Tag: cocktails

Pearl Brewery, San Antonio TX

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Photo credit: Nick Simonite

San Antonio has become a really hip place since I moved away, and that is due in large part to the Pearl Brewery area.  The original brewery was opened in 1881 and ran until 1985 when Pabst Blue Ribbon took over, and then shut down in 2001.  The land was purchased and slowly developed into a shopping area, which is now booming.  With a weekly farmers market, boutique shops, new apartments, and amazing restaurants – this is now the place to be.  It reminds me a lot of Mosaic District, actually.  They even built a new section of Riverwalk nearby!

Anyway, when I came to visit – all the places my family wanted to take me to ended up being at Pearl, so I have lots of reviews for you!

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exterior-cured
Stock Photo

The night I flew in, my family took me to Cured, located in the historic administration building of the brewery.  As you can guess from the name, cured meats are a large focus of the menu, but they also have cooked main dishes under the categories vegetable, seafood, fowl, pork, beef, and goat or lamb.  My dad ordered a selection of cured meats for us, and they were delish – especially the country style pate and lamb/citrus terrine.  I also had the pork cheeks poutine, which was AWESOME.  The pickled cauliflower they put in there is totally unexpected and is what makes the dish, I think.  For dessert I had a beet twinkie with meyer lemon curd – yum.  The drink menu includes cane sugar sodas from much-beloved Dublin, TX; craft cocktails; and a killer beer list.  My brother is going to have to get on here and tell me what local beer I had, because it was fantastic.

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Stock Photo

The next night, we went to The Granary – a modern BBQ joint located in the original brewmaster’s house.  I have never seen a concept like this before – super modern, artistic BBQ – very cool.  Apparently my father comes here for lunch at least once a week, because the waiter greeted him by his nickname and knew his favorite dishes.  We thought that was pretty funny. (more…)

Bend, OR Restaurants

In addition to our awesome holiday meal (read more here), we also ate out a lot while we were in Bend, OR last week.

We ordered breakfast from room service at our hotel, The Oxford, a few times and it was really good.  The french toast with berry compote, in particular, was awesome.  Right next door to the hotel is a brand new doughnut place (as in they opened their doors for the first time the Saturday after Thanksgiving) called Luvs Doughnuts.  They make small batches and sell the day-old doughnuts for 50 cents!  I had a glazed-yeast raised and Jasper had a chocolate-dipped blueberry cake doughnut – they were pretty good!  I also enjoyed my chai latte from there – nice strong flavor.

We also ate at a local breakfast/brunch institution – Chow, which is open every day from 7-2.  They focus on local vendors and sustainability and accommodate pretty much any diet.  They are happy to make up a unique dish just for you if nothing on the menu suits you.  They also have some killer guava mimosas (or man-mosas if you want a bigger drink).  This is the only restaurant I thought to take pictures at, so enjoy!

Well Dined | Chow
Blurry – sorry!

 Bagel with cream cheese, pickled veg (celery, carrots, green beans), salmon, and sprouts.

Well Dined | Chow

Chow has a number of signature egg dishes.  This one is the blackstone – with poached eggs, cornmeal crusted tomatoes, spinach, bacon, and bearnaise over polenta.  Super yummy.

Well Dined | Chow

This was the omelette of the day with house potatoes.  They make their own hot sauces here, and from what I heard the Carrot-Habanero was amazingly hot and tasty. (more…)

Bourbon Steak (top 100 – 2010, 2011, 2012)

We had been meaning to try out Michael Mina’s signature restaurant, Bourbon Steak, for quite a while, and when we finally did we were not disappointed – except by the steak.

We started out in the lounge, where we perused their massive and innovative cocktail list.  I had the 1919, with aperol, grapefruit bitters, prosecco, and a sugar cube – a perfect aperitif.  There were many more drinks on the list that I would love to try as well; we might have to come back for an evening at the bar. (more…)