Mark another off the list...
As my wife and I were making our way back to San Antonio from our afternoon in San Marcos, naturally the topic of eating came up. This happens often when we get in the car.
Anyway, since we were near New Braunfels, she suggested that maybe we should stop into the Clear Springs Restaurant off Hiway 46. Hindsight being 20 - 20...
Anyway, she also had mentioned the fact that she has never been to Pappadeaux. That was about all it took and I made a beeline down I-35 and off of Loop 410 and onto McCullough so we could get some.
My only previous experience with Pappadeaux involved a business meeting, an expense account, lots of steak & shrimp and numerous beers, so even though I would be paying this time, I was sort of happy to return.
The first thing you need to know is that the place is fairly big. The place looks mighty friendly on the outside with great landscaping, covered porch with rocking chairs, and just an inviting atmosphere to it.
Inside, there is a fairly large bar area where you can imagine people staying in nearby hotels routinely use for an after work hang-out.
We sat at a table near the center of all traffic; every person entering the place seemed to walk by us and every member of the waitstaff hung out or got their trays loaded in front of us. Sure, we could have asked for a different table, but I like to watch the excitement.
Pappadeux offers something I really like to see in a restaurant and that is a hustling staff. The people were really moving and maybe it was the time that we visited (around 5PM), but our appetiser and food arrived fast.
With our drinks, we got a loaf of hot & fresh french bread that was nothing short of outstanding. In fact, I could have just stopped there, but my wife wanted some too.
We decided to get the calamari as a starter and it was out in a matter of minutes, very hot (which is required for calamari) and it came with two sauces. One was some sort of cocktail sauce that was out of this world and the other was some sort of creamy, lemony sauce that I can't recall the name of, but it was also good.
My wife ordered the fried shrimp and instead of fries had the steamed broccoli. Dude, look at the size of that broccoli! Once she cut away all the excess undercooked parts, she was good with it. She was also happy with the shrimp, though in fairness, it was basically bland. At a Cajun place? Really.
If I had seen a steak & shrimp combo, I probably would have ordered it, but I just didn't see it on the menu. Instead, I went with the ol' standby and ordered catfish and shrimp. How can you screw that up if your a seafood place, right? Can I just say that they give you entirely too many fries? Of course I can, it's my blog. I mean, is it any wonder why people in San Antonio are so enormously fat?
More importantly, it creates a logistics problem. I don't really care for fries, so they just get in the way. Not to worry, the catfish was hot, but again extremely bland.
I know that the Pappadeaux people will spice up your meal if you want it really hot or they will tone it down if you can't handle the pica, but geeze, this crust was just so without taste that it seemed a shame to cover the nicely cooked catfish beneath it. And the shrimp was not special at all. Look, if we were talking about Long John Silvers, I'd be okay, but in case you hadn't seen the menu, prices for this stuff start at about $20.
It's a shame too. We had great service, it was fast - in fact my wife joked that the meal came faster than a lot of fast food places we have been to - and although it was loud, the place has a nice atmosphere. But when you into a place and spend $60, it should be at least as good as what you can get at Chili's or some place like that for $35.
In a head on comparison, I'll put Clear Springs restaurant and their catfish and their shrimp (and their fries for that matter) up against Pappadeaux any day of the week. And I promise it will cost a lot less.
Fire the cook.
Yea, from time to time my wife and I get away from the neighborhood garage sales, community meetings and out from in front of the TV, and we do something with a little more class. This time around, our friend Sid invited us to see his niece Lindsay Hicks perform in the musical, "The World Goes 'Round".
Surely you remember Lindsay; she is the Texas gal in this great poke at Sooner fans.
Anyway, we were off to San Marcos Sunday afternoon to catch the last performance by the Texas State University Department of Theater & Dance of this particular production. For those of you who haven't been to San Marcos, or at least beyond the Outlet Mall, you should really take a drive and see the place. And if you are really in the mood, there is Aquarena Springs, but Ralph the Swimming pig is no longer diving.
But for those of us with a little class, the theater made for a great afternoon.
The show is what amounts to a review of songs from John Kander and Fred Ebb. I know, I had to Google them too. But they are responsible for many songs made famous in shows like Chicago, Cabaret, & New York, New York. So in essence, the production was an opportunity for these theater students to show off their singing and show skills. This is not something you'll see at your kid's elementary school. We were seriously impressed with the talent and not just in singing but also several humorous scenes.
Of course, we were focused on Lindsay who played Woman 3 - and she was certainly a stand-out in the show - but there were several other performers who made the event worth the drive. Kelly Bales (Woman 1) had an extremely powerful voice. When she and Lindsay performed the song "Class", a duet about two drunk gals decrying the lack thereof in modern society, the result was awesome comedy. They both had great comedic timing and facial expressions that really sold it. And it is obvious these two work well together. Thy paired up again in the second act with "The Grass is Always Greener", an entertaining duet about a housewife and a star trading quips about how much better the others life must be. Again, these two had the audience laughing with their impeccable timing and delivery.
One of the male actors, Tyler Wallach (Man 1) really stood out. This guy did a song, "Mr. Cellophane", which was simply awesome. He also performed with the women in the show on a great song called "Sara Lee" that had the audience really laughing.
All of the actors in this show were great. I could probably go down the list and give a song by song listing and point out how well everyone did, but the point is they were all really great.
The musicians in the show were also incredible. If you just had a bunch of amateurs out there, the singers could not have performed the really intricate show tunes. These musicians genuinely did a top notch job, helping to make it a memorable afternoon.
Going up to San Marcos also gave us a chance to meet some of Sid's family including Lindsay's proud parents Jim & Monica Hicks and her brother Jake who plays football at Rice. What a talented family!
At the end of the show, Sid was all smiles as Lindsay came out from back stage to meet the family. Definitely worth the drive to San Marcos.
It took a full week to build, what with not being able to avoid my regular day job, but the yard project is finally complete. I can't seem to do anything without stopping to take a picture or two, so without further adieu, this is how it went.
You may recall that my wife and I started a little project to convert a small part of our yard on one side of the house to a little area with plants and ground cover. With that finished off - well, all but the actual growing of the ground cover and plants we planted, we decided to add a small deck off of the larger deck.
I started off with an idea of what I wanted and bought just enough materials to layout a frame. Our yard is built on a slope so building a deck here isn't like the easy stuff they show on HGTV where everyone seems to have a perfectly flat yard with plush green grass and not a single rock under the surface.
Because of the slope, I had to dig in some deck blocks on one side just so the deck wouldn't be too high off the ground. I'm not afraid of heights or anything, but I'm pretty sure my neighbors wouldn't care to have us hovering over their backyard like we were in a deer blind or watchtower.
Setting the clocks back an hour is cool if you don't want to send your kids to school in the dark, but it really takes a toll on the amount of daylight after work. So adding in daily trips to Home Depot after work, I could just feel the daylight burning away, taking away the precious time I needed to work on this deck. Maybe I should have done this a few weeks ago.
So we decided on a 12 x 10 deck so I wouldn't have to cut the boards to fit. It only took an hour or so to get the thing set in place where we wanted it, but then I used the next two evenings going really overboard on making the frame sturdy. I probably could have put more into it like pouring some cement footings or something, but by the time I was done with it, I had 4 x 4's holding up just about every board. Let's just say, it doesn't creak at all.
Next came the fairly easy part, actually putting on the deck. I decided to go with treated 2 x 6's even though there are newer decking products available - either the new plastic decorative systems or even the 5/8"s deck boards. Our original deck is made of 2 x 6, so I went with that.
About two years ago, my wife and I were at those outlet stores in San Marcos, and I bought this cool little attachment for the drill. It allows you to load in a bunch of screws and drill them in from the standing position. It really is a cool, back saving attachment. I have been waiting two long years to finally open the box and try it out. Yea, that lasted about 10 minutes. Oh, it worked, but when you are doing the work by yourself, you have to lay out each new deck board where you want it, then start to drill. I realized that it was just quicker and easier for me to move the boards into place, drill in the screws and move on.
By Thursday, all I needed to do was to finish putting in the last two 2 x 6's so the deck part would be complete. Unfortunately, you need to have the right tools for the job. As the frame was going up, we decided we would have a small bench on the far end of the deck to serve as a railing (we wouldn't want anyone to get liquored up and fall a full 16 inches to their death) and also as a place to set drinks or plants and such. Well, I needed to notch out the deck boards so as to fit comfortably around the 4x4 risers. I went to grab my jig saw, and sure enough - no blade.
I'm sure Bob Vila would be horrified to know that instead of running out to Home Depot to buy new blades, I grabbed my trusty saws-all and commenced in he-man Tim the Toolman Taylor fashion to screw it up. I gave up after a few minutes and decided the project could wait until I had some new jigsaw blades. In the end, I made the cuts using my circular saw and cleaned them up with the freshly bladed jig saw. Norm Abram would be proud.
As the deck was starting to come together, we also decided to extend the walkway of decayed granite we made around the garden project. So on Thursday, my wife went back to Fertile Gardens and bought another yard of the stuff and on Friday, I went and picked up the second half of it. So basically, I decided to get up Saturday and just knock it out.
With the deck top complete, I needed to clean things up a bit by replacing a board that was all jacked-up and adding some trim.
Because our area is home to lots of wild skunks, possums, raccoons and feral cats, I wanted to cover the sides of the deck right away so nobody would get the idea that they could get under there and have a littler of babies. And I think it makes the whole thing look a little nicer. I just used fence boards to make the siding. I can honestly tell you, this was probably the hardest part of the project - the constant bending over to measure then getting up to make the cut, then back over to nail it in. Make no mistake, my knees and back are feeling it.
We finished adding in the decayed granite to make a small walkway from the bigger deck down to the new one, and we still have a lot of tamping to do, but that can wait.
In the end, we added one of those little fire pit deals so my wife could roast wienies and marshmallows. I think we are going to put in some sautillio tile in the center of the deck to place the fire pit on, though on our inaugural use, we didn't burn anything down.
And there you have it: pictures of my little deck. I know, I giggled too. It's okay.
Update: Now you can see the Deck Movie, too!
Is it any wonder my girth is expanding? I had a full day planned of simply sitting on the recliner and getting through as many of the 41 TV shows we have waiting for watching on the DVR with the idea that just maybe, I would snack on a few leftovers and perhaps celebrate the Memorial Day weekend by losing an ounce or two. But no, my son comes home and suggests we take a short drive up to San Marcos and get a burger at Centerpoint Station. So, against my better judgment, I put the DVR on pause, and off we went for an afternoon snack.
But before I can tell you about the place, I have to quickly make note of something extremely important. People, I know you are trying to save gas and therefore perhaps driving a little slower, but please, do it on your own time. This sphincter driving a Mopar product was tooling along at a cool 63 MPH along 1604 in the left lane of course, where the limit is 70 and the normal pace is about 75.
Because of the fact that all the people in the right hand lane were zooming by us, it took several miles before the people stuck behind this jerk could finally get around him. Keep Texas Moving! And get off the cell phone while you're at it.
I'm sorry for that little outburst and I promise, my blood pressure had gotten back to normal levels before I began the heart attack inducing eating session which I will describe shortly.
But first, a little about the atmosphere. I've mentioned numerous times how I enjoy restaurants that decorate the walls with old signs and such; apparently, this is the place where they come to purchase those old signs and collectibles. Of course, it has to be done right. You can't take a brand new building, four sheetrocked walls and simply put up a few signs and make it work. The buildings that make up Centerpoint Station are really old with hardwood floors and old doorways and old counters and such - it definitely works.
When you first pull up, you notice that the entire exterior of the place is covered in old signs - and they are those newly manufactured remakes - they are the real deal.
On the covered porch are toys and gas pumps and such. I liked the polite notice on the front door that says, "If you are a thief, don't come in." If you could stand the Texas heat, you might stand outside for an hour just admiring everything, but we preferred to get into where they keep the food.
And once you get in, it is almost overwhelming to the senses just how much genuine crap they have scattered about. I mean that in a good way, not in the way your mom might describe a dirty room.
The place is certainly a store with an ice cream parlor and a restaurant, so even if you aren't hungry, it isn't a wasted stop. The one thing that I have to admit I found distracting and a bit tacky was the bar coded price labels on the front of everything. I will tell you right now, if you have to ask how much the stuff here sales for (and everything is for sale), then you can't afford it.
I know these original signs are well sought out by the people trying to copy this restaurant style - I mean, between Chili's, Applebees, and TGI Friday's, there is a lot of competition to get the best junk. I don't want to to make you queasy, but some of the stuff I looked at thinking someone would pay a few hundred dollars for had price tags beyond 3 and 4 thousand dollars. My son opined that maybe it was all a joke. Maybe they simply have no intention of selling the stuff but they put ridiculously high price tags on it so nobody will bother to ask. Who knows?
Oh, I know it isn't Black History Month, but this gave me a little jolt when I saw it hanging away from the view of most shoppers.
Yea, I'd say we have come a long way as a nation. I have mixed feelings about selling stuff like this. I know it isn't made up or fake, but it is, well, kind of a shock. Oh, if you need more for your collection, they have a web page full of the stuff. I don't want to dwell on it; we have been into other antique stores and regardless of the motives, there is a market for the stuff.
Okay, on to the pleasantness. We have to try onion rings wherever we go. This time, we ordered a combo of rings and fries to share. Good stuff. The onion rings were thick cut and I thought breaded just right. My son said he had had them several times before, and they were much better. I'm not complaining at all.
My wife ordered the BLT on wheat toast. She loves the fact that they serve it with the really thick cut bacon. Oh, and the wheat bread seems to be that 7-grain business, not the cheap stuff. 
My son and I both opted for the bacon cheeseburgers, he had his on the white bread which is of course grilled as it should be.
I had mine on a wheat roll and it was fresh and grilled as well. The burgers come with the standard fixins - onion, fresh lettuce, pickles and tomatoes. This burger is enough to eat without the onion rings or fries - you won;t go hungry. But if your are just wanting a snack, they offer a "lady's" version.
We could not force down any dessert or the shakes they serve, but my wife did grab tomorrow's breakfast. These cinnamon rolls are huge!
So for atmosphere, entertaining prices on the old signs, and outstanding burgers, Centerpoint Station may be a bit of a drive from San Antonio, but if you are gonna go shopping at the outlet mall anyway, why not stop in for a Tasty Treat of your own?
Anyway, she also had mentioned the fact that she has never been to Pappadeaux. That was about all it took and I made a beeline down I-35 and off of Loop 410 and onto McCullough so we could get some.
The first thing you need to know is that the place is fairly big. The place looks mighty friendly on the outside with great landscaping, covered porch with rocking chairs, and just an inviting atmosphere to it.
Inside, there is a fairly large bar area where you can imagine people staying in nearby hotels routinely use for an after work hang-out.
We sat at a table near the center of all traffic; every person entering the place seemed to walk by us and every member of the waitstaff hung out or got their trays loaded in front of us. Sure, we could have asked for a different table, but I like to watch the excitement.
With our drinks, we got a loaf of hot & fresh french bread that was nothing short of outstanding. In fact, I could have just stopped there, but my wife wanted some too.
We decided to get the calamari as a starter and it was out in a matter of minutes, very hot (which is required for calamari) and it came with two sauces. One was some sort of cocktail sauce that was out of this world and the other was some sort of creamy, lemony sauce that I can't recall the name of, but it was also good.
My wife ordered the fried shrimp and instead of fries had the steamed broccoli. Dude, look at the size of that broccoli! Once she cut away all the excess undercooked parts, she was good with it. She was also happy with the shrimp, though in fairness, it was basically bland. At a Cajun place? Really.
If I had seen a steak & shrimp combo, I probably would have ordered it, but I just didn't see it on the menu. Instead, I went with the ol' standby and ordered catfish and shrimp. How can you screw that up if your a seafood place, right? Can I just say that they give you entirely too many fries? Of course I can, it's my blog. I mean, is it any wonder why people in San Antonio are so enormously fat?
