Restaurants, San Antonio

This is my last post about San Antonio, honest. Mostly I wanted to note the better restaurants I went to for future reference; I am planning a return trip.

Most of the food on the Riverwalk is mediocre at best, but happily there is one exception - Acenar. The guacamole made tableside by Ricardo was fabulous. For my entrée I had the Gulf Fish Tacos and my sister had Conchita Pibil and I thought they were both wonderful.

The Blanco Cafe at 419 N. St. Mary's Street was voted the best breakfast tacos in town by the locals. I think the most expensive taco on the menu was $1.89 and one taco was enough to keep me going until lunch. I had the potato and chorizo one morning and egg and beans the next. They were both great; I've been craving them ever since.

I had dinner on my own at Azuca, where I tried a Caipirinha (the national drink of Brazil) for the first time. The sugar and lime didn't disguise the fact the the cachaça, a sugarcane liquor, has some serious claws. I opted for a "light" dinner of a cup of black bean soup and the appetizer of Amazonian Tamal; both were delicious and I couldn't finish everything. I was served a mini-loaf of hot cornbread along side my meal which ended up being my breakfast the next day.

I already mentioned Harmon's Barbecue in my previous post, but I neglected to say that it was the only place I've ever been that has self-serve beer. Seriously. You pay for your beer at the counter and there is an ice bin in the middle of the floor filled with bottles of beer and you help yourself. Amazing.

For lunch one day I ordered a salad at a nameless Riverwalk restaurant just because it came with nopalitas, or cactus paddles. I'd never tried them before and I was curious. I remain curious, because they came pickled and really only tasted like a mushy pickled vegetable. They do show up fresh in the markets around here from time to time; I'll bring some home next time I see them and figure out how to cook them.

A great place to bird...

Texas is a great place to bird. Most of the migratory bird species that nest in North America will pass through Texas at some point. I visited the San Antonio Botanical Garden my second day in town and the birds appeared to be as thrilled with it as I was. It's a gorgeous park, sprawling over 33 acres, it includes several greenhouses featuring different collections as well as trails which pass through representations of three of the typical habitats of Texas: South Texas, Piney Woods and Hill Country. Before I knew it three hours had passed and I was a bit tired and hungry. Fortunately for me the Garden has a nice cafe where I was able to revive with a bowl of lamb caldo and some tea.

On Saturday, a wonderful woman I met through the Yahoo! Group SATXbirds forum picked me up at my hotel and we spent the day birding together. We visited the headwaters of the San Antonio River, then headed for Warbler Woods, which is a private estate that is kept as a nature preserve and sanctuary. The birds were pretty quiet that day, but it was still an incredible spot and I hope to return for another visit. After that we had lunch at a fabulous Texas barbecue joint called Harmon's. The chopped pork sandwich was to die for and the ambiance couldn't be beat - there were even horses tied to a hitching post out back. Following lunch we headed out to Mitchell Lake Audubon Center where we found a couple of wonderful birds - a Green-Tailed Towhee and a Least Grebe.

I haven't sat down and completed my trip checklist yet but when I do I'll be updating this post with it. You can see plenty of photos over at my Flickr account in my San Antonio Collection.

The Grackles of the Riverwalk in San Antonio

I imagine even non-birders have to take note of the Riverwalk's resident grackles. They are large, noisy, brash, gregarious and at least at this time of year, have a night roost in the trees around the Riverwalk. They go by the common name of Great-Tailed Grackle and it's apt, given the way the males fan their long tails and flourish them in an attempt to impress a female grackle. When they're not busy wooing, they stroll about snatching fallen tortilla chips. The grackles have an impressive array of vocalizations and at night when they are settling down for bed it is a veritable cacophony in the trees above.

There are also large numbers of white-winged doves, pigeons, mallards and house sparrows living off the leavings of huge numbers of tourists. The umbrellas which shade nearly every outdoor table along the Riverwalk are not just there to protect from sun and rain. I'm by no means a germ-phobe, but I'm quite glad I packed a purse-size bottle of hand sanitizer on this trip. Every unprotected outdoor surface bears evidence of the abundance of bird life in the area.

Here's a ten second video of a male great-tailed grackle bathing in a fountain at the San Antonio Botanical Garden:

San Antonio's Riverwalk

San Antonio's Riverwalk is a tourist attraction done right. Descending a flight of stairs from street level leads you into two and a half mile series of pathways that border the small green San Antonio River, which is plied by flatboats filled with laughing people. There are only two methods of transportation on the Riverwalk - your feet and the boats. The Riverwalk is lined with more restaurants and hotels than I could count, interspersed with splashing fountains, arched foot bridges and ancient bald cyprus trees. The Riverwalk is also famous for its music scene and there is no shortage of places to kick back with a cocktail while listening to live jazz.

The Riverwalk was designed by a young architect by the name of Robert H.H. Hugman in 1929. His plan was not put into action until 1939 however, when the WPA undertook construction. It was completed only two years later, concluding with the first annual Fiesta River Parade, featuring floats that actually float.