Kat's Cooking, Dining, and Travel

Kat's Cooking, Dining, and Travel

Travel

Concert Weekend – San Antonio

bender.lori

Straight No Chaser – 2021

So, my kids have left for a Thanksgiving week cruise and my Husband and I are going to a Straight No Chaser (SNC) concert in downtown San Antonio. It will become obvious through future posts, that San Antonio is one of the cities that we travel to the most often. SNC is one of our favorite groups and we try to attend at least one concert a year when they swing through Texas on tour. Since they were playing at the Majestic in downtown San Antonio, we combined this trip with a Riverwalk weekend. There are so many hotels and restaurants in San Antonio and the Riverwalk. We always try to eat local and to avoid major chains.

Itinerary

Friday

  • The Thompson Hotel – Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas
  • The Pearl Brewery Complex, San Antonio, Texas
  • Brasserie Mon Chou Chou – The Pearl, San Antonio, Texas
  • Lightscape – San Antonio Botanical Gardens, San Antonio, Texas

Saturday

  • The Landrace, The Thompson, Riverwalk, San Antonio Texas
  • The Pearl Farmers Market, The Pearl, San Antonio Texas
  • El Mercado, Downtown San Antonio, Texas
  • The Landrace, The Thompson, Riverwalk, San Antonio Texas
  • Straight No Chaser, The Majestic, Downtown San Antonio, Texas
  • The Esquire Tavern, Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas
  • Walking on the Riverwalk (throughout the day)

Sunday

  • The Landrace, The Thompson, Riverwalk, San Antonio Texas
  • P. Terry’s, San Antonio TX
  • Buc-ee’s, Luling TX

The Thompson Hotel

The Thompson Hotel is a luxury hotel chain owned by Hyatt. The one on the Riverwalk in San Antonio is relatively new, has river access, and we were able to get the room for the weekend on points! A restaurant run by a local Executive Chef in San Antonio that is a James Beard Award finalist is the hotel restaurant. The room was great, with floor to ceiling windows, seating area, dining table, his and her closets, and a large bathroom. The only downside to the room, its that there was no good place to put the TV. This room had a wet bar, make sure you check prices before consuming. We found out later that the hotel also has turn down service.

The Pearl Brewery Complex

The Pearl Brewery Complex is a commercial/residential development at the former Pearl Brewery. The larger brewery building was transformed into a luxury hotel called The Emma. One day I would like to stay at this hotel, but it is not cheap and they do not accept my Hyatt points. Bummer. There are many restaurants, bars, a jazz club, apartments, boutique shops, and a Culinary School. My Husband and I are working our way through the various restaurants and bars. I have posted a review of Best Quality Daughter, but we have tried many others here. There is a Farmers Market every Saturday and Sunday, see below. There is paid and free parking in this historic/modern development. You can also access the Pearl from the river. It is about a two mile walk from the original RIverwalk stretch, and about one mile walk from the Thompson.

Brasserie Mon Chou Chou (https://www.brasseriemonchouchou.com/)

I love french food, and when I find a french restaurant, I want to try it. Mon Chou Chou is next to The Emma. It is a take on a casual french comfort food. The atmosphere is great and so is the service. I had the Pate of the day (rabbit and pork) while my Husband had the East Coast Oysters. The texture of the pate was much firmer than I expected and was not spreadable. It was served with an assortment of pickled onions and cauliflower, that I did not care for. For our main course we had the Crisp Duck Confit (me) and the Filet Steak and Frites (Husband). I love duck and this was great. Normally when I get Duck Confit it is served with a cherry sauce, so the green peppercorn sauce was a nice change. The small salad on the plate had a light vinegrette that helped cut the richness of the dish. Our drinks were a French Colada (me) and a Sazerac (Husband). The Colada was a frozen drink topped with toasted coconut and was easy to drink. The Sazerac was more absinthe forward than is standard.

LIghtscape – San Antonio Botanical Gardens

Given the timing of the Lightscape exhibit at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens (SABOT) I thought it would be like the Zoo Lights displays of light strings. It was not. There were string lights, neon strings, fire, lasers, and more. There is a set path through the gardens and there are set entry times for entry tickets. Our tickets were for 8 PM on opening night for the public. Paid VIP parking is available for pre-purchase (I recommend). There were four stations with drinks, s’mores, tamales, etc. Unfortunately for me, they were not prepared for the hot chocolate demand and I got the last hot chocolate at the last station.

The Landrace (Saturday Breakfast) (https://landracetx.com/)

The Landrace is the hotel restaurant, and we ate here for both Saturday and Sunday breakfast both to try it and because we got a credit for the hotel breakfast. For breakfast we were seated by the windows with a view of the river, beautiful and peaceful. I had the Avocado Toast with a poached egg while my Husband had the Croque Madame. I was so happy to see the watermelon radishes on the avocado toast, see them on TV, but cannot find them in the grocery store. The ratio of toppings to toast was perfect. I thought the toast was a little over toasted for my taste, but it had great texture. Husband says that there were too many fries, but the sandwich was d*** good.

Pearl Farmers Market (https://atpearl.com/weekend-market/)

Every Saturday and Sunday morning at the Pearl, there is a farmers market. There are food booths, crafts, soaps, glass, ceramics, vegetables, and protein. We went there looking for dog treats this time. There is a “home made” dog treat booth, that we have gotten treats from before (we don’t have a dog, In-laws do) that Tucker loves. The dog treats come in bacon and egg, pumpkin pie, turkey dinner flavors. This is the farmers market that everyone wants in their neighborhood/city.

El Mercado/Histortic Market Square (https://www.marketsquaresa.com/)

El Mercado is a historic market in downtown San Antonio, not on the Riverwalk. It has the feel of a Mexican Market with street food vendors and craft set up. There are restaurants here that are open 24 hours a day and have been featured on multiple food network shows. The shops sell ceramics, jewelry, glassware, clothes, leather, etc; so many things, I bet I haven’t seen them all. We came to Mercado looking for ceramic sugar skulls that my Husband uses as trophies for his fantasy baseball league. Found some other things here too. We stopped at a gorditas stand for a shared snack. It had chicken, beans, guacamole, lettuce and tomato. Kinda wish I had gotten my own, but we have early dining reservations before the concert tonight.

Landrace (Dinner) (https://landracetx.com/)

When my Husband found out who the Executive Chef is for this restaurant, he was so excited. Chef Steve McHugh is James Beard Award Finalist and runs another restaurant in the Pearl that my Husband absolutely loves (Cured https://curedatpearl.com/). This restaurant is mesquite grill oriented and appears to be animal protein based. Service was great. If you can you want to get reservations after 6 PM. They have a portable bar that they take to the tables to mix your cocktails tableside. The menu for the night had a few additional items that the on-line menu did not.

We started out with the BBQ Oysters with persiallde bread. OMG they came out flaming, literally! Presentation wise they nailed it. The oyster themselves were perfectly cooked, but very hot. 😁 The BBQ flavor was good, but had some spice. The toast had great grill marks, but the parsley flavor was too strong for me, Husband loved it. For dinner, I had the Antelope Chop with maple huckleberry garum and Husband had the 8 oz Wagyu Filet Mignon and we shared the Chef Selected Vegetable (whipped winter squash topped with fried shallots). The mesquite smoke came through more than I expected. The maple huckleberry garum was so subtle I had trouble tasting the various flavors in it. That being said the antelope was cooked perfectly, tender and moist. The wagyu steak was cooked just as perfectly as the antelope, and my Husband loved the sauce. I was looking forward to the whipped winter squash and it surpassed my expectations; even my Husband liked it. As you can see, you will need to order a side, and the servings are a little big for 1, but might not be enough for 2. But if you still want more, there is always dessert. Alas, we did not have room for dessert, but I will be trying the dessert the next time we eat here. And there will be a next time.

To drink I tried an Across the Atlantic with Cruzan Black, Bacardi 8, Averna, Cynar, hibiscus, pineapple, and lemon. It was not as sweet as I was expecting which made it good for sipping through the meal. My Husband had a Sin and Smoke with Mesquite infused Maker’s Mark, Angostra Bitters, and simple syrup. He enjoyed it and said he could taste the smoke.

The Majestic

Tonight is the second time we have seen SNC in concert at the Majestic and I do not think there is a bad seat in the house. The detail in the theater is an attraction in itself and is unique to this historic venue. You have heard me use the term historic quite a bit in this post, but this is San Antonio and there is a lot. of history to see and experience in this town. Just look at the detail work.

Straight No Chase

My Husband and I have gone to a SNC concert every year (except 2020) if they make a Texas swing for years. We have seen them in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. SNC is a 9 man acapella group that actually got their start from a You Tube Video. At this show they had a couple of mic issues, but it was still a great show. My problem is they have so many good songs that I love, they cannot do them all. But I also love when they perform new pieces. Such a dilemma. They always do a mic free piece at the end of the show as the last encore. I will continue to go to SNC concerts every year, but I am interested in seeing them in venues outside of the state if possible. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, they were not able to do the meet and greet and sign autographs that previously they did after every show.

The Esquire Tavern (https://www.esquiretavern-sa.com/)

This is the oldest bar on the Riverwalk. Since it was late when we got the The Esquire they were on the late night menu. I had a Sweet & Tender Hooligan with German Herbal Liqueur, pineapple, passionfruit, lime, cinnamon, and Piloncillo. It sounds supper sweet, but it wasn’t. The herbal liqueur was present, but didn’t make the drink too green. It was a balanced flavor. I also had ice cream. My Husband ordered the BLT and shared with me. Delicious. We had about a 1 mile walk back to our hotel.

Walking on the Riverwalk

It is beautiful and peaceful to walk/stroll along the river day or night, but it is especially beautiful during the holidays. We even saw members of SNC running on the day of the show! Normally any time I am staying on the river, I will run in the mornings, but as we were preparing for this trip, we were also planning for a Thanksgiving trip and I just didn’t think about it. I was bummed about it, but next time.

The Landrace (Sunday Breakfast) (https://landracetx.com/)

Since we had hotel credit to use toward breakfast, we ate at Landrace again. So today, I had basic 2 eggs with potatoes and sausage paired with a mimosa. Husband had salmon eggs benedict. Beautiful. This was a good breakfast to have before heading out to shopping. We are prepping for our next big trip and want to look for some additional items.

P-Terry’s (https://pterrys.com/)

Now, I know I said I try to avoid chains, but P-Terry’s is a Austin fast food burger chain that is fast, tasty, and I can not get it at home. P-Terry’s has a retro vibe, a compact menu and a low price point. I had a basic bacon burger while Husband had a crispy chicken sandwich. Good quick meal before we hit the road home.

Buc-ee’s (Luling) (https://buc-ees.com/)

Is this a Texas road trip? We stopped at Buc-ee’s so the answer is yes. I think I have some sort of Pavlovian reaction to Buc-ee’s. I see one and I have to go to the restroom. We got gas, drinks, and ghost pepper salsa (taking it north for family X-Mas celebration). Time to go home and prep for our next trip.