The stars at night are big and bright...

Deep in heart of Texas!

We spent the weekend in San Antonio, TX (and 1 day in Austin.)  What a wonderful place to visit! We saw the Alamo.  It was more moving than I thought it would be.  Pretty amazing to see the real place where 189 people fought and died for their independence.  

On a lighter note, we ate.  A lot.  And drank a lot of great beers.  I threw caution to the wind and ate whatever wonderful, down-home cooking I saw.  (Sorry WW, I'm back on plan today!)

Up first on the review train is Achiote River Cafe and Bar.  We stopped here on our first full morning in San Antonio.  We were looking for a relaxed breakfast, to linger over coffee, and start our mini-vaca off right.  Achiote provided a beautiful patio off the river where we could do just that.  

Here's the meal breakdown:


Eric, in typical Eric-like fashion, ordered smoked salmon on a bagel.  It wouldn't have been anything special, but the salmon was absolutely perfect. Also, it was huge.  


Not much to say- it was fresh, the bagel was very good, and it was exactly what it should be.  Good choice if you're a lox 'n' bagels kind of person. 

Here's what I ordered: chilaquiles (chee-lah-KEE-lehs). I wasn't hungover, but I was interested to learn that this dish is a traditional Mexican hangover cure!

It is also sometimes called a poor man's dish because it is a great way to use up leftovers.

This was probably my favorite meal of the weekend.  What's not to like?  It's a bed of tortilla chips, topped with a mixture of tomatoes, cilantro, onions, peppers, garlic, refried beans, chiles, and scrambled (or fried eggs.)  AND it's served with sour cream.  

I'm not sure how authentic the recipe is, but it was absolutely delicious.   I can't say enough about it.  This may be a poor man's breakfast food, but we'll be making it for diinner for sure! 

Here's a recipe from a fellow blogger: My Sister's Kitchen 

OK so Achiote was fabulous.  Here's what was less than fabulous- the price.

$4 EACH for coffee (the coffee was Starbucks, and it was unlimited, but still.)

$16 for the smoked salmon, $15 for the chilaquiles,

Obviously on the Riverwalk you are really paying for the view/atmosphere.  The food was really impressive, but the prices were a little out of whack, even compared to other restaurants on the walk.

That being said, the portions were out-of-control big.  So my recommend is, definitely GO!  But share a breakfast entree.  The other option they had was a buffet for $18 that looked awesome.  I never find buffets to be that great of a deal- I guess I just don't eat enough (surprising) to make it worth the $$. 

How about you? Do you like gourmet buffets? Any hidden hot spots in San Antonio?

More to come...See ya!