Nosh — and the new menu!

I have long been a fan of Nosh, located on the floor of the same building that  houses Silo’s on Austin Highway.  And when I read a couple of weeks back that there would be a new chef, Luca Della Casa, formerly with Il Sogno) and a new menu, I was sad that I would no longer be able to stop by for a plate of Korean beef tacos, or the jalapeno poppers, or the fresh donut holes, or….well, you get the idea.  I loved the old menu!  But there is always room for something new, and so last night I tried the new Nosh menu, accompanied by a friend who also loved the old menu.

The new menu rolled out Tuesday of last week, although no version of it appeared online (or was obtainable by fax or email) until this week; and by the time we dined last night, that version had been changed. Obviously we were visiting a work in progress.  This became even more evident as we asked the waitstaff questions about ingredients, etc.  that they either had to look up in their notes  or go back and ask. Still, the staff was making a valiant effort and our waiter Arturo was unabashedly enthusiastic about  — well, everything!!

The menu is divided into five sections: snacks, small plates, salads, pizzas, and treats.  In the interest of gastronomic research, we tried at least one item from each part of the menu.

I love arancini, and so of course the Nosh version was the first item ordered.

The arancini at Nosh

These small fried balls were packed with risotto, parmesan, and sweet peas and came with a very good dipping sauce that contained more peas and pancetta. The sauce was excellent, and the arancini were good.  “Arancini” means “little oranges,” and these looked and were sized more like donut holes.  They could be larger and better shaped, like the fabulous ones Chef Rob used to create at RoMo’s.   A larger size would also accommodate the peas a bit better.  The sauce was perfect. Overall, for $8 I would order it again, but would like to see larger, if fewer, pieces.

We also sampled the mixed charcuterie block.

Charcuterie mixed block

A splash of honey with comb, a slice of toasted bread, and spicy red peppers accompanied the slices of pancetta and sopressa.  The cheeses were pecorino, aged goat and cow’s milk.   The honey was an especially nice touch.  For $18 this seemed a bit pricey, but the assortment was well thought out and nicely presented.

The arancini and charcuterie are part of the snacks menu.  From the salad section, we tried the shrimp salad.

Nosh shrimp salad

This salad was exquisite. Large, firm shrimp were served with tomato, basil, thin slices of cucumber, and small bits of avocado.  The lemon vinaigrette was perfect for the dish. At $10, this salad was a steal for the quality and flavored it delivered. Plus, the presentation was perfect.

From the small plates section, we tried the buffalo mozzarella skewers.

Nosh buffalo mozzarella skewer

For one thing, the menu said “skewers” and we received one. The waiter assured us that only one came with the order (so that would be “skewer” without the “s,” folks). It arrived sort of over on the side of the plate and honestly, the plate looked more empty than dressed.  Perhaps a different plating could be used? The basil sauce that accompanied it was very good. The combination of mozzarella, grilled eggplant, roasted tomato, and fried sweet potato — well, it just didn’t work for either of us.  The individual flavors were good and the sauce was terrific. But at $10, this seemed a pricey ordering error.

Fortunately, “the bomb” pizza that arrived shortly had a enough flavor and quality to make us forget the skewer.

Nosh’s The Bomb

This little pizza packed a LOT of flavor.  The advertised spicy tomato sauce spicy and tomatoey and perfect. The red onion, soppressata and mozzarella were good, and the capers provided a  pleasant bite.  But the sauce was the star. The crust was thin and crisp — the pizzas are made on a grill, since there is no pizza over there.  And it was perfect, and a good deal at $10.

(As a side note, I ordered the margherita pizza to go for a friend.  At $8, it was a great deal and it traveled well. )

Nosh’s margherita pizza to go!

So that left us the treats section, and we tried both of the offerings. First came the tiramisu, which the waiter told us was based on the chef’s grandmother’s recipe.

Nosh tiramisu

If this is the chef’s grandmother’s recipe, then I would be willing to buy her a house next to mine in return for her making me this every day. The mascarpone was light and tasty and the whole dish rich and wonderful.  This tiramisu is by far the best on offer in San Antonio. At $5, this dessert is sooooo worthwhile.

And to our surprise, we liked the fried sweet gnocchi just as much — well, almost as much, as the tiramisu.

Nosh’s fried sweet gnocchi

Served with dollops of nutella and dulce de leche, these unusual sweet treats may look a bit funky, but they taste divine –light and airy.  I can see that every time I visit Nosh, I will have to order both desserts.

I know that the new Nosh menu is a work in progress, but most of the progress is going in the right direction.  The chef seems to have a perfect hand with the sauces, which contributed a great deal to the offerings.   And new features keep being added; the menu shows a list of daily features about to be offered: on Tuesday, house-made gnocchi; Wednesday, braised short rib and parmesan risotto; Thursday meatloaf and vegetable (I wonder if this is also his grandmother’s recipe; I may have to get myself adopted); Friday wild boar and polenta; and Saturday seafood tagliatelle.

Finding a decent polenta in San Antonio is hard, and a good risotto almost impossible, so I will definitely be at Nosh soon on a Wednesday and a Friday.  And I do regret that I have not tried any of the pasta dishes — but I was too busy trying everything else.

So several trips to Nosh are definitely in the future.  I look forward to seeing how this new menu will continue to evolve!

Thai O’Cha in Universal City — Great Thai Food and Buffet

I remember a time when it was hard to find good Thai food in the San Antonio area; now there are a number of good places from which to choose. Thai O’Cha is one of the smaller Thai restaurants, but it has a lot to offer.

To be honest, I drove by Thai O’Cha several times before I decided to try it.  Located on E. Aviation in Universal City, the restaurant is located in a small, older strip mall, and most of the parking is in the back.  Situated close to the Randolph AFB front gate, Thai O’Cha is unpretentious, but the food served there is really good.

Thai O’Cha is open Monday through Saturday, serving a bountiful buffet at lunch for $8.95 and a full menu at dinner.

If you love good Thai food, the noon buffet at Thai O’Cha is for you.  Or if you are new to Thai dining, the buffet is a wonderful introduction, as it allows you to sample over a dozen good Thai dishes to find your favorites.  There are 12 hot dishes; two salads; fresh veggies including lettuce, tomato and cucumbers; cheese rolls and spring rolls; chicken wings and pork ribs; Thai pumpkin and coconut milk, warm coconut tapioca, fresh cantaloupe and watermelon; plus ground peanuts, oils and sauces. Hot dishes on the last day I was there included cashew chicken, yellow curry chicken, panang beef, mixed stir fry, pad Thai, fried rice, pork laab, eggplant delight, and pad woon sen.

There was so much to choose from that I managed to devour three plates of food with no repeating.

I am used to buffets with a half dozen or so offerings, but the buffet here was extensive, and its offerings were balanced to provide a good cross-section of its regular menu.  The dishes were kept refilled and all of the food was good. And then there was dessert, for which I chose  the warm coconut tapioca.

On a nighttime visit, we tried the Thai O’Cha spring rolls.

These come deep-fried in a crispy rice-paper wrapper that gives the rolls an interesting texture. The veggies and noodles in the rolls are complemented by the thin, savory sauce and the crisp pieces of lettuce that accompany. Wrap, dip and eat. Repeat. Yum!

I like pad kee mao, often referred to as drunken noodles.

The wide rice noodles, chicken, holy basil, onions, tomato and chiles are stir-fried together and the results are amazing. The fish sauce/soy sauce flavorings nicely accent the chicken and veggies.  The helping was so generous that I took half home, and it reheated beautifully the next day.

The Thai fried rice with pork was also very good and the ingredients were extremely fresh. Again, the serving size was quite generous.

On another visit, I tried the crispy pad Thai, a dish that is not on many Thai menus. The Thai O’Cha version was excellent.

In this version, the pad Thai noodles are fried to a golden crispiness, and then are combined with bean sprouts,  then accented with a savory sauce.  Nine plump medium shrimp were added to the dish, and some chopped peanut was added on top.  The results were incredible.  The crispy pad Thai was crunchy, but the sprouts kept the dish moist.  The fried noodles held up well to the sauce. Even though the portion was huge, I managed to finish — I could tell it wouldn’t heat well — but that was just an excuse.  I finished the plate because the dish was just that good! I would order it again in a minute!

The regular pad Thai was also good.

The noodles were moist and the sprouts and chicken were fresh and tasty.  While I liked it, the crispy version, with a heavier sauce, would be my choice of the two.  Still, when I hit the buffet, the regular pad Thai always ends up on my plate.

In addition to the warm coconut tapioca, there is some excellent coconut ice cream on the dessert menu.

Available with or without the sticky rice, this ice cream is rich and has a strong coconut flavor.  This is probably my favorite coconut ice cream in the city.

Thai O’Cha is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.  Prices for dinner dishes run in the $7-12 range. Recommended highly!

Old River City Cafe in New Braunfels — Wow!

I don’t remember when or where I first heard about the Old River City Cafe in New Braunfels.  Located on FM 725 in New Braunfels, south of IH 35 and on the way to McQueeney, the cafe looked like it might prove a pleasant destination for a Sunday afternoon drive and lunch.  Then about a month ago, I looked at its webpage and checked out the menu.  Burgers?  Check.  BBQ?  Check.  Chicken fried steak?  Check.  But just as I was about to classify it as a run-of-the-mill country eatery, I see “chicken Cordon Bleu.”  Hmm.  Beer battered, honey mustard sauce, pepper jack cheese — it sounded intriguing.

So this past Sunday we headed north on IH 35 and exited on FM 725 and found the Old River City Cafe a couple of miles down the road on the left.  I have to admit that the small, nondescript sign almost allowed us to miss the place.

Old River City Cafe sign — taken from the parking lot

And speaking of nondescript — I must admit that the building itself gave me pause.

The front door

Fancy, it ain’t.  The restaurant website invites us to “enjoy the historic atmosphere of the old NBC (National Building Centers) building originally built in Downtown New Braunfels on Castell Ave. and moved many years later to its present location.”  Okay — this took a bit of imagination.  But we were there, and when we entered, the place looked like the usual Texas rustic antique and junk-lined restaurant.

Inside the Old River City Cafe

The place was clean and the tables and chairs were solid, comfortable wood.  It was nice. We were quickly greeted by the young lady who would wait on us that day and we were seated and asked for our drink orders.

The front counter at the Old River City Cafe

When the drinks came, I was all read to order the chicken Cordon Bleu when the waitress started to recite the daily special.  “Today our  special is osso bucco. The osso bucco features our chicken shanks in a red wine reduction. It’s served with poblano mashed potatoes and a Spanish vegetable medley.”

Oh, my.  Now I had to think.  So we ordered the roasted salsa roja with chips to begin.

Roasted salsa roja with tortilla chips

The chips were served warm.  The menu claims that they are homemade, and while I was not sure about that, the warm chips were good.  The salsa was excellent, spiked with just enough jalapeno to give it bite and a nice touch of garlic.

My dining companion went for the two meat BBQ plate, with ribs and sausage.

BBQ ribs and sausage, with sides of cole slaw and green beans

The pork ribs had a nice, smoky flavor and were juicy; the sausage was also juicy and delicious, and the sides were good.

I went for the osso bucco.  I just had to.  And it was wonderful.

Osso bucco with chicken shanks, poblano potatoes and Spanish vegetable medley

The presentation was very nice.  And yes, I know that traditional osso bucco is veal.  But the chicken shanks (thighs) worked very, very well.  The thigh meat is the most flavorful meat of the chicken, and these thighs were juicy and tender. The red wine reduction was perfect — a sauce, not a gravy.  And the poblano mashed potatoes — There.Are.No.Words.  They were delicious and went perfectly with the chicken and the wine sauce. The Spanish vegetable medley featured fresh green beans,tomato and two small corn cobbettes; it was delicious.  All of the elements of this plate went together beautifully.  I would order it again in a flash. I would order it as a last meal. It was THAT good.

Now, I don’t mean to give the BBQ short shift here. It was good barbecue.  I would have been happy with a plate of it. But the osso bucco was THAT good — maybe even more so because it was unexpected.  Have I mentioned how good the osso bucco was?

For dessert, I ordered the Blumen apple pastry.

Blumen Apple Pastry

“Blumen” is German for “bloom,” and this dessert consisted of a flat piece of pastry with the edges cut and folded up into flower form.  The pastry was good and the apple filling was tasty.  The vanilla ice cream was good. Overall, this was a nice attempt at a pretty and different presentation of apple pie or tart.

The peach cobbler was also good.

Peach cobbler with ice cream

The cobbler was more of a cake with peaches layered in. It was good, but more cake than peaches, maybe because we got a corner piece.

Throughout the meal, our server was very attentive, and she was happy to talk about the food and the various restaurant specials.  There is a daily lunch special.  On Fridays the place offers prime rib, and on Saturdays all-you-can-eat fried catfish. This coming Saturday, there will be a baby back rib special.

The Old River City Cafe was a very happy surprise.  I know I will be back, and soon, because I haven’t tried that chicken Cordon Bleu…..

Siam Cuisine — Great Thai Food in Schertz

Attention to detail and really great food — these are the hallmarks of Siam Cuisine in Schertz.  Located in a small strip mall just north of the Walmart at FM 3009 and IH 35, this family owned restaurant serves up dishes from all the areas of Thailand.

Siam Cuisine

Just reading through the menu can teach a diner about Thai cuisine.  There is a choice of three set menus that serve 2 for $35.95; diners can choose from tours of northern, central or southern Thai dining.  This is interesting to read through, and more interesting to eat from, as these set menus give you an idea of regional flavors as well as an idea of what a traditional Thai meal is like.

This last time we were ordering a la carte.  The menu is extensive, offering a large variety of noodle dishes, stir fries, rice dishes, soups, salads and more.  As usual, we started with the spring rolls or po pia tod.

Po Pia Tod

The golden brown, crisp fried wrappers held a flavorful mix of mushroom, vegetables and glass noodles.  Served with a homemade sweet and sour sauce (so homemade that our bowl contained a plum pit — but no worries because it showed the sauce was fresh and homemade!), the rolls were really good.

We also ordered the gai satay, or grilled curry-marinated chicken strips. This turned out to be a quite substantial appetizer.

Gai Satay

The grilled chicken held a very light curry flavor, and the excellent thick peanut sauce went well with it.  Toast points and a very good chunky cucumber vinegar salad accompanied;  all of these elements worked well together — so well that I wished this came in a meal-size offering. The peanut sauce here gets special mention due to its richness and thickness.

I love pork larb, and so I ordered it as my entree.

Pork larb

Minced pork was mixed with onion, coriander, kaffir lime leaves and chilies ; there was also a slight taste of fish sauce.  I ordered mine with medium heat, as the pork mixture is served with slices of cucumber and pieces of iceberg lettuce that help cool down the spiciness.  I ordered a small bowl of rice to accompany the larb. Just as with the gai satay, the varying elements of the dish worked well together to maximize the flavors of the various ingredients. The variety of textures was also nice. This dish, like the appetizers, showed real attention to the details and the balance of this dish.

The Thai fried rice entree, or Siam Kho Pad,  was also excellent.

Khao Pad

Generous slices of roasted pork were stir-fried with rice, tomato, onions, and green onions. Served with cucumber slices and a lime slice for squeezing, this entree was fresh and really good.

After a meal of good Thai dishes, dessert must follow, especially if homemade coconut ice cream is on the menu.

Coconut ice cream

We opted to skip the usual accompanying sticky rice and stick with just ground peanut. The coconut ice was rich, creamy and cold and the flavor was amazing.
We also ordered the fried bananas.

Fried bananas

A banana was cut into bite-size pieces and flash-fried in a very light tempura-style coating. A small dish of honey accompanied the piping hot banana pieces.

Now, how to eat dessert: Place a fried banana on your plate.  Top with a small spoonful of honey. Top that with a small spoonful of coconut ice cream.  Eat and really, really, REALLY enjoy.

The service during our visit was absolutely excellent. The waitstaff worked as a team, and our tea and water glasses were kept full at all times. Also, pretty much everyone in the front of the house came by at least once to ask us if we needed anything and to make sure we were enjoying our meals.  They also offered to answer any questions we had about the dishes. The attentive staff was one of the many ways in which this small place pays attention to detail.

I will be back to Siam Cuisine, and soon.  Oh — and if you go with me, remember that while I am willing to share the fried bananas and coconut ice cream with you, when the bananas are gone, the remaining ice cream is MINE.

Williams Confectionary Crafts — Live Oak–Breakfast and Lunch Specials

The name sounds like a bakery, and indeed baked goods are part of the charm of Williams Confectionary Crafts on Toepperwein Road, not far from NE Methodist Hospital.  But the wide variety of cakes and bar cookies and cupcakes, etc. is only part of the charm of this small, family owned eatery.  Open Monday through Friday for breakfast, lunch and early dinner, and on Saturday for breakfast and lunch, this little places seats maybe 35 folks.  But those who occupy those seats will be eating some of the best breakfasts and daily specials around, and they will feel like they’ve been treated like family.

Williams Confectionary Crafts

The food here is made-to-order, so while the service is attentive, your dining experience will be leisurely. Breakfast is served all day long. My favorite is the special omelette.

Special omelette

Fresh egg is folded over cheese, ham, bacon, and sausage mixed with fresh mushroom, tomato, onions, green pepper and fresh spinach leaves. Served with toast, this omelette is just really good eating. It makes for a delicious breakfast or brunch.  There are a number of omelette choices, plus waffles, eggs and bacon, and much more.  No matter what time of the day I visit Williams, breakfast seems to be the main attraction.

Each day also features a choice of daily specials. Monday is smothered chicken or beef tips.  My dining companion loves good beef tips and says that Williams has the best he has ever eaten.

Beef tips over white rice

A generous serving of tender beef tips in a flavorful beef gravy is served over plain white rice and is accompanied by a wheat roll. The special is served with a choice of sides, in this case green beans and corn (the other option was a mac and cheese, which we have had before and which is really good).

Some cupcakes traveled home with us.  The carrot cake cupcake was so fresh that we had to wait for it to be iced.

Carrot cake cupcake

This cupcake was very moist and the cream cheese frosting was really good. The red velvet cupcakes had a good flavor but the texture was a bit dry.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Williams Confectionary Crafts is a terrific family owned restaurant with a friendly atmosphere.  I think almost everyone who works there is a member of the family.  So go have breakfast or lunch there some day — and don’t forget the bakery cases on the way out.

Spud Ranch in New Braunfels

I must admit that the name “Spud Ranch” intrigued me.  I have always loved baked potatoes, and so I decided to try Spud Ranch when I had a chance to do so. What I found was a small, clean restaurant with seating for about 35 or 40 customers.  Located on Common Street in New Braunfels near Schlitterbahn and Prince Solms Park, Spud Ranch offers a variety of stuffed baked potatoes as well as burgers, sandwiches and salads and appeared to be a perfect place for a family to eat after a day outdoors.

We went in and ordered at the counter, then got our drinks from the serve-yourself drink area.  While we waited for our food, I noticed several customers come in and pick up take-out orders, so this place seems to have a loyal local following as well as day-tripper drop-ins.

The menu features a wide variety of stuffed potatoes, including a traditional with sour cream, cheese, bacon and chives; a couple of veggie stuffed spuds; and other spuds stuffed with beef, chicken, turkey, chili, and more.

I ordered the beef spud, and I really liked it.

Beef Spud

Shaved ribeye, grilled onions, cheese and sour cream came on the spud, which had to weigh at least a pound and a half on its own; it filled most of the little plastic basket in which it was served.The was a lot of meat here, and it was still tender and juicy and the onions seemed freshly grilled.  My request for extra sour cream was quickly filled.  The potato was very hot and very tender, and the sour cream and cheese melted right in. The result was very tasty! This spud was a huge meal in itself, and cost me right around $6.50.

My non-spud dining companion tried the Texas Burger.

A generous patty was served on Texas toast with all of the usual trimmings and was pronounced juicy and excellent. Burgers and other sandwiches can be ordered a la carte or in a combo with fries and a drink.

All of the tables around us were filled with happy diners.  Spuds, burgers and fries were being happily consumed by folks who looked like they’d had a day at the river. It was especially good to have the drinks area self-serve on such a hot day. I enjoyed my visit to Spud Ranch and look forward to the next one!

The Roaring Fork — brunch and steaks

I had been to the Roaring Fork before, but when I heard that there was a new brunch menu, I decided it was time for another visit.  So four of us arrived on a recent Sunday to see what the new menu had to offer.

As always, we were promptly seated upon arrival.  The first slight problem in our visit came when one of our group — a dedicated meat-eater — asked the hostess if the usual steaks were available in addition to the new menu, and she said that they were not, and that only the items on the brunch menu were available.

Now, one of the virtues of the Roaring Fork is that unlike most of the local steakhouses, it is open for lunch (albeit only on the weekends), and another virtue is that three steaks — a filet, a New York strip, and a ribeye — are always available during lunch, despite not being printed on the menu. Fortunately, we asked our waiter when she appeared and were told that the steaks and the side dishes were definitely available. Managers — train your host staff!

So everything was good to go, and the meal started pleasantly with a complimentary plate of cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

The rolls were fresh from the oven, warm, and recently drizzled with icing. The bread reminded me of brioche. Studded with pecans, these cinnamon rolls were so rich and good that they could have been a meal in themselves.  The waiter obligingly brought another plate when these disappeared.

As an appetizer, the chicken flatbread was again a winner.

Chicken flatbread

The flatbread was covered with pepper jack cheese, tasty shredded chicken, roasted peppers, and tomatoes. Drizzled with basil pesto, the flatbread was more than enough for four to share.

One of our group ordered a Caesar salad.

Caesar salad

Crisp, chopped romaine lettuce was topped by shavings of parmesan cheese and accented by a Caesar dressing that was not overly heavy on the anchovy. A nice touch was the slice of toasted flatbread served in lieu of the routine croutons.

Two of our party decided to split a 22-oz ribeye.

Ribeye steak

The meat was tender and juicy and the steak was cooked to medium-rare perfection.  The server was happy to set up the table so the steak could be shared.

In fact, one of the sub-themes of the Roaring Fork seems to be shared dishes.  The sides are large enough for 2 or 3 people to share.  One favorite is the Yukon gold mashed potatoes.

Yukon gold mashed potatoes

These rich, creamy potatoes were an excellent complement to the steak, as was the grilled street corn.

Grilled street corn

Bits of onion, tomato and cilantro went well with  the corn flavor.  Both of these sides came in small cast-iron kettles that made them easy to pass and share.

From the new brunch menu came the interesting RF Stack.

RF Stack

One crisply fried corn tortilla was covered with green chili pork stew, then topped with another crisp corn tortilla. Fried egg topped the stack, and salsa, cilantro and grated jack cheese garnished the dish.  The flavors worked well together and the dish had some crunch due to the fried corn tortillas.  Kudos to the chef for using the crispy tortillas whole and not wimping out by using fried strips.

The meaty, spicy green pork chili stew was also featured in another brunch offering

Green pork chili stew with eggs

A cast-iron skillet of the stew came with oven-roasted eggs on top.  The combination of hearty stew and rich egg was simply excellent.  Unfortunately, the tortillas were not homemade, tasted bland and reheated, and were a distraction to the dish. Why not serve some of that fresh, crisp flatbread instead?

No brunch would be complete without dessert, and as full as we were, we managed to try three. The fruit pie of the day was apple and date.

Apple and date pie

Sliced apples and rich dates were baked together en croute, and the result was an individual pie with luscious filling and  too much crust, as the exterior crust was somewhat too thick.  Served warm with ice cream, the pie was good, but a lot of crust was left on the plate.

The toffee chocolate pecan pie was another choice.

Chocolate pecan pie

Served as the more traditional wedge, this slice of pie was very sweet. The toffee and chocolate flavors worked well together, the pecans added a nice crunch,  and the accompanying ice cream helped to cut the sweetness, while the crust was flaky and firm.

The huckleberry cheesecake was the third choice.

Huckleberry cheesecake

This individual cheesecake came with a sturdy graham cracker crust. It was pretty to look at, and as a cheesecake it was creamy and rich, but there was very little berry flavor either in the cheesecake or the accompanying sauce.

Throughout the meal, the service was excellent, and overall the food was very good.  And for sure, with the size of portions at the Roaring Fork, no one will walk away hungry.