I have this vision in my mind of driving out along a highway many miles from the next big town and happening upon a place just like Texas Pride Barbecue.
Like a scene from a movie, the place is inhabited by a few bikers, the occasional odd looking person and more than a few people enjoying a cold bottle of beer on a hot day. If you are looking for an out of the way spot and your biggest priority is atmosphere like this, go ahead; you have got to make the trip.
But in our case, the thrill of seeing an extremely well put together collection of gas pumps, old signs and the standard obligatory "flair" required in most barbecue places, doesn't make the drive worth it if the food doesn't meet the image of the name. 
I'll tell you about our eating experience in a minute, but first, this is a place worth visiting at least once, especially if you are already within 10 miles of it. We hit shortly after the regular lunch crowd on Saturday and even then, the inside dining area was fairly crowded. 
Of course, I'm a huge fan of the cluttered walls image and this place is loaded with memorabilia, old signs and autographed pictures.
And though the main inside eating area is fairly normal in size, the outer area is huge. It was like revisiting John T. Floore Country Store when we saw the outside with all the picnic tables and such.
They even have sort of a fenced in kids play area. Complete with slide and electric rides.
You can tell that this place attracts many visitors who have read a positive thing or two about it - as we ate, people would leave and stop to pose for pictures out front.
Like many of the places we have hit for barbecue, these folks go with the traditional butcher paper in a plastic Coke crate, and you go down the line for your order. You can look into the case and see some sides and some of the meats. 
The baked potatoes are huge! When we were first standing in line, we had decided that one of our 4 sides would include the pinto beans, but after seeing them in the case, we opted to swap it for the German potato salad.
There was a couple who ordered in front of us and we saw the size of the chop sandwiches they got. These people do not skimp. In all honesty, one of the chop sandwiches would have been sufficient for two people.
Our meal came out to $24.00, these folks some how managed to spend $47.00!
Anyway, we got two combos. The first one was a chicken and brisket combo. The brisket was not nearly as good as you would expect. It didn't look good, and it just didn't even come close to even some of the regular places we go like Bill Miller's or Grady's. And the chicken was fine, but after a few bites, my wife commented that it was just like normal chicken. Somebody notify Luby's. The chicken didn't even come close to McBee's and in all honesty, neither the chicken nor brisket should be mentioned in the same paragraph as Augie's Barbed Wire.
We also got the ribs and pork loin combo. These ribs were really good. With or without the sauce, they pulled right off the bone and the taste was superb. If I were to be in the area again, I'd surely order the full rack of ribs (like the couple in front of us did). The pork was fine, but I would have gladly taken more ribs instead.
Between the two meals, we got to select four sides. We had green beans which were okay, but not even close to Bill Miller's. There was some sort of macaroni with pepper on it and it was actually pretty good and I would definitely recommend it. Then we got two potato salads; the regular and the German. The regular potato salad was a No-Go. We both took two small bites of it and for the first time in the history of eating out, I left potato salad on the table. I think of the poor starving children in China and expect they will thank me for not sending this to them. It was horrible. The German potato salad on the other hand was Outstanding. I nearly licked the Styrofoam cup clean.
The final thing was the little side of peach cobbler. In my mind, it was burnt and the blackened, charred taste took away from it. My wife enjoyed it though.
So, to sum it up... If you are in the area anyway, by all means, give the place a whirl. I suspect it would be mighty fun during a night when a band is playing. If you decide to eat, go with the ribs, the German potato salad and the macaroni.
See more pictures on Flickr.
My wife and I actually eat at a lot more places than what I can account for in lunch and dinner reports here. If we really enjoy a place, I think it is the neighborly thing to pass along the information to you - sort of helping a restaurant get more business when they deserve it and letting you know of a good place to eat.
The flip side is, I usually don't write anything about a place that most people already know about or as often is the case, some place that simply isn't any good. Everyone has different tastes, so why should I speak ill of a place that just doesn't do it for me, right?
But in the case of the newly opened J. Anthony's on Culebra at 410, I have been asked by several readers of this Blog if we have tried it yet. So this afternoon, my wife and I stopped in to give it a try. And why not? When have I ever been known to miss an opportunity for catfish?
Make no mistake, this place must be popular. When we arrived just after 1PM, the place was packed. We actually got the only open table in the place when we sat down.
J.Anthony's is housed in the old Barnacle's building, and from memory, it doesn't look as though they have changed anything but the sign out front. The process is simple; order, get a number, and find a seat - they bring the food to you in a little while.
We ordered some onions rings that were brought out first. If you look at these, you can tell by the texture that they are the kind I do not like. There is just something about the texture that I don't like. But, they were hot and the taste was not bad. They wern't over cooked, and that helps.
I ordered the catfish platter. It comes with four planks of catfish (some thin little catfish, perhaps from someone's home aquarium maybe), Cajun styled rice, fries, bread and a pepper. The catfish was certainly edible, but I'm guessing this is what you would get in some sort of institution on fish day. I left several small pieces that I could not identify. The rice was simply inedible. Aside from being dry, it appeared as though someone said as an afterthought, throw some spices in there to make it taste Cajun. But there was nothing Cajun about it. Just nasty. I offered a bite to my wife (on the off chance she might like it) and she nearly spit the forkful on the people at the next table.
My wife ordered a Fish Burger (she wanted a fish sandwich, but the young lady taking our order corrected her twice, telling her it was a fish BURGER. Okay. Anyway, the fish BURGER came with fries and a pepper. The fries weren't bad, though I don't think either of us ate more than a few. The fish sandwich or BURGER if you will, was actually okay. It didn't look appetizing, but once doused with tarter sauce, it was pretty good.
I think one of the popular items, and the reason so many people were there, was that they serve a family platter for a very reasonable price. It is loaded with fish.
Even Dr. Phil made an appearance.
Look, I don't want to bad mouth the place just because we didn't like it and will never return. It happens. Some folks hate Bill Millers, I happen to love it. I know lots of people who think Rudy's is the cat's meow, and I'm more of a Grady's person. So I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from giving J. Anthony's Seafood a fair shake. But I would remind you that Sea Island is just down the road, and not further down Culebra is La PLaya. It's your call.
If you've tried J. Antohony's Seafood Cafe (either the new one or one of the older ones) I'd love to hear your report. Leave a comment and tell me about it.
My wife and I have been meaning to try out this new BBQ place that recently opened on Bandera and Eckhert in Leon Valley called Dickey's. According to a friend of my wife, this place is the cat's meow. So, we took a little drive over and gave it a try.
First mistake was deciding to go at the exact same time every other person in Leon Valley got the bright idea to try it. We stood in line for close to twenty minutes, primarily because they only have a single cash register/order taker. So, if you try Dickey's and see a long line, be prepared for a wait.
The crowd also resulted in a seating situation. The dining room is small so people were literally standing there waiting for other people to un-ass their seats so they could sit down. Again, timing is everything, because by the time we had finished eating, (around 7PM) seating was not an issue.
I would like to point out kudos to a proactive floor manager. There was a large table of folks sitting next to us (8 to 10 people) who had clearly finished dinner, had to-go containers filled and were sitting there enjoying after dinner conversation. This is perfectly fine and a reasonable thing to do if the situation permits. But in the case of having people literally standing there waiting for a table to sit at so they can eat their food, most reasonable people will get up and leave. The Dickey's manager came by and asked the people how everything was and if he could get them anything else. They said it was all great and no, they were fine. So then he gave them the boot. Bravo.
To the vittles. I genuinely had a hankerin' for catfish and had thought about it all day long. I figured my wife would get some brisket or something and I'd get fish. Important note: You are not at Grady's and there is no fish.
When we started looking at the prices for what she wanted and what I wanted (since there was no fish, I was going to try some pulled pork and some brisket) we decided it would be cheaper if we went all out and ordered what they call the Full House. You get 2 ounces each of the eight different meats they serve so you can get an idea of what it is like. You also get rolls and two sides. Dickey's does not skimp on the portions, so this Full House platter could easily feed a family of four.
They have a condiment bar so you can load up on the standard pickles, onions and other needed accoutrements to dress out your buffet, and I especially liked that they had a selection of three or four sauces that were in heated tins. You basically grab a plastic tub and fill it with the sauces of your choosing.
Though it took an eternity to order, our food was out rather quickly and by the time we had filled our drinks, gotten the sauces and prepared ourselves for a heart attack worth of food, it was delivered to our table.
I found it all to be fine. I had no issues with any of the meats or the two different sausages. Both the chicken and the turkey were cooked nicely and they were not dry. My wife said a piece of ham she tried was hard, but the piece I had was fine. The order came with a single pork rib which we took turns gnawing on, and it was cooked to be very tender. The pulled pork had great texture and the brisket was fine. For me, the key to all of this was the sauces. I took a bite of each item without sauce, and then tried the "Hot" sauce and the "Sweet" sauce. The Hot had a nice taste to it but I've had better. The Sweet was very nice and complimented all the meats. My wife felt like the Sweet had a bit too much of a kick to it, but I was already numb from the Hot, so I guess I didn't notice.
Our sides included the Onion Tangles (onion rings) and green beans with bacon. Oh, the green beans with bacon also included cooked potato slices. A nice touch and very tasty indeed.
We really couldn't make a dent in the full platter and opted instead to finish dinner with a soft serve cone, sort of like they used to have at Bananza.
Okay. I'd say give it a try. It may be that we are just hard core Grady's people, but overall, I didn't see this as being anything special. My wife was a little more blunt in her evaluation, giving it an Eeee-Yuck! I don't know how that translates in restaurant review jargon, but it definitely means we probably won't go again. But I'd say it is worth giving a shot. Just don't go at 6PM on a Saturday night.
And just remember, if you don't like it, Grady's is just across the street.
My wife and I attended the meeting of the Great Northwest Watch this evening and enjoyed a nice dinner provided by Grady's before the meeting started. You can never go wrong with Grady's as far as I'm concerned.
I took just a few notes worth passing along but I think they are important things to consider as we see an increased incidence of mischievous behavior in the area, primarily in the form of graffiti.
Chief Roger Burton of the GNW Security "Courtesy Patrol" as one resident pointed out, presented two winners of the National Night Out event. These residents held parties that had the most participation, and they were given gifts from great sponsors as a result. Ms. Betty Hood (who is the NNO coordinator for the GNW) had the biggest party attendance, and she received free Sea World passes. The second largest party was held by the Garza Family, and they received a check for $50. from Jefferson State Bank. It is always nice to see the local merchants come through in support of the community.
Chief Burton introduced us to SAFFE Officer Robles who gave us a brief update on the graffiti situation and on ways to combat the problem. He mentioned the importance of victims of this crime to immediately paint over or clean up the graffiti within 24 hours, and to do so every time it occurs. Equally important, he suggests that if you have a privacy fence in an area prone to graffiti, the best bet is to simply paint the entire fence, then, when the taggers do their "art work" you can cover it in the matching color of the fence. This looks better and definitely beats the appearance of an off color patch of paint on a nice wooded fence. If you get tagged, report it. Take pictures of it, and if you see the little bastards, try to figure out who they are or at least where the live. Surely you have an idea of the kids who roam up and down your street - don't you?
Next Officer Atkinson from SAPD gave some explanations about police response times, what they can and can't do and some information on ways citizens can get involved.
I was very interested in what Officer Atkinson had to say as my neighbors and I have talked often specifically about the graffiti issue at Oscar Perez Memorial Park. I have been a proponent of calling city hall and complaining that we need more attention paid to these little son's of bitches and their artwork. But Atkinson gave some pretty interesting and sobering statistics.
When he joined the SAPD force in 1987, there were roughly 2,000 officers. He said it was common for a dispatcher to report that they had three or four calls on hold and asking if any officer could respond. That is, several people who had called 9-11 to report a crime had to sit and wait while officers responded to higher priority calls. So, if you reported a theft or something, you were going to have to wait until more urgent matters were handled, then the police could get to you.
In 2007, the SAPD has, according to Officer Atkinson, about fifty more officers on the force, yet the city has grown by about 350,000 residents. Further, he said it is not unheard of for the dispatcher to report that they have fifty calls in the queue. Now imagine if you call in to 9-11 and report that some snotty little Rembrandt has tagged your fence. Guess where you are in that queue of 50 compared to people who have real crimes like stolen cars, robbery, dope deals gone bad and Senators trolling for perverts in the airport restroom.
To give you some perspective, the City of Dallas has 3,400 police officers yet they have 200,000 less residents than the city of San Antonio. ((I know, a lot of people think Dallas is a lot bigger, but the DFW Metroplex has multiple police forces))
I can only assume that Officer Atkinson was making a plea, and he is right to do so, for us residents to call upon Ms. Sheryl Scully and our city council to hire more officers, but I took away a more important point that he was making; when it comes to non-life threatening, nuisance crimes such as vandalism, tagging and disturbances (loud music and barking dogs), calling 9-11 is just creating a larger queue. Where we as residents can help ourselves and help the police and city help us, is to call the right people for the right crime.
San Antonio has an incredible 311 system which my wife and I use regularly. If it has anything to do with the city services that you pay for via your tax dollars, you can learn more about or report through by simply calling 311. They also have a web site here that has loads of information. If we can avoid having granny call the police every time a dead squirrel ends up squished on the street in front of her house, perhaps we can free up the police to help in more important endeavors.
What I also took from Officer Atkinson's talk was that we as citizens can and should do more. They have a few programs he outlined, specifically Cellular on Patrol (COP) and Citizens Police Academy. In both these classes, you learn what is important to notice, what is important to call the police for, what you should not call the police for etc etc. I don't think anybody is suggesting that we take up arms and take to the streets to do battle with the 14-year-olds who lack parental supervision; though at one point during the meeting, I did suggest we find the little hooligans and whip their asses, (even if my wife was outraged at my suggestion). I think the officers are suggesting that we can and should be more vigilant in our communities.
And what is wrong with that? How many of us could use a walk in the evening, just around the block? Why not take note of who belongs on your street and who doesn't, and why not kick their ass if they don't belong there?
So anyway, back to the meeting...
Let me leave you with a few thoughts, especially if you are one of the few readers that live in the area. You should really know that the GNW Watch meetings are a treat. Chief Burton is a very capable speaker with a down to earth southern drawl and an ability to communicate his message of safety and security. With PowerPoint slides of maps of the neighborhood, he shows where different calls to the "Courtesy Patrol" originate, which streets are problem areas, and every so often, details of the call. I especially enjoyed the highlight of a major theft reported to him - the loss of a trash can lid.
One area we may need a little work on though, is understanding what you should not do at meetings of this nature; give little anecdotal reports about your particular street or neighbors. In other words, raising your hand during the question and answer session of a neighborhood-wide meeting to report that you think the neighbor kid plays the stereo too loud is not an appropriate use of the time*.
* Suffice it to say, I'm being very diplomatic here: I could write an hour's worth of questions or "reports" that if people are worried about, they should contact security, 311, or their congressman via e-mail or the phone, but not prolong the meeting because they have a captive audience.
Ever since our visit to the Tip Top Cafe last weekend, my wife has been regretting the fact that she had a cheeseburger instead of the signature Chicken Fried Steak. I could tell that she had a hankerin' for it when I noticed a huge pull-out from the newspaper with a life-sized photo of a chicken fried steak, complete with gravy staring up at me on my desk for several days.
This afternoon, she called me at work and asked how quickly I could get home because she could stand it no more; we would have to hit Grady's on Bandera Road pronto, PDQ and then some.
Just a word about Grady's as opposed to Rudy's. I find that people are either Grady's people or Rudy's people. I'm a Grady's person. I get the whole thing about Rudy's - you know, served on butcher paper, a little boat of cream corn, maybe a half pound of this, a half pound of that, half a chicken and some sauce. I get it. I just don't care for it as much as other people seem to.
Don't get me wrong - if someone is having a luncheon there, I'll go and enjoy it. But if there was a Grady's and a Rudy's right next door to each other, I'd be in Grady's.
Of course that might be rude if the luncheon was being held next door in Rudy's, but I think you get the point.
Oh. And I have also found that people who like Rudy's don't usually appreciate the brilliance of Bill Miller's. I'm not about to come out and say that Bill Miller's is the best BBQ ever made, because that would be a joke. But the fact that you can get good, consistent food in a fast-food format is awesome. People who like Grady's seem to appreciate that about Bill Miller's.
If you want some really good BBQ, I'm telling you, you have to head north up 281 beyond Mineral Wells (or there abouts - I haven't been able to find any reference to this place on the Internet to confirm the address or town) called Hashknife on the Chisholm. That, my friends, is some good eats.
So, my wife ordered up the chicken fried steak with corn and mashed potatoes. She was so excited she nearly did a jig! - I'm kidding, honey, really. Grady's gets you in the eatin' mood when you walk in. They give you your tea, point you in the direction of all the fixin's like onions and pickles and such, and just about the time you sit down, here it comes.
I ordered up the catfish along with some green beans coleslaw and an onion ring or two. I have to tell you, I love me some catfish and as a general rule, Clear Spring Catfish Cafe between New Braunfels and Seguin is wonderful although the one in San Antonio at Afton Oaks is not bad either. But if you can't make it there, the breading on the catfish at Grady's is done just right for me. Not too crisp so as to make me chip a tooth, but not too soft wear it falls off the fish before you can take a second bite.
I have to report, I wolfed down my green beans, took a bite of slaw, then couldn't hold back anymore and unleashed myself on the fish. My wife made several attempts at offering me a bite of her chicken fried steak, but seriously, I was in an embarrassing frenzy of consumption and had she stuck a fork full of the golden brown delight in my general direction, she may have lost a finger or two.
Grady's gets a solid 3.5 TT's on my Tasty Treat Scale, only lowered because my green beans contained foreign objects - corn I believe. That is UNSAT my friends. Never ruin good green beans with corn. But the catfish was a solid 5 TTs! Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm.
For those concerned, I promptly came home, swapped into my gym clothes and hit the treadmill for a suitable period of time. And I did not throw-up once!
Like a scene from a movie, the place is inhabited by a few bikers, the occasional odd looking person and more than a few people enjoying a cold bottle of beer on a hot day. If you are looking for an out of the way spot and your biggest priority is atmosphere like this, go ahead; you have got to make the trip.
But in our case, the thrill of seeing an extremely well put together collection of gas pumps, old signs and the standard obligatory "flair" required in most barbecue places, doesn't make the drive worth it if the food doesn't meet the image of the name. 
I'll tell you about our eating experience in a minute, but first, this is a place worth visiting at least once, especially if you are already within 10 miles of it. We hit shortly after the regular lunch crowd on Saturday and even then, the inside dining area was fairly crowded. 
Of course, I'm a huge fan of the cluttered walls image and this place is loaded with memorabilia, old signs and autographed pictures.
And though the main inside eating area is fairly normal in size, the outer area is huge. It was like revisiting John T. Floore Country Store when we saw the outside with all the picnic tables and such.
They even have sort of a fenced in kids play area. Complete with slide and electric rides.
You can tell that this place attracts many visitors who have read a positive thing or two about it - as we ate, people would leave and stop to pose for pictures out front.
Like many of the places we have hit for barbecue, these folks go with the traditional butcher paper in a plastic Coke crate, and you go down the line for your order. You can look into the case and see some sides and some of the meats. 
The baked potatoes are huge! When we were first standing in line, we had decided that one of our 4 sides would include the pinto beans, but after seeing them in the case, we opted to swap it for the German potato salad.
Our meal came out to $24.00, these folks some how managed to spend $47.00!
Anyway, we got two combos. The first one was a chicken and brisket combo. The brisket was not nearly as good as you would expect. It didn't look good, and it just didn't even come close to even some of the regular places we go like Bill Miller's or Grady's. And the chicken was fine, but after a few bites, my wife commented that it was just like normal chicken. Somebody notify Luby's. The chicken didn't even come close to McBee's and in all honesty, neither the chicken nor brisket should be mentioned in the same paragraph as Augie's Barbed Wire.
We also got the ribs and pork loin combo. These ribs were really good. With or without the sauce, they pulled right off the bone and the taste was superb. If I were to be in the area again, I'd surely order the full rack of ribs (like the couple in front of us did). The pork was fine, but I would have gladly taken more ribs instead.
Between the two meals, we got to select four sides. We had green beans which were okay, but not even close to Bill Miller's. There was some sort of macaroni with pepper on it and it was actually pretty good and I would definitely recommend it. Then we got two potato salads; the regular and the German. The regular potato salad was a No-Go. We both took two small bites of it and for the first time in the history of eating out, I left potato salad on the table. I think of the poor starving children in China and expect they will thank me for not sending this to them. It was horrible. The German potato salad on the other hand was Outstanding. I nearly licked the Styrofoam cup clean.
