Missed Picture...

For the past several years, I have kept my digital camera at the ready for those occasions where I get a glimpse of something that is just too good not preserve for future viewing or more often, share with readers here. I am pretty quick with the camera, and often, my wife acts as a spotter, alerting me to something worth a quick snap of the lens.

I do admit there have been occasions where, even though I have the camera at the ready, I was simply too dumbfounded to react until after the fact. I hate when that happens. Yesterday was a different scenario. I actually had the shot, but the Good Samaritan in me prevented me from taking the photo, and instead I rolled down the window (okay, I pushed the button and the window lowered), and got the attention of the driver in the vehicle next to me at the stoplight.

You have all seen, or may have experienced it yourself, what happens when a person sets their coffee cup on top of the car so they can unlock the door. Remarkably, they usually make it at least a ¼ mile before the laws of physics or gravity or Kharma take over, and the cup and the contents fly off the roof into traffic. When this happens, the driver usually says to themselves, “What was that?” then continues to try to remember what is missing from the morning commute.

So I’m at the intersection of Callaghan and Culebra stopped at the light when I notice this old beater of a car. The car itself was worthy of a picture as it seemed to have a patchwork of different shades of blue body parts. Some lighter, more faded, others a darker shade, quite possibly taken from a different vehicle or maybe just spray painted more recently than the rest of the car. But the Partridge Family bus-like paint scheme isn’t what caught my eye. It was the parrot-nose hedge clippers and the box saw, sitting on top of the roof above the rear driver’s side window. No telling how many other tools had started on the roof before the guy began his drive.

I looked up to see that my turning lane signal was still red, reached for my camera and then it occurred to me that perhaps this guy was just someone trying to make a few bucks doing some handyman work. Like I said, I got the guy’s attention and told him he left his tools on the roof of the car. We were still at the light so I just assumed that he would put his car in park, step out of the door and grab the items, then continue on his way.

As he thanked me, he looked around several times and just as the turning lane light turned green I realized that he had some sort of bailing wire wrapped around the window frame of the front and rear driver’s side doors. In other words, his only exit was through the passenger side of the car. Poor guy.

With cars behind me, I had to go so I never saw the outcome. Did the guy slowly move to the nearest parking spot to retrieve the tools or did he actually jump out of the passenger’s side of the car? Or did he just continue driving on, waiting for the inevitable thump? Either way, I wish I would have taken the picture of the tools and the look on his face when I alerted him to his predicament.

Lunch Report: Chunky's Burgers...

The week or so ago my son called to report that San Antonio was being featured on the Travel Channel show, Man V. Food. I flipped on the TV and saw the segment on Big Lou's Pizza. Honestly, I had never even heard of the place. Another segment was Lulu's Bakery which we have discussed here several times; I love me some Lulu's.Then, earlier this week, a friend asked if I had seen the Man V. Food segment on Chunky's Burgers located on Callaghan. I hadn't, and in fact, I know I have driven by that location numerous times and couldn't recall seeing the place. So, my wife and I were in need of lunch, and off we went.There was some minor glitch when we arrived around 11:30 and a lady came out and told me they would not be opening until noon. We ran errands and when we returned, could see that the featured burger on Man V. Food, the 4-Horsemen Burger, was not available. I asked about it when we got in and she told me that the owner was running around town looking for the right ingredients. I'm guessing since that show, maybe lots of folks had come in looking to take the challenge.

By the way, go to the Vlog entry for San Antonio where you can listen to the host Adam Richman describe the 4-Horsemen as being the hottest thing ever. He was actually ready to give up after the first bite. The 4-Horsemen is topped with grilled jalapenos, Serrano peppers, ghost peppers, jalapeno jack cheese and habanero sauce. I love hot/spicy food and I'll enjoy jalapenos all day long - especially on a burger, but at some point it becomes ridiculous. Even if the 4-Horsemen had been available, I'd have passed on it.Inside, the place is small, though maybe slightly larger than The Gold Standard, Lord's Kitchen. When we walked in at precisely noon, the place was already packed and we took a table in front of the register, next to the entrance. Needless to say, the crowd that followed us in huddled around our table as we waited the twenty or so minutes for our order.Outside they have a very large covered dining area that was also filled by the time we had finished. The place is doing a booming business with a strong line-up of burgers, sandwiches and chicken plates. We started off our lunch with the obligatory basket of half fries, half onion rings. The fries were thick and not overcooked. The onion rings are frozen from a supplier, but they were actually cooked as good as one can given what they got; not too crisp for my taste. If you like that style, you won't be disappointed. And no, we didn't even come close to finishing the order.We only had a second to glance at the menu because it was too small to read and people were beginning to crowd in behind us, (they could really use a web page, if only to give people a chance to review the menu before they arrive). My wife ordered The Guacamole Burger, and was very pleased to find that what it really is is avocado slices smashed. Honestly, they could have forgotten the burger and she would have been in hog heaven.I ordered something called the Big Chunk. Topped with Velveeta, onion rings and bacon, it was just what I needed to make up for having missed breakfast. Chunky's does their buns the correct way, toasted on the grill and still soft. The burgers themselves seemed to be cooked "Well Done" though I understand why many restaurants do that, I don't have to be happy about it. Because mine was served without the benefit of mayo or mustard, I added a little barbecue sauce our server brought us. By the time I was about mid-way into the burger, I was able to really appreciate the combination of the onion ring and bacon, smothered in Velveeta and now barbecue sauce.I will have to go back just because I need to try a few of the other selections on Chunky's menu. In spite of hitting it at a really busy time, I liked that I could see the grillmen in the back working like a smooth team. Most importantly, my wife was just pleased as punch with the Guacamole Burger and that makes Chunky's a Tasty Treat.

Strange in and around 78250...

I have seen several strange things this weekend and it is only Saturday!Friday morning on my way to work, I found out that my windows are really dirty. I need to clean them. Oh, and on Callaghan Road, there was a minor fender-bender.Oh, we were in Bed Bath and Beyond, and apparently, it is a pretty cool place to take a nap if you are a homeless child.Remember that possum in my yard? Strange, he hasn't been back for a while.

Lunch Report: Philly Connection

We spent the morning checking out some garage sales then found ourselves in need of a little snack. A while back my wife had spotted this place off of I-10 and Callaghan called Philly Connection, so we thought we'd give it a try. Right off the bat, the place is clean - I mean spotless. I like that in a place that serves food.My wife ordered a small cheese chicken and was very pleased with it. In seeing the size, the fact that we ordered combos, I should have also gone with the small. You definitely get enough to eat.

We both agreed that the bread was outstanding and fresh. Not too doughy, but not hard like a stale roll.I made a slight error in rushing to order the biggest thing I could find due to the fact that I was just starving. I ordered something called The Works. It is an original with some extra stuff plus, pizza sauce. The hell? I like pizza sauce on pizza, but not on a sandwich. In spite of the fact that it was technically ruined, I was a good sport and wolfed it down.

Over all, good service, a clean place and generous servings make Philly Connection worth a visit. As an added bonus, they serve ice cream, cheese cake and some specialty coffee drinks. But really read the menu before you place your order, just so you know what you are ordering. Pizza sauce on a Philly Cheese steak? I guess.

Shopping Report: Sun Harvest

Please don't be offended by this, but if I were to stand outside of most health food stores trying to come up with a broad description of the people who shop there, in a single word, I'd have to choose weird.

Please don't misunderstand; I am all for healthy eating and in fact, over the last year or more have changed my own personal eating habits to include more healthful choices like fresh fruits, grains, less red meat and more fish. I actually do eat organic waffles containing flax, and even have a shaker of flaxseed that I sprinkle on top of fruit and yogurt. But for the most part, I have been able to make these personal changes, without changing the place I buy food, because I don't feel the need to arbitrarily pay double the price for things.

Okay, so if you aren't pissed off yet, I'll tell you why I went to Sun Harvest.

A friend at work let me try these Pita Chips that he says he got at Whole Foods or some place like that. These puppies seem to be deep fried in something, then covered with various seasonings. Healthy or not, they taste great! So, I told my wife we ought to go buy a bucket of them, sit in front of the TV and eat them.

All.

Once again, San Antonio experienced another Noah's Ark-worth of rain, and I decided that instead of driving all over town trying to find Whole Foods, I'd go to this Sun Harvest off IH-10 and Callaghan. If they sell healthy stuff, certainly they would have the healthy junk food, right?

There were lots of older folks shopping at Sun Harvest. I don't attribute shopping there to them trying to be healthy, I suspect that this store is simply a neighborhood grocery to them. Much like in some urban areas, people shop at 7-Eleven simply because they don't have a car, and it is the closest place to purchase a $4.75 gallon of milk and some rolling papers.

Moving away from the normal-seeming old people, now we have the generic weird people I described earlier. These are people who would give anything to live in Austin, and would fit in nicely, but circumstances have kept them here in San Antonio. These people most likely listen to NPR, drive a VW with a flower mounted in the dashboard, have a bumper sticker that says, "Impeach Bush" on their car, and have only dated other ugly people.

But I mean all this in a good way.

As my wife and I strolled through the aisles looking for the Fried Pita Chips Slathered in Herbs I so desperately wanted, I saw one gentleman who was fully decked out in safari clothing. Is that standard issue for a trip to the grocery store on a rainy day, or do you suppose he was simply purchasing a box of frozen Tofurky for his big expedition to The Shoppes at La Canterra?

Another handsome lady was prepared for shopping duty in her Hemp jeans and tie-dyed t-shirt as though at any moment, she expected to meet Peter, Paul and Mary at the check-out line.

Perhaps I'm too harsh, but I make no illusions about why I was there. I was looking for junk food and it just happened to be at a healthy food store I was looking for it in. The interesting thing was, not only did they sport two full aisles of junk-food, but by simply applying the label "Organic" or "Healthy" to a product, people felt free to dig in.

They had set-up an end cap with a two plates of cookies, and not one person (myself included) walked by without trying a few samples. That's fine, but why didn't these people jump on a treadmill and walk for a few minutes after eating? I'll tell you why - because they don't really care about their health, they just like the idea of appearing to care about their health, the environment, and this good feeling gives them an excuse to wear goofy clothing styles.

In the end, I did not find the chips I was looking for so it was pretty much a bust, but my wife did purchase a pound of walnuts and she found them a lot cheaper than what we could get from HEB.

* Please don't be offended; I'm just poking fun - and why not? There really was a goofy guy in a safari outfit.