Sometimes, ya gotta have a back-up plan. And sometimes, you need a back-up to your back-up. Today was one of those days where I made a fairly amateur mistake in seeking out a place for my wife and I to try.
I had done a little research on the Google and found a place called Cora's 471 Grill that according to their web page, has been around since 1932. That's a long time to be in bid'ness on a lonely stretch of road, but if you believe their web page and signage, they also have the best nachos in Texas, so they may account for the longevity.
Of course, I'd be telling you about Cora's right now if their business hours matched what their web page proclaims, and they opened at 11AM on Saturday's instead of 5PM. Maybe another time. My amateur mistake was not calling ahead to verify. This is not the first time (nor the last I suspect) that we drove someplace expecting it to be open, only to find out that had we called in advance, we could have saved a trip. 
But, I do like the drive, so what the heck. These are a few shots taken along FM471 between Rio Medina and Castroville. The view from an air conditioned truck is mighty fine.
With Cora's out of luck, I did have a back-up in the form of a Diner in Castroville, but come to find out, they are open on Sundays, but not Saturday.
On to the small town of Hondo where we have had some good dining experiences; Hermann Sons and McBee's to name a few. So the funny thing was, we thought we would let Garmin pick out a few potential places, drive by and then choose what looked good.
The first place we picked was called Olivia's. We followed the directions on Garmin to an empty lot that looks as though it has been cleared to make something else. No sign saying, former home of Olivia's or anything. I seriously believe the answer is that the address is wrong in Garmin - and on Google. Garmin told us to go onto J street and that was where we found the empty lot. Google says it is on 18th Street, but to be honest, we drove down 18th Street and didn't see it there either. Who knows? Perhaps a reader will tell us what we missed.
If that wasn't bad enough, we went with our second Garmin choice, a place called Hi-Way Drive-In. The first clue we had a problem was when the British woman in my Garmin told me to take a street heading away from the highway. Would it make sense to name a place Hi-Way Drive-In and not be on or near the highway? This time, we ended up in front of someones house. And I couldn't even smell a fire going, so we thought perhaps we were in the twilight zone or something.
Instead of driving around in Honda for hours, and let's face it, you could probably do it and see the place several times, we decided to get on Highway 173 and head north to Bandera. I love the drive between Hondo and Bandera because it looks to me like some place they could film an old western flick. I can just see Clint Eastwood or John Wayne riding on a horse along these small hills. If you live up north and see this, yes, it really is this dry and brown, and wide open out here.
Once safely into Bandera (my wife kept mentioning snakes and stuff along the way), we quickly decided to go into Old Spanish Trail. OST is at the intersection of Main Street (173) and Highway 16 which means, you can't get in or out of Bandera without seeing it. Of course, as many times as we have been to Bandera, we thought that we had eaten there before, but when we walked in, realized we had not.
We took a seat in the John Wayne Room where the walls are covered in pictures of mostly The Duke, but many other famous cowboy actors.
The rest of the restaurant has a similar feel about it. Cowboy related memorabilia, a bar where you can sit on a saddle instead of a stool - what fella wouldn't want to sit there after a long day of cowboying? Good stuff.
Just looking at other people's plates, the servings looked fairly good sized. We had heard good words about the Chicken Fried Steak, so my wife was all for it, but opted to get the Kid's meal version (to which they had no problem with). Obviously, the kids in Bandera eat a lot, because the CFS was enough for an adult. She got the mashed potatoes with gravy and a roll (though we may have had to pay extra for the roll). The mashed potatoes were excellent, gravy was awesome and the CFS was a treat. She said it was a bit chewy, but the hunk I had was pretty darn good. Better than Lulu's? No. But worth every penny.
My dinner came with a trip to the salad bar. No complaints from me; it was clean, filled with the stuff they put out, and there didn't appear to be any little kids rummaging through it. I could have used some chopped up boiled eggs, but I need to lose a few pounds anyway.
I opted for the Catfish and shrimp combo and was more than pleased. It came with the aforementioned salad bar and I got the mashed potatoes. The three pieces of butterflied shrimp were not only well-sized, they were great tasting. The catfish was cooked just the way I like it - very close to what the folks at Clear Springs do. For the $12, I might have liked one more catfish nugget, but what the heck, Bandera is a tourist place. I did wonder why they added a bed of lettuce and tomato to the plate when a salad already comes with the entree, but who knows, maybe the cook was giving me a hint: More salad, less fried food.
No complaints at all. Parking could be an issue but usually if you go to Bandera, you are going to shop anyway, so you can always utilize the free parking in other areas and just walk. I would gladly take friends or family and check out some of the many other things on their big menu.
Is it just me or did that Amy's Restaurant on FM471 (Culebra) just east of Cliffbrier get a new paint job and a new sign?
And where was I when they added the Taqueria Jaliscience to the name?
My wife and I were out doing some garage sailing the other day when we decided to stop in for a quick taco, and since I am physically unable to eat food without taking pictures of it, I figured I share a brief report.
Amy's has been in this area for quite some time, and though I know we have stopped in before, it has probably been a few years at least. The place looks the same as I recall; wide open, colorful and festive.
I had my standard array of tacos. I always get (if available) one Carne Gusida with cheese, one chorizo & egg and one country & egg - country referring to country sausage which refers to Kielbasa. The first thing we need to discuss here is the flour tortillas. Home made (or in this case, made from scratch in the restaurant kitchen) are a must. These babies came out looking just right.
My only complaint would be that they must have been made way too thin because by the time I got to the second taco, they were breaking apart. This is not a good thing. Yes, I had a fork to finish things up with, but a flour tortilla should only break when you rip it apart. But they tasted great.
First up, the carne guisada with cheese. Very tasty, not the best I have ever had, but certainly worth the price of admission. Thankfully, I was able to consume it without any tortilla breakage, or we may have had a messy situation. Would I order it again? In a heartbeat. 
Next, the country & egg. Good sausage and the egg was not over cooked at all. I could easily get fat on this.
I should mention the verde sauce at this point. When our waitress brought out the salsas, she mentioned to my wife in foreign language that the green sauce was extremely pica. My wife looked at me and made mention of this fact to me, to which I nodded. I can understand much more of the Spanish talk than they give me credit for. So of course, I gave the country & egg a thorough dousing of the verde and began my assault on the taco. I then quickly turned three shades of red and began drinking the water. Smokin'! And exceptionally awesome.
By the time I got to the chorizo & egg, I am happy to report that it was still steaming hot. That is a good thing. Look, I know this stuff is not good for me, but I limit myself to tacos of this nature to maybe once a month these days. How can you live in San Antonio and not just love choriza and egg on a fresh flour tortilla? Granted, I want a flour tortilla that doesn't break, but still, this was some yummy stuff.
So wrapping up (no tortilla pun intended), this was an excellent breakfast treat with only a slight tortilla failure on two of my tacos. Thankfully, silverware and napkins are provided at no additional cost. Also, I thought the coffee was excellent. Our total cost for my three tacos and my wife's two? Less than a ten spot. That friends, is a Tasty Treat for Amy's and whatever she wants to call her restaurant these days.
The name of the place sounded familiar and based on where it was on the map, I was certain we had at least driven by it a few times, but I just wasn't sure. So I called the number and the phone rang at least five times before I started to just hang up, thinking it was an old listing. Just then, some guy answered and I was sure he said "Stump's" but I didn't catch much more.
I asked the man, "Are you open?" which I have to admit is sort of a silly question considering that he had answered, but you just never know. The man on the other end laughed and said, "Is that a trick question? What is this? Am I on Candid Camera?" And with that, my wife and I knew that we had to check out Stump's Steak House Grill for lunch.
The outside of the place does not have the flash of some of the fancier places we have been to. Seriously, I recognized it as soon as Garmin told us we had arrived at our destination, as a place we had driven by on the way to Medina Lake. Honestly, without the man on the other end of the phone and the cars parked in front, I would have assumed it to be an abandoned hardware store.
Inside, 'Mando as the regulars called him, was taking orders over the phone for people who would be by to pick up lunch in a while. Next time I'll make use of that. It turns out, the same guy who answers the phone and takes your order is also the guy who cooks the food. This might result in a slight wait.
The place is certainly Hole in the Wall-ish. I especially liked the remodeled chairs.
It has a homey feel to it though my wife and I both agreed that there was almost a McDonald's grill area smell to it. If you have ever worked at Mickey D's, you know that smell when you get home and your uniform smells of seared Quarter Pounders, golden brown fries and a hint of reconstituted onions. Okay, well maybe you don't know the smell. This is not something to worry about. You won't yak or anything, but it just smells like a place where fried food is served.
My wife ordered a combo plate that included a 1/4 pound cheeseburger, fries and a drink. I like a place that will ask you how you want your burger cooked. Most places these days are so afraid of Mad Cow or some sort a salmonella that they insist on burning everything. The fries looked a little overdone to me, but they were actually good.
I had the 1/2 pound Angus Cheese Burger (cooked Medium, thanks) and fries. This guy adds some seasoning to the patty that must be scientifically formulated to hit the taste buds in the right areas, because for what I assume was a processed patty (not handmade in the kitchen), it was mighty tasty. The bun was excellent, the lettuce, tomato, and everything else worked perfectly. And it wasn't just my imagination. A table of good ol' boys next to us were going on and on about how good the burgers were to a pardner there for his first time.
Stump's isn't some place you need to load up the family and travel all the way from Las Vegas to come and visit. But for us, this little place is only about 7 or 8 miles down the road and for a change of pace, it was certainly a good burger at a reasonable price and, an interesting venue.
Off the top of my head, I can think of several places that are supposed to be so special, but burger to burger, I'd be happy with this one. And that makes Stump's a Tasty Treat.
Need to see all the pictures of Stump's? Head to Flickr.
After what seemed to be years, I mean, really, years from the time they purchased the land at the now booming intersection of 1604 and FM 471 or Culebra Road if you prefer, the Jim's restaurant finally opened this week and this morning, my wife and I got some!
If you live anywhere within the vicinity of the greater Alamo Ranch area, you are no doubt giddy with excitement over all the new stores and restaurants we have. But the wider selection did not stop the crowds eager for a breakfast fix, and we waded through soccer teams, churchgoers and people with hangovers to get what is really the equivalent of Denny's but with much better service. (Of course, I don't do Denny's anymore, so how could I know?).
While we waited, in the spacious and comfortable holding pen, many people chatted with fellow patrons regarding all the new stores and restaurants; those already open like Olive Garden, Mama Margie's and of course the Starbucks, and those planned, such as Red Robin, Chick-a-lay (as we call it) and of course the new IHOP under construction. I suspect that once the initial thrill of having a Jim's (and eventually an IHOP) close by where people don't have to make the torturous trip up the bottleneck at Braun and 1604 to get to another suitable place to eat, the crowds will die down, but for now it was jam-packed and they kept the wait very reasonable.
After the promised 15 minute wait, we were seated and commenced to look at the menu for something suitable to eat. Although it was already close to noon, we had nothing but breakfast on our minds. Our waitress was lickity split with the menus and off to grab waters and coffee. Considering that there was never a single table, booth or bar stool open for longer than it took to clean off dirty plates and seat the next hungry crowd, I'd say the staff (probably many of them new to the Jim's system) were firing on all cylinders. My wife did a quick count of just the visible staff and she saw 25 folks. That means many more in the kitchen pumping out eggs, bacon and pancakes and lots of folks to serve them up to eager aspiring triple-bypass cases.
My wife ordered the Southern Pecan Pancakes, eggs (over easy) and bacon. She also got a side of hash browns which we shared. Oh, who am I kidding, I ate her eggs as well as mine because the pecan pancakes overwhelmed her.
She started on the pancakes and simply could not stop eating them to even try the bacon, eggs or hash browns. She didn't eat a third of the cakes before commencing the Happy Dance and declaring them superior to Magnolia Pancake Haus (I know, those are strong words.)
I had the Texas Two-Step Breakfast which is buttermilk cakes with eggs over-easy, bacon, and juice. I'll put Jim's buttermilk pancakes up against any one's. My eggs were a little harder than "over easy" and the bacon seemed a little jacked-up in my mind, but that didn't stop me from dipping it in egg yolk and tossing it down my gullet a piece at a time. I have to be honest; if we had been at home, I would have picked up the plate and licked it, but that sort of thing really pisses off my wife.
I can't describe the issue with the bacon. It looked great, tasted fairly normal and my wife had no complaints with hers. Maybe it was all the syrup and orange juice that caused some sort of taste bud situation. Who knows?
At the end of the day, let's not lose perspective here; it was breakfast at a diner. Reasonable price, great service especially given the crowd, and outstanding pancakes. The new Jim's in Alamo Ranch gets the Tasty Treat in their first week, and you can't beat that.
We'll keep an eye on them to see if they go all Denny's on us. Tell me how your visit to Jim's went.
I had done a little research on the Google and found a place called Cora's 471 Grill that according to their web page, has been around since 1932. That's a long time to be in bid'ness on a lonely stretch of road, but if you believe their web page and signage, they also have the best nachos in Texas, so they may account for the longevity.
Of course, I'd be telling you about Cora's right now if their business hours matched what their web page proclaims, and they opened at 11AM on Saturday's instead of 5PM. Maybe another time. My amateur mistake was not calling ahead to verify. This is not the first time (nor the last I suspect) that we drove someplace expecting it to be open, only to find out that had we called in advance, we could have saved a trip. 
But, I do like the drive, so what the heck. These are a few shots taken along FM471 between Rio Medina and Castroville. The view from an air conditioned truck is mighty fine.
Instead of driving around in Honda for hours, and let's face it, you could probably do it and see the place several times, we decided to get on Highway 173 and head north to Bandera. I love the drive between Hondo and Bandera because it looks to me like some place they could film an old western flick. I can just see Clint Eastwood or John Wayne riding on a horse along these small hills. If you live up north and see this, yes, it really is this dry and brown, and wide open out here.
Once safely into Bandera (my wife kept mentioning snakes and stuff along the way), we quickly decided to go into Old Spanish Trail. OST is at the intersection of Main Street (173) and Highway 16 which means, you can't get in or out of Bandera without seeing it. Of course, as many times as we have been to Bandera, we thought that we had eaten there before, but when we walked in, realized we had not.
We took a seat in the John Wayne Room where the walls are covered in pictures of mostly The Duke, but many other famous cowboy actors.
The rest of the restaurant has a similar feel about it. Cowboy related memorabilia, a bar where you can sit on a saddle instead of a stool - what fella wouldn't want to sit there after a long day of cowboying? Good stuff.
Just looking at other people's plates, the servings looked fairly good sized. We had heard good words about the Chicken Fried Steak, so my wife was all for it, but opted to get the Kid's meal version (to which they had no problem with). Obviously, the kids in Bandera eat a lot, because the CFS was enough for an adult. She got the mashed potatoes with gravy and a roll (though we may have had to pay extra for the roll). The mashed potatoes were excellent, gravy was awesome and the CFS was a treat. She said it was a bit chewy, but the hunk I had was pretty darn good. Better than Lulu's? No. But worth every penny.
My dinner came with a trip to the salad bar. No complaints from me; it was clean, filled with the stuff they put out, and there didn't appear to be any little kids rummaging through it. I could have used some chopped up boiled eggs, but I need to lose a few pounds anyway.
I opted for the Catfish and shrimp combo and was more than pleased. It came with the aforementioned salad bar and I got the mashed potatoes. The three pieces of butterflied shrimp were not only well-sized, they were great tasting. The catfish was cooked just the way I like it - very close to what the folks at Clear Springs do. For the $12, I might have liked one more catfish nugget, but what the heck, Bandera is a tourist place. I did wonder why they added a bed of lettuce and tomato to the plate when a salad already comes with the entree, but who knows, maybe the cook was giving me a hint: More salad, less fried food.
