I received an e-mail from a friend suggesting that we try out a place over on Blanco just south of 1604 called Spanky's Smokehouse and Saloon, and since my wife and just happened to be in the area, we figured we ought to stop in for a little taste.
If you have ever been in that area, Spanky's is located in what used to be the Hungry Farmer, so right away you will feel like perhaps you have been there before.
We were seated and then almost immediately greeted by our waitress who was quick to offer up some of their awesome iced tea. I asked for mine to be half sweet and half unsweetened, and that presented no problem whatsoever, even when she came back for my five or six refills. Before we even get to the food, I will tell you that our waitress was probably the most competent and friendly we have experienced in a really long time.
My wife ordered a beef brisket sandwich with onion rings for $7.95. They loaded it up with excellent brisket and even grilled the buns as required in order to be good. My wife has the no sauce rule when she is trying a new meat, and sure enough this brisket passed the test.
The onion rings we great. Served with some creamy cayenne sauce that has just enough of a kick, they were good with or without. My wife also asked for some honey mustard to dip her rings in and it was also very good.
The waitress brought out three sauces for us to use. The one on the left was their habanero sauce, the middle was some sort of Carolina style, and the one on the right was the house mixture. 
I ordered the Texas Pulled Pork with rings for $6.95 and it was quite excellent. On one side of it, I used the Spanky's house sauce which had a nice little tangy kick, but not anything that would hurt the taste of the vittles. On the other half, I tried the Carolina mixture which has to be shaken up before you use it since it involves vinegar and stuff that settles to the bottom. That was lip smackin' good.
When we were done, our waitress tempted us with multiple dessert options and we gave in, splitting a piece of apple cobbler. Good stuff, even for the early afternoon.
It turns out that Spanky's is a chain of one store so far with aspirations for more. We were quick to give our vote for opening one in the Alamo Ranch area. Really, if you are in the area, you owe it to yourself to stop in and give them a try. On our next visit, I will have to try the chicken and perhaps the ribs.
No question at all. Great service, fair price, and outstanding vittles gets Spanky's Smokehouse a Tasty Treat!
It is interesting to me how places get all hyped up by everyone, bandwagons are jumped upon and inevitably, I feel like an idiot because I don't know anything about "The Place" for "The Best" burgers in town. Yes, I have heard of Chris Madrid's and of course, it has been on my list for a while, but to be really honest, it was like going to a movie that everyone has gone gah gah over and then, simply not getting it.
From the minute we pulled onto Blanco Road from Hildebrand and the lady in my Garmin said "arriving at destination", my wife was not happy. She matter-of-fact said, "If this is it, I'm not going in there." You have to admit, the place looks run down. Rustic would be a compliment, fitting the neighborhood is probably appropriate. And the security guard out front told us we could park our car in the lot across the street. Regardless of how the place looks from the outside, people seem to have gotten the message that what's on the inside is pretty good.
It took some coaxing, but we did go in and figured out where to go to order. I'll spare you the confusion if you plan on trying Chris Madrid's: If you walk in the entrance from Blanco Road, you'll see a wide open seating area with a closed in bar/smoking section (I assume) to your left, and all the way to the right is the cashier and where you order and pick up your stuff. All the way to the back you see a patio area.
I don't have any issues with the atmosphere inside. People seemed happy and there were a few pictures to look at. What I didn't care for was the way you are herded into a choke point near the cash register to place your order. The menus were located down by the register, but because there was a constant flow of people trying to get by one another, we had to wait until just before ordering to grab a menu. Luckily, the menu is very limited, and I like that. My wife was not as thrilled.
People clearly love Chris Madrid's. Aside from some plaques for People's Choice Awards, the place is mostly decorated in T-Shirts from various organizations or events, signed by customers. I'm all for customer loyalty to drive the business in, but once there, deliver on the product.
My wife ordered the chicken sandwich - the cashier told her it would definitely be worth the 15 minute wait. She also requested extra honey mustard to dip with the order of fries we shared. When I went to pick up the order (15 minutes was about right), the lady told me they were out of honey mustard and offered Ranch instead. At that moment in time, I thought to myself, we are going to be going to Earl Abels sometime in the near future to make up for this lunch idea. Aside from the lack of honey mustard, the chicken was okay, but just okay. The fries were fine, cooked the way I like them and would have been much tastier with some honey mustard to dip them in.
My selection was easy. I went with the Flaming Jalapeno Burger with Cheddar, Macho (large). The bun was done right, the burger was loaded with jalapenos and covered in gooey Government Cheese, just the way I love it. The hamburger meat is clearly seasoned with something - almost making it a little too salty. Not too salty to really enjoy though.
Aside from the dysfunctional ordering operation, Madrid's seems to operate very smoothly. For people ordering burgers (not chicken) they seem to move very fast. The fact that the lady warned us there would be a wait was outstanding and appreciated.
On what was an incredibly beautiful day, it would have been nice to sit outside on Madrid's patio. Looks very nice and wide open, not crowded like some places.
Look, I had a good burger, though in terms of value, I would have been just as happy paying a lot less and eating at Whataburger. I'd certainly enjoy Chris Madrid's again if I happened to be in the area, but if you have to go out of your way to try it, I know of several others I'd recommend.
This one falls into the category of, "I hate when people whine that there is nothing to do here", because we had decided that it was time for us to go and pay a visit to the New Earl Abel's (reported via separate blog entry), and in the course of leaving the Fred Road area, we attempted to take Loop 410 until we found out it was for the most part, closed due to some refreshing construction.
I turned south on Blanco and was going to zip downtown, find a good cross street and get over to Alamo Heights. I don't mind cruising the back streets for a new adventure and of course, we found one.
Just as we came upon Oblate, my wife screamed for me to turn. I recognized the area, because years earlier, we had done some sort of marriage encounter concentration camp-like seminar where they make you go and confront yourselves. How could one forget that good time?
Anywho, more important than that, this beautiful spread of land carved out of the hustle and bustle of Blanco Junction (no relation to Petticoat Junction, I trust), is this wonderful sanctuary with well manicured lawns, peaceful walks, and a grotto. Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto of the Southwest to be precise.
I must report that I become somewhat skiddish when walking the grounds of Holy places. I can't explain it, but I immediately go into Library-mode, you know, no talking, eyes cast downward for fear that a librarian or Nun might see you looking at something you shouldn't, and perhaps this is why when I had a problem with my camera, it was a bit unnerving that I somehow blurted out, "son of a bitch" at full volume. My wife launched into immediate prayer and had we been closer to the Holy Water spigot, I surely would have been doused for cause.
You don't have to be all hopped up on religion or specifically be Catholic to appreciate the beauty of this place, and you certainly won't find one of the Oblate Missionaries standing there collecting an entrance fee. If you ever just want to take a peaceful walk around the grounds and maybe go into the new gift shop conveniently located nearby,I think it will be a half-hour or so of time well spent.
In case your potty-mouth doesn't allow you to go, here are some pictures.
A few nice sculptures to enjoy.
If you have ever been in that area, Spanky's is located in what used to be the Hungry Farmer, so right away you will feel like perhaps you have been there before.
We were seated and then almost immediately greeted by our waitress who was quick to offer up some of their awesome iced tea. I asked for mine to be half sweet and half unsweetened, and that presented no problem whatsoever, even when she came back for my five or six refills. Before we even get to the food, I will tell you that our waitress was probably the most competent and friendly we have experienced in a really long time.
My wife ordered a beef brisket sandwich with onion rings for $7.95. They loaded it up with excellent brisket and even grilled the buns as required in order to be good. My wife has the no sauce rule when she is trying a new meat, and sure enough this brisket passed the test.
The onion rings we great. Served with some creamy cayenne sauce that has just enough of a kick, they were good with or without. My wife also asked for some honey mustard to dip her rings in and it was also very good.
The waitress brought out three sauces for us to use. The one on the left was their habanero sauce, the middle was some sort of Carolina style, and the one on the right was the house mixture. 
I ordered the Texas Pulled Pork with rings for $6.95 and it was quite excellent. On one side of it, I used the Spanky's house sauce which had a nice little tangy kick, but not anything that would hurt the taste of the vittles. On the other half, I tried the Carolina mixture which has to be shaken up before you use it since it involves vinegar and stuff that settles to the bottom. That was lip smackin' good.
When we were done, our waitress tempted us with multiple dessert options and we gave in, splitting a piece of apple cobbler. Good stuff, even for the early afternoon.
No question at all. Great service, fair price, and outstanding vittles gets Spanky's Smokehouse a Tasty Treat!
