Boudros has a brand name that carries some weight in San Antonio, deep in the pants of Texas.  I received the recommendation from a Texan, who suggested I take a stroll along the Riverwalk and try the Texas Bistro out.

The Riverwalk is the stroke of an urban planning/design genious. Take a lazy, peaty river that winds through the heart of the city, and build out as many restaurants as you can to draw in the tourists.  It works, the varying degrees, and a number of places to eat to suit any sort of crowd, tastes, or diet.  Even mentioning that I was going to be eating at Boudros drew gasps of surprise, as apparently it’s got the reputation of being a fancy-Nancy type of place to eat.

Well, let’s clarify this before I get too far into the review… fancy for San Antonio.  Which is to say, as long you’re wearing pants in the 100+ degree temperatures during the summer, it’s fancy.  You should probably leave your ruffled silk shirt at home.

The menu changes seasonally, so it’s hard to say what’s going to be featured on your visit, but this place definitely caters to the meateaters, perfect for a paleohead travelling and trying to stay on the rails of his/her diet.  One thing that doesn’t change, however, is their self-proclaimed famous Guacamole for Two.  It’s good. So good, I stole the recipe and claimed it for my own, which is all the easier to finagle when it’s prepared fresh tableside.  The restaurant only uses one whole avocado to make your guac, so be prepared to order a second batch.  This stuff goes fast.

Served with piping hot corn tortilla chips that are decidedly NAHT  paleo friendly, I had no qualms eating this straight with just a spoon.

I was lucky enough to come in when the kitchen was offering their Braised Short Ribs, my second favorite meat, which comes in only after bacon. Come up with a Braised Short Ribs wrapped Bacon recipe for me and it’s pretty likely my head will explode.

Tender, juicy, and pulls off the bone with no effort at all, how the hell could I NOT be happy with dish at Boudros?  The small side of vegetables that come with this dish does come with a dusting of queso fresco, but that’s good by me.  There are a number of other tempting dishes on the menu, but Braised Shorts Ribs is almost impossible for me to ever turn down.

The crowd here is energetic, so it’s hard to carry a conversation, but I did notice a number of dates and business meatings going on around me, with vary degrees of effective communication that didn’t involve shouting across the table.  Service here is good, but nothing exemplary. The portion sizes are fair as long as you’re keeping in mind that you’re at a bistro and the phrase, “Everything’s bigger in Texas” doesn’t necessarily apply.  There’s no shortage of paleo goodness on the meal, but prices are a bit on the high end for the city.  Boudros is worth a visit if you’re down in San Antonio for a few days and looking for a guaranteed good meal.

See Boudros on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Special Occasions
• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Staying Classy in the Souf
• MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAT

Not Recommended For:

• Frugalistas
• Vegetarians
• Texas Portions
• First Dates
• Cramming for Finals

I went to check out Mi Tierra Cafe on a recommendation for the best Mexican food in San Antonio. The restaurant is in Market Square, just a little over a half mile from the Riverwalk that tourists such as myself usually flock to for a myriad of restaurants and bars. During the evening, there are few things that give away what to expect inside. None of the patrons were out basking in the 104 degree Texas heat. I couldn’t imagine why.

Once inside, your eyes are assaulted by brilliantly colored pinata and lights dangling from the ceiling. Loud mariachis strum their guitars and shake their maracas, and an enormous display of baked puffs (not the Pauly Shore type) stretches across in front of you. The wait staff is dressed in brightly colored traditional Mexican garb, further driving home the violation of your eyes with everything presented in extra hi-def technicolor Mexicaness.

You adjust to it all fairly quickly, don’t worry.

I was whisked away to a booth, and took a few moments to take in everything from the menu. Six pages of food and drinks, everything from margaritas to meaty plates to 24 hour breakfast options like Huervos Rancheros. I can dig it. I asked for the Queso Flameado and the Michoacan, and spent several minutes fending off the “preview” struma-strum-strums of the roving gang of mariachis.

Shake shake shake. One mariachi attempted to attempt the start of a song. I shook my head, and he quickly scampered away, with even his maracas sulking. Shake.

Mi Tierra gives you a free dish of piping hot tortilla chips, and a nice, moderately spicy yet cool salsa, compliments of the house. If this was going to be a cheat meal from my normal diet, I was going to go all out. I shoved one chip after another into my maw, drinking down the salsa in a single gulp.

Ok it didn’t quite go down like that, but the salsa here is definitely good.

The queso flameado arrive in short time. Not exactly traditional Mexican fare in my opinion, leaning a bit more towards american tastes, this is a giant, piping hot cast-iron plate of cheese, with just a little bit of chopped chorizo to give it a nice smoky flavor. I sampled it with both the corn and flour tortillas, and naturally, the flour ones tasted much, much better. There has to be a better “it’s so addictive” type of analogy for things than crack. Why does everything have to be as good as crack? Are we a society hell bent on making crack the gold standard?

Anyways. Fresh flour tortillas. Crack. You know the drill.

The Michoacan is a plate of carnitas de puerco, or a baked pork tips marinated in orange and spices. It comes with the traditional accoutrements, guacamole, spanish rice, beans, and a tomato and onion salad. These carnitas aren’t your typical pulled pork variety, but rather, large chunks of Porky the Pig. The pork was a bit dry for my tastes and cut with large cuts of fat, which made me wonder if they preparation could have used a little bit of tweaking. Chunks of fat would usually indicate a moist and tender meat, especially with pork.

I’d hate to think that this is the best authentic Mexican food in San Antonio, but I might have just ordered the wrong main dish here. An excellent restaurant would have every dish prepared to absolute perfection, so I could see myself coming back to Mi Tierra to try something else to give it another chance. The service here is more than accomodating, with my waitress coming by every few minutes to top off my glass of water.

You didn’t forget about the bakery in the front, did you? Neither did I. I opted to try one of the various empanadas in front, finally settling on the apple empanada after a long deliberation between those and the mango ones. A perfect dessert after a heavy meal, and something to take back to your hotel room for another day of eating. They also have cookies, cupcakes, pies, candied yams, and macadamia brittle for you to try. Even if you miss the opportunity to have dinner here, there’s always a chance to get in with the bakery and grab something to go.

See Mi Tierra Cafe on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Queso Afficianados
• Birthday Parties
• Soccer Moms w/ a Van Full of Kids in Tow
• Watching Futball at the Bar

Not Recommended For:

• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Black Tie Night Out
• Your First Real Meal After Spending A Week at Burning Man

Do you ever find yourself in the Valley looking for a good meal? I’m talking about the Rio Grande Valley. That is where I found myself famished and in need of a good meal this week. I needed a little luck on my side because I Googled Harlingen’s Top 10 Restaurants, Harlingen Fine Dining, Harlingen’s Best Mexican Restaurants…and Olive Garden hit the Top 10 every time. I finally settled on Las Vegas Café for some local Mexican fare. I did a drive by and kept on driving. Harlingen is sketchcity and this place seemed to fit right in. I drove around for a couple more miles, but just couldn’t bring myself to eat at Applebee’s or Olive Garden. I decided to swing back by Las Vegas Café to check out the clientele. I immediately noticed 2 cop cars in the lot. Eating where the local cops eat is usually a good idea.

I ventured in to this run down dineresque establishment and was told to pick any table. The restaurant was at least half full which I took to be a good sign. Not knowing Spanish was ok. This can be an issue in the Valley. The following night out, I asked my server for vegetarian recommendations and he suggested the chicken fajitas (???). Language issue-clearly. Anyway, the staff at Las Vegas Café spoke enough English to help me out and my meal came out in short order.

The guacamole appetizer was enough for two and very fresh. However, I found the dish to be quite bland. I could only identify two ingredients-tomatoes and avocados. This was Michigan guacamole, not 3 miles from Mexico guacamole.

Guacamole

My cheese enchiladas came out piping hot and with a side of homemade flour tortillas-YUMMMM!!! I know white flour is a no-no, but these were homemade flour tortillas! The cheese enchiladas were fresh, but also bland. I ended up dumping an entire vat of salsa on both my guacamole and my enchiladas. Had I had the opportunity to take this food home with me, I totally would have made little bean burritos out of the leftovers for breakfast.

Cheese Enchiladas

With a 30% tip, the grand total was $13. I would definitely eat here again, but I would pack hand sanitizer and would run a marathon after my meal so as to not catch a case of the fats.

When in Dallas, one doesn’t think to rush to Las Colinas for dinner. The concrete jungle is home to more office space than Reston, the mustang statues and Trevi’s at the Omni Mandalay. For business travelers who prefer to walk to an amazing meal, Trevi’s is the answer.

At first glance, Trevi’s is not for vegetarians. My server, however, was delighted to offer several vegetarian options. I opted for the gnocchi with a tomato sauce with vegetables.  A beautiful basket of bread arrived before my meal. The garlic was a nice surprise as I always avoid the butter. If you look closely, you will see the butter was too cute to eat anyway.

Flower Shaped Butter...so cute!

I was very surprised by the gnocchi. The gnocchi tasted more like dumplings. I liked them so much I asked my server about the preparation. He said they are pan seared a bit when all of the ingredients are mixed together immediately before they hit the plate. They were so soft on the inside and just a bit firm on the outside. They were also HUGE!  The tomato sauce was light and the dish included a nice variety of perfectly prepared vegetables…not too crisp…not mushy.

Huge Gnocchi

Trevi’s is located in a hotel. Sometimes hotel restaurants are a bit lacking. Not Trevi’s. If you find yourself in Las Colinas, step into the beautiful Omni Mandalay, visit with the exceptional staff, and wander downstairs into Trevi’s. Their Italian fare won’t disappoint.

Bonus: On the 1000 Point Open Table list

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Social @ Hotel Lumen

After a 3 hour rainy drive from Texarkana to Dallas, I was ready for a good meal. I had intended to set out into the cute neighborhoods to find a unique local restaurant, but it was simply too late to go exploring. Fortunately, the Lumen Hotel has a wonderful restaurant onsite. Also, the hotel staff lured me in with a free wine coupon as I missed the wine social earlier that evening. My company does not support alcoholic tendencies, so this free wine coupon felt like a Golden Ticket.

I rolled into Social pretty late. The place was empty! Not one guest was there. I had the place to myself which was killlahhhh. I chose a corner table with my back to the wall (need to see the shooter, of course). They had several vegetarian options. None were healthy, but this isn’t a place to visit if you’re on the Subway caloric restriction plan.

Two appetizers caught my eye. The tomato soup (sans shrimps) and macaroni & cheese were about to meet their demise. Both came out piping hot. On their own, both were excellent. However, I discovered dipping a spoon full of macaroni & cheese into the tomato soup was doubly delicious. I suppose this is something they teach ladies NOT to do at debutante school. I’m not a deb and I was alone in the restaurant. I finished my meal like a heathen…and it was wonderful. My free glass of wine was mediocre, but it was free so I sucked it down like a champ.

I can’t wait to stay at Lumen again and eat at Social. My meal was only $17 (tip included) and completely within my work budget. Also, other guests did visit the bar and were seated for meals, so the place was a bit more lively at the end. Definitely go. See menu here.

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