The Cove - San Antonio, TX

The Cove in San Antonio,  TX was kind of a cool tree hugger, healthy food restaurant with a really great tap beer selection both indoors and out.  It seemed more like an Austin restaurant than San Antonio to me.

It almost has a biergarten sense about it.  The counter where you order the food is kind of small but the outdoor area is really pretty big and the indoor bar area is a fair size as well.  They have an actual vegetable garden in the outdoor seating area as well as a playground for the kids.  Smoking is allowed in the "carcinogen corner."  Pets were welcome outside, too.

There were probably 40 Army soldiers here attending some kind of classroom training when I was here for lunch.

The menu consisted of salads and lots of other healthy choices.  I ordered the seafood sampler.  It had a fish taco, a shrimp taco, and a garden salad.  Hot sauce was provided on the side.  You can really tell that the vegetables and greens were super fresh because of the way that they snapped and were full of flavor.  Very nice!

Everything is locally sourced.  They have a couple of representations to explain to you where your food was coming from.  The map went no further than the borders of the state of Texas.

There was an outdoor stage set up. This would probably be a good place to come after work or on the weekend.  I liked it.  I would rate The Cove an 8.5; worth checking out.

Magnolia Pancake Haus - San Antonio, TX

The Magnolia Pancake Haus in San Antonio was really enjoyable.  It was a very family-friendly, clean restaurant with great service and great food. The thing that made them special was that one of the owners brought back some recipes from Germany but you don't find very often in United States.

For example, I ordered the pfankuchen which is basically an apple pancake.  It is not dry like a typical American pancake. It is more like a big flat apple pie. The edges are let to caramelize slightly .  It has the consistency of a sticky bun and is about as addictive.  I'm afraid to know what the calorie count on something like this. You wouldn't want to eat one of these every week. The serving size in this case was huge. I could not finish even half of this as delicious as it was.

The orange juice was very good.  I think that it may have been fresh squeezed. The syrup came in A small metal beaker which had been heated up.  The pfankuchen was plenty sweet enough for me. I didn't think that the syrup was necessary.

Atmosphere-wise, there were a lot of young families there. If you don't like loud toddlers then this is no place for you. The location was very close to the San Antonio airport. This would be a good place to meet for breakfast before a morning flight.

I would rate the Magnolia Pancake Haus 9.1. It's well worth checking out.

Magnolia Pancake Haus
606 Embassy Oaks #100
San Antonio, TX 78216
www.magnoliapancakehaus.com

Dough Pizzaria Napolitana - San Antonio, TX

The first thing that hits you about Dough Pizzaria Napolitano is that this place smells great. It's all bread making that is going on.  It's almost like stepping into a really good bakery albeit with an italian flavor.   

I ordered a cheese appetizer. The Burrata cheese was outstanding.  It came with a pesto sauce and balsamic vinegar along with some garlic and pickled peppers.  The bread was toasted and coated with olive oil. 

Service was very good. I have my waitress plus a couple of other people checking up on me regularly.

For the main course I ordered a small "Pork Love" pizza. The menu says Sopressata salami, sausage, pancetta, speck, house pulled mozzarella, tomato sauce.  Without exaggeration, this could be some of the best pizza I've ever had. But what was also really interesting was the fact that the pizza arrived no more than three minutes after record it.

I was chatting with my waitress about it. She said the restaurant is certified to call itself Napolitana.  Part of the certification is that they have to have the correct ovens. These ovens are wood-burning and are designed to cause a draft inside so that the temperatures inside will reach 800° F. They sometimes burn as hot as 1000°. So, once the raw pizza hits the oven it's only 90 seconds away from being completely cooked. Evidently some of the cooks have to arrive

very early to get the oven started and to bring them up to temperature.
I saw one of the waiters walked by with a long particular plate of different cheeses that looked really good. My waitress said that it was a sampler plate. I would recommend anyone coming here for the first time to order the sampler plate.

This restaurant was really not a diner, drive-in or a dive.  It was really a very nice place.They had a nice seating area outside also. The location was in a decent neighborhood in North San Antonio. 

I would rate Dough Pizzeria Napoletana a 9.7.  The food and service was that good.

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

6989 Blanco Rd 

San Antonio, TX 78216

Phone:(210) 979-6565

www.doughpizzeria.com

Betos on Broadway - San Antonio, TX

Beto's would probably be a great after work or night time dining joint.  They seem to be set up to be a great tex-mex version of a beer garden.  The outdoor area had its own bar, picnic tables and kids play equipment.  It was way too hot for that on my visit.  Everyone including me was forced into the inside air-conditioning.

The atmosphere was kind of festive.  There didn't appear to be anything special going on.  The place was just packed and the crowd was in a good mood.

They had a pretty decent beer selection.  I tried the Xingu.  It was a nice Brazilian black beer.  I recommend it.

I used the beer to wash down the fish tacos.  They serve the fish tacos with a generous amount of a creamy avocado sauce.  It was very good.  I would not call it crazy triple-D good but, it was very good.

Betos is worth checking out if you are in the area.  I would rate them an 8.8.

8142 Broadway Street
San Antonio, TX 78209
(210) 930-9393
www.betosinfo.com

Maria's Taco Express - Austin, TX

Maria's was one of those triple-D destinations that I had been trying to get to for a long time but had never had the opportunity.  I was glad that I finally made it.

One of the things that makes a triple-D restaurant is the unique atmosphere.   Maria's is kind of funky in the indoor/outdoor layout.  The architecture sends you off in every which direction.  There are all kinds of cool stuff on the walls.  A huge half mannequin/statue with arms stretched out to the sky greets you on the way in.  Maybe that's supposed to be Maria.  There is no shortage of funky and unique restaurants in Austin, Texas.  I am not sure that I would say that Maria's necessarily stands out from the Austin crowd.

Maria's is famous.  There were pictures of Guy Fiere and Rachel Ray with Maria on the wall from when they were here.  The real Maria walked right past me but, I didn't recognize her.  Someone told me afterwards.

We started off with some nachos and caso sauce.  The caso had a nice spicy kick to it.  It  was pretty good.  I had the fish tacos.  They were very good.  No complaints but, they didn't knock my socks off either.

I would score Maria's an 8.7.  My initial reaction was for a higher score but, I think that was just part of being happy to have finally made it here. Also, I was with my family at a triple-D restaurant which I rarely get to do.  I'm usually on a business trip. So, I was probably just feeling good.

Maybe I didn't order the right thing but, I just don't feel like Maria's lived up to the hype.

Maria's is cash only.


Maria's Taco Xpress
2529 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 444-0261
www.tacoxpress.com

Bun 'N' Barrel - San Antonio, TX

There is a lot of really good BBQ in Texas and as high as the BBQ bar in Texas is, this was REALLY good BBQ.

I got the sandwich combo which was a pick-two meats sandwich and some French fries. I chose turkey and ham. The thing that made this special was the poppy seed bun. It comes from a local bakery. Having a sandwich on bakery bread was really nice. I love the smell of bakery bread.

The second thing that made this BBQ special was that one of the BBQ sauce choices was a Thai BBQ sauce. It was a nice fusion of Asian and traditional smokey BBQ flavors. Just tread lightly because it is hot. (The waitress thankfully warned me. )

Service was good and friendly. The waitresses wore T-shirts celebrating 60th anniversary of the restaurant. So, they must be doing something right.

I sat inside but, they advertised curb-side service. There was also a cool, probably 1950's pick-up truck with the store logo on it outside.

I would rate Bun N Barrel a 9.6.  I'll be back!

Bun N Barrel
1150 Austin Hwy
San Antonio, TX 78288
(210) 828-2820
http://www.bunnbarrel.com

Twisted Root - Dallas, TX

There are a few Twisted Root restaurants in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.  I've been going to the one in Roanoke since they opened up probably a year ago.  But it was the original restaurant in Dallas which was featured on the Food Network.  So, I've been holding off on my review.

I'm glad that I did because the original restaurant definitely has a different personality.  The one in Roanoke is more tailored to the suburbs where it is.  The Dallas location is more edgy.  It is in the Deep Elum section of Dallas which is a bit more edgy.  The bar tenders are more heavily pierced and tattooed.  The graffiti is harder and funnier.  Except for the silly Chuck Norris comments everywhere.  There was obviously an inside joke that I didn't get.

You can order any kind of food that you want as long as it is a burger.  They have normal beef, ostrich, buffalo, turkey burgers, you name it.  It is all really very good.  The onion rings are perfectly done fresh.

There was a football game going on when I was there on a Saturday afternoon.  The beer was flowing freely and the crowd was really excited.

I would rate the Twisted Root a 9.6.  I almost wanted to rate it lower because I am there all of the time so I am used to it.  But for someone who had never been, I think that they would definitely enjoy it.  The atmosphere was good and the burgers are great.  It is without a doubt a classic triple-D restaurant.


The Twisted Root
2615 Commerce St.
Dallas, Texas 75295
214-741-7668
twistedrootburgerco.com

Main Street Bistro and Bakery - Grapevine, TX

Someone who runs the Main Street Bistro and Bakery knows what a real French cafe is like and has created a very good reproduction in Texas.  Some of the proof is in the little details like the type of marble in the tables that they use.  They were obviously trying to keep with the magic that is a French cafe.

There were also kitschy posters of French advertisement that looked like they were from the 1980's based on the hair styles.  

Breakfast is the best part of a French cafe for me.  A cafe is all about coffee and I especially love the morning breads and croissants.  Main Street Bistro and Bakery does a really good job with these.

The coffee was very high quality and they even steamed up some soy milk for me. So, kudos for good customer service.  Unlike a real French cafe, coffee refills were free.  God bless Texas.

I had the Parisienne plate which was scrambled eggs, a croissant, potato chunks and some bacon.  This was also not really what I would call authentic but, so what.  It was very good.  My wife had the french toast which was not at all what I would have recognized as french toast.  It was what I would call a cinnamon bread pudding with some powdered sugar on top.  I would highly recommend the french toast. 

The orange juice was bona fide fresh squeezed.  They must squeeze a bunch of oranges early in the morning into pitchers.  They have to mix the OJ up with a long spoon every time someone orders a glass.

We went home with some of the napolian pastries to have after dinner that night.  Again, the pastries were every bit as good as you would expect.

I suppose that a french cafe is kind of a dinner.  Otherwise, it is definitely not a drive-in or a dive.  I would rate MainStreet Bistro and Bakery a 8.5 on my scale.  It is a little bit different that what you would normally find in Texas.  The food is good and the service is good.  Check it out.


MainStreet Bistro and Bakery
316 S Main St
Grapevine, TX 76051
(817) 424-4333
http://www.themainbakery.com

Hard Eight - Stephensville, TX

The Hard Eight is hands down my favorite barbeque joint anywhere.  I've been coming here for the past six years and I will continue coming here for a long time. 

The Hard Eight is not a triple-D restaurant but, it should be.  It's got everything that a triple-D restaurant should be.  First off, the food is "off the hook" fantastic.  The meats are cooked in outside smoking pits over local mesquite wood.  They keep a twelve-foot high mountain of cut wood in the parking lot to keep those fires going.

Second, it is a fun destination.  It is a very popular place with the Harley crowd.  There are usually at least a half dozen Harley Davidson motorcycles parked outside.  It is a great destination because it is about a two hour drive from Fort Worth through some pretty Texas countryside.  I sometimes see poker run signs in the parking lot.

It is also a popular destination for the private aviation crowd, which is how I found out about it.  Private pilots all over the country frequently head out for short flights for the proverbial "$100 hamburger" which is supposed to be the cost of the flight plus the food.  In Texas it is more like the "$100 barbeque."   The Clark County "Stephensville" Airport is very close to the restaurant.  I'm not sure that I know a DFW metroplex pilot that doesn't at least know about the Hard Eight if they aren't regulars there.  I've probably flown there 8 or 9 times.

It's a bit of an adventure for those of us who fly in.  After you land and tie the aircraft down, you could walk over to the restaurant.  It is about a 10 minute walk.  But, the restaurant also has golf carts at the airport with the keys in them.  You can just hop in an available golf cart and follow the path through the woods and park in the National Guard armory right across the street.   If you have kids with you, they LOVE driving the golf carts.  If the carts are all gone then just call the restaurant and they'll send someone for you.

The single runway is in good shape.  The government built a nice new terminal building in probably 2009.  The restrooms are always clean and the local guys are friendly and ready to help you out.  They also have self-serve jet fuel and 100 octane low lead avgas for the rest of us.  There are plenty of tie-down spots for transient pilots.  There is a sky-diving school on the airport.  So, you sometimes get to watch the jumpers landing on the grass area.

You order your food before you even step inside the building right from the open barbecue pits.  They put the meat on butcher paper on plastic trays that you then bring inside.  You pay for the meat by weight.  They have everything else on the tray line inside.

Today I got the smoked turkey sandwich on jalapeno sour dough bread.  I got some cole slaw and two shrimp poppers.  The "brush poppers" are either shrimp or chicken wrapped in jalapeno, onion and bacon with a toothpick holding it all together.  Not exactly heart healthy but, boy they are delicious.  The bacon is still a little chewy and the whole thing is smoked thereby causing the pepper and bacon flavors to blend into the meat or fish.  They do just slide down easily.

I've had the hot links, chicken, brisket and ham before.  It is all really very good.  If you are not flying then they have free beer.  There are some beer taps and if you ask then someone will come over and pull a draft for you.  That might partially explain the popularity of this place with the Harley folks.

The Hard Eight gets a 10 out of 10 on my triple-D scale.  It is my "go to" place to bring people visiting the area.  I take every opportunity to fly here whenever I can.  I think that everyone should check it out.  Unless you are a vegetarian, you'll be back too.

Hard-Eight Barbeque
1091 Glen Rose Rd
Stephenville, TX 76401
(254) 968-5552
www.hardeightbbq.com