Promotion Report

We're on the road heading back to San Antonio this morning but wanted to pass along how proud we are of our daughter who wears her new rank into work today.

I think a promotion is worthy of a Happy Dance, don't you?

UPDATE: Roxanne thinks a more appropriate dance would be the Hula Hoop Dance...

Daddy Delivers...

The Real Happy Dance...

Ever wonder where my wife gets her little Happy Dance from when she has had some good vittles? My daughter showed her the moves.

Now you know...

Lunch Report: Cheddars at 410 and Military...

I don't think we have had a restaurant opening so greatly anticipated since... Mr. Cod..., but the new Cheddar's has finally opened for business, and against better advice, we made it in for lunch on Day 2. And they were ready for us!The parking lot was packed and there were two or three full rows of parked cars away from the building which we later learned were the employees. Upon entering, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a member of the wait staff or a manager or greeter. Off to a good start in my book.

As we were seated, the hostess told us about some appetizer or something that we ought to try and seemed not only friendly, but genuinely professional, not like some disinterested ditz we may have interrupted from an important text message.We have never been into a Cheddar's before, but assumed it to be a standard mix of Chili's, Friday's, Applebee's, Bennigan's etc, and I suppose it was, but for some reason, it just seemed, a bit more upscale, at least in appearance. Perhaps they just have better designers. I liked the brickwork and huge planters around us, and in the center of the place, they had this huge horizontally rotating fan system. They also had a really nice aquarium set-up, so I won't have to take my wife to Corpus Christie this year to see fish.

The menu offers up a fairly wide variety. Between the short time that our waiter took our drink order and brought them, we had both changed our minds numerous times on what to order.

By the way, speaking of waiters: we have had some good luck recently. I mentioned a few weeks ago the waitress at Spanky's being exceptional; our waiter James G. at Cheddar's was so on the spot professional that I suspect some business owner will come in for lunch and attempt to lure him into the business world. The guy was simply impressive. We never felt like we were being pressured, but he would casually suggest items or simply work the idea of dessert into the conversation. Ask for him when you go.On to the vittles. As an appetizer, we had to order the onion rings. They come neatly stacked on a plate and the order is easily enough for a table of four people. They were good and I would gladly order them again. I could have stood to have them cook for even another 20 or 30 seconds, but they were certainly tasty and not too crunchy. I do not like crunchy onion rings.My wife finally decided on the chicken pot pie. We didn't know what to expect, but she was pleasantly surprised with the thick golden crust and the piping hot contents. I even had a taste and it was enjoyable.She chose the house salad as her side and I would say it was comparable to what you get at Chili's. Fresh croutons and a good size for a side. Not shown in the picture here (because either I was too slow with the camera or she was too fast with the bread) was a really soft and delicious croissant that came with the salad. It was fresh and good.Because I could see myself being stuffed on onion rings, I opted to just get the triple cheese hickory burger. You will notice that the plate came without a side of fries or anything. I like that. Since we ordered the rings as an appetizer, there was no reason for me to get fries or a salad or anything else, and with the burger, the side was an option. That means the price of the burger was comparable to What-a-Burger. For the size, at a sit down restaurant, I'd say under $5.00 is pretty good for a burger. And it was good. No, I won't go as far as to single out this burger as a favorite, but it was certainly very acceptable and well delivered.

As we sat there enjoying our meal, there was some commotion at the booth behind us. There was a family of four and from what we could see, they had also ordered onion rings as an appetizer. One waiter came out and delivered the onion rings and within a matter of seconds, a second waiter came out and delivered the rest of the meal. The mom in this group seemed to go a little overboard in my opinion, but her point was that they had waited way too long for the appetizer, and now, with it being served with dinner, what was the point?

A third waiter quickly came to the table to hear the complaint and as he was talking to the folks, another person went to retrieve a manager. By the time the manager arrived (20-30 seconds, max) the waiter had defused the situation by telling the loud lady that the manager would make things right for them.

From what I could observe and hear (the manager kept things very calm and quiet), there was simply no excuse for the bad service and he would be adjusting the bill accordingly. Further, before anyone could even ask for it, someone was bringing the husband at the table a new beer (even though he had only taken a few sips of the one he had) and I suspect it was on the house.

The point in my mind was, these people were not happy, and in order to gain their future business, this manager and staff were going to do whatever was necessary to have them come back for another visit. And I bet they will.

And we will return as well. Look, you go go to any number of places and find bar & grill food at pretty much the same price. If the Cheddar's folks can deliver on service like we received (or have managers that can fix it like the people behind us received), on only the second full day of operations, then they are well on their way to becoming a favorite choice for us.Don't wait a month, they seem ready for you to visit now, and my wife promises you'll be doing the Happy Dance too!

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.

Lunch Report: Lulu's Revisited...

You just might recall not too long ago that my wife and I gobbled up some chicken fried steak from a diner in downtown San Antonio called Lulu's. During that enjoyable visit, we observed more than one patron consuming the burgers and huge orders of onion rings, so when it got to be vittles time, my wife suggested we go back to Lulu's and see if they taste as good as they look. I'll cut to the chase now and gladly report, they do.I don't know what it is, but the place just makes me giggle when I walk in there. The waitstaff yells across the room to welcome you and directs you to find a seat anywhere. I am reminded of Dick's Last Resort, where the wait staff is rude on purpose; Lulu's folks aren't mean, but it seems like they treat you like a regular, even if you aren't. I mean this in a good way of course. At Dick's, you know (or you are supposed to know) it is all part of the shtick. At Lulu's, they just seem to be a crew who gets along really well, and by visiting, you aren't taking away from their good time, so the back and forth between the waiters and the cooks continues on whether you can hear them playfully kid one another or not.I knew from the word go that I wanted the bacon cheeseburger with some onion rings. First, the onion rings. We really like this style of breading. It is not too crunchy and in fact, it is a little flaky. My wife thinks they just dipped the rings into the same mix they use for the CFS and let it go. You will want to add salt. If you have ever had the rings at Clear Springs, you'll recognize the texture. Surely not the best I've had, but far better than any of the frozen packaged ones you get at many local places.The bacon Cheeseburger was simply delicious. You can tell it is a handmade patty just from the uneven shape. And it tasted great as did the bacon and the fresh lettuce, tomato and fixin's. For myself, I would have grilled the bun a tad bit longer, but you could tell it was at least thrown on the grill for good measure.My wife went with the cheeseburger and steak fries. You can tell from the picture that they toss on a little Season-all or similar thing on the fries. Cooked just right, not too hard or undercooked, you get the feeling that the guys on the grill know the drill. She was a bite into the cheeseburger when the happy dance commenced and we knew that the visit was a good choice.As a matter of ranking, I still have not found a place that is as good as my favorite. But if you need yourself a really, really good burger, excellent fries, and some very worthwhile onion rings, Lulu's never closes, and that makes for a Tasty Treat.And don't forget tomorrow's breakfast while you're there.

Breakfast Report: Jim's at 1604 and Culebra...

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.