Friesenhaus - New Braunfels

A lively place, with German music, clothing, food and dancing.

Shipley Do-Nuts

Yum.

Oversized, perfect doughy texture, cherry kolaches.

Plain doughnuts are delicious.

Evidently the store was "born" in Houston in 1936.

W.D. Deli

When I'm inside here, I feel like I'm inside a quirky children's book. Maybe one by Shel Silverstein. There's a wide, creaky wooden staircase that goes up the center of the restaurant. The walls are covered with a mixture of those souvenir States plates, original, bright, local paintings, and some cheaply framed 70's photos. I've had the pimento cheese sandwich (fresh cheddar and bits of walnuts - it's about 3 inches high!) and the potato salad (good). My husband had the spinach chicken salad, which looked very good and had large chunks of chicken. Since there are seats upstairs in this old house, we could look out second-story windows while we ate. There's outdoor seating, with umbrella tables as well.

Aldo's

This was just absolutely delicious Italian food.

And I'm tempted to leave this posting at that.

Because who doesn't like delicious Italian food?

There are lots of Italian restaurants, and to be honest, I like most of them. I'm just a fan of pasta and sauce.

This however was a cut above. I had Fettucini Alfredo Primavera and the vegetables were cooked to perfection and tasted so good. The pasta was perfect and tasty; the sauce was the perfect consistency and yummy.

Okay, so the environment was formal. My husband and I went for lunch and there were many people in nice business suits, and many others having some kind of medically-related conversations, since this is located near the Health Sciences
Centers. There were goblets, thick, white, cloth tablecloths and the kind of service from white-shirted, black-trousered waiters that is sort of an event in itself.

Tower of the Americas/Chart House Restaurant

We ate here for a special family dinner. Although it appears to be a very swanky restaurant and we did enjoy the quality of our food, there was actually a variety of priced items to choose from on the menu, as well as a variety of levels of dress among the clientele. We wore middle-of-the-road clothes and saw both tourists, in shorts and t-shirts, and young couples in cocktail dresses and jackets. A few tables had large bouquets of roses which can be ordered when you make a reservation, to be delivered during the meal. We made reservations, but I saw a few people walk-in. This was in January.

The whole experience was much more fun than I thought it would be. The entire restaurant rotates around about once an hour. I've been up in tall buildings to look at cities before, and really am not that interested after a short while. The difference for me here, was that you can sit and have the view present itself slowly in a circle, plus eat and talk while looking out the windows. Also, there were Christmas lights at the time we were there, and we were there right at sundown, so were able to see the city view during daylight and at night, and watch the sky change.

There is not much room to walk around the tables, so I think it's a challenging job for the waiters. You do feel a little off-balance walking, after the moving meal.

This is "our tower."  San Antonio's skyline is enhanced by this structure, which was built for the World's Fair in 1968.

Southtown

Southtown is a group of artists.

Artists tend to group together for inspiration. The fact is, human beings draw creativity from one another – the mysterious process of being known and being in a community leads to ideas and the expression of those. Observations about life, which is a lot of what art is, cannot really be experienced in isolation.

Check out this area of town next to the King William district.

There are some good restaurants around there (Rosario's - Tex Mex).

The group of shops and galleries along South Alamo Street and North Saint Mary’s represent a nice cross-section of San Antonio's mediums and styles.

The feel of the place is a mix of young and trendy, with fun and creative.

It has a lot of rough, colorful character in its buildings.

www.southtown.net

Freddy's

Classic, classic, classic.

Updated diner-style.

Good straw fries. Unique and yummy frozen custard items. Nice red, black, and white decor.

Greasy and tasty classic grilled sandwich.

Broadway Daily Bread

The smell of cinnamon greets you when you open the door of this shop.

Behind the counter are shelves of plump, hearty loaves and other fresh baked goods like blueberry muffins, chocolate-frosted-chocolate cupcakes and sausage kolaches.

Front and center are taste samples of the offerings of the day. The staff are helpful and will slice your loaf for you. Birdman bread is recommended. It has seeds, and will satisfy any craving for hearty, homemade bread.

“You don’t even need butter for that stuff,” my son said about the classic white loaf (there's honey in it).

If you get there in the morning you might see bakers pulling off and measuring lumps of dough onto scales for that day’s baking.

They also serve coffee, and have a few small tables in the store’s front window.

Broadway Daily Bread Co.
5162 Broadway
7 am – 6 pm Tuesday – Friday, 7 am – 5 pm on Saturday
Closed Sunday and Monday

Hung Fong

3624 Broadway

A short ways down from the Witte, on the opposite side of the street. The front wall is decorated with bright red tiles and colorful murals. One of the Great Wall and, “Greetings from the People of China.” After you enter the carved wooden doors, there’s a case of jade and gold jewelry and a table of exotic plants for sale. There’s one large, main seating area. On the ceiling are two neon crossed flags of USA and China. Decorating the walls are mosaic-type art made of butterfly wings. You heard me right. Hundreds of iridescent purple, and shimmering green wings are set in overlapping patterns to form amazing pieces. We had a rather curt but efficient waitress. Very fast service. Other staff were smiling and friendly – all of them very attentive. Absolutely delicious food. I’ve had a lot of Chinese food in my time, but this was truly the best ever. Very reasonably priced. Parking on the street and around the sides.

Alamo Music

Alamo Music Center has been a San Antonio fixture since 1891. They represent expertise, and old-fashioned customer service involving respect and attentiveness. One example of this is that they naturally and pointedly greet everyone who comes through their doors. It’s evident that the sales staff are into music. They have that depth of knowledge that exposes itself casually when answering questions. You get the feeling that you’re touching the tip of the iceberg with your comments about all the different kinds of pianos.

Our son’s guitar teacher is not only skilled and encouraging as a teacher having great rapport with students, but also a passionate and talented musician in his own right. When my husband recently bought a guitar from the store, he received a personally signed thank you letter from the owner. Which was of course very startling, but also impressive. In contrast to the sterile, people-free interaction of much shopping nowadays, these folks are markedly personable. Their motto is, “Life is more fun when you play music.”

Two locations.


Next door is a German restaurant with delicious rumballs.

Little Aussie Bakery

You'll miss this if you don't know where to look. Overall this place has the feel of a favorite, comfortably worn-in upholstered chair. There are actually a couple of those set around to enjoy. As well as a soft couch arranged in front of the fireplace in this café / bakery. It’s located in an old house tucked down a small lane that begins almost opposite the outdoor treehouse at the Witte museum. The menu features gluten-free everything. It’s proprietor is very knowledgeable about special diet options. The cakes are a reason to stop by, in and of themselves. Dense and flavorful, they vary from coconut and lemon, to berry sponge. The staff are casual and attentive and there are a suitable number of attractive pine tables throughout.

Earl Abel's

I like Earl's.

Chances are if you've eaten out with your grandparents it was in a place like this. The ambience and smells are familiar and nostalgic. You can hear the murmur of conversation and clink of silverware of fellow diners.

Earl's has been in business since 1933.

Clientele are as interesting as the history of Earl. There are a mixture of people eating. Different ages and professions, as evidenced by the hats (cowboy and baseball) and business suits (or khaki uniforms).

Pies entice and serve as decoration, lining two shelves underneath a long mirror on the back wall. Cakes sit proud and tall, on stands under clear glass at the counter.

There are "petite" menu options. (Instead of "jumbo!")

When Earl began the business it was during the depression. He was trying to diversify, after a career as a silent film organist was ending. One day he hit on the idea of supplying customer's with jokes to go with their drinks, and this increased his popularity and business.

Here are a couple of sayings from plaques in the restaurant:

"The reason a dollar won't do as much for people as it once did, is people won't do as much for a dollar, as they once did!"

"Eat Here, Diet Home."

"It's tough to pay $1.25 for a steak but 50¢ steaks are tougher."

The humor of course adds to the dining enjoyment.

Located on Austin Highway.