMMM!

Recently, as you know if you follow along on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, I was traveling. When I return to a city where I have found great grub, I feel it is a moral imperative that I revisit those dining locales to relive the good times had there. Sadly, sometimes the memory is better than reality.

In San Antonio for a wedding (more on that soon) I found myself itching to go to Pappadeaux. I have had so many great meals there that I went by myself and sat at the bar to enjoy a fantastic lunch. I ordered a local IPA, Crawfish Bisque, and a Seafood Cobb Salad. I SHOULD have quit after the soup. When I order a SEAFOOD Cobb Salad, I expect the SEAFOOD to be a starring attraction. Sadly this was not the case. There were four pathetic shrimp and two ounces of crab (two ounces if I am being generous). There was however plenty of bacon and egg. Oddest of all, there were big slices (think lengthwise on a mandoline) of cucumber and “julienned” carrots that were the size of carrot sticks mixed into the greens. Did I just order the wrong thing? Has corporate dining ruined one of my fave chains (and make no mistake, it IS a chain, even if they aren’t nationwide)? Have my expectations changed? Any or all of these questions can be answered with a YES and be correct.

Crawfish Bisque

On a bright note, my car seemingly on auto-pilot, found the 410 Diner on Broadway in San Antonio and it was EXACTLY as I remembered. Not fancy, but great value for good diner food.

Then it was off to Nassau, The Bahamas. We three sisters and our spouses took Mom on a cruise to celebrate her 70^th Birthday. All in all a good time was had (barring a tweaked twerk muscle, a pulled hamstring and a thrown out back, and no, I am NOT among the walking wounded). Because we are SO rarely all together (I live in Vegas, everyone else is in FL) any time together is special. I didn’t choose the ship, the itinerary or the port we sailed from, but when I realized Nassau was on the route I was excited.

Several years ago when John and I cruised through the Bahamas, we went in search of authentic Bahamian conch dishes and we found them at Twin Brothers. When we walked in, we were the ONLY tourists in the building, just my style! The conch fritters were crisp and golden on the outside and light as air inside studded with amazing chunks of conch. The conch chowder was fragrant, spicy on the back end and again studded with conch. And don’t even get me started on the mystical wings. Those wings were slightly flavored with coconut and dusted with seasonings after frying so they were both sweet and spicy. And the spice built as you ate wing after wing. I dreamed of them for years and tried to recreate them in my kitchen with little success. Let’s just say those wings are a thing of the past, but the conch dishes were just as good as I remembered. The biggest let down for me is that Trip Advisor (very much like Yelp! for travelers as far as I am concerned) found Twin Brothers, with a proud declaration in the window. There were no locals left, we were surrounded by tourists. While the chowder and fritters were excellent, the wings were bland with no mystique to them and I was surrounded not by the good people of the island with their beautiful lilting speech, but by the very people I was seeking escape from by walking into town. I am happy for THEM and unhappy for me, because one of my fave places is now off limits to me.

Conch Fritters

I have to wonder if my recollections are in some fashion flawed or if you really can’t go home again. Am I guilty of memories being better than reality or have things changed THAT much?

Next up? More on Texas, a Hill Country wedding and time spent with friends in bars in Texas.

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