★★★ (3 Stars)

I had been looking for an American food diner in downtown San Antonio for a while.  I don’t know how I kept missing Milam Drug Store & Diner, but I am pleased to have finally found a diner downtown that is close enough to what I was looking for.  They’re primarily a burger and sandwich restaurant that offers daily specials like chicken fried steak.

The service was decent, but the cooks seemed somewhat overwhelmed and it took a while for my burger to come out.  The burger I ordered was nothing spectacular and nothing I couldn’t have made at home.  It’s not a bad place for the price especially being that its located just a block from the Riverwalk.

I’ll be back.

★★ (2 Stars)

Bigger does not mean better.

Lulu’s is supposed to be known for their chicken fried steak, so that’s what I ordered.  What came out was an enormous, extremely beaten, flat, cubed steak severely breaded and deep fried.

The batter was not what i was hoping for.  It was bland, as was the meat, and it seemed to retain a lot of oil.  The steak within the batter was overcooked and crunchy.

I was not impressed and I don’t think I’ll be back.  There are way better places for chicken fried steak.  I don’t know how this place was “voted best chicken fried steak in town.”

★★ (2 Stars)

Bleh!  I was hoping for some good breakfast tacos this morning so I thought I’d try out Blanco Cafe.  I decided I’d grab a bean and chorizo taco and a barbacoa taco to-go.

First I ate the chorizo and bean taco and it was fairly good, yet messy. Then I got to the barbacoa taco which was horrible.  It seemed like they used week-old barbacoa which left a bad lingering taste.

I wouldn’t order their barbacoa, ever, without first asking if its fresh or figuring out when they sell the most of it.  In any case, they had some interesting, and cheap, lunch plates I’ll have to try in the future.  I’ll give them a second chance soon and update this review.

Edit 06/08/08: I tried them again recently and decided I’d give them one more star.  I ordered the exact same thing as I had previously just to make sure it wasn’t just a bad day.  I asked if the barbacoa was fresh and the waitress said yes.  The barbacoa was decent this time, but they put a big chunk of burned barbacoa in it too, which was not good.  Certainly not worth 3 stars.  I’ll edit this again when I try their lunch.

★★★ (3 Stars)

Steaks 'n Cakes - Blythe, CA

We stopped in the small town of Blythe, on the way to Phoenix,  wondering what the heck we were going to eat for lunch. . .  There was a McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Denny’s, Taco Bell. . .  We could get these anywhere, so we ventured on into Blythe on some side road finding that most restaurants were closed and boarded up.  Finally, we came upon Steaks ‘n Cakes.

Steaks and Cakes is a diner-type restaurant offering the regular burgers, sandwiches, and salads.  Listening to the locals speak with a drawl reminded me of the country.  So, as soon as my eyes peered down the menu and found Chicken Fried Steak, I hoped it would be reminiscent of the good stuff I remembered in Texas.

Served with corn and mashed potatoes, the chicken fried steak indeed was good.  It was not the manufactured, machine pounded and pressed crap you find in the frozen aisle of your local grocery store.  Oh, no.  It looked and tasted the real deal.  It came paired with a gigantic, chef’s salad and for the price, was perfect.

I’m sure glad we didn’t stop at the regular, monotonous,  commercial, burger and pizza places.  And, the boarded up restaurants were apparently out of business for good reason.  I don’t know what the rest of the items on the menu are like, but I’d sooner stop in at Steaks ‘n Cakes for Chicken Fried Steak, than in any of the corporate places, if I ever find myself in Blythe again; for whatever reason that may be.

★★★ (3 Stars)

Holy smokes, border town Laredo, Texas!  Los Jacales doesn’t already have a review?  It’s a staple to the Laredoan diet!  Los Jacales is hands down the best breakfast place in town.  Yep!  They have the best barbacoa, chorizo and eggs, and other great breakfast taco fillings all wrapped in a beautifully crafted, home-made, flour tortilla.  Yum!

Oops, my mistake. . .

The last time I visited Laredo I made the mistake of visiting Los Jacales for lunch, when I should have visited Taco Palenque, La Mexicana,  or something else I can’t normally get in California.  Yeah, Los Jacales needs to rev up the lunch engine, cause it sure isn’t happening there.

★★★ (3 Stars)

You can see it from the 101.  On one side of their sign it reads, “Mike’s Restaurant.”  From the other side it reads, “Fiesta Restaurant.”  Either way, “Fiesta”, “Mike’s” or like some people I know call it, “Fiesta-Mike’s,” this restaurant is fairly good.  It looks a little run-down from the outside and the diner-style furniture and decor inside is outdated, but it’s not bad at all.

Their food consists mostly of Mexican food, and they serve chips and salsa when you sit down.  But, they also have regular diner fare such as burgers and sandwiches.  The food, overall, is nothing to go crazy over.

Ventura’s breakfast restaurants are always so busy and expensive for what it is.  Fiesta Restaurant doesn’t usually have a wait, they have plenty of seating, and the breakfast is really good.  It’s comparable to almost any other breakfast place at half the cost.

So, it’s great for breakfast and the food is cheap.  Check it out if you’re low on cash.