The Inseam Incident...

We go to these cleaners that are located just down the street from our house in the HEB Shopping center at Cross Creek (I know; I had no idea it was called Cross Creek either). Anyway, the folks there do fairly good work and the employees are generally friendly.

I have often been concerned that every time I go in and there is this one girl behind the counter, she has a really disinterested look on her face, almost to the point of rolling her eyes that I would even come in. I've told my wife several times that I think I am the victim of being stereotyped as a creepy middle-aged pervert or something. I mean, why else would the one girl not be friendly, when all the other employees are so nice?

Well, we may have had a break-through today. My wife texted me that I needed to pick up some stuff from the cleaners, so I went in with receipt in hand and waited while a nicely dressed gentleman, complete with blue-tooth earpiece waited for the girl to find his pants. As he waited, he occasionally chatted with his wife or mother or someone on the phone. It was really weird, as if he he just stays connected to the person on the other end and they trade occasional comments to one another. Unlimited minutes, I guess.

So the girl finds the pants and naturally, I start to move forward so I can hand her my ticket so we can get my stuff. Just then, the man says, "Wait just a second, we better take a look at these. They've been lost for two weeks; no telling what may have happened."

So I'm thinking to myself that he is going to look for stains or something, but instead he grabs the pants and holds them up to his waist. Turns out they had been sent in for alterations. He looks at the girl, then looks at me, then states, "There is no way these are 32 inches, they are way too long." I think to myself, "What say you go try them on and I'll just pick up my laundry."

The man then goes into some sort of rant about how they had been lost for two weeks and now, they clearly were not altered properly and by God, he had specifically told the other person they needed to be 32 inches long. As he said all this, the girl calmly walked to another counter, grabbed a tape measure and laid the pants flat on the counter. She then asked him how many inches he wanted the pants altered and he responded, "32 inches". She then placed the tape at the top of the inseam and measured down to the very bottom of the pants leg. 32 inches, exactly.

The man then looked at her and laughed, saying, "What is this, a joke?" He then went on to tell her that you always measure from the top waistband of the pants down to the bottom of the leg. He even looked at me as if to get some encouragement.

I try not to get involved in these things, but I just looked at him and said, "Have you ever heard the term, inseam?" He looked at me like I was choosing sides or something and then started to babble on about how every fine clothing place he had ever been to, they measured the inseam from the outside pants leg starting at the top of the waist. So again I could not help myself and I said, "Okay, you know that there is about 12 inches from the waist to the bottom of your crotch, and they cut exactly 32 inches from there. If they cut 32 inches from the waist, that would put your cuffs just below your knees. Can you say Capri's?"

The guy then muttered something into his blue-tooth device, and I suspect that was all the conversation he wanted from me. He then grabbed his pants and walked out saying that he would deal with the manager.

And with that, the girl at the counter suddenly smiled. And when she rolled her eyes at me, this time, it was to signify that the other guy was nuts. And I went home and told my wife that we have had a breakthrough in the laundry situation.

Ya gotta like that.

Lunch Report: 410 Diner on Broadway...

Finally! We can mark this one off the list. It has almost become a joke that every time we head out to look for a place to try, I always suggest the 410 Diner, and we end up with either some excuse for not going or we come up with someplace more worthwhile before we get from our side of town to Broadway. Admittedly, one of the issues is the coupon they have in the Entertainment Book. It is only good for after 5, and we are usually just looking for lunch.
But this time, in spite of going down a list of several other places, we made it to the parking lot of the 410 Diner without diverting elsewhere.

The first thing that shocked me when I walked in was that our host asked us if we wanted smoking or non-smoking. I haven't been asked that in a while that I can recall. Then when we requested non-smoking, we were led to a smaller enclosed dining area. For a moment, I thought we had been misunderstood, but sure enough, there were no ashtrays or smokers. But come to think of it, it may have all been a big joke, because I did not see a single smoker, or smell a single cigarette our entire visit. Who knows?
The second thing that shocked me was the bathroom. Just kidding. That was actually outside the window on an adjacent property.
I like the place. Very Arthur Fonzarelli in style, with a little more upscale feel than Lulu's on Main. Lots to look around at, old posters and those newer signs that have little neon highlights. The booths have very tall seat backs so you aren't looking at the head of the guy in the booth in front of you.
While they have an interesting menu, our waitress plopped down a dry eraser board with all the current specials and the huge selection of vegetables. I suspect this place would be very well liked by any of our vegan readers. We had a nice lady with an accent that seemed British, but would occasionally drift into some sort of Slavic sound. Who knows, maybe she is an actress working on a part. Either way, she was very matter of fact, quick and efficient.
My son was with us, and he decided on a Pepper Chicken which was chicken breast, some bell pepper, covered with cheese and Parmesan. For sides, he got broccoli and cabbage. For a minute, I wondered who had abducted our son, but when he only picked at the cabbage, I knew it was him.
My wife went with the Chicken Fried Steak, a solid choice though she was concerned about it having too much gravy. Too much gravy? The Hell you say! She also had mashed potatoes with gravy and some cooked carrots. She really enjoyed the CFS but she felt like the carrots were a bit bland. I tossed a bunch of salt on them and they taste fine to me.
I opted for a seafood platter, substituting oysters for additional shrimp. Yum! I know this is going to sound bold, but the shrimp alone was worth the price of the entire seafood platter. They were simply awesome. The fish did not look as appealing, but actually tasted just fine along with the creamy tarter sauce. The Seafood Platter comes standard with Cloe slaw and curly fries. In hindsight, I could have swapped out the fries for some green beans. I bet they would have been yummy. But look at the size of that curly fry!
To go along with our huge lunch, they brought us out a plate full of cornbread. I don't think it was just out of the oven fresh, but it was good, especially slathered with real butter. I can actually feel myself getting fatter just thinking about it.
In the end, we were all pretty stuffed and pleased with lunch. I think I would have enjoyed sitting in the front of the place, just to enjoy a little more of the atmosphere, but I guess you have to be a smoker to earn that privilege. Even as we left and stopped to chat with some folks up front, I still never did smell a hint of cigarette smoke. Maybe they have a really good ventilation system, or maybe people just don't smoke when the eat anymore.

I am guessing the 410 Diner puts on an awesome breakfast, so we are going to have to add them right back onto the list so I can go in and try out the biscuits and some of the nutritious bacon I'm sure they serve. Have you been; do you know what the deal is with the lack of smokers in the smoking area? Your comments would help us figure it out!

Lunch Report: Eva's Trip to Western Broiler

During my wife's recent adventure out and about with her camera at the ready, she, along with her mother and nephew in tow, checked out the coolness at Krazy Vatos, then stopped in to check out some cool cars at San Antonio Shoes on Zarzamora. Of course, all that excitement generates an appetite, so when one is in the area, why not lunch at Western Broiler on Kirk?
It has been years since I was in Western Broiler, but it used to be a favorite meeting place for lunch. Located at Frio City Road and Kirk Place, it isn't far from the old Kelly AFB (now Port San Antonio), and they would do a brisk lunch business and get people in and out of there in a hurry. I always had the fish lunch, so I'm not sure I even know what else they serve.
Inside, the place looks about the same it did probably when it was opened, who knows, 50 years ago? But that is part of the charm. Need to pee, gotta head outside. I think that cuts down on the over indulgence of iced tea refills.
Like many of the places we enjoy, Western Broiler still has the old style seating at the counter. This is great for the person who wants to dine alone or the regular who needs to catch up on the latest gossip with the waitstaff.
On this little lunch outing, the lunch would be about the same. My wife had the fish lunch with fries and a small salad (which has always been good). My mother-in-law opted for the green beans (which I love) and the mashed potatoes with gravy. Both had corn bread with lunch.
Mmmm, smell the lovely blue tree. Along for the ride and lunch, my nephew picked up the cheeseburger and I am told it was a solid substitute for the standard Happy Meal action he might have expected.
Oh, and on a final note, if you like tarter sauce with your fish, they will give you all you need. But please, put it on the fish, don't just eat it from the bowl. Geeze, Gramma, we can't take you anywhere!

Have you been to Western Broiler? What is your favorite lunch, or are you more of a biscuits for breakfast type? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Almost Lunch Report: Bubba's...

We continue to try to use our Entertainment Book to take advantage of the deals on lunch and often this is a deciding factor in where we end up eating.
Today, my wife and I took a drive with our son (in town seeking refuge from the OKC snowstorm and Christmas), and decided on trying out Bubba's, a place we drive by each time we pass the airport.
Even if you have a coupon, there is no guarantee they will take it. Especially if a bulldozer has leveled the place. See that pile of rubble just in front of the hotel? That is Bubba's. Or I should say, that was...

Must not have been a Tasty Treat after all.

Christmas Eve Spirit: Friendly Mall Patrons...

I just love how people take this special time of the year to bend over backwards in an effort to display goodwill toward their fellow man. How thoughtful of all the shoppers at Ingram Park Mall (why I would even go there is still a mystery), to allow this one person to take two full parking spots for his compact size car.
I know, shoppers everywhere understand the need for a guy in his little Honda to avoid nicks to the paint or the possibility of anyone brushing up against it as they load packages into their own cars. People in our fair village are just that kind and thoughtful.

Frankly, I hope the jerk gets a lump of coal in his stocking, and perhaps a flat tire.

Emporium Report: Krazy Vatos...

It should not shock you to learn that, while not as ready to use it as me, my wife does maintain her own camera close by her person for those opportunities when the documenting of a situation is needed. I say not as ready as me because, generally, she would have to dig through her purse to locate said camera, then hope to get a shot off, where I on the other hand can usually grab it, point and click and have a reasonably clear shot in just a second or two. But when she is out and about our fair village without me, she has to think fast and have the camera at the ready. And Wednesday, she did just that.
It all started with watching KENS 5 Great Day SA show and seeing these two Krazy Vatos. What caught her eye were the little Mexican sweet bread pastries displayed during the show.
Turned out, they were little wallets and key-chains made to look like real pan de huevo. And the Krazy Vatos had opened up an emporium of sorts just south of downtown.
She just had to go! With her mother and nephew in tow, she made it to South Presa and Berkshire and found the fairly new shop and decided to take a look around.
Inside, there is an interesting collection of Puro San Antonio fare; t-shirts with sayings like “Got Tortillas” or your favorite Mexican Loteria card, “El Borracho”.
They shopped around a bit and purchased the aforementioned sweet bread purses then struck up a conversation with the owners, the guys she had seen on TV, Danny De La Paz and Jesse Borrego.
I'll save you the Google-time. Danny De La Paz has been a character actor playing supporting roles, in several dozen movies and TV shows. Remember American Me? He played a Latino in that one. And Jesse Borrego is also been in a long list of movies and such - you know, Fame and all that - but what is really important is that he played The Skinner on season 3 of Dexter! Friends, that alone is worth a visit to Krazy Vatos, but suggest you not bring any sharp objects since apparently he knows how to use them!
Anyway, they chatted a bit and talked about some future film projects that are being developed on San Antonio's south side. How cool is that? So there you have it. Proof that my wife, (the old lady, the other half, the misses), doesn't need me to find something interesting to post.

Eva's Day Out...

I'll post the full blog tomorrow Thursday, but this is what they call a teaser.
This is my wife (she hates that I refer to her as "my wife") posing with actors and Krazy Vatos Danny De La Paz and Jesse Borrego.

Thursday, I'll have three posts featuring photos and stories from the other half...