Had I figured this out sooner, I would have stopped in a year ago. Honestly, we have driven by and marked other places off our list simply because the parking looks like a nightmare. Now I know. And now you know.I had no idea what to expect on the inside. This place could easily be set-up anywhere in San Antonio; it isn't some ritzy Alamo Heights thing. It has the feel of a 50's diner (sort of like the Pig Stand, only cleaner). If you are so inclined, they have a fully stocked bar and loads of beer on tap as well as a huge collection of bottled brews. Oh, and honestly, the iced tea is out of this world.Some booths had the same checkerboard pattern seen on the front of the building while the one we sat in had some sort of Quentin Tarantino theme going on with nifty cutouts from Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Dusk till Dawn.The menu is full of good options including daily specials. My wife finally decided on a pulled-pork sandwich. It is served on toasted bread and comes with baked beans, Cole slaw and shoestring fries. Instead of fries (she gave them up for lent) she substituted onion rings.Yea, the cook sent her plate out with fries, but then made up a special order of rings for us. And the rings were outstanding. Have I had better? Sure. Were these wonderful? Absolutely.
The beans were good but what really stood out was the barbecue sauce that accompanied the pulled-pork sandwich. Look, I'm not going to sit here and say that the sandwich was better than Augie's, but this is a diner, not a BBQ place. Having said that, if you order it at 5050, you will not be disappointed. The sauce, as we found out, is made on site by the 5050 folks. We told the waitress that they should bottle it and sell it. Dip your onion rings in it and you will be very pleased.The daily special was fish & chips and so I ordered me some. In spite of the good iced tea, I forced myself to also order a Newcastle Dark Brown, on tap to assist me in getting in the fish & chips mood.In addition to the expected fish & chips, the plate comes with a tiny salad (about half a cup worth) and some of the aforementioned Cole Slaw. Before I could even think about using the tarter sauce, our waitress asked if I needed some Malt Vinegar. Just fabulous! While she grabbed that, I started on the Cole slaw. I am telling you that we have had Cole slaw at a lot of places. I don't know if this was made at the restaurant or purchased from a supplier, but it stands right up there with among the best, creamiest, most flavorful slaw's I have ever experienced.
The fish was fried with a crispy texture and it was in nuggets, almost like you get with some catfish. Unlike the fillets I had at the Rams Head (which was excellent), these were a little more crispy and could easily be picked up for fast eating. I did try the tarter sauce and it was good, but to be honest, the malt vinegar was hitting the spot for me. I'm not a huge fan of shoestring fries, though they were not bad, but my wife needed help with the onion rings so between the two of us, we left enough fries to feed several families in Ethiopia. Hopefully, they will get them while they are still hot.
We eat at a lot of places. More often than not, we seem to leave thinking that it was going to be better, based on what people told us or what some advertiser claimed. I have no way of knowing if we were simply lucky, hitting the place during a slow time (it was about 2:30 in the afternoon), but we were totally pleased. My wife was doing the Happy Dance over pulled pork, so you know it had to be good.
If you are in or around Alamo Heights and need some vittles, skip Good Time Charlies and the Pig Stand and head directly over to Broadway 5050. Or eat at all three and have a heart attack. Your call.Either way, Broadway 5050 is a Tasty Treat.
6 comments:
Oh the happy dance. Sweet! Will have to add 5050 to our wish list. My waist is growing steadily following your many reviews.
Yes, I've tried the Broadway 5050. It is a very good place.
Wow.
I always leave here feeling hungry.
My ass is literally exploding out of my pants and I need to go on a diet pronto and now the entire diet is sabotaged because I HAVE TO HAVE ONION RINGS!!!!
SABOTEUR!
Why can't I live in Texas where all the good places to eat are?
Honestly, we ate there Thursday after taking the kids to the Witte, and I wasn't that impressed. I mean, it was good (the onion rings especially), but I had the pork plate and it was dry. Now, fair enough, you did say it wouldn't compare to Augies, and maybe I should've tried something more akin to diner food; but there are so few places that serve pork BBQ I had to give it a shot. It was nothing that would draw me back. As such, Broadway 5050 has been crossed off the list as having "eaten there."
The next stops in our diner quest will be the Olmos Pharmacy (Bharmacy) and Laurel Heights Pharmacy. We passed the former going to the Witte, now I wished we had stopped there on the way back instead!
Cheers! M2
Got no time for Goodtime Charlies. Went there one time, ordered two CF steak plates. My gf got a cold plate and mine was barely warm. Did I tell I hate cold food right from the kitchen?? Never been back...
You've had better onion rings? My quest is to find the top two places for onion rings. I like them cut thick, and good crust, not the frozen kind of crust where it is more crust than onion. Where, tell me where! Pull.ease!
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