SA, Last Restaurant/Place You Ate At (Canyon, Center: house prices, certificate)

[cowpix]

Prior to attending a performance at the Tobin Center, we decided on Ocho, located in the Hotel Havana. I had the Hanger steak which was flavorful and cooked properly. Fresh cut french fries were excellent. My Wife had the Salmon, cooked well and with good seasoning. Service was very good.

A very convenient location, a short walk to the Tobin.

[steve807]

Had enchilada plate w/ rice and beans for lunch there today. Keep seeing their TV ads which got me interested.

No lunch menu, a little pricey - I take it back maybe that 10 page fancy menu was the lunch menu. Service was good at 1PM, with one other table occupied in the place and maybe two on the patio (pretty cool day for patio eating I thought).

Rather than invite a lawsuit over my opinion of the food, I'll just say I won't be back.

They even have spaghetti dishes on the menu.

[trufunk]

Originally Posted by pr57001

Two-Bros BBQ

BBQ was average. There is better & worse in town, in my opinion.

The ordering process is non-sensical. Order at register #1, wait 15 minutes, pick up your food, then pay at register #2. Must wait nearby for your name to be called, no pager or speaker.

If you want a drink from the bar, you pay at the same register people are paying who pick up their food. Mass confusion about who is in line and who should be helped first.

Out of all white wine by the glass (5:30 on Saturday night), refused to open several other white wine bottles in the cooler for by-the-glass service.

Smoke shack, Augies, Rudy's better BBQ and service.

I was also surprised (amazed) at the number of people totally dumbfounded trying to decide the amount of meat to order by weight. Perhaps if they dispensed with the silly ordering process, the line would move much faster, as people could see how much meat is 1/2 pound.

I agree food is Meh! Brisket flavorless, peaches inside beans? Won't be going back.

[SnappyBob]

Raul's Enchilaco's

I had been seeing this place for a few months in my travels between Floresville and San Antonio so I stopped in at lunch to give them a try after seeing their glowing reviews on Urbanspoon & Yelp. I was pleasantly surprised. The place is very small but but the ambiance is pleasant the owners are very friendly but most of all the food is great. As you might imagine the Enchilaco is a tortilla with a enchilada inside with a really tasty filling around it. The other dishes are all centered around Mexican street food. This is not your regular San Antonio taco house. This is probably the most unique eating establishment I've seen in the SA area in a long time.

[chud]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

Raul's Enchilaco's

I had been seeing this place for a few months in my travels between Floresville and San Antonio so I stopped in at lunch to give them a try after seeing their glowing reviews on Urbanspoon & Yelp. I was pleasantly surprised. The place is very small but but the ambiance is pleasant the owners are very friendly but most of all the food is great. As you might imagine the Enchilaco is a tortilla with a enchilada inside with a really tasty filling around it. The other dishes are all centered around Mexican street food. This is not your regular San Antonio taco house. This is probably the most unique eating establishment I've seen in the SA area in a long time.

I like it too. Good food and friendly service.
Very small, but a neat place.

[Rapscallion]

This is more of a rant than review, so be forewarned.

We once again went on a quest to find the perfect set of boots for my wife this evening. Knowing this was going to last well beyond normal dinner time, I had an idea. My wife had been presented with a gift card for any of the Pappas restaurants, so due to its proximity to North Star Mall, decided on Pappadeaux.

I should say that this card was presented back in 2008, but then law was enacted that there could be no expiration date for a gift card.

Anyway, went and had a typical corporate chain restaurant meal. It was also typically unbalanced in flavors and heavily weighted with salt. No surprise, but no hard feelings either.

Then came time to pay.

I dropped my gift card and credit card in the guest check holder and the waiter wandered off. He came back in a bit to apologize and said that because of the age of the card they were having to phone it in. Again, no worries.

Then the manager appears. She tells me that the card had been purchased in 2008, and their records showed that it had been used in 2008. Well, since I haven't eaten at a Pappas restaurant since around 1998 and the card has been sitting in its presentation card in my desk since we were given it, I explained I found that highly unlikely. She haplessly (but not apologetically) stood there as a gormless figure listening to me, but uttered no reply. I was left staring at her in silence, so I pointed out my credit card was still in the check holder. So, she says she will get my waiter and then turns to walk away, with my gift card in her hand. Well, I stopped her, asked her if I could have my card back and she tells me she is going to keep it. I asked her why, and she tells me that it has been used up and that she's just going to throw it away.

Are you feeling my pain here? I pointed out that with what I had told her, wouldn't it make sense for me to contact corporate over the matter, since someone obviously paid for the card with the intention that my wife and we would have an enjoyable, expense paid evening.

She then handed it back to me, and we were left waiting an interminable amount of time until the waiter returned.

I'm going to contact their corporate office, but it's obvious I must be trying to scam them because, how can a computer lie?

To be honest, I don't know what happened between the time the card was purchased and it was presented to us, but it is highly unlikely someone received the combined funds from the team, purchased the card, used the balance and then presented it to my wife. Most people would have used it within the same year.

It was an exasperating experience overall and left me with a very negative opinion of Pappas in general. I didn't even touch upon our waiter who was wearing a "Trainer" name tag, yet required repeated prompting to provide information on the specials.



tl;dr - Beware giving gift cards as gifts (particularly for Pappas Restaurants). Your money may end up going into the aether while the recipient gets shafted with the bill.

[smuboy86]

Rapscallion, just to keep you honest the card act was passed in 2009 and provides for a minimum of five years before a card expires. It applies to cards purchased after the law came into effect not to previously issued cards.
A general caveat about gift cards is to use them as soon as possible, just ask all the people who were left with worthless borders, linens n things ect... gift cards that just became pretty plastic when those companies went kaput.

[RadiantBaby]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion

This is more of a rant than review, so be forewarned.

We once again went on a quest to find the perfect set of boots for my wife this evening. Knowing this was going to last well beyond normal dinner time, I had an idea. My wife had been presented with a gift card for any of the Pappas restaurants, so due to its proximity to North Star Mall, decided on Pappadeaux.

I should say that this card was presented back in 2008, but then law was enacted that there could be no expiration date for a gift card.

Anyway, went and had a typical corporate chain restaurant meal. It was also typically unbalanced in flavors and heavily weighted with salt. No surprise, but no hard feelings either.

Then came time to pay.

I dropped my gift card and credit card in the guest check holder and the waiter wandered off. He came back in a bit to apologize and said that because of the age of the card they were having to phone it in. Again, no worries.

Then the manager appears. She tells me that the card had been purchased in 2008, and their records showed that it had been used in 2008. Well, since I haven't eaten at a Pappas restaurant since around 1998 and the card has been sitting in its presentation card in my desk since we were given it, I explained I found that highly unlikely. She haplessly (but not apologetically) stood there as a gormless figure listening to me, but uttered no reply. I was left staring at her in silence, so I pointed out my credit card was still in the check holder. So, she says she will get my waiter and then turns to walk away, with my gift card in her hand. Well, I stopped her, asked her if I could have my card back and she tells me she is going to keep it. I asked her why, and she tells me that it has been used up and that she's just going to throw it away.

Are you feeling my pain here? I pointed out that with what I had told her, wouldn't it make sense for me to contact corporate over the matter, since someone obviously paid for the card with the intention that my wife and we would have an enjoyable, expense paid evening.

She then handed it back to me, and we were left waiting an interminable amount of time until the waiter returned.

I'm going to contact their corporate office, but it's obvious I must be trying to scam them because, how can a computer lie?

To be honest, I don't know what happened between the time the card was purchased and it was presented to us, but it is highly unlikely someone received the combined funds from the team, purchased the card, used the balance and then presented it to my wife. Most people would have used it within the same year.

It was an exasperating experience overall and left me with a very negative opinion of Pappas in general. I didn't even touch upon our waiter who was wearing a "Trainer" name tag, yet required repeated prompting to provide information on the specials.



tl;dr - Beware giving gift cards as gifts (particularly for Pappas Restaurants). Your money may end up going into the aether while the recipient gets shafted with the bill.

all the more reason why I don't give or want gift cards. that's not mentioning the absolute zoo that is every pappas eatery I've been to

[ashbeeigh]

Two Brothers last night with a group. I've been doing paleo for a while and had the sausage and potato salad. Big mistake for me, I went home feeling horrible. I think that was more me and my body than the food. The sausage was fine and the potato salad was good until after I got home. It also got compliments by the people I was eating with. I wasn't a huge fan the last time I went (non-paleo) so I don't know. I give it a neither loved nor hated review.

[Rapscallion]

Originally Posted by smuboy86

Rapscallion, just to keep you honest the card act was passed in 2009 and provides for a minimum of five years before a card expires. It applies to cards purchased after the law came into effect not to previously issued cards.
A general caveat about gift cards is to use them as soon as possible, just ask all the people who were left with worthless borders, linens n things ect... gift cards that just became pretty plastic when those companies went kaput.

Yes, you are correct and I thank you.... but couldn't you have informed me AFTER I called and raged?

Oh well, lesson learned then.

On a more positive note, if you're ever headed to Houston, do check out the Goode Company Seafood. On a recent visit I had quite literally the best mahi mahi I've ever tasted. It was ordered seared rare, yet they still managed to impart a wonderful smoke flavor from the grill. Wood smoke with fish requires a balance, because many hardwoods will overpower the dish. They nailed it perfectly.