Krispy Kreme

Of course, while on road trips, junk food is a MUST.

Came out to Krispy Kreme  for some donuts!  But first, Coffee!!!

The St Patrick's Day's donuts were in full force. 

But they do have Kolache.  It's a little like Shipley's where the bread is doughy. 

And the day we walked in, the staff grabbed us a plain original donut fresh from the rack.  It literally just go thru the icing river and came off of the belt.  So it was literally Hot Now and fresh.

Krispy Kreme

1117 North Loop 1604 East

San Antonio, TX 78232

https://site.krispykreme.com/tx/san-antonio/1117-north-loop-1604-east?y_source=1_MTE4OTgwMTAtNzE1LWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU%3D

 

Sea World San Antonio

When you go to Sea World, 

You go on rides, go see animals.

You learn about conservation to help animals in the wild. 

But you know you'll get hungry.  I managed to find something that is not fried.  Ok, to be fair, burger is not fried either, but you get what I mean.  I actually asked for a veggie wrap, but the poor staff have to come and tell me that it would take 30 mins.  I'm looking at her jaw dropped.  Luckily, next station they have 'Asian' food.  Alright, I'll bite.  

I got the Bulgogi beef with veggies and rice.  I think they gave me just as much veggies as I would get for the wrap.  That said, the sauce for the Bulgogi was legit, so by the time you mix your rice and shredded carrots together, it was just right.  This is as non-fried as I can recommend here at the park.  Good luck to you!

Sea World San Antonio

inside Harbor Market

https://seaworld.com/san-antonio/dining/harbor-market/

 

Dona Tota

I saw that I'm near Gorditas, of course, I have to go check them out.

It looks to be a neighborhood joint.

I got Pollo en Mole (on top), and Chicharron en Salsa Verde (bottom).  They use corn tortillas to make the pocket.  Both of those have pure meat with yummy sauce to match.  And yes, each one of those are filled to the max.

They actually have location out by Katy and actually in progress to open a location in Spring. 

Dona Tota

923 N. Loop 1604 E

Ste 115

San Antonio, TX 78232

210-233-1059

https://www.bestgorditas.com/

 

Wayback Burger

We were in San Antonio, and decided to grab a burger.

This is in a quiet neighborhood and it's a cute area.  Hoping more stores will go in there soon.  There is a Starbucks around the corner though.

Hail from Delaware, they are bringing burger back from the days of old. 

It is smash style.  I got the A1 Burger without the buns, so it's really burger patties, steak sauce, and shoestring onion rings.  It came with a side and the drink for a meal.  So I got the tater tots to go with it. 

The burger is pretty decent.  There are one location already in Richmond, and another one to be opened on  Westheimer over Spring. 

Wayback Burger

1723 North Loop 1604 East

#108

San Antonio, TX 78232

https://waybackburgers.com/locations/us/texas/san-antonio/

 

Poolside Dining in the Hill Country

Last days of summer, we ended up at Hyatt Hill Country.

Pool side service is way better than Woodlands Resorts.  They come by frequently and got my order right every time.   People do take the drinks with them on to the lazy river.

I got the Signature Mac & Cheese.  It sounded so fancy, my mouth was watering just reading the description.  There are briskets, cheddar, herb crust, bbq sauce and onion strings.  Let me tell you, all Mac and Cheese with crust, I would lap it all up.  It's all so good together.  Alas, I can only hack about half of it but I was determined to have all the briskets. 

Day 2, another frozen drink by the pool.  Tip: Pina colada is too sweet, and it attract bees. 

I got the Cesar Chicken Wrap.  I don't know what they put in there, but it's super delicious.  I was pretty full, but it was so good that I can't stop myself from eating.  It has chicken, lettuce, the key here is the parm.  They were heavy-handed a bit on the parmesan cheese; not that I'm complaining, but I think that's why it is like crack, I can't stop having.  The fries are nice and filling, but the wrap was the bomb!

Hyatt Hill Country

9800 Hyatt Resort Drive

San Antonio, TX 78251

210-647-1234

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/texas/hyatt-regency-hill-country-resort-and-spa/sanhc

 

Tenko at Pearl

Searching for food and recalled that they re-did Pearl Brewery.

This was truly a brewery, probably less chic and not much grass patches everywhere.  If you ever had Pearl beer, it was the cheapest beer we had after I turned 21.  And actually it's not easy to find Pearl Beer in Texas even today.

On the campus, they re-purposed the Bottling Department into a Food Hall.  There are about 6 of 7 stalls, definitely not as many as I had pictured.

One stall stood out, was Tenko Ramen.

Never heard of them before, but they have what the kid would eat: noodles.

You can see the price is on the higher end.  Let's see how the food comes out.

Got a bowl of noodles (for the kiddo) and a sandwich for me.  I've never paid for $10 for a bowl of kids noodles before.  It literally has noodles and broth.  The noodles they used is Sun Noodles, which is known for their egg noodles.  The broth is a chicken miso broth.  You can really taste that.  But hey, he can polish half a bowl by himself.

The sandwich was a Chicken Katsu, which is fried chicken.  It has some kimchi mayo, some pickles, lettuce.  The chicken has a kick to it, it's not like a Nashville Spicy hot, but it does have a kick on its way down.  The bread does help, and I did finish the entire thing.

You can order ahead and pickup if you want to have an easy picnic sitting outside. Otherwise, they ask for your phone and text you when your order is ready.  Most all of the stalls are cashless.

Afterwards, we just walked around a bit and see how they restore so many parts of the brewery to it's former glory.  Would've love to back here once it's less hot.  It is really meant to be an outdoor activity place.

Tenko Ramen at Pearl

312 Pearl Pkway

Ste 6112

San Antonio, TX 78215

210-267-2996

https://www.tenkoramen.com

 

Lunch at Bucee's

 As Summer winding down, recapping the Texas road trip experience.  And as you know, in Texas, stop at Bucee's is a must!

Here are my go-tos: in-house made potato chips.  Every single one is nice, crispy, as though they have double fried it.  The beauty of it is that it's not oily, which is perfect when you're driving and snacking.

Not a good pic, but it was a brisket sandwich.  That's also one of my go-tos.  It's flavorful, good amount of meat to BBQ sauce ratio.  Again, once you wrap it nicely, it's easy to drive.

Now, this one I wouldn't recommend you eat while you drive.  This is an Apple Pie, and this is my first time to get this.  I will say this, this ain't McDonald's Apple Pie.  It has cinnamon sugar galore, all over, deep fried pie flakes and layers of it, you can tell.  The inside filling is good.  The pie is flakey, yummy and cinnamon sugary.  Pretty interesting, may get it again, if no other pies to go is available.  Definitely made a mess in the car.

Bucee's

All over road-did Texas with the best bathrooms

https://buc-ees.com

Real Pho

All of a sudden, I really wanted Pho after a full day of walking around.

Thru Yelp found Real Pho plus it's close by.

Since they have Bubble Tea, thought I'd give it a shot.  Got the Thai Iced Tea Boba.  Too bad, the boba were stale, and it tasted bad.  The tea was fine, and that would be my recommendation, get the tea without the boba. 

Since I decided to do to-go, didn't get the pho, since I wasn't sure how it'll travel.  Instead got the Vermicelli with grilled pork with egg roll.  The pork wasn't grilled as much as I like.  The egg roll wasn't bad.   

Basically, over all, every aspect of this was lacking.  But since we're out of town and needed some comfort food in a pinch, this'll do.  

Real Pho

11223 Potranco Rd

#202

San Antonio, TX 78253

210-390-8056

https://www.realpho.com

Shamu's Smokehouse

While in San Antonio, of course had to stop at Sea World.    

Ended up at the Shamu's Smokehouse.  It has barbecue galore.  Do expect that right after the Shamu show that it will be packed as the good planners would've exited the 11 o'clock show and goes straight there for lunch, which creates a long line.

As you can see, this is cafeteria style.  They even have apple cobbler.  By the way, the first stop is to get drinks, if you don't see what's already prepared, the lady behind the counter is super nice and will get what you want.  First stop is dessert, you get anything from healthy to decadent.

You get a meat and a side and it comes with a roll.  I got the brisket, which surprisingly is not bad at all.  I got fries on the side and strawberries for some 'healthy' element, amazingly, that was the worst tasting part of it.  

As you enter the park, they try to sell you the meal plan, which is $32 for the day.  You can get snacks and drinks all day long.  There are some limitations like you can only select dishes with certain colors. As for this meal, it was $18 plus $3 for drinks.  So, it's not too shabby.  As expected at amusement park, they will charge you a ton for something you get at a fraction outside of the park.  So, weigh out the options before standing in line.

Shamu's Smokehouse

10500 Sea World Dr

San Antonio, TX 78251

https://seaworld.com/san-antonio/dining/shamus-smokehouse/

The Cove

We ended up in San Antonio, and my friend Julie told us about this place called the Cove.

This is located downtown, and it's an odd place.  It is a laundromat, ice cream/grill, with car wash.  But that's not all...

...their food comes from all local sources and they love to tell you about that.  

I got the Super Nacho, which has beans, cheese, spinach, tomato, jalapeño, and avocado sour dip.  The dip isn't bad, but the nacho is huge, so needless to say, it's super filling.  Didn't even have half of it, already filled up.

This is the kid's meal for hot dog.  They do have gluten free options.  

This place is a tad confusing.  You get there, first thing is that you line up to order your food.  Then seating are practically all outside.  In the middle of the courtyard is a playground for kids.  One side is the music bar, which is indoor, you can bring your food in there and they have live music there almost every night, if not 2 bands a night.  The other side is a walkup bar that has a lot of beer on tab.  

As I said before, it is kinda confusion when you first get there.  Food is one area, seating is different area, bar areas are split with a playground in the middle.  Oh not to mention if you want to get your car wash, or do a load of laundry, you can accomplish all of that at this one place.  That said, the location is in a triangle piece of land, there are parking at the back, but if you need, you can park on the street and be sure you read the signs.

The Cove

606 W. Cypress

San Antonio, TX 78212

210-272-2683

http://thecove.us

Hotel Contessa - San Antonio

Work took me to San Antonio for a work conference, and the fed us well for sure.

They have a coffee bar/ bar-bar.  So in the morning, you can get your cappuccino, at night you can get a strong drink, the bartenders are quite generous with the liquor.

The Las Ramblas is a restaurant right by the river, so you can enjoy the view sitting out at the patio.  I will warn you too that is also where the smokers sit as well.  

First night, I had the onion soup, broccolini and some chicken with chirozo, and braised beef.

Second day, I had their chicken, pork, and spinach and green beans.

If you get a chance to order their chicken, they are done very well, and you should definitely try that.  

This was the peanut butter mousse.  Unfortunately, it doesn't taste as good as it looked.  It was heavy hand-ed on the peanut butter, so it's more dense than the mousse.

Here we have the minty flan, which taste different.  The other one is the raspberry chocolate tart, it's a bit bitter than what you'd expect.  There was one night that they served a mini cup of chocolate fondue and they gave you fruit to dip, which is nice.

As I was saying, they have tapas for order and sharing.  They also have the free range chicken I was mentioning earlier.  Definitely order some.  They do not serve Coke products, so go in be prepared.  You can definitely sit outside and enjoy the nice weather and the Riverwalk, definitely try to enjoy that.

You can also sit outside the restaurant area, which becomes the bar area and they do have nice food for bar menu.  Try their sliders, it comes with fries and they are not too filling and definitely goes well with the alcohol!

Of course, you're down the river from alot of other eateries and bars.  Above ground, you are close to an oyster bar and Hard Rock Cafe.  You won't go starving.

Las Ramblas

Hotel Contessa

306 W. Market Street

San Antonio, TX 78205

210-229-9222

http://www.thehotelcontessa.com/