Noshing Out – Gourmet Barbeque

                Hopping on planes and accruing skymiles week after week has its perks, but what it doesn’t allow you to do is get a good feel for a city at play. Sure, you might be able to see restaurants, districts within the city, maybe even go for a run along some of its more scenic areas, but until you can spend a day at leisure, not having to head back to the hotel to get enough sleep for that first thing in the morning call, you cant really get a taste for the city that surrounds the office. Last weekend, I stayed over in San Antonio.

My weekend started earlier than my work days do, driving up to La Cantera mall by 8:00 am on a briskly cool Saturday morning. The sun just peaking up from the horizon, slowly illuminating more and more of the land, hundreds of Texans gathered in between the closed doors of the shoppes, geared up in running attire, ready to dash through the Culinaria 5k. A fellow runner was wearing a t-shirt that encapsulated the entire event “I run so I can wine.” Upon completion of the 1.5 laps around the outdoor mall, runners were treated to not only the standard water, bananas, and granola bars, but to a walk around food and wine festival. Nothing like 19 Crimes Cab Sauv before 9 am after a 3.1 mile run. Restaurants from all over the area had tents and tables set up, dishing out carnitas, sangrias, and famously fluffy pancakes from Magnolia (whose line started with the first finishers of the race). Cooking on an open griddle, steam billowed from their shack. Served with whipped butter and warm syrup, the flapjacks felt like warm marshmallows to the touch. Similar to a fresh donut, the pancakes dissolved in your mouth, suffusing it with the  signature “sour” twang from buttermilk and the nuttiness from the flat top grill.

After a rest and a shower, my day continued with another jaunt through the Pearl district. The same location from a previous post on Cured, the ex-brewery is now a shopping, art, and culinary space. While everywhere are the signs of the old brewery, brick buildings, rusted metal structures, what stands out is the wooden shack. The Granary ‘cue and brew looks like it could be a sugar shack in the North Woods. The microbrewery kettles stand prominently in copper between the entrance and the bar. Seated and perusing the beer menu, I select a Belgian trippel. I’m a fan of the heavier gravity and lighter flavors of Belgian styles brews, and after tasting two others, the mild orange rind bitterness and slight spice of cinnamon came through a background sweetness of almost hard cider flavor.

I always endeavor to sample as much of a restaurant’s offerings as I can, particularly the establishment’s specialties. In pursuit of this, I ordered the market meat platter and the beef clod (part of the shoulder). The meat platter came with pulled pork and beef brisket with sides of beans and german potato salad. After tasting the beans, I asked if I could swap the potatoes for a second bowl. Pieces of meat, a variety of beans in a rich molasses, and tomato paste sauce were heavily perfumed with smoke. Both the beans and the meat gave way at the slightest pressure of the tongue, melting in my mouth.

The beef clod was plated with coffee quinoa, baked to a hard crunch. Tomato caramel replaced the traditional barbeque sauce in this playful reinterpretation of brisket. Red, brown, purple, and black shaded the tender center of the cut. Its outer edges firmer with a burnt end char. Sweet, smoke, spice, and umami meshed with contrasting textures with each bite. Chased with a cold beer, I could proudly call my day complete.