Lunch Report: Broadway 5050. Finally...

We were in Alamo Heights and in need of some vittles so what better opportunity to mark another restaurant off the list by stopping into Broadway 5050 for an awesome lunch. Oh, do I give it away too soon? Well make no mistake, we were some happy campers.Parking is on Broadway (hence the name) and it caused me a little nervousness when I pulled in to the spot. I immediately started contemplating how I was supposed to back out of the parking place in busy traffic. The parking places are angled so you can just pull in from the busy street. This is sort of like in the old horse and buggy days where you didn't have to worry about everyone in town owning a vehicle. Now, things on Broadway are busier; even the house staff own cars. But, let me set you at ease; the stop light will accommodate you and when you are done stuffing yourself, you can easily pull out of the slot and mover along.

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.

Dinner Report: Good Time Charlie's...

Mark another one off the list... and get me to a cardiologist, Stat!I have been wanting to try Good Time Charlie's for years but just never made it for whatever reason, and since we were in the area anyway, decided to pop-in for a quick dinner.I liked the place as soon as we walked in, what with the well worn look of a diner that hasn't been made over by consultants every few years. Lots of stuff on walls (a requirement for me to be able to eat, for inexplicable reasons), but nothing that was distracting. We weren't sure how the place worked so we sort of stood in the door way for a minute or so and finally my wife grabbed a few menus and we found a table.

Right away, I was pleased that the waitstaff was made up of normal, non-uniformed folks with pleasant attitudes and fast! No sooner had we sat down and our waitress was taking our drink order. I also observed that the waitresses helped one another out with filling water and tea glasses, and removing plates. Everyone seemed to have a good flow to running the place, and I like that efficiency.We noticed a group of ladies seated across the room from us, mostly wearing purple outfits and all festooned with fancy red hats. I later asked one of the ladies what the deal was, and it turns out they are a bunch of gals who like to meet to wear hats and eat. Sounds like a plan, but I don't have any red hats, and I'm not fifty. I do have the eating part down.Anyway, to get started, we ordered what is called Nuts and Bolts. Let me save you the dictionary search. Onion rings, fried mushrooms and fried zucchini served with delicious Ranch dressing and the same gravy you put on chicken fried steak. Served piping hot directly from the vat of grease, you just know it can't be good for you. The onions rings were good, the mushrooms were good, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the fried zucchini when dipped in Ranch. If you want to go for just a snack, order up a pitcher of draft beer, get the Nuts and Bolts and you'll be set. Oh, and get something for your date.

The menu is loaded with options - chicken fried steak, catfish, burgers, salads and more, but we were trying to eat light, especially given the platter of heart disease we started with.My wife decided to order the chicken fingers and split them with me, let me have the green beans and then she would have some of my entree. Starting with the green beans; don't waste your time. There was no taste to them at all, and I left most of them sitting on the plate. So much for anything healthy coming from dinner. The potatoes were okay and the chicken fingers were simply, non-remarkable. Nothing special about them - though certainly a generous portion. When I saw the Bacon Cheese Franks on the menu, I was visualizing two hot dogs - in hot dog buns, maybe wrapped in bacon or covered in bacon bits, then covered in cheese. I was totally not expecting it to be served on a hamburger bun. But never the less, it looked pretty darn good. I liked that they are able to dress it like a regular bacon cheese burger - just hot dogs for meat.

Okay, not a good idea. My wife and I agreed that, aside from the goodness of the bacon and the fixin's, the fried hot dog taste just didn't work for us. Oh sure, we ate it...

Overall, I think Good Time Charlie's has a great atmosphere, excellent waitstaff and I'm sure we could have easily tried any of the different menu items and been totally thrilled with the place. But for this time around, we just wanted to get out and maybe go jog a few miles in hopes of putting off the inevitable triple bypass. I mean, it really is good home cooking - assuming mom is a fry chef at a truck stop.On the other hand, Rod Stewart eats there, so we could be wrong.