San Antonio

We went to San Antonio for the weekend, a trip that was hosted by our Wyndham Getaway people and we (mostly) had a very nice time. The Hotel (Sheraton Gunter) is beautiful and in the heart of the old city of San Antonio. The interior of the hotel is absolutely lovely, and over the years hosted such celebrities as Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Mae West.

The historic Gunter Hotel was dedicated in 1909, the same year the Lincoln penny was first minted. Coincidence? (Yeah, I think so.) A murder in February of 1965 occurred in room 636 and the hotel is said to still be haunted.

"Since this terrible incident, staff and guests have reported strange occurrences in the vicinity of room 636. The seemingly restless spirit has often appeared with her arms outstretched. Strange sounds of hammering have also been reported coming from an unoccupied Room 636. Others have reported the image of a blonde woman inexplicably appearing in photographs."

We didn't see the ghost.

Thursday night was a Tex-Mex buffet, and I should remember the name of the restaurant, but I don't. Of more note was the mariachi band! They certainly loved Darling!

Friday we wandered around the River Walk, which is always a lot of fun. We heard a little about Dick's the night before, but we didn't go eat there. They specialize in insults. We aren't tough enough for that.

Friday night we went to Texas de Brazil, Churrascaria Restaurant in San Antonio.

Imagine for a moment that you are transported to a world of sight and sound and taste, a world very similar to the one you normally eat in, except for one minor detail. In this world meat is a welcome menu item. In this world you are not only allowed to eat as much meat as you like, you're encouraged to do so. Welcome to the world of Texas de Brazil in San Antonio.

Okay, that works well in my mind, where I am doing a nice impression of Rod Serling.

Our new friends, James and Kharla, warned us not to take much from the salad bar, but to save room for the meats.

That's lobster bisque in the upper left
and a jalapeno near the bottom!

Okay, I admit I must be some sort of unsophisticated country boy because I have never seen a salad bar as well stocked as this one. I took just a tiny bit of each thing – really, just a tiny bit. I did, in fact, skip a few things (like the asparagus). Even so, I was almost full when the waiters started bringing around the meats.

The waiters brought huge chunks of meat sizzling on skewers and presented them at my plate, slicing off the portion that was done to my choosing. I then used the provided tongs to grab the meat and place it on my plate. The meat did not stay on my plate for long. The waiters brought succulent filet mignon, steaming bits of prime rib skewered as chunks of meat, top sirloin dripping in its own juices, braised lamb which they carved off in long strips, bacon-wrapped chicken, Brazilian sausages and others I don't recall.

Darling's salad bar plate!

I doubt each piece of meat was an ounce; each was probably closer to half an ounce of meat. Still, I quickly became full and could eat no more.

So they brought me a key-lime pie. Thanks guys.

Without question, this was the best steak I ever had in my life. It might be the best steak I ever have. We'll see.

Directly across the street from our hotel is the Majestic Theater, which opened in 1929 and was the first theater in the state of Texas with air conditioning. We went there to see Frankie Valli on Friday night, after the dinner.

Frankie Valli is 79 years old but has the strong voice of a young man. He sang a number of his best hits. With him on stage were sixteen other people, including four backup singers (with amazing voices), a keyboard player (fantastic), a multi-talented player of many different instruments (depending on the song), two guitarists, one of whom was incredible and rivals my buddy Andrew Bateman, and eight local horn players invited for the performance.

That was the best time ever. It started at eight-ish and went until ten-ish, though I have to admit that I tired out and we left a few minutes early.

Thank you Frankie Valli for five decades of great music!

Inside The Majestic