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As mentioned in the last post, sometimes too much of a good thing may be too much of a good thing. Hence, all the delicious and authentic central-Texas barbecue may have been getting a bit too repetitive. Apparently, this wasn’t true for my son because he can eat meat and only meat every meal. However, the rest of us needed a change of pace. Therefore, we ended up at Cured for lunch. Yes, we stayed with the theme of meat, but not barbecue. Rather, just like its namesake, we feasted on cured meats.
That we did with 6 Selections (for $28.00) consisting of smoked duck ham, chicken liver mousse, catfish mortadella, porchetta di testa and smoked gouda. This came with all the fixin’s including charred flatbread, orange marmalade, 2 types of grainy mustard, blackberries and berry compote. For me, I thought the duck ham was the best being tender and impactful with a smoky saltiness. Surprisingly, the catfish mortadella did not taste murky like I expected. It was still somewhat fishy, but in a pleasant manner. Fatty, sliced thin and full of rich meatiness, the porchetta was buttery delicious. Lastly, the chicken liver mousse was creamy, rich and nicely spiked with brandy.
Since we were devoid of vegetables so far on this trip (to the delight of my son), I made a point in ordering the Kale Salad with black garlic vinaigrette, smoked feta, dried cherries and pumpkin seeds. Turns out that this wasn’t only a great way to get some greens, it was also rather delicious. The earthy tanginess of the vinaigrette was appealing and completely flavored the tender kale. Add in the sweetness of the cherries and smokiness of the crumbly feta, this was more than just a salad. To balance off this healthiness, we got the Pig Cheek Poutine with a fried egg on top. I found the house-cut fries to be nicely potatoey where they were drenched in a salty, but tasty braising liquid. The pig cheek was generous in portion and tender. All of the heaviness was counteracted somewhat by the pickled cauliflower.
To top it all off, we also got the Masa Fried Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy with remoulade, lettuce and tomatoes. After the first bite, it was clear that this was not as heavy as one would expect. The bread was soft and light while the crab was crunchy, yet not overdone. There was enough remoulade for moisture and some spice. Overall, we enjoyed out meal at Cured. The unique and varied options of cured meat helped the restaurant live up to its namesake. Too bad I don't live nearby because I would be return over and over again trying out the different meats.
The Good:
- Unique cured meats
- Nice open space in a repurposed bank
- Excellent service
The Bad:
- Cooked food that we tried was not bad, but the cured meats is where it is at
When in Texas, specifically San Antonio, it didn't seem right if we skipped eating Tex-Mex. It's like going to New Orleans and not grabbing a po' boy or two (if you are Mijune, it would be 8 or 9). Naturally, there are many choices for the aforementioned cuisine, but we needed to find something that would be representative and convenient. After walking along the River Walk and almost doing some Tex-Mex there, we stuck with the plan and walked a few blocks from our hotel to Rosario's on S. Alamo.
Viv and I ended up with some frozen Margaritas prior to our eats. She chose the Coco Rita consisting of Rosario's original frozen Margarita with tequila, orange liqueur and sweet ‘n’ sour combined with pina colada. This was decently smooth with the aromatics normally associated with pina colada. It wasn't overly sweet, but sweet enough. I would've liked it to be stronger, but the tequila was definitely there. For myself, I had La Tuna made with silver tequila and prickly pear cactus juice. this was a bit stronger and equally sweet. It went down easy where it was a nice compliment to the Lengua that I had ordered. I enjoyed the soft, but not mushy slices of tongue which were bathed in a light tomato sauce that was on the saltier side, but as mentioned, was balanced off by the Margarita.
For Viv, she had the Fish Tacos with pan seared tilapia, chipotle mayo, cabbage lime slaw, pickled red onion and avocado.
Frijoles a la charra (pinto beans) was served on the side. Although they didn't look like much (as you can clearly see in the picture), they ate rather well. The fish was perfectly-prepared being moist and flaky (as much as Tilapia can be). With a few drops of hot sauce, there was more than enough impact to make the taco tasty. My son ended up with the Tacos Nortenos Mix also with frijoles a la charra. As evidenced in the picture, the tacos were evenly seared and crispy. Inside, there was a thin layer of refried beans, enough melty Monterey Jack cheese and tender chicken to go around. Nothing complex, but it did the job on the cheap.
For my daughter, she went for the children's meal and had the Bean & Cheese Chalupa with refried beans and rice. For this, it was pretty simple as well with a crispy shell topped with refried beans and plenty of melted cheese. She ate it without complaints, but then again, she can eat refried beans out of a can too... Whatever the case, Rosario's did the job for a reasonable price. Not the most amazing food we've ever had, but it was exactly what we needed after too much BBQ (yes, there is such a thing) and steak.
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Kid-friendly
- Decent
The Bad:
- Food could be more impactful in terms of flavour
Normally, I try to avoid touristy restaurants like late-night informercials (unless there isn't anything else to watch...). However, we ended up at Saltgrass Steakhouse right on the San Antonio River Walk for a few reasons. First, we needed food since it was already 3:00pm and we were stuck on the Riverwalk. Second, while we were taking the hotel shuttle to Sea-Tec (on route to Dallas), someone recommended the crab cakes at Saltgrass. Lastly, it was happy hour and not only could we get a few bites on the cheap, the drinks were equally inexpensive.
We ultimately ordered some of their happy hour specials including the Fried Mushrooms. Okay, for $4.00, this was an obscene amount of mushrooms. They were aggressively battered and fried, but when eaten hot, they were crispy with juicy mushrooms inside. However as they got colder, the batter became mealy and too thick. I had to resort to peeling it off. I thought the ranch dip was a good match for the fried mushrooms. Also on the happy hour menu was the Artichoke and Spinach Dip accompanied by fresh tortilla chips. This was pretty good with large chunks of artichoke and plenty of not-overdone spinach leaves. The mix was creamy and cheesy with just the right amount of seasoning.
Okay, we did order the aforementioned Crab Cakes and gawd they were enormous. These were breaded, pan-fried and topped with even more crab in a buttery sauce. I found them rather loose though and the breading was not as crispy as I would've liked. In fact, some portions were too soft and rather wet. Despite this, the filling was mostly crab which was fluffy and mildly-seasoned. Were they great crab cakes? No, but they were decent and a good value. My son didn't get very creative and got the Mini-Corn Dogs with fries. These little nuggets were hot and crunchy. Although the fries weren't anything special, they were fried properly being crispy with plenty of potato texture left inside.
We also ordered the Surf & Turf to share which started with a choice of soup. I don't even remember what the other option was, but we went with the Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was surprisingly good despite not looking that interesting. The chicken soup was flavourful without being salty while the crunch from the tortilla strips were pleasing. They didn't soften up too much even though they were sitting in hot broth. As for the main dish, it was the 10 oz Striploin with grilled shrimp and lemon butter. It was prepared medium-rare as requested while charred enough on the outside for both aesthetics and caramelization. The steak ate well being meaty and tender while the buttery shrimp were perfectly prepared. Despite my reluctance to visit chain restaurants while on vacation (there are more interesting things to eat), Saltgrass did the job and satisfied our expectations at the time.
The Good:
- Great location on the River Walk
- Food ranged from decent to good
- Attentive service
The Bad:
- Regular menu is on the pricier side
- Hostess was a bit confused originally seating us at the bar (yes with the kids) for happy hour and insisting that we couldn't sit anywhere else
Posts
As mentioned in the last post, sometimes too much of a good thing may be too much of a good thing. Hence, all the delicious and authentic central-Texas barbecue may have been getting a bit too repetitive. Apparently, this wasn’t true for my son because he can eat meat and only meat every meal. However, the rest of us needed a change of pace. Therefore, we ended up at Cured for lunch. Yes, we stayed with the theme of meat, but not barbecue. Rather, just like its namesake, we feasted on cured meats.
That we did with 6 Selections (for $28.00) consisting of smoked duck ham, chicken liver mousse, catfish mortadella, porchetta di testa and smoked gouda. This came with all the fixin’s including charred flatbread, orange marmalade, 2 types of grainy mustard, blackberries and berry compote. For me, I thought the duck ham was the best being tender and impactful with a smoky saltiness. Surprisingly, the catfish mortadella did not taste murky like I expected. It was still somewhat fishy, but in a pleasant manner. Fatty, sliced thin and full of rich meatiness, the porchetta was buttery delicious. Lastly, the chicken liver mousse was creamy, rich and nicely spiked with brandy.
Since we were devoid of vegetables so far on this trip (to the delight of my son), I made a point in ordering the Kale Salad with black garlic vinaigrette, smoked feta, dried cherries and pumpkin seeds. Turns out that this wasn’t only a great way to get some greens, it was also rather delicious. The earthy tanginess of the vinaigrette was appealing and completely flavored the tender kale. Add in the sweetness of the cherries and smokiness of the crumbly feta, this was more than just a salad. To balance off this healthiness, we got the Pig Cheek Poutine with a fried egg on top. I found the house-cut fries to be nicely potatoey where they were drenched in a salty, but tasty braising liquid. The pig cheek was generous in portion and tender. All of the heaviness was counteracted somewhat by the pickled cauliflower.
To top it all off, we also got the Masa Fried Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy with remoulade, lettuce and tomatoes. After the first bite, it was clear that this was not as heavy as one would expect. The bread was soft and light while the crab was crunchy, yet not overdone. There was enough remoulade for moisture and some spice. Overall, we enjoyed out meal at Cured. The unique and varied options of cured meat helped the restaurant live up to its namesake. Too bad I don't live nearby because I would be return over and over again trying out the different meats.
