★★★ (3 Stars)

I visited Big Lou’s just for the novelty of having a 42″ Pizza.  That thing was insanely huge.  It fed 14 of us very well.

The pizza weighs something like 35 pounds depending on toppings.  Insane!  The slices were enormous.  A single slice was the length of my arm from elbow to finger tip!

In any case, I’ve had better pizza in San Antonio.  I like Central Park Pizza and Pizzabella substantially more.  But, the pizza was decent.  I thought it was going to be bad because of the gimmicky gigantic sizes.

I’m not sure I would go again any time soon.  I don’t think I’ll be craving pizza for a while!  hehe  Perhaps if a bunch of friends wanted to go again in the future I might.

After this visit, it’s salad for the rest of the week!

This YouTube Video Shows a 42″ Pizza From Big Lou’s

★★★★ (4 Stars)

The food at the Cove isn’t anything to rave about.  It’s good, they have sustainable, organic and local foods and hey, it’s locally owned.  But, I think people tend to hype this place up a bit because The Cove has been featured on the Food Network.  The food is good, but it doesn’t wow.

I would give The Cove three stars if it wasn’t for their Wednesday Night Jazz schedule.  This alone is reason to go to The Cove.  They have some of the best Jazz musicians I’ve heard in San Antonio.  The Jazz alone is 5 stars.

Edit:  I forgot to mention their beer selection!  They have a pretty big selection and at decent prices for the downtown area.

★★★ (3 Stars)

A friend of mine dragged me to Hills and Dales one night based on the fact that we could bring our own beer mug (up to twenty something ounces) and the draft beer would be the same price as the beer they serve in plastic cups.  Cool concept.

Upon arrival, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the place, but it turned out to be very relaxed and it felt as if I was over at a friend’s house.  The beer selection was good and it was cheap.  We each had a 24-ounce mug we brought in and they charged each of us about $4 and change for some premium beer.  Good deal.  I think I’ll be back to this place soon.

★★★★ (4 Stars)

A pub with a good side salad?  Huh??

I ordered some random English fare that was a pastry stuffed with shredded pork.  It was really good.  But the surprise here wasn’t the fact that this dinner pastry was good.  It’s the fact that when I ordered a side salad, it was 10Xs better than most salads at places you’d expect to find a good salad at.  It was a healthy portion of mixed field greens and not the iceberg lettuce crap I was expecting.  Of course it also had the regular items in it like tomato, onion, etc.

The fried stuff was good: fried mushrooms, fries with cheese sauce, etc.  Of course this is to be expected from a pub, especially one that is a bit upscale.  The beer selection is alright too.  I just stuck to my typical Boddington’s.

3.5 Stars.

★★★★ (4 Stars)

A friend of mine warned, “Watch out for the foul balls.  People get hit by them all the time!”  I went to a Missions game, this past Sunday, expecting to get hit by a ball and not knowing what else to expect.

The stadium was really nice, well-kept, and the field was really green.  How do they do it?  Food coloring?

Tickets were a really good price.  The most expensive, litsed on their board, was $9.50.  We ended up getting tickets about 15 rows up just behind home plate, so we needn’t worry about foul balls hitting us unless they go up and over the protective netting.  Plus, this area was well shaded.  The outfield got all the sun in the evening, so keep that in mind when purchasing tickets.

The team was pretty good.   A few walks here and a few bean balls there, but c’mon!  It’s a minor league team.  It was also enjoyable knowing they were fighting for a wild-card playoff spot.  – They ended up winning!

What’s a baseball game without all the concessions?  This stadium had them all!  Beer, hot dogs, nachos, pizza, corn dogs, popcorn, peanuts, and more!  I was surprised by the extensive offerings coming from such a small stadium.

I’m definitely looking forward to checking out another game.  Perhaps I’ll check out a playoff game!

★★★★ (4 Stars)

Houston Street Fair - Downtown San Antonio

I wasn’t sure what to expect at The Houston Street Fair & Market.  The Fair takes place on the last Saturday of every month.  I kept hearing about it, but kept forgetting until I’d read about it in the Sunday paper.

In June, they set up a mini rodeo complete with rodeo clowns, bulls, etc. all in the middle of downtown, in front of the Alamo.  I missed it, so I decided I wouldn’t miss the Houston Street Fair in July.

In July, they had a bunch of BMX guys doing tricks on ramps that were set up on S. Alamo.  It was a little surreal to see these guys busting out tricks in front of the Alamo.  What would Davy Crockett think?  It doesn’t matter!  It was fun to see.  In addition to the BMXers, there was plenty of entertainment.  There were three tent areas set up with musicians between 12PM-6PM, the duration of the fair.

There were also local artist/shops set up at tables with their trinkets for sale.  One vendor that stood out made use of old beer bottle caps, painting the insides with various designs and converting them to earrings.   Another vendor was selling those sugared almonds we all enjoy.

What’s a fair without the food?  There was plenty of it!  From hot dog vendors, tacos, and hamburgers; to beer, sausages, and shaved ice.  The Houston Street Fair had it all.

One of the best things about the fair is that admission is free.  And, they typically have free parking at the St. Mary’s Street parking garage at St. Mary’s and Travis, during the fair.  The only thing that was lacking was a farmer’s market area.  If the Houston Street Fair & Market included a section for local produce, it would indeed be complete.

★★ (2 Stars)

I like the microbrewery/restaurant concept and Blue Star Brewing Co brings a sample of this to San Antonio.  There doesn’t seem to be many microbreweries around here and it’s nice to have this option.

I tried a few of their brews and I couldn’t settle on any one of them.  The beers were all harsh, bitter, and some had flavors that I really didn’t care for (ie. oaky flavors or smokey flavors).  I don’t know who the brewmaster is, but hopefully he gets some better recipes.

I didn’t try their menu, but the food looked decent.  It’s mainly sandwiches and burgers.  I’ll be back to try the fish and chips.

★★★ (3 Stars)

MK Davis is a great restaurant to go unwind at after work.  It’s near the downtown area and gets packed during lunch and dinner hours, so do expect that.

They’ve got some really good nachos and gigantic beers at excellent prices.  They don’t have a huge selection of beers to choose from, but with these prices, who cares!

Their food consists of primarily Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, tacos, and those that include steak among others.  The food is decent and again, the price is right.

The service is good especially considering that the place is always packed.  It’s just a good, dim-lit, relaxing, but kind-of-loud, down-home, beer-drinking, food-gobbling, glutton’s kind of place.  :)

This place IS San Antonio.
3.5 stars.

★★ (2 Stars)

Smoky, but it’s like having a neighborhood bar downtown.
It’s just like any other local bar.  It seems more locals and downtown service industry employees visit this place, after hours, than tourists.
They have a decent selection of draught beer, but it’s nothing spectacular.

★★★ (3 Stars)

I don’t know about Mount Charleston’s lodging, but their restaurant was fairly decent.  The views down the mountain from here are spectacular.  It was nice to get away from the strip in Vegas and enjoy some snow and weather in the mid 50’s.

The restaurant itself is not what I expected.  I thought it would be the traditional -lets gouge people with our prices because we have beautiful views- type of restaurant.  It was nothing like that at all.  In fact, the ambiance and food were fairly plain and casual.  The prices were just like eating at your local, corporate, chain restaurant.  They had game hen, elk and buffalo burgers, among other game based options.  It was nice to have varying options, like these, among traditional restaurant meals.

I was also surprised that the beer here was very well priced.  I had a Sam Adams for $4.  What a relief from the $8 bottles of Corona on the strip!