Report Update: Queens Cottage...

I didn't want to leave you hanging after telling you about his place, Queens Cottage, over on Fred Road, and my wife still wanted to go by just for a look see, so Saturday, we made it the starting point for quite a day of adventures in San Antonio. We started off not really knowing which direction to go, but like Rock Stars trying to save the planet, by jetting all over the world, we simply didn't care.

So, The Queens Cottage was certainly a quaint shop which I could very easily see set-up in a shop along the River Walk, or perhaps next to a library some place. I get the idea, for sure. The pharmacy part of the store was closed, but honestly, seemed like an afterthought. I mean, yes there was a pharmacy and I'm sure you can fill your prescriptions there, but it did not have the feel of a full service Walgreen's in terms of the non-prescription needs. But, what do I know?

When my wife and I entered the store, the employees still outnumbered all the customers, but we immediately liked how everyone was friendly and eager to let us look around without hovering. My wife commented that we had heard about them on the radio, and that made one lady very happy.

The store had a large selection of gift items but really, nothing we wanted or needed and since we already had plans for lunch, we didn't plan to eat there, though my wife was curious about the menu. They serve the same things you might expect at a deli and the prices certainly looked reasonable. We actually felt bad about leaving without buying anything, and then felt worse when the lady chased after us to give us our free Ice Cream bar just for stopping in.

Located within the North Point Shopping Center across from Crossroads Mall, I'd give it a try for lunch sometime.

Man, I should start selling advertisements!

While we were on Fredericksburg Road, we took a quick drive down to that old Flea Market set up behind Harbor Freight. This flea market used to be quite hopping at one time; cause for a visit at least a few times a month, but I think the last few times I have gone, I have been less than impressed. We stayed long enough to look around and for my wife to get the creeps and want to leave. That pretty much says it all.

We did look at some matching His and Hers mountain bikes. The man swore they were brand new and wouldn't me and my "Sancha look nice on matching bikes for only $40 a piece"? Well wouldn't we? My wife told me that I have a bike already - it is sitting in front of the TV in our bedroom.

If you have never been to this flea market, but you you are looking for "stuff", you may find it here. Unlike many of the newer flea markets, this one is not filled with "Everythings a Dollar" type plastic trinkets. People actually pay for a table or just back up the pick-up truck and sell all the odds & ends they picked up at garage sales or may have procured via other dubious methods.

But if you are more the "antique" set, stick with Bussey's out on IH-35.

Lunch Report: Babes on Fred Road

My wife and I, still somewhat dismayed at the lack of a parade for the 4th, decided that we should get out of the house and try something new. She had heard about a Pharmacy over on Fredericksburg Road called Queen's Cottage that was like an old style fountain and malt shop. She wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Supposedly, you can have lunch and purchase some souvenirs and such while you wait for your prescriptions. Though I had none needing filling, I was open to some lunch.

Turns out, they were closed for the 4th. Hello? Queen's Cottage? I'm thinking you need to skip the 4th of July celebration.

Anyway, in spite of the fact that it was raining buckets, we figured that we still needed to get something to eat, so in the same strip center we saw Babe's Old Fashioned Hamburgers.

Two things I liked about it from the word go. First, I like a place where you order your meal, then go pick a seat. You never have to complain about the wait staff, and you don't have to go through the entire song and dance of getting the menu, getting drinks, ordering food, waiting, then waiting and waiting for your check (like what happened to us last week at Chili's on 1604 and Culebra). The other thing I liked was that they had that set-up where the cashier takes your order on a pad, then clips the ticket onto a line and zooms it from the entrance to the grill area. I'm not sure why that entertains me.

So, both my wife and I order up the Guacamole Cheeseburger and we share an order of fries. Another cool thing about this place was that they had flat screen TV's mounted everywhere. I would imagine this place does well during Spurs games. And today, no game to watch, so we enjoyed a good ol' home style spelling bee on ESPN. Since when did spelling become a sport.

Anyway, apparently Babe's may have something to do with Babe Ruth because the tables had enlarged baseball cards to keep you entertained if you had no interest in spelling stuff.

In really no time at all, the grill man yelled out my wife's name and we were ready to dig in. I haven't had a burger in, I don't know, two weeks, and this puppy hit the spot. The bun was fresh and had been toasted on the grill, it was slathered with mayo and the creamiest guacamole, and the fixin's all seemed fresh.

I'm not going to exaggerate and suggest that this is the best burger ever made; it isn't. But it was a damn fine presentation and the atmosphere made lunch comfortable. I would not hesitate to return for lunch, just to try some other the other items on the menu.

Two burgers, an order of fries, one iced tea and a water, and we were out for about $14. Not bad for a tasty treat.

What did you eat for the 4th? Tell me about it.