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.

Timber Path Construction Update: Connected...

We stopped in the parking lot of Bill Miller's at Grissom and Timber Path to see the actual connection of the bridge from one side to the other. I suspect it won't be long before people will be fishing off the side of the bridge for empty beer cans as cars whiz by eager to hit the traffic on Culebra at the other end.

You can tell there is a lot of finish work that needs to be done, but clearly, they have made progress.
I think it will be interesting to see how long it takes before someone gets liquored-up at Stacy's or Speedway on Grissom, then drives across the bridge and finds the pretty privacy fence on the other side of it. You know Albatross is just waiting for the WOAI reportage.

Friday: Rain, Pizza, Pasta, Fish, Church, TV's and Vagrants....

Do you remember earlier this week when it was just raining cats and dogs? Great Googly-Moogly! It just so happened that the timing was pretty awesome because my wife had tracked down one of those guys that sits on the corner in a truck with a flatbed trailer full of sod. So, she had him bring over a couple of pallets worth to cover the mistake we made when we tilled up the backyard only to make the weeds grow better.

Anyway, with the grass firmly in place, the sky opened up and we had two solid days of rain, and though that left for crappy driving and lots of closed roads, but the grass is starting to take, and I like that. I should have taken a picture to show here, but I didn't think about it until now and it is already dark outside. Sorry.

So anyway, it was during the first day of rain when I didn't fully appreciate that the tiny little break in downpour wasn't the end of it. I had suggested to my wife that we drive about three miles south on Culebra to that Joe's Pizza & Pasta place that I had misled people into believing was open. A drive that would normally take just a few minutes, even during heavy traffic took us almost half an hour. Of course, it is always fun to blame it on crappy drivers, but in fact, the street lights at both Westover Hills Blvd and Old Grissom were out. Not flashing Red or Yellow, just out!

So, we finally get into this Joe's place and get out of the truck in the now, once again pouring rain. We can see the lights on in the place and even can see tables with place settings on them. Sure enough, as I pulled on the door to open it, I could see taped to the inside of the mirrored glass the sign that says they are closed for two weeks.

The worst part of it is, as we were pulling out, another couple was pulling on the same door we had and reading the sign. I told my wife that I sure hoped they hadn't gone to try the place on my lousy information! They looked a lot hungrier than we did. 'Course, I generally look like I just ate a big meal anyway, so that doesn't mean a whole lot.

It doesn't end there though. We decided that heading back up Culebra with all the jacked-up traffic mess was not the way to go, so we decided to go west on Potranco toward Highway 151 in hopes of finding some vittles. And as we were driving, of course the traffic people come on the radio and tell us that there is a huge wreck at Potranco and 151. That would explain the back-up.

So we cut through Richland Hills, over to Wiseman Road and picked up 151 just before 1604. It occurs to me that readers unfamiliar with San Antonio have no idea what I am even talking about here. Suffice it to say, we took a big huge circle and another half an hour to get through the rain and traffic to end up at the new Pizza Hut on Grissom and Timber Path, not a quarter mile from Silver Creek 78250!

You'll recall we ate at this Pizza Hut before. This time, we decided to skip the pizza itself and split one of those special Supremo sandwiches. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT waste your time on the Supremo. I've had bologna sandwiches that were better. But we do love that cheese bread they serve. As we were sitting there waiting for our food, I looked across the street and could see Mr. Cod through the rain. I casually mentioned to my wife that we should give them another try, now that they have been in business for several months without closing down.

I guess that was the hint my wife needed because when I walked in the door this afternoon, she was ready for a fish sandwich. Instead of taking a long circuitous route around San Antonio, we drove straight from the house to Mr. Cod and both ordered the #5 which is a fish sandwich, fries and a drink.
I have to tell you, while it was a bit of a wait (they don't cook your stuff 'til you order it), it was a welcome surprise. The fish sandwich is huge and served on very fresh bread like a submarine sandwich or something. And it was fully cooked!
As usual, the place is remarkably clean and the owner recognized my wife from our first visits back when they opened.
The fries are different now. These are not what I recall as the "chips" they served originally. I guess that just didn't go over well. But they were hot, not over cooked, and good, especially with malt vinegar on them. Of course, as they say on the Internet, your mileage may vary.

Hey, I don't want to make a big deal of this and I'm only even posting it because I found the whole thing to be kind of odd - even strange.

I was on my way home from Home Depot (which I'll tell you about in a minute) and I was driving down Timber Path through Emerald Valley, The Commons, and Ridge Creek on my way to Silver Creek. Anyway, I saw several of these bandit signs dotting the landscape. Besides the fact that these signs are against San Antonio city code and against our HOA deed restrictions, I wasn't ready to pull over and start tossing them into my truck for later disposal.

But when I was at the stoplight at Tezel and Timber Path, I got a close enough view to read the sign. Apparently, this Origin Church is setting up shop at Fernandez Elementary School. Even then, I thought perhaps it was just some sort of rummage sale or something like that, but I went to the web page and sure enough, according to their own web page, Fernandez Elementary is their new home.

Now don't attempt to paint me as one of those separation of church and state people. It's crap like that that makes our students come home saying things like Winter Festival instead of Christmas or Fall Celebration instead of Thanksgiving. But are you serious? Has the North side Independent School District gotten so short of cash that we are now renting out the school as a church on weekends? WTF?

Oh, I had to stop into Home Depot today to grab some sheetrock for a project I'm working on. I always save time when I leave by driving back behind Home Depot and HEB and Party City so I can avoid all the traffic of people darting out into the parking lot and such.

There is this little patch of trees where I occasionally see panhandlers taking a break and sipping a quart before they had back out to the Alamo Ranch intersection at 1604 and Culebra to relieve you charitable types (fools) of your hard earned change. (I'm just kidding; I pass out five dollar bills to the unfortunate vagrants all the time.)*
Anyway, I spotted this TV parked up on that little clearing and thought to myself, I wonder where they plug it in. Strange.

*I was kidding the second time. Don't give money to these people, they really drive Cadillacs and drink better beer than I do.

Strange in 78250: Decorative Hitch Cover...

Sometimes all you can do is just shake your head. Regular contributor Anon E. Mouse snapped an entertaining picture this afternoon in our 'hood.
Lee says,

"I was behind this Toyota on Grissom waiting patiently to turn left at the light on to Culebra, then followed him down until I stopped at Frost Bank. Looks like an old piece of fire hose and a couple of scrubbies. Can't imagine what it was supposed to represent, right?"

Wow. Do you suppose this is something leftover from a tailgating party? Don't they sell some big rubber hanging huevos that might work better than a couple of scrubbies? Does anyone care to offer up an explanation to this strange sighting?

Timber Path Construction Update: Close...

A week later, lots of rain to make it tougher on the construction guys, but there is progress in the construction of the bridge on Timber Path at Grissom.

You can look at the pictures and see for yourself.

Dinner Report: Pizza Hut on Grissom...

I was back in the Five Oh earlier than normal today and my wife and I thought it would be a perfect time to grab a quick bite from the recently moved and opened Pizza Hut-Wing Street place on Grissom Road at Timber Path. Seriously, just ban me from the place right now.

A quick note about pizza. I love pizza. I could seriously eat an entire pizza, and the greasier the better. The problem is, I am ready to fall asleep three bites into the first slice. The dough, especially the hand tossed, and really thick pan types just do me in. Just bust out a 1000mg of Metformin, and maybe I'll be okay.But if you take the time to add the name Wing Street to a place called Pizza Hut, now I am forced to try not only the pizza, but also the wings. Is there a cardiologist in the house?
And of course, as promised, my wife and I are attempting to use the Entertainment Book coupons everywhere we dine now, and it just so happens that we had a coupon for a free order of cheesy bread sticks (or whatever the Pizza Hut name for them is) as well as a pitcher of soda.


The place is sparkly and new. I originally thought that it was smaller, but come to find out, it takes up half of the new building built in front of Stacy's Sports Bar on Grissom. I like the set-up inside. Very modern sports bar look with flat panels everywhere and a serious Texas and San Antonio theme.I'll keep this short. Using our coupon, we got the bread stick things. They are so good that you just can't help but want to eat all of them before your pizza arrives. But we didn't. Instead, I think we ate one each and if I am correct, they are sitting in my refrigerator next to the microwave as we speak.

By the way, instead of getting a pitcher of soda free with the coupon, my wife asked the waiter to just knock off the price of her Iced Tea. He agreed, but now that I think about it, I don't think he did. I ordered a single Mich Ultra at $4.00 for 12 little ounces. Hey, maybe in Stacy's where I am told that the waitresses are scantily clad, but at Pizza Hut? Really? Note to management: Get some draft on tap and save us a buck.
I had to order the wings mild so my wife could try them. She no-likey the hot stuff. I thought the wings were excellent - not overcooked as some tend to be, and they were nice and meaty. I think it was $6.99 for 10 of them, and with the little tub of Ranch dressing, I thought the price was fair.Our coupon for the free bread sticks stipulated that we had to purchase the large pizza as opposed to a medium (They don't have small). The large is what I suspect a medium was back in the day. Don't get me wrong, it isn't that there wasn't way more than enough for two, even four people, but I'm just telling you, it is smaller than I recall.

And that brings me to the point of why I rarely go to pizza hut. I love the pizza. They make a reasonably good product, but for the price, I just get the feeling like I have been to a regular full scale restaurant. After the coupon and before the tip, the bill was $27.01. Granted, we wouldn't have ordered both the pizza and the wings had we not known that we would be taking at least half of it to-go, but still, we could eat at Texas Roadhouse for that.

No complaints about the food, service, or atmosphere at the new Pizza Hut - Wing Street on Grissom, but if I'm going to eat myself into a coma, I'll spend a lot less and just go to Papa Murphy's.

Am I an utter cheapskate? Someone, set me straight here!

Grissom Road Report: A Bridge to Pizza Hut...

I have just a few moments to post here before I must report to my position in front of the TV where I will attempt to finish catching up on the Dexter Series before Season 4 kicks off, so I offer you this combined report on activities along Grissom Road.First: Alert reader Anon E. Mouse notified me of the opening of the Pizza Hut on Grissom at the intersection of Timber Path. You may recall that Pizza Hut used to reside in the building which is now occupied by Mr. Cod. We enjoyed great speculation at the beginning of the project when a sign popped up in the middle of a parking lot saying they were building a Pizza Hut - directly across the street from an existing Pizza Hut. Someone even suggested that it was all a mistake and that the construction crew started buldozing the wrong parking lot. Good times. They should have Snopes.com for the Great Northwest, just to keep us all straight.

In the end, We now have a fancy new Pizza Hut with wings! Go on; I know you want some.
And of course, second, it wouldn't be right to discuss the area of Grissom and Timber Path without mentioning the progress on the bridge that will guide us over the low water crossing there.
I wonder if the people paying for that billboard along the closed road feel as if they are getting the full bang for their advertising buck?
And finally, have you driven by the old Jefferson State Bank that closed their doors a while ago? What wild speculation do you have to offer on what this construction is all about? Another crazy Flip from the Montelongo Brothers? Another new Pizza Hut? Our very own Cheddar's on Grissom?

Have you tried to cross the bridge yet? Have you ordered up a pizza or some wings? Have any insider news on the new construction on the old bank? Why not leave a comment for us?

Timber Path Bridge Construction Update

The worst part about school starting this week is that the construction project along the stretch of Culebra from Loop 410 north to where Culebra splits personality and names (Tezel, FM 471, Grissom if you like), is not complete.

One part of that construction effort is the bridge that takes Timber Path out to Culebra. It sure would have been nice if it was finished in time for school. Oh well.
But, as these pictures show, progress is being made and who knows, by the Fall Festival or Winter Celebration (Thanksgiving or Christmas to you and I), maybe we will be driving over the top.

Timber Path Construction Update: Actual Bridge...

Well, actual bridge if you can take really long steps. But the important thing is, the new bridge over the low water crossing on Timber Path at Grissom is coming right along.Of course, I risked leaving the cool air conditioning of my vehicle to step out into the fireball to take these pictures. Just imagine how those guys on top of the bridge feel.

Timber Path Construction Update...

It isn't that I have forgotten about the Timber Path construction taking place - I have to drive by it each day, it's just that I have been too lazy to pull over and take some pictures. But since I'm a glutton for 102 degree heat in the middle of the afternoon, I figured I'd leave the comfort of my air conditioned vehicle and take a few pictures. I think I may need some sunscreen and a cool drink.If you weren't aware, this construction is taking place over the dry creek bed back behind the Bill Miller's and What-a-Burger located on Grissom Road at Timber Path. The idea is, because the creek floods when it rains (obviously not a problem during the drought) and blocks the flow of traffic, they are building a bridge that will allow drivers to drive right over the water. It has been a long time coming.You can see here that they have been building up all sorts of pylons (I guess that's what you call them) so the bridge can sit atop them. For such a relatively short bridge, it sure seems like a lot. But then again, since I'll be driving over it, I think the more support the better!

Did ya Need Some Free Bread?

My wife and I were headed home when we saw some people standing in the parking lot at Grissom and Timber Path with a sign that says "Free Bread". My wife, eager to learn more, stopped in and had a chat with a young man running the operation and found out about a nice little situation being sponsored by the Rivers of Life Church which as you have probably seen, is in the old HEB building that was for years, the Coyotes Dance Hall and later, Tejano Texas. I'm gonna tell you; there has got to be some spirit in that church!

Anyway, my wife stopped and talked to a youth minister named Alfred and he explained to her what is going on. Apparently, the folks at that church offer a food pantry service providing free vittles to needy people. All they have to do is go between 3-6PM on Thursdays behind the church - and yes, I know exactly what many of you are thinking - and they can hook you up. On Fridays, beginning at 5PM, they pass out bread in the parking lot where we saw them, until it is gone.

Sounds like a good thing to me.

Sadly, because of the long cement wall that faces Timber Path, Rivers of Life is often the target of vandals who live near by, eager to find an open canvas for some middle of the night tagging. Disgusting. Who tags a church?

I'm only one of many people who has painted over the filth on that wall more times than I can count. And of course, the church-folk there have painted it too and as the young man told my wife, they are thankful for the volunteers that help them, in spite of never really knowing who does it. And that makes me and the other volunteers feel good.

Dinner Report: Mr. Cod, Part 5 (and Final I might Add)...

I owe a huge apology to the numerous people who left comments on my first review of Mr. Cod. You can see the original post and all the negative comments here, followed by my first review and all the negative comments here. In all honesty, we had a relatively good experience the first time around and just assumed that the rest of you people were screwed up. As it would turn out, we were just lucky. So, sorry.

I came home from work this evening and suggested to my wife that we go and give Mr. Cod a second go round, especially considering that they have been in business a full month, but also because we were really impressed when we met the owner. The owner and his wife are trying so hard to make the place a success and if you encountered them at the store, you would want them to succeed.

So we went in and there was a couple in line in front of us, and several other customers who had ordered ahead of them and were seated waiting to get their orders.

I have to admit that I was somewhat put off by the man ordering in front of us. He wanted the person to explain to him how the "chips" were cut. Let's be clear: chips is fries. You don't need to know any more than that. Yes, the Blokes cook theirs to a slightly different consistency, but in truth, they are just fries. French fries if you want to be more specific. But this guy for some reason was trying to display his knowledge of European foods and had to point out - to a British guy who I assumed to be from the Mr. Cod franchise - that they cut the potatoes differently in Italy. WTF?

My wife and I (who in case you were not aware also lived in Italy for three years) just looked at each other. Italians have French Fries just like us. And by the way, I don't think most British people think of themselves as European, but I don't want to speak for them since I only lived there for two years and that was back in the mid 80's when "Wake me up before you Go Go" was some fine sounding music, and George Michael only seemed Gay. Anyway, I just want to point out that this sort of behavior is what the term "ugly American" is all about.

I'm sorry for that minor outburst, but I just couldn't take it. On to my less than tasty meal.

We Americans are always in a hurry. We want our food fast, but more than we want it fast, we'd prefer it to be fully cooked. Some of the complaints received from you readers who took the time to leave comments, was that the cooking left something to be desired. My neighbor for instance had a piece of fish that was burnt crisp on one end and raw on the other end (but just right in the middle, I suppose).

Another complaint was the high prices and the small size. When we went the first time, it was during lunch and we had the special, so honestly, for $5.99, we thought the size of fish was okay. Interestingly enough, I got really good sized fish this evening, but I noticed as we were leaving that somebody picked up an order, and the pieces of fish were literally half the size of my order. Unbelievable.Oh, and this is my favorite. Several complaints from people about the napkin situation. But when we brought it up to the owner on our first visit (and as I noted in our report) they were expecting the napkin dispensers to be placed on tables soon. Apparently, three weeks later is not soon. They actually have rolls of bathroom style paper towels on each table. Egad.So on to it. My wife ordered the Fish Sandwich Combo (I think that is a #5) and it was $6.09, and comes with chips/fries and a drink. She was almost completely pleased with the sandwich. The fish was good, the size was enormous and it was served hot after a 15 minute wait.The only negative was the brown lettuce in the sandwich. A couple with an older lady came in and were seated near us and the lady had a salad. Her lettuce was all brown and the man immediately whipped out the customer survey card and started going to town, writing several paragraphs on the back of it.My wife also ordered the side of calamari for $2.99 which, if you have ever ordered from a place like Sea Island or Olive Garden, that is a pretty good price. Unless it sucks. We always know to eat the calamari as soon as it comes out because it doesn't take long for it to get chewy. By the time it got to our table, we were too late. I had two pieces and left it at that. My wife tried a few more and that was enough.

I ordered up something called the Trio Sampler Platter which comes with fish & chips, chicken and shrimp. Well, mine came with the fish, chips and chicken, but I had to wait even longer for the shrimp. And not worth the wait. It was I think $9.99.The fish was fine. Someone had complained before that it was bland. I have to agree this time around. Though I loaded mine up with malt vinegar - a must - it was not as flavorful as I thought it should be. But still, it was piping hot and it was enough to hit the spot. My two pieces of fish were fair portions and I have no complaints about the size, though as I said earlier, the people I saw pick up the order after us got royally (no pun intended) gypped. As I said, the shrimp was worthless - same as the first time we went.What was really weired was the chicken. For some reason, I just had it in my mind that they would serve chicken fingers or chicken planks or something, not actual pieces of chicken. But sure enough, the meal came with a leg and a thigh, fried up like the fish. I think they use a pressure cooker of some sort the same way KFC does. The only problem was, in spite of the long wait, the chicken was not cooked. Now don't get me wrong; I'm not one of these people who needs food to be completely burnt to a crisp, and in fact, I have had more than one person ask me to throw their chicken back on the grill because I pulled it sooner than most people would like. So if I look at a piece of chicken and it gives me the shivers, then we have a problem.

My wife took the chicken thigh up to the counter and saw the owner. She discreetly showed him the chicken and he nearly had a cow. He apologized profusely then grabbed the cook and had words as a new batch of chicken went in.

As we waited, we finished up our chips which were sadly, crappy. One of my neighbors had complained about the chips being a big clump stuck together. We had a similar experience today. Not all of them, but several clumps along with some overcooked fries. Overall, just not good.

After at least another 15 minutes, I went up to the counter and asked for the piece of chicken to-go. In all honesty, I was done eating but my wife didn't want to leave without the chicken considering we paid almost $10 for it. If anything, we would give it to the dog.When we got home, I opened up the container and the chicken looked very good on the outside, and in fact, I pulled the skin off (I wouldn't want my dog to get high cholesterol or anything) and ate it. Then, I started to cut into it so I could put it in the dog dish and my wife saw blood again. That was it.I'm sure Gracie would not have minded in the least, but my wife jumped in the truck and drove right back over to Mr. Cod with the bloody (no pun intended) chicken. She worked for 17 or so years in the food service industry and basically went to the owner and told him to cease and desist his chicken sales until they could get their act together. He was kind enough to give her a coupon for $5 off the next purchase of $15.00, but in all seriousness, I'm probably going to put it on Craigslist and see if I can get $3 for it. Okay, not really.

But I won't use it. I will give it to a homeless guy.

This is one of those cases where I wanted so bad for the place to be good enough for me to go there on a regular basis, but it just didn't work out. I wish the owners luck in whatever their next endeavor is, because I just don't see this one panning out.

And to those of you who called this one right from the word go, you have my sincere appreciation for trying to keep me straight! Need to go back and read all the comments? Click here.