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Author Archives: jbgasper

This and That.

26 Mar

We’ll be home a week from now.  Excited to be home in a week, though it still seems far away.  Looking forward to seeing friends, celebrating Easter with family, and baking in my kitchen.  Definitely going to miss this relaxed pace, homemade tortillas, and sun in the winter.

Speaking of which, it has been HOT lately.  Over 80 every day it seems.  And because of (or in spite of?) the heat and sun, we’ve been going for multiple walks through the city and along the River Walk each day.  Soaking in as much Vitamin D as we possibly can, which seems quite literal as we come back soaked in sweat.  Pleasant, I know.

Speaking of pleasant, we ate lunch at Whataburger today.  We’ve been seeing Whataburger locations all over Texas as we’ve been driving around, and as there is one near the RiverWalk, we decided to give it a shot.

We enjoyed the burgers (and the fancy new Coke dispenser) and were surprised how large the sandwiches were – almost 5 inches in diameter!  The lettuce and tomatoes were super fresh and added a good crunch and flavor.  We both agreed that it wasn’t quite 5 Guys though.  The burger lacked that great char and crust that 5 Guys does so well, and the fries here were pretty standard fast food sticks, just shy of hot.

Other than that, we don’t really have too much to cram into our last week here.  Checking out the San Antonio  Museum of Art tomorrow (it is free on Tuesday evenings) and heading back to our favorite restaurant spots (Taco Taco and Mi Tierra).  And walking and sweating some more, we have that down pat!

 
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Posted by on March 26, 2012 in Julie, Random Life, Restaurant Reviews, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Hot Dogs on a Hot Day

24 Mar

We decided this morning to check out the Japanese Tea Gardens in the afternoon, but after driving around the packed parking lot and trying to navigate the traffic around the zoo, we opted for Plan B, driving up to Austin for a late lunch at Frank.

We had walked by Frank when we were in Austin for SXSW, and after reading a few articles about the place, I wanted to head back and try it.  What had particularly caught my eye in one of the articles was that they have a version of Canadian Waffle Fries Poutine, which might seem like all sorts of gross to some, but I thought it sounded all sorts of fantastic.

Justin ordered the Jackalope (a house made antelope, rabbit, and pork sausage covered with huckleberry compote, sriacha mayo, and cheddar cheese) while I choose the Carolina Pork It (a Vienna beef dog, stuffed with American Cheese and wrapped in bacon, then covered with green chili pimento cheese and coleslaw).  We added a small order of the Poutine fries and a Corn Cup (roasted corn with butter, chili mayonaise, lime juice, and cotija cheese) to round out the meal.  And it all rocked our faces off.  But the key is that once you pick up the hot dog, DO NOT put it back down.  These puppies are fully loaded with toppings and tend to be 6-Napkin messy.  And the poutine was everything I hoped for: crisp fries covered in melted gooey cheese and flavorful brown gravy.  Again, crazy messy, but very worth it!

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2012 in Food, Julie, Restaurant Reviews, Texas, Travel

 

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For reals?!

23 Mar

Justin and I took advantage of another beeeaaa-uuuu-ti-ful day by walking over to Market Square.  We had been eyeing up a potential gift to bring home and also wanted to have lunch at Mi Tierra.

Walking through the doors you first walk by the amazing craziness that is the bakery case.  It took us about .4 seconds to agree that we would be stopping back here after our meal.

And then we were lead into one of the dining areas, and I’m a bit amazed that our corneas didn’t explode.

The food, you ask?  Yea, it was phenomenal.  Rated right up there with Taco Taco in our opinion.  The tortillas were crazy fresh and well worth eating one all on its own.  But, although there is definitely a flavor difference, there isn’t much visual difference between one plate of enchiladas, rice, and beans from any other place, and truthfully, not all that pretty.  It is much more fun taking pictures of the roaming mariachis!

With a little room left in our tummies, we headed back over to the bakery case and made a few selections.

It was pretty much like Justin’s dream bakery – so many things completely covered in coconut!  I enjoyed a simple roll of sweet cinnamon dough, that reminded me a bit of a shortbread cookie.  I’m sure the few treats we brought home won’t last very long!

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2012 in Food, Julie, Restaurant Reviews, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Dough – worth the wait, and a second visit!

22 Mar

The first time we ate at Dough, Trav and Emily were visiting and Justin and Trav found it highly recommended on Yelp, or Urban Spoon, or some other food site.  We drove out, put our name on the list and got our buzzer, then hung out and chatted and played iphone games for over an hour until our table was ready.

Pork Love Pizza

But upon sampling our appetizers, some freshly baked flatbread and some speidini (cheese, wrapped with proscuitto, then roasted), we knew that this was a meal worth waiting for.  Justin and Travis decided to split a Pork Love pizza, topped with all sorts of proscuitto, ham, salami, etc, while Emily and I quickly agreed on sharing the classic Margherita pizza, topped simply with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil.

Margherita Pizza

Both were definite hits.  The crust has a great flavor, and a good bite and chew.  The 800+ degree wood-fired oven gives the pizza a great smoky dotted char, without going overboard.  The center of the pizza tends to be a bit limp, mainly because of the extra water in the fresh cheeses, but this certainly wasn’t a big negative – the fresh cheese makes such a huge flavor difference that we can happily forgive a very slightly soggy first bite.

Burrata Caprese

Justin and I returned for a second visit yesterday, and again, were not disappointed with the food at all.  We started with the Burrata Caprese appetizer, which was out-of-this-world delicious.  Served with warm flatbread, the ball of cheeses in the middle was composed of freshly made mozzarella surrounding the creamiest blend of  mascarpone and ricotta cheese, surrounded by heirloom tomatoes and drizzled with some delicious olive oil and balsamic vinegar.   So so so so good!

Polenta Cake

When we had dinner with Trav and Em, we also ordered dessert.  When we ordered the Polenta Cake, I expected to receive something dense, similar to a pound cake, but what arrived was so much taller, and so much lighter than that.  The Vanilla Bean sauce and strawberry coulis paired beautifully with the sweet corn flavor of the cake, and it didn’t take long for us to gobble it up!

While we love the good New York-style pizza of Polito’s at home, we will miss this great, more traditional style pizza from Dough!

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2012 in Julie, Restaurant Reviews, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch – cue hilarity.

21 Mar

Headed over to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch today. At the entrance, we weren't sure if this was going to be awesome, or a huge bust.

Why is the "Jurassic Park" theme song playing in my head?

Okay. This was about to get interesting!

Why, hello... (with a finger ready on the window controls!)

This deer knew Justin had more food in the car. She wasn't content after the first handful and stuck her head right inside the car!

Buddy and this ram eyeing each other up.

It was so crazy how close these animals got (and how much food they could put away).

Baby!

Justin feeding a Gemsbock Antelope.

And then it posed for him.

Wildebeest, walking along with the car.

There were some very pretty, animal-free spots along the Safari route as well.

A kudu, with some very impressive curly antlers.

And then there were some seriously aggressive ostrich. These buggers knew there was food in the cars and were definitely going to get it!

Justin, trying to appease the ostrich by giving it the whole bag.

"You Shall Not Pass!"

Llama. Fuzzy llama.

The emu were much more self-controlled than the ostrich!

Though they are still slightly unnerving this close up!

DEFINITELY go to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch if you are in the San Antonio area.  It was an absolutely riot.

 
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Posted by on March 21, 2012 in Activities, Buddy, Julie, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Tower of the Americas

20 Mar

After a few days of clouds, rain, and storms, Justin and I were ready to get out and enjoy the sun and less busy River Walk.  And as we had a coupon for a few dollars off admission, we decided to head up and into the Tower of the Americas to check out the view of the city.  As Texas’ Spring Break is over, there were hardly any people, and within minutes we were up at the observation deck, taking in the beautiful breeze and seeing for miles.  However, it doesn’t take all that much time to take some pictures and want to head back down, at which point we were noticing Elevator repair people and the lack of elevators returning anyone to the ground.  We weren’t really willing to jump the gun and start walking the stairs the 700 feet down, so we found a few chairs and wasted time on our iPhones.  And very slowly but surely, the one working elevator returned everyone from the deck down from the sky.  We’re thinking the Tower of the Americas is a bit past its prime, and would recommend other San Antonio visitors save their cash for the other fun things there are to do around the city!

The Tower of the Americas in Hemisfair Park.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! Nope, just Buddy!

The view of the Alamodome from the tower.

View of downtown San Antonio from the tower.

View of the neighborhoods South of downtown, including the apartment where we are staying.

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2012 in Buddy, Julie, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Il Sogno Osteria

18 Mar

Last week we received a recommendation from a local to try Il Sogno Osteria, which they considered to be one of the best restaurants in San Antonio.  Located in the Pearl Brewery Complex, we scoped it out when we were here with Trav and Em but it had been fully booked that night.

Incredible fresh foccacia bread, lightly drizzled with olive oil, served with a fresh and slightly spicy pureed white bean spread. Definitely a sign of good things to come!

Instead, we came out on Saturday to check out the Farmers Market that takes place at the Pearl and have lunch at Il Sogno.  We were seated inside, though the massive windows and doors on both walls let an abundance of light flow through the dining room.

Our selections from the Antipasta bar.

We started our meal by choosing some antipasta items from their extensive selection.  Everything was so bright and colorful and fresh, it was difficult to decide.  We chose a small wedge of spicy italian sausage frittata, a fresh and spicy seafood ceviche, prosciutto with figs, an incredibly creamy and smooth fresh mozzarella and roasted red pepper combination, and were adventurous and tried the potato and octopus salad. Everything was incredibly delicious, though we both agreed the mozzarella and pepper combination was our favorite.

Perfectly cooked, homemade pasta with a bright tomato sauce and meatballs. We'll be eating leftovers for a few days!

Our entrees were fantastic as well.  I wanted to try one of their housemade pastas, so I went with the Tagliatelle with meatballs.  Very, very good.

Again, a mammoth portion size, but this tender beef will be lovely warmed and served with homemade tortillas!

But Justin’s entree, the braised beef short ribs with roasted brussel sprouts and potato sticks, “won.”  The meat was incredibly tender, moist, and flavorful.  And those potato sticks were downright addicting.  Delicious.

And we were full.  We both agreed, there had to be something AMAZING on the dessert menu to persuade us to stay longer.

The warm Nutella oooooozed out of the tart when Justin broke through the crust with his spoon.

And surprise, surprise, there was just that on the dessert menu.  A warm Nutella Tart served with Vanilla Bean Gelato?  Yes.  And it was absolutely incredible, with a tender, buttery tart crust filled with decadent, melty Nutella, and the added cold creaminess of the vanilla ice cream.   Definitely placed among the very best restaurant desserts we’ve enjoyed.  We are already planning on going back one more time before we head home to share one of their pizzas.

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2012 in Julie, Restaurant Reviews, San Antonio, Travel

 

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La Gloria at the Pearl Brewery Complex

17 Mar

While Trav and Em were visiting, we enjoyed a delicious and very casual meal at La Gloria, which is part of the new Pearl Brewery Complex, just a couple miles from the apartment.

Garden Sculptures at La Gloria

La Gloria’s menu is quite extensive, as they work to recreate authentic street foods you would find in Mexico.  We each decided on our meals, but all agreed we wanted to try the Queso Fundido, a baked blend of cheeses, served with salsas and tortillas.

One of the tastiest appetizers we've ever had!

And it was crazy delicious.  The tortillas were soft and warm, and the ooey gooey cheese and fresh salsas were so so so so yummy.

Tacos al pastor (lamb) at La Gloria

And we all thoroughly enjoyed our other selections as well, fish tacos, lamb tacos, a sandwich filled with tender shredded pork and covered in a flavorful tomato sauce, and a corn and bean “panucho” topped with shredded pork and pickled onions.

But the portions were a very good size, not monstrous at all, as these were supposed to be food items you might get from a street card and be easy to handle.  Which was great, which left room for us to try two of their phenomenal desserts, Coconut Flan, and a slice of the Tres Leches Cake.  Again, so so so good!  We would all recommend a meal at La Gloria!

 
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Posted by on March 17, 2012 in Julie, Restaurant Reviews, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Natural Bridge Caverns

16 Mar

The main cave entrance - in the beautiful hill country surrounding San Antonio.

We met up with our friends Dan and Bethany who live in Iowa, but also happened to be vacationing here in San Antonio this week. Here is Dan heading into the cave, with their son Christian in tow.

Justin, psyched to be in a cave.

This was one of the most impressive cave tours I've ever been on. The formations were incredible!

The main descent into the deepest portion of the cave system. As it is Spring Break here in Texas, there were lots of people.

One thing that really leads to all these cave formations is the amount of dripping water. There was an abundance of pools and constant drips coming from the ceiling. The water was especially chilly when it would catch you right on the back of your neck!

Even Buddy got in on the Spelunking action!

We were all very impressed with Natural Bridge Caverns and the Discovery Tour and would highly recommend it if you are in the San Antonio area!

 
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Posted by on March 16, 2012 in Buddy, Julie, San Antonio, Travel

 

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Literally, the Largest Cinnamon Roll I’ve Ever Seen.

15 Mar

Lulu’s.

I don’t know if we’ve encountered a food stuff yet that has been bigger than Buddy.

Or bigger than Travis and Emily’s heads for that matter!  We all cut a wedge from this 3 lb delicious sugar monster, and still brought home a pound of it.  We also each had a different breakfast taco (to try to combat all those carbs and sugar with a bit of protein!) and they were excellent as well.

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2012 in Buddy, Julie, Restaurant Reviews, San Antonio, Travel

 

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