Keep Going 076: Best of San Antonio
Brought to you by the bittersweet act of trimming a bonsai.
👋 Hello everyone!
Last week we spent a few days in San Antonio, a work-cation of sorts. It’s the first of our many anniversary celebrations this year—August 14th is our 25th anniversary, and we’ve decided to celebrate it all year with trips, dinners, concerts… just fun things every month. Your silver anniversary only comes once in a lifetime, right? (Also, how are we old enough to be celebrating a silver anniversary?!)
I hereby present our San Antonio work-cation awards:
Most solid meal from start to finish: Brasserie Mon Chou Chou
Crusty baguette with really good butter, oysters, and steak frites with Bearnaise. The service was great, in that way where they know it’s kind of frou frou, but they still ask if you want crackers and horseradish with your oysters, and when you say, “why yes, I do,” they bring it out with no judgement or stuffiness. We also had the added entertainment of three men at the table next to us attempting to assert dominance over each other with their spotty knowledge of French cheeses.
Best Restaurant Vibe: Cullum’s Attaboy
I cannot even with this place. It’s like a mix of Buvette Paris and an old NY diner and the kitchen vibe from The Bear (per Justin, I have not watched it), with decor that’s almost twee but not quite, a really fun menu, and sweet little details.
The OJ came in a little bottle with a tiny glass on top. The iced tea was prepared “a la minute,” and once the server/cook poured it over my glass of ice, he offered a straw from an old-fashioned dispenser. The fruit was in a vintage-looking sundae glass, the water jug sat atop an old card catalog, and Ella Fitzgerald crooned from the stereo.
The food itself was good—you’ll rarely find a French omelet so smooth and perfect, but with a simple lettuce salad on the side, it felt like it was missing something. My tomato French toast hardly had any tomatoes, which were needed to add moisture to the dry, toasted (burnt?) cheese toast. The seasonal fruit was amazing, though, with fresh citrus zest and just really, really good fruit.
Best Mocktail: The N/Agroni at Pharm Table
I’m not sure how they did it, but they made a bitter, red, delicious drink without adding carbonation. I had the seasonal pineapple tepache, which was really fun but kind of beer-like and funky, which isn’t my jam.
The food was pretty good—oysters, a salmon ceviche that was a bit too fishy for me, and a red lentil kitchari, which was great.
Best Idea: Staying in with Good Take-Out
We were still working during the day, and it was a bit of a hectic work week, so by evening, we were tired and didn’t want to rally to head back out for an hour or two at a restaurant. (And we still had some work in the evenings, so.) We decided to take that pressure off ourselves and stay in with take-out each night. It ROCKED. We still got to try some great local food (SINGHS Vietnamese, Best Quality Daughter, Bakery Lorraine), but we did it in our comfies in our hotel room. Highly recommend.
Best Jokes of the Past Week or Two
Shout out to all you lovelies who send me jokes! 😍
That’s it! Thank you for reading—hit reply and tell me what you’re up to.
--Crystal
Lovely as always. Wendy and I will be celebrating our 25th in July. Sending good vibes your way.