I'm still sorta stuffed, what with the non-stop baskets of chips and salsa that arrived at our table as a large group of us got our drinks and had our orders taken at Tito's Mexican Restaurant on S. Alamo in the King William area downtown.
Inside the place, it is puro hole-in-the-wall with a bit of flair for the folks who love this part of town, like me. You may recall we did lunch at Madhatters not too long ago and there are just a host of other great places to eat in the area. Each of the places have started out as something else - a house or in the case of Tito's and old store, and the restaurant seems to have come in and built itself into the place. It adds character.
In the dining room we were seated in, they had old life magazine covers along the wall on one side.
Along the other side; odds and ends and a TV or two to catch up on ESPN.
The back of the room housed an interesting looking bar.
But most importantly, we sat down to the chips. I am so spoiled with the lighter, fresher chips and huge assortment of salsa's we find at ChaCho's, but admittedly, this is your standard for most Mexican places, and frankly, they were good. I really enjoyed the salsa but one of the diners with us thought it was too salty. He asked for and they brought out some green stuff and some hotter stuff that looked like ketchup but had a nice little kick to it. I was good with the regular, and certainly had my fair share before lunch arrived.
Speaking of lunch. We had a large group and most folks went the route of ordering from the express menu. I had the #6 Jalapeño Cream Enchiladas which comes with a crispy taco and of course, all the plates come with tortillas, rice & beans. The crispy taco was brilliant! I'm guessing they made the shell as the lunch was ordered and without adding any thing to it, it offered up some drip-down-my-chin greasy goodness (and I do mean that in a good way). The enchiladas were excellent and covered with white cheese and of course the jalapeños. I had small tastes of both the rice and beans and the beans were especially good. I'm sorry to report that I did not try the flour tortilla, simply because I had stuffed my face with the chips.
Another popular choice among fellow diners was the #2 (I know; I laugh just typing it). It is similar to the #6 but instead of being topped with the jalapeños, it has cilantro. A guy sitting across from me seemed to enjoy his.
The #1 is Cheese filled enchiladas topped with Texas Style chile con carne.
And check out the guacamole that came with the order of Nachos a lady next to me ordered. Good stuff.
I may have mentioned before that I am not a fan of the luncheon format that many of you are probably familiar with. It always seems like half the people have received their food and are finished eating just as the other half are beginning to eat. On top of that it takes forever to pay. I will tell you that in this case, the Tito's folks seemed to have a system down and I think we had a pretty decent pace going. You certainly can't blame the waitstaff for people arriving late or not being ready to order. Kudos to our waitress who handled the crowd quite well.
Walking along King William and looking for a bite of Mexican? I don't think you'll be disappointed with Tito's. Got a better suggestion in the area? Tell me about it or leave a comment below.
I think you would be hard pressed to find one of my lunch reviews in a fancy publication read by serious diners of the snooty variety, because I usually cut to the chase and just tell you that it was yummy or it wasn't. I tend to make only passing reference to the atmosphere of a location - old gas station signs on walls, a rusty bucket with flowers and some spurs, and I'm fairly pleased with the place, but that doesn't describe so much how the place may have felt warm or welcoming. So I hope you won't mind if I tell you about a place that really was more about the dining experience and less about the vittles involved.
We had been wanting to meet our good friends Sid and Al from Mission Trace for a while, and this afternoon, we arranged to meet in the King William area for a wonderful lunch at Madhatters Tea House & Cafe.
My wife and I arrived a few minutes ahead, and noticed what a really comfortable place the shop seemed to be. As you enter, they have a sign that explains how the place works. How refreshing is that? Don't you just hate going to some place new and you stand around like a dork wondering if you are supposed to seat yourself or if you order first, then find a table? (Here, you can do whatever you want, but you do have to go to the counter to order and pay, or you won't get your food). We also liked how this restaurant made it explicit clear that cell phones are not welcome.
I should tell you that parking can be an issue. We were lucky and found a spot right in front, our friends had to park a block away. But it is such nice weather and such a nice neighborhood, the walk will be a treat.
We all went in and grabbed menus and grabbed a seat so we could decide what might be good. There are multiple dining areas or nooks as well as a patio out back and some seating out front. There may have been some music playing, but it certainly was not loud enough to be bothersome. The mixture of art on the walls and decorative touch, combined with a relaxed and comfortable setting made for a great way to spend a few hours.
We ordered and three of us got the "Turkey, Avocado & Chipotle Cream Cheese Sandwich on thick cut sourdough bread with mashed avocado, spring greens, tomato & pickled onion". As a side, we all went with the potato salad. I'm sure it was probably healthy, but it just tasted too good to seem good for you. The potato salad was creamy and delicious. 
Sid ordered the King William Club - ham, roast beef and bacon which comes on toasted bread and uses a chipotle mayonnaise and lots of cheese. How could you go wrong? On the side he enjoyed a black bean & corn salad with some pico de gallo and feta cheese. "Wonderful" is the report and there were no leftovers!
I'm an iced tea kind of guy, unsweetened, thanks, and it would make sense that a tea house would have some of that. In fact, Madhatters serves up a large variety of teas, but I have to admit, I would have been okay with just "regular". Not to worry, I took little sips until I found a cranberry orange that hit the spot. And no, I didn't just run my mouth beneath the spigots until I found a taste I liked; though that might have made an attractive picture.
After lunch, we helped ourselves to coffee - I had the house Italian Roast - perfect, and we ordered up some desserts.
Al enjoyed a huge slice of the sugar free apple pie and Eva had the pecan. 
Sid and I both got cookies. Look at this huge oatmeal raisin thing.
Aside from the delicious food, the wonderful desserts and enjoyable time with friends, the Madhatter Tea House & Cafe has an atmosphere where you can go in and talk without having to yell above music or that guy on the Tecate Light beer commercial who is always talking on his cell phone, and there never was any rush when we stayed just a little longer than the diners around us. 
If that doesn't make for a Tasty Treat, I don't know what does.
Inside the place, it is puro hole-in-the-wall with a bit of flair for the folks who love this part of town, like me. You may recall we did lunch at Madhatters not too long ago and there are just a host of other great places to eat in the area. Each of the places have started out as something else - a house or in the case of Tito's and old store, and the restaurant seems to have come in and built itself into the place. It adds character.
In the dining room we were seated in, they had old life magazine covers along the wall on one side.
Along the other side; odds and ends and a TV or two to catch up on ESPN.
The back of the room housed an interesting looking bar.
But most importantly, we sat down to the chips. I am so spoiled with the lighter, fresher chips and huge assortment of salsa's we find at ChaCho's, but admittedly, this is your standard for most Mexican places, and frankly, they were good. I really enjoyed the salsa but one of the diners with us thought it was too salty. He asked for and they brought out some green stuff and some hotter stuff that looked like ketchup but had a nice little kick to it. I was good with the regular, and certainly had my fair share before lunch arrived.
Speaking of lunch. We had a large group and most folks went the route of ordering from the express menu. I had the #6 Jalapeño Cream Enchiladas which comes with a crispy taco and of course, all the plates come with tortillas, rice & beans. The crispy taco was brilliant! I'm guessing they made the shell as the lunch was ordered and without adding any thing to it, it offered up some drip-down-my-chin greasy goodness (and I do mean that in a good way). The enchiladas were excellent and covered with white cheese and of course the jalapeños. I had small tastes of both the rice and beans and the beans were especially good. I'm sorry to report that I did not try the flour tortilla, simply because I had stuffed my face with the chips.
Another popular choice among fellow diners was the #2 (I know; I laugh just typing it). It is similar to the #6 but instead of being topped with the jalapeños, it has cilantro. A guy sitting across from me seemed to enjoy his.
The #1 is Cheese filled enchiladas topped with Texas Style chile con carne. 
And check out the guacamole that came with the order of Nachos a lady next to me ordered. Good stuff.
