Crumpets: They like us...

You may recall a while back we went to Crumpets in Alamo Heights for lunch and enjoyed it tremendously, and wrote about it here. Well, apparently they enjoyed the review enough to add our comments to their page. Check it out.

Lunch Report: Crumpets...

Go ahead, I know what you are thinking: You think we've eaten burgers at every burger place and had catfish at every catfish place, so now with no place else to go, we're moving up to the finer things in life. We'll, Crumpets certainly is a little more upscale than the usual places we dine, but don't let the fancy name and beautiful location scare you off.

We have some friends that have invited us to dine at Crumpets several times over the last year or so, and things just never have worked out, but this restaurant has been on our "must visit" list for quite a while. And I'll confess, if you don't know any better, you might get the idea that in order to dine at Crumpets in '09, you'd better suit up, order up a limo and bring the Platinum Visa, but to our delight, my misconceptions were just that. Crumpets has an inviting atmosphere, perfect for a couple not wanting to hear the music and noise of a sports bar or the constant sounds of the kitchen and wait staff at Chilis.We couldn't make up our mind about sitting inside or out on the patio, so the hostess seated us near a window overlooking the patio. On our next visit, we will definitely try the patio - it looks wonderful.Our waitress was named Misty, and she was simply outstanding. Given my initial misconceptions about the place, I fully expected some snooty guy with a towel on his arm to come and sniff at our beverage selection - iced tea. But Misty was just as cheerful and friendly as could be. And the service was, as I say, outstanding.
We ordered from the lunch menu, and I should tell you that these prices are very reasonable - no more than you would pay at most of the places we visit. Our lunch entrees came with a House Salad that was wonderful. I couldn't quite identify what the dressing was (and never asked) but it had an excellent creamy taste. I'm a huge fan of salads and this hit the spot.Along with salad, we received some yummy croissants which I can only assume come from the bakery located within the restaurant.My wife had the Breast of Chicken, Charbroiled and covered in a champagne sauce with a hint of cayenne pepper. The chicken came with potatoes and steamed carrots and green beans. The veggies were perfect. The chicken was cooked just right and, I know we probably looked like dorks, but we were dipping French fries in the leftover champagne sauce. Good stuff.I opted for the steak sandwich. It comes on a French roll with onions and melted cheese. The plate comes with nicely done fries and the fixins to dress the sandwich. The mustard is pretty spicy, and good. We both agreed that the steak was very tender and, much to my enjoyment, there was no need for me to fight with either the meat or the bread when taking a bite.Our waitress saw that I was a heavy tea drinker and was quick to fill my glass (the easiest way to reduce your tip is to leave me waiting for tea). In fact, she brought me my own carafe and all was right with the world!

As we dined, we noted what other people were ordering and a few things stood out. Two ladies seated near us ordered the Mediterranean Salad. Sorry, I didn't hover over them to take pictures, but the one lady told the other that this was the best salad in San Antonio. It was huge and it looked great. Another guy ordered one of Crumpets 7 inch pizza's. He didn't offer me a bite, but it sure looked good.After finishing our own meals and gawking at others', our waitress suggested dessert. We shared a slice of layered chocolate cake with some incredible icing. What can I say - we finished it and licked the forks!After lunch, we wandered about outside just to check out the beautiful area. There is a nice little stream that runs through the property and diners on the patio can probably enjoy the breeze and a glass or two of wine. I hope you won't wait as long as we did to give them a try; without question, Crumpets is a Tasty Treat.

National Night Out Report: A Good Time was had by All...

Close to forty folks ventured out from their air conditioned homes, away from important television viewing and Internet surfing, and braved the elements of a setting sun, a very warm breeze and the potential for the dreaded Texas-sized mosquitoes that have taken over our fair city, all to meet with friends and neighbors, enjoy some hot dogs and chili, fruits, chips and lots of great deserts. And in taking this brave alternative to a normal Tuesday evening in San Antonio, they helped in a greater cause shared by other participating citizens all over the country to, as McGruff the crime dog might say, take a bite out of crime.

We were spared rain and the brutal heat that is usually common this time of year and for the most part, even the mosquitoes tried to be civil towards us. this combination of good luck made the setting for our group to sit around and enjoy chatting with neighbors who we always seem to wave hello to but never really get a chance to talk with.

Thanks to Mrs. Betty Hood, the Great Northwest National Night Out coordinator, we received several gift certificates to area merchants that were raffled off. These merchants included Flowers Plus, Simply the Best Pro Cuts, Chick-fil-a, Red Lobster, Marie Callenders, Sportsman's Warehouse, IMAX, Crumpets Restaurant, and McDonald's Hal-John Inc. Additionally, my favorite grocer ever, HEB provided lots of pastries and cakes and such. Finally, as you may know, Target is the national sponsor for the National Night Out program. We had a really nice banner provided by Target and we got a special visit from Yvonne Rios who provided the kids with pinwheels and activity books.

Other prominent guests to our party included Mr. Lee Besing and Ms. Sigrid Long, both Directors on the Board of the GNW Community Improvement Association, and Mr. Jose Morlett, the acting community manager for GNWCIA. Mr. Morlett was accompanied by members of his staff and the Passages Newspaper.

We were especially pleased to have visits from Chief Roger Burton and several of his officers on the GNW Security Force, San Antonio Police Department, Constables office, and San Antonio's Code Compliance department.

We never did have a specific agenda of events such as games (watermelon spitting contest?), or speeches from the local dignitaries who visited, but some of the younger children were happy to assist with our makeshift raffle for the door prizes. Others enjoyed the use of colored chalk on the driveway, so as to practice their future tagging skills (just kidding).

Perhaps next year, we can bust out some of those padded outfits and do front yard sumo wrestling. Given my girth and the number of hot dogs I ate last night, I doubt I'll have to wear one of the fat suits.

In the end, I think everyone was pretty pleased with how things turned out. We held a party last year but did not bother to go through the registration process. I'd say that the added bonus of the police visits and of course, all the goodies provided for the party made it that much better. So, mark your calenders now because we are ready to do it again next year.

Here are a few more pictures to take a gander at.

More members from the Constables office swing by looking for potential suspects!