San Antonio p1
I know I was on a good roll for awhile. I meant to post this a few days ago but didn’t have the time.
Ok, here’s what’s been going on:
Did I talk about Valentine’s Day yet? We stayed in since neither of us wanted to deal with the crowds. We bought each other small gifts – nothing too huge. Michael made me dinner of garlic bread, homemade linguini with a pancetta tomato sauce similar to what he made me on our second date. For dessert he made homemade chocolate ice cream and I swear, if he hadn’t told me it was homemade I would have thought it was store bought – it was incredibly creamy and a really good flavor. All in all, it was a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I have personally never been against that day – I always considered it a good time to get cheap chocolate on 2/15!
Next item:
Last weekend Michael took me to San Antonio. We drove up Thursday night and stayed till Sunday. Our hotel was on the river walk and we really lucked out on the weather. It was just gorgeous the whole time. Friday we got up late, went to lunch on the river walk and then went to the Botanical Gardens. I know it’s February, but there were quite a few things to look at. Pictures later.
That night Michael had made reservations for dinner, so we got back to the hotel around 6 and then took our time getting ready. Where we were going was completely Michael’s idea. He had wanted steak, so he checked the steakhouse issue of Texas Monthly – it’s a really good Texas-centered magazine. The number 2 steakhouse in TX happened to be in San Antonio – called Bohanans. http://www.bohanans.com.
When we got there, the valet asked if we had reservations and when we said yes, he replied that he’d show us the private elevator. We walked through a courtyard and then took an elevator to the second floor. It opened right into the lobby. The Maitre’d was in a black suit and seated us immediately. At first, we weren’t given a menu – they just took our drink orders and then brought out crostini with cream cheese and jalepenos. It was a little too spicy for me, but Michael liked it. We had a main waiter and a waiter’s assistant. The waiter was in a full suit and the assistant was in white shirt, tie, and vest. They were quite spiffy. When they gave us the menu they also mentioned the off-menu items and that that they’d bring the ‘meat platter’ to show us. They also brought the wine list, which really was more like a ledger. I think it was about 40 pages! When they brought out the ‘meat platter’ we were speechless. It was a giant silver platter covered in meat that was shrink/plastic wrapped. One half was the top 2% of prime cuts that were $75.00. In the middle was a 34 oz bone-in Rib Eye, from which the bone protruded at least a foot (no,I’m not kidding, a foot). On the other side was the good stuff- Akaushi beef. They were $95 EACH. But, they were a good size – 12/14 oz.
Here are two links about it. Believe me – you’ll want to check this out.
Link to the article that originally got Michael interested in the restaurant:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-12-01/feature.php
Explantion of the beef at the bottom of the page under the heading
"How Now Brown Cow"
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-12-01/feature-7.php
We just kind of looked at each other and Michael flat out said he was getting the Akaushi rib-eye and that I could get whatever I wanted. Rib-eye is usually too fatty for me, so I got the New York strip. I’ll come back to the meat in a bit. For appetizer Michael ordered miniature crab cakes. Everytime we go to a fancy restaurant that has crab cakes, he has to try them out. When the waiter was telling us about the specials he mentioned caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes with 15yr balsamic vinegar. Now, I’m not much on tomatoes, but I really like buffalo mozzarella, and it’s hard to find good quality. So, I went ahead and ordered that. It was so freaking good. I even ate ½ of the tomatoes. After the appetizer they brought out an intermezzo – palate cleanser. It was a martini glass with a scoop of raspberry sorbet, a blueberry and a mint leaf. It was perfect. While we were waiting for the main meal, the waiter brought out a wooden box with steak knives lined up, for us to choose our own knives. Michael looked it up afterwards and they were like $100 each. Really nicely designed and very sharp. Ok, here’s the main dish: Michael ordered the Akaushi Rib-Eye and for sides he got potatoes-au-gratin and White Truffle Oil steak fries. I got the Akaushi New York Strip, baked squash, and macaroni & cheese. Michael had one glass of red wine with the meal too – a 2004 Fransiscian. Really, we didn’t need four sides, although they were single serving. We just wanted to try them out. The white truffle oil steak fries were quite tasty, and my baked squash was unbelievable. It was the mashed up insides of the squash with clarified butter, bread crumbs, cheese, and crushed crackers on the top. It was incredible. The potatoes-au-gratin were ok, and the mac & cheese was too pungent for me, though Michael really liked it. Ok, onto the steak.If you missed it earlier, yes they were $95 EACH just for the steak. But, I’ve got to say, it was worth it! They were just incredible. We ended up splitting each and sharing, so I got half of the rib-eye and he got half the New York Strip. Usually rib-eye is too fatty for me, but with this beef, the fat was so microscopic and throughout the whole meat, it just made it so tender and soft. It practically melted in your mouth. The New York Strip was quite thick so it had more chew to it, but really after two or three chews it was done. Both were incredible. You know how you have some wonderful food and the first few bites you’re like ‘wow, this is really good! I love it!’ but then by the time you’re half way through, it’s really just a meal and you’re just eating it? Well, with this steak, every single bite was an experience. We starting cutting our bites really small cause it was so flavorful – you didn’t need a mouthful. It never got bland or too much. I just cannot say enough about this beef. You can only get it a few places in the US, so I’m glad one of them is in San Antonio! I told Michael that while I still like Logan’s Roadhouse for a nice $12 steak, let’s forget about all the other ‘fancy’ places like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. When he’s wanting a good steak, he should just give me $40 to put in an envelope for our Bohanan’s fund. Throughout the whole meal the waiter’s assistant made sure our drinks were full. I had sprite and Michael had iced tea. When my drink got to the middle of the glass, they immediately brought me a new one. No asking what I was drinking or if I wanted more…just immediate service. I was really impressed. By the end of the meal I was quite full. Michael ordered Madagascar vanilla creme brulee since he really likes crème brulee and we figured they’d do a great job here. But, I wasn’t really in the mood for a heavy dessert, so I actually just asked for another serving of the raspberry sorbet intermezzo. The crème brulee was the best I’ve ever tried- and I usually don’t like it. My raspberry sorbet was perfect – a perfect ending – and they didn’t charge me for it, which I thought was classy. By the time we left, it was almost 3 hours. Oh, yeah, the total bill with tip was $360. Not bad considering only $14 was liquor! As much of a cheapskate as I am......it was worth it, and I’d do it again. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was such an experience.
Ok, here’s what’s been going on:
Did I talk about Valentine’s Day yet? We stayed in since neither of us wanted to deal with the crowds. We bought each other small gifts – nothing too huge. Michael made me dinner of garlic bread, homemade linguini with a pancetta tomato sauce similar to what he made me on our second date. For dessert he made homemade chocolate ice cream and I swear, if he hadn’t told me it was homemade I would have thought it was store bought – it was incredibly creamy and a really good flavor. All in all, it was a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I have personally never been against that day – I always considered it a good time to get cheap chocolate on 2/15!
Next item:
Last weekend Michael took me to San Antonio. We drove up Thursday night and stayed till Sunday. Our hotel was on the river walk and we really lucked out on the weather. It was just gorgeous the whole time. Friday we got up late, went to lunch on the river walk and then went to the Botanical Gardens. I know it’s February, but there were quite a few things to look at. Pictures later.
That night Michael had made reservations for dinner, so we got back to the hotel around 6 and then took our time getting ready. Where we were going was completely Michael’s idea. He had wanted steak, so he checked the steakhouse issue of Texas Monthly – it’s a really good Texas-centered magazine. The number 2 steakhouse in TX happened to be in San Antonio – called Bohanans. http://www.bohanans.com.
When we got there, the valet asked if we had reservations and when we said yes, he replied that he’d show us the private elevator. We walked through a courtyard and then took an elevator to the second floor. It opened right into the lobby. The Maitre’d was in a black suit and seated us immediately. At first, we weren’t given a menu – they just took our drink orders and then brought out crostini with cream cheese and jalepenos. It was a little too spicy for me, but Michael liked it. We had a main waiter and a waiter’s assistant. The waiter was in a full suit and the assistant was in white shirt, tie, and vest. They were quite spiffy. When they gave us the menu they also mentioned the off-menu items and that that they’d bring the ‘meat platter’ to show us. They also brought the wine list, which really was more like a ledger. I think it was about 40 pages! When they brought out the ‘meat platter’ we were speechless. It was a giant silver platter covered in meat that was shrink/plastic wrapped. One half was the top 2% of prime cuts that were $75.00. In the middle was a 34 oz bone-in Rib Eye, from which the bone protruded at least a foot (no,I’m not kidding, a foot). On the other side was the good stuff- Akaushi beef. They were $95 EACH. But, they were a good size – 12/14 oz.
Here are two links about it. Believe me – you’ll want to check this out.
Link to the article that originally got Michael interested in the restaurant:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-12-01/feature.php
Explantion of the beef at the bottom of the page under the heading
"How Now Brown Cow"
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-12-01/feature-7.php
We just kind of looked at each other and Michael flat out said he was getting the Akaushi rib-eye and that I could get whatever I wanted. Rib-eye is usually too fatty for me, so I got the New York strip. I’ll come back to the meat in a bit. For appetizer Michael ordered miniature crab cakes. Everytime we go to a fancy restaurant that has crab cakes, he has to try them out. When the waiter was telling us about the specials he mentioned caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes with 15yr balsamic vinegar. Now, I’m not much on tomatoes, but I really like buffalo mozzarella, and it’s hard to find good quality. So, I went ahead and ordered that. It was so freaking good. I even ate ½ of the tomatoes. After the appetizer they brought out an intermezzo – palate cleanser. It was a martini glass with a scoop of raspberry sorbet, a blueberry and a mint leaf. It was perfect. While we were waiting for the main meal, the waiter brought out a wooden box with steak knives lined up, for us to choose our own knives. Michael looked it up afterwards and they were like $100 each. Really nicely designed and very sharp. Ok, here’s the main dish: Michael ordered the Akaushi Rib-Eye and for sides he got potatoes-au-gratin and White Truffle Oil steak fries. I got the Akaushi New York Strip, baked squash, and macaroni & cheese. Michael had one glass of red wine with the meal too – a 2004 Fransiscian. Really, we didn’t need four sides, although they were single serving. We just wanted to try them out. The white truffle oil steak fries were quite tasty, and my baked squash was unbelievable. It was the mashed up insides of the squash with clarified butter, bread crumbs, cheese, and crushed crackers on the top. It was incredible. The potatoes-au-gratin were ok, and the mac & cheese was too pungent for me, though Michael really liked it. Ok, onto the steak.If you missed it earlier, yes they were $95 EACH just for the steak. But, I’ve got to say, it was worth it! They were just incredible. We ended up splitting each and sharing, so I got half of the rib-eye and he got half the New York Strip. Usually rib-eye is too fatty for me, but with this beef, the fat was so microscopic and throughout the whole meat, it just made it so tender and soft. It practically melted in your mouth. The New York Strip was quite thick so it had more chew to it, but really after two or three chews it was done. Both were incredible. You know how you have some wonderful food and the first few bites you’re like ‘wow, this is really good! I love it!’ but then by the time you’re half way through, it’s really just a meal and you’re just eating it? Well, with this steak, every single bite was an experience. We starting cutting our bites really small cause it was so flavorful – you didn’t need a mouthful. It never got bland or too much. I just cannot say enough about this beef. You can only get it a few places in the US, so I’m glad one of them is in San Antonio! I told Michael that while I still like Logan’s Roadhouse for a nice $12 steak, let’s forget about all the other ‘fancy’ places like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. When he’s wanting a good steak, he should just give me $40 to put in an envelope for our Bohanan’s fund. Throughout the whole meal the waiter’s assistant made sure our drinks were full. I had sprite and Michael had iced tea. When my drink got to the middle of the glass, they immediately brought me a new one. No asking what I was drinking or if I wanted more…just immediate service. I was really impressed. By the end of the meal I was quite full. Michael ordered Madagascar vanilla creme brulee since he really likes crème brulee and we figured they’d do a great job here. But, I wasn’t really in the mood for a heavy dessert, so I actually just asked for another serving of the raspberry sorbet intermezzo. The crème brulee was the best I’ve ever tried- and I usually don’t like it. My raspberry sorbet was perfect – a perfect ending – and they didn’t charge me for it, which I thought was classy. By the time we left, it was almost 3 hours. Oh, yeah, the total bill with tip was $360. Not bad considering only $14 was liquor! As much of a cheapskate as I am......it was worth it, and I’d do it again. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was such an experience.
posted by Speck at
7:23 PM
2 Comments:
boy oh boy...michael sure is gaining some serious bonus points!! your dinner sounds like a dinner that jeff and i had at an italian restaurant in boston on our honeymoon. it sounds like you are so happy and i love it!!
kim
By
fastturtle, at 1:24 PM, March 01, 2008
That sounds like a fantastic place! What a nice Valentine's Day. Although I don't eat meat I can imagine what it's like... every once in a while there are Japanese shows where they have famous people try different pieces of meat (or other expensive foods) and have them guess which is the expensive one, to test how refined their palates are. They always describe the expensive meat as melting in your mouth, and you don't have to chew because the fat is so small and well-mixed throughout the entire piece.
The show prepares the cheap meat by super-tenderizing it and marinating it in olive oil for a while. It's a good enough method to fool a lot of people, so you might wanna try that out at home sometime!
By
inertbat, at 11:45 PM, March 02, 2008
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