San Antonio

[Cajun 11702]

8 hours ago, tejas60 said:

exactly Cajun. La Fonda looks a little ritzy for what I want. that pic looks good. only thing I have a problem with is the nachos. where the damn jalapenos???? also, will they give you a decent cup of salsa, cause we will fight over the salsa.

thanks for all the other recommendations. I will definitely be checking all of them out when I move to Kerrville.

 

The jalapeños are in that larger container on the right, I just hadn't duded everything up yet.  That was taken the nanosecond the food came out.  And there's a salsa bar with all the stuff you need and can load up as much as you want.  Here's what those nachos looked like about 60 seconds after I had snapped that photo...

Edited February 6, 2023 by Cajun
Except those were the Nachos Supreme with Picadillo

[Cajun 11702]

6 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Taco House has a little salsa bar if you dine in.  Go crazy. You won’t be deprived.

And @Cajun the la fonda in the old raffles isn’t that bad. Good chips and salsa, and I really like their fideo on a cold day. That guacamole salad with the vinegar is old school puro.  Enchiladas are passable. Margs are strong. It’s not in my lunch rotation but I will knock it out for dinner every now and then. 

For those not aware, it’s a totally different restaurant / menu from the one on main. 

I went to AH (graduated in '85) and every time I go I have to see and converse with legions of '09 fucks I grew up w/and never could stand.  That could color my opinion somewhat, but that said I went a couple of times w/a pal a year or so ago and it was the very definition of meh.  At least the beef fajitas were.  That's what I got both times.

[Cajun 11702]

8 hours ago, tejas60 said:

exactly Cajun. La Fonda looks a little ritzy for what I want. that pic looks good. only thing I have a problem with is the nachos. where the damn jalapenos???? also, will they give you a decent cup of salsa, cause we will fight over the salsa.

thanks for all the other recommendations. I will definitely be checking all of them out when I move to Kerrville.

 

Pro tip - I usually take my whole plate up to the salsa bar and ladle my sauces right on whatever I get.  Bypass the little short-knocker cups altogether.  Ends up looking like a beautiful roadkill...

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Cajun
Went HAM on that plato.

[BearSchlong 8079]

The La Fonda on Main is certainly better, but I grew up going to the one in Oak Hill, so I feel right at home hitting up the AH location when Soluna and Paloma are too crowded.

Lol thinking La Fonda is “ritzy,” it’s really not. My children went to Keystone so I was a regular at the Main location for many years, and still love sitting on the patio when I make it back to SA. Really enjoyed taking my current (2nd) wife there for the first time.

[Cajun 11702]

8 hours ago, tejas60 said:

I will definitely be checking all of them out when I move to Kerrville.

 

And since you're becoming a Kerrvert, DO NOT miss the chance to hit Rita's across from the county courthouse for breakfast tacos.  SA quality shit they're slingin' in that joint.  I used to start just about every morning there when I lived in Kerrville. 

Mary's, a few blocks away is just as good.  Mary & Rita are sisters and had the ole familia fallout at the original Rita's so now there are dos.

[Cajun 11702]

8 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

Lol thinking La Fonda is “ritzy,” it’s really not. My children went to Keystone so I was a regular at the Main location for many years, and still love sitting on the patio when I make it back to SA. Really enjoyed taking my current (2nd) wife there for the first time.

It's not ritzy, it's just kinda old people, sit down, Tex Mex.  There are a lot of "ritzy" people who are regulars.  Hit the San Antonio Country Club one night, take a good look around the dining room, and then hit the AH La Fonda the next night.  You'll see a LOT of the same people.

And they'll all be dressed like Judge Smails.

But I think what he was meaning by "ritzy" was just not a greasy hole in the wall, a la Taco House, Sylvia's, etc.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Cajun
This is to acknowledge you did specify the Main location. Different animal.

[tejas60 3531]

4 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

Lol thinking La Fonda is “ritzy,” 

besides the mini blinds looking like they've been fucked up by a dog/cat/kid/domestic violence, what doesn't look ritzy about this restaurant's web site: https://www.lafondaonmain.com/

Reservations strongly recommend

and I don't mind paying for good food, but they're prices are a bit steep. 

5 minutes ago, Cajun said:

And since you're becoming a Kerrvert, DO NOT miss the chance to hit Rita's across from the county courthouse for breakfast tacos.  SA quality shit they're slingin' in that joint.  I used to start just about every morning there when I lived in Kerrville. 

Mary's, a few blocks away is just as good.  Mary & Rita are sisters and had the ole familia fallout at the original Rita's so now there are dos.

what, you don't like Mamacitas???

[Cajun 11702]

1 minute ago, tejas60 said:

besides the mini blinds looking like they've been fucked up by a dog/cat/kid/domestic violence, what doesn't look ritzy about this restaurant's web site: https://www.lafondaonmain.com/

Reservations strongly recommend

and I don't mind paying for good food, but they're prices are a bit steep. 

what, you don't like Mamacitas???

Mamacitas was not as bad as I expected it would be first time I went and the owners are cool mf'ers.  That said, not at the top of my list.

[tejas60 3531]

26 minutes ago, Cajun said:

Pro tip - I usually take my whole plate up to the salsa bar and ladle my sauces right on whatever I get.  Bypass the little short-knocker cups altogether.  Ends up looking like a beautiful roadkill...

 

now THAT's what I'm talkin' bout. picadillo nachos for sure. and I already knew I was taking my plate to the salsa bar as soon as @Mitch Cumsteen informed me about it.

[Cajun 11702]

Just now, tejas60 said:

and I already knew I was taking my plate to the salsa bar as soon as @Mitch Cumsteen informed me about it.

I see you are a professional.  Still amazes me how many out there refuse to give up their amateur status.

Forgive me for lumping you in with such types.

[tejas60 3531]

we went there because wife remembered going there years back and liked it. brought us 2 small cups of salsa, one rojo and one verde. verde was sweet and sucked so I asked the waiter to bring more rojo. he said we couldn't have more than two cups of salsa at the table. I told him to take that verde shit back and bring me another rojo. 

don't know about the owners, but I believe I bought our house from the manager of Mamacitas. Last name P...r.

never going back to that place.

I've been getting breakfast tacos at Tacos to Go. pretty good barbacoa there.

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by tejas60

[Cajun 11702]

^^Laughing at the two cup salsa ceiling, not the other stuff.

just to be clear.

[tejas60 3531]

that's the way I took it. I'll have to try Mary's and Rita's. Thanks!

sidenote csb/

Feb last year, we went to check the house to make sure no pipe leaks after the freeze. Early Sunday morning I needed to get something from Lowe's. on the way, Home Depot was closer, so I went there instead, went in and got what we needed. walking back to the truck there's a guy walking in (we're the only people there) and I say, "that looks like REK". he starts laughing and I say how you doing and keep walking and he stops and says how are y'all. well, he stopped so I'm talking to him now by God.

nice guy. for an aggy.

[UncleBuck 6448]

We went up to SA this weekend and hit a few joints. These were all first timers for me.

Went straight to Chris Madrids. Once I got around the cheddar cheese, the burger was good. This isn't really a complaint. You know what you're getting yourself into when you order it, it was just more than I expected. Also, home-cut fries were good.

 

For breakfast the next morning I decided on Pete's Taco house. The Lady ordered papas rancheras w/bacon and carne asada. I got my normal bacon egg and cheese and then carne guisada w/cheese for the kicker. The guisada was good, maybe coulda taken some more salt, but I get it that some joints cut back on salt. The tortillas were like soft, fluffy quilts that you barely noticed were there after taken a bite, yet they held up to the gravy. 

 

Sunday morning before leaving town we went to El Milagrito Cafe. Had I known ahead of time that someone had dropped a bomb on the street construction situation in that area, maybe I'd have not gone, but am glad we did. I had, again my usual bacon egg and cheese, and then for the kicker I got their picadillo taco cut the lettuce and tomato. Wife got huevos rancheros plate with a pork chop. The rancheros suace was good, and she liked that the potatoes had chorizo in them, and also that the eggs had a fried corn tortilla under them.

The tacos there were good, and though not as fluffy as at Pete's, it was that same softness, that still held up to the picadillo. Also I liked all of their salsas. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by UncleBuck

[tejas60 3531]

8 minutes ago, UncleBuck said:

Wife got huevos rancheros plate with a pork chop. The rancheros suace was good, and she liked that the potatoes had chorizo in them, and also that the eggs had a fried corn tortilla under them.

wait, she was surprised that huevos rancheros had a tortilla under the eggs???

[UncleBuck 6448]

2 minutes ago, tejas60 said:

wait, she was surprised that huevos rancheros had a tortilla under the eggs???

Lol. We live further south than that and it's not really a thing down this way. Maybe it skipped us. 

[UncleBuck 6448]

59 minutes ago, Cajun said:

two cup salsa ceiling,

[Cajun 11702]

I'll just leave this here...

 

[tejas60 3531]

no more Austin tacos! 

[NoName 16342]

16 hours ago, Cajun said:

And since you're becoming a Kerrvert, DO NOT miss the chance to hit Rita's across from the county courthouse for breakfast tacos.  SA quality shit they're slingin' in that joint.  I used to start just about every morning there when I lived in Kerrville. 

Mary's, a few blocks away is just as good.  Mary & Rita are sisters and had the ole familia fallout at the original Rita's so now there are dos.

i like Marys 100/100 times but i get people that like Ritas and the reasoning. not like you can go wrong in either spot.

more Kerrville spots that are good, in no specific order

Spoiler

• Brown's Drive In - really enjoy it, just don't be in a hurry bc it's a la minute. great burgers.
• PAX Coffee is downtown too, love the coffee. i think they JUST got new owners. Downtown.
• Grape Juice - i thought this place would be terrible and pretentious but it's not at all. get the Brussels and the "crack"eroni (i prefer the honey badger which is mac + antelope chili + fritos) and lots of great wine choices. Downtown.
• I don't love Pint & Plow but know plenty of people who do, brewery & pizza. Downtown...ish?
• Bridget's Basket is currently closed until March but their brunch is fantastic. It's out in Hunt though.
• Skip Buzzies BBQ. they weren't that good to begin with, and just went through some kind of family hand off and moved locations? Honestly, the best BBQ in Kerrville is probably at True Texas BBQ in HEB. not even kidding.

if you want more recs specifically shoot me a PM. we aren't in Kerrville that often anymore these days, but i have a ton of others in the area outside Kerrville if you are interested!

 

[Cajun 11702]

2 hours ago, tejas60 said:

no more Austin tacos! 

“My special taco, lengua con weenie”.

Bet that goes really good with a Big Red.

[tejas60 3531]

I thought I heard "con weenie", but figured my old ears were trickin' me. greatness.

[Cajun 11702]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

i like Marys 100/100 times but i get people that like Ritas and the reasoning. not like you can go wrong in either spot.

more Kerrville spots that are good, in no specific order

  Reveal hidden contents

• Brown's Drive In - really enjoy it, just don't be in a hurry bc it's a la minute. great burgers.
• PAX Coffee is downtown too, love the coffee. i think they JUST got new owners. Downtown.
• Grape Juice - i thought this place would be terrible and pretentious but it's not at all. get the Brussels and the "crack"eroni (i prefer the honey badger which is mac + antelope chili + fritos) and lots of great wine choices. Downtown.
• I don't love Pint & Plow but know plenty of people who do, brewery & pizza. Downtown...ish?
• Bridget's Basket is currently closed until March but their brunch is fantastic. It's out in Hunt though.
• Skip Buzzies BBQ. they weren't that good to begin with, and just went through some kind of family hand off and moved locations? Honestly, the best BBQ in Kerrville is probably at True Texas BBQ in HEB. not even kidding.

if you want more recs specifically shoot me a PM. we aren't in Kerrville that often anymore these days, but i have a ton of others in the area outside Kerrville if you are interested!

 

For me the preference (talking Mary’s vs Rita’s) comes down to whichever one is least crowded at that moment.

Other than that there’s no significant difference in menus or end product.

[UncleBuck 6448]

See you guys speaking of Kerrville places. We ate at Billy Gene's(?) last year. I remember it being pretty decent. Don't even remember what I had, tbh. Think a burger/patty melt or something. 

[Helobious 9503]

45 minutes ago, tejas60 said:

I thought I heard "con weenie", but figured my old ears were trickin' me. greatness.

If you want to be authentic you have pronounce it “con ween-eh” but it is indeed a real thing people say.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Helobious

[Mitch Cumsteen 18527]

5 hours ago, Cajun said:

I'll just leave this here...

 

This hits close to home. Determining what the taco is without opening it is both science and art.

[Hate 20104]

This hits close to home. Determining what the taco is without opening it is both science and art.

I used to make the taco runs for our team when I worked in Austin. I still smoked cigarettes at the time and it got me out of the office for 30-45 minutes every day. I could identify the tacos without opening them with at least a 95% success rate. The only ones that tripped me up was if cheese was added to a bacon or sausage with egg.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18527]

Just now, Hate said:

I used to make the taco runs for our team when I worked in Austin. I still smoked cigarettes at the time and it got me out of the office for 30-45 minutes every day. I could identify the tacos without opening them with at least a 95% success rate. The only ones that tripped me up was if cheese was added to a bacon or sausage with egg.

Yep. You pull this shit around people from Austin and they think that you are some sort of wizard. 

[Mac8111 2103]

Some random notes: 

Salsalitos (on Nacogdoches Rd) has a Steak Ranchero dish that is really good.  Marinated charbroiled skirt steak with ranchero sauce and melted Monterey Jack cheese served on a sizzling skillet.  

I really like Camillas carne guisada.  

Believe it or not, the chicken soup at Las Palapas is pretty damn good.  

[Cajun 11702]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

If you want to be authentic you have pronounce it “con ween-eh” but it is indeed a real thing people say.

You could make it even more authentic by saying, "Put me dos con ween-eh".

amirite?

[Cajun 11702]

Not food related, but I passed this sign the other day off of 281 by the airport.  I still crack up thinking about it.  

Talk about Puro San Antonio...

[Helobious 9503]

“Abre un checking” would’ve been puro. 

[Cajun 11702]

SA Mex types I grew up with mixed it up - Spanglish

That and told stories using sound effects.

[Chico_SA 521]

10 hours ago, Cajun said:

SA Mex types I grew up with mixed it up - Spanglish

That and told stories using sound effects.

When I was in high school and my parents were out of town, I changed our answering machine incoming message to

"No estamos aqui...pero...If you want to leave a message..."   

Took them a few days after they got home to notice.  Mom didn't laugh. She was a Spanish teacher. (at Heights Cajun) 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Chico_SA

[Cajun 11702]

@Chico_SAThat’s awesome.

Was she teaching there in the early 80s?

[Chico_SA 521]

16 hours ago, Cajun said:

@Chico_SAThat’s awesome.

Was she teaching there in the early 80s?

She was.  Message sent

 

[miguelito 11225]

Uh oh. Did Cajun bang Chico's mom?

We're in the circle of trust here.

[Cajun 11702]

3 hours ago, miguelito said:

Uh oh. Did Cajun bang Chico's mom?

We're in the circle of trust here.

Nope, but I can attest after reading Chico’s PM, that she was the Espanol teacher when I was there & I avoided taking her class because she didn’t fuck around.  I’d listen to my MENSA 1470 SAT pals complain about how Spanish Class completely blew their perfect GPAs.

‘And a lot of these guys had last names like Garza, DeLeon, Fernandez, etc.

The Cheech & Chong bit always hit close to home because of that experience…

 

[midtown 3345]

Lol. That is definitely chicos mom.

[BearSchlong 8079]

Uh oh. Did Cajun bang Chico's mom?
We're in the circle of trust here.

In the early 90’s (college) I had a sexual relationship with a gal who is currently a teacher at AHHS. Not a Spanish teacher though.

She was way too wholesome for me. I was obsessed with drugs and sex.

[Mullet Free 40]

Evidently this guy has a big following. Will have to try the burger. Burger talk starts at 8:00 mark.

 

 

 

[Cajun 11702]

That was a damned fine looking burger.  I like the butcher paper technique for smashing the patties.  

Gonna steal that.

[tejas60 3531]

so where and when is last place burger open? gotta try that.

[Mullet Free 40]

21 minutes ago, tejas60 said:

so where and when is last place burger open? gotta try that.

https://www.roadmapbrewing.com/

 

[TankedBevo 2482]

Also they have an Instagram page so you can follow bc they do sell out 

https://instagram.com/lastplaceburger?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Anyone know the history of this building?  The most I could find is it was a studio for an artist.  Wondering if there is more to the story than that.  It is on the east side near La Morenita.

 

[po elvis 2070]

After being out of the country for 3 months, I made a beeline to the Taco House last weekend to get their Mexican Plate (cheese enchiladas and crispy taco). I had to hold back the tears. It was home. 

[Helobious 9503]

Went out last night. Moons daughters is still all kinds of badass. Pat O’Briens is a shithole and was completely dead on a Saturday night. 

[After irth 1243]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

Went out last night. Moons daughters is still all kinds of badass. Pat O’Briens is a shithole and was completely dead on a Saturday night. 

Old gf of mine is a bar manager there. I pop in to catch up with her when I’m there. Place is always a little shittier than it was the time before. 

[Helobious 9503]

21 hours ago, After irth said:

Old gf of mine is a bar manager there. I pop in to catch up with her when I’m there. Place is always a little shittier than it was the time before. 

There was a decently attractive chick with glasses and some guy at the door. She said there was a $5 cash cover to get in. I was with a buddy and asked if he had cash, before he could answer she said “actually you guys can just go in”. She probably thought I was hot, happens sometimes. So if that was your ex tell her I said thanks.