Tong's Thai has patio seating. http://www.tongsthai.com/
Piatti in the Quarry has outdoor seating. http://www.piatti.com/sanantonio/

These are just off the top of my head.

"People recommend Bill Miller to me a lot."

you need to get new "people" seriously.
sa has its 'good' chorizo places, its 'bad' chorizo places and its 'chorizo-colored egg' places. in my business neck of the woods, there are four taquerias within a mile and a half. each off them offer strengths and deficiencies. i drive to the one which serves the best that i am in the mood for. and a two taco and tea breakfast for four bucks is a steal.
as for q. aplenty. two bros. augies. the (bob's) smokehouse. ...
really. get new people.

why do i always forget the ww white classic? i'm heading there next week for a late lunch. thx for the reco.

i used to like hoover's meatloaf. i didn't realize they moved back. do u have an addy for them?

clams casino pizza. say no more. best-american-pie - e-v-e-r.

i'd offer a second for la tuna for lunch. a plate of the deep fried mushrooms as a starter for three or four would be a nice start to the fish tacos (served with non-slimy nopalitos...substitute on request)

world-class food at le reve.

bohanan's used to serve the best fois gras in the city. not sure if it is still on the menu, but if it is, enjoy it. have a plate or two between three or four with an apertif. if you love beef, stay for dinner (it's a steakhouse, nothing extraordinary nor disappointing. although local, there are adequate steaks to be had anywhere in the city...the palm, morton's fleming's ounce, etc.)

I'm looking for meatloaf recommendations (near-perfect, good, bad and never-again) in the SA area. I've suffered through two miserable days looking for grandmother's meatloaf. Details below.
I have not had a very good experience with meatloaf over the past two days. Yesterday, I had the daily special at Mr Tim's on Presa. Half-way between moist and dry, with a very funky sauce...I swear there were small chunks of pineapple in the thin tomato-based sauce that topped the slice. Very generous portion, but not entirely what i was expecting. [I'll provide a full review of Mr. Tim's shortly]
Today found me at Tommy Moore's on Hackberry. I've had many good meals here, but today's meatloaf disappointed entirely. More dry than moist and covered with a very sweet and chunky pomodoro sauce. Too much sauce, and entirely too sweet. I did taste a clean fork's full of the corn bread dressing from my companion's plate. Absolute perfection.

i don't get to the board as often as i like, but you might want to give radicke's on ww white rd. they serve jalapeno fried chicken (thighs only, if i remember correctly). monday's feature is chicken and dumplings, just like my mid-western grandman used to make.

rant.
[OK. The smoked japs were good. Not great. There has to be a pepper that stands up to smoke, bacon and cheese that has an identity. Pepper flavor was more bell than jap. If i was running the kitchen, I'd pack a bacon-cheese concoction into a habanero, then smoke it. I'm no chef, but I know there are more f-l-a-v-o-r-f-u-l peppers than the standard no-heat japs.]
/rant
Beans are standard fare at any BBQ market. More often than not, they are a requisite side item with too little thought. Often over-cooked, often over-salted. More often than not, the beans are mediocre.
"It's a bbq joint, not a bean joint!"
If you're like me, beans are an integral part of the BBQ experience. They don't take front stage; they compliment. In artist speak, it's all about hue and intensity. Two Bro's does of fine job of complimentary pallets.
I'm not sure how bean karma happened here, but it did. Peaches, bacon and beans. Whatever your reasons for rejecting peaches in beans, I'd offer that you set aside your initial reaction and give them a pint try. The beans are velvety smooth, with bite. These are not your re-re-reheated beans. These are of the original pot variety. The beans are married with satisfying pieces of bacon and bottom-of-the-can peach pieces. How this works (think Boston baked beans without the unfortunate sugary flavor), I don't know. But it works. Not salty. Not sweet. Just a perfect beans in a BBQ market. I'll continue the post later with the potato salad. Then I'll get to the meat.

@rebel6731 - thanks for the post.
After reading the post, I rolled my eyes..."Great, another bbq place in SA," *sigh*" But I was out of bed after breakfast and all of the posts piqued my interest. So I headed north.

The first thing that struck me was the 'Market' designation. It's a nice word choice that evokes early 20th C southern bbq charm, but, really, is it appropriate? In this case, yes. While the walls are not oozing with smoke soot, the installation is decidedly bbq market. Order station, pay station, pickle station and iced tea station.
I ordered a 1/4 lb of [certified angus] brisket, a 1/4 lb of pulled pork, a 1/4 pound of cherry glazed ribs, one sausage link, a 1/4 cup of beans, a 1/4 cup of potato salad, and an order of smoked jalapenos.
If you live by the 'everything tastes better with bacon' mantra, then the smoked jalapenos are your savior. Each jap is stuffed with a semi-spicy soft cheese [cojito?] wrapped in a piece of smoked bacon. The japs are destined to be on the love altar of SoTex fatties for a while. Why? Obviously hand wrought in the back house, and full of love. These japs have no relation to the deep-fried apps in your brain. The concept is not new, but the flavor just might remind you of the first time you had [a fill in the blank, still love/crave/enjoy food creation].

I'll post on the sides tomorrow.

The "flap meat" which you reference is the 'inside' cut of the skirt. It comes from the same cut of meat as skirt, but is typically a larger piece of meat. The small, compact and thin ends of the cut are absolutely tender and much better than the outside skirt which is thicker. The bottom line for any asada is to remove all of the 'silver skin', cook directly over searing coals and under cook the meat.

A couple suggestions to try singly or in some combination with soy sauce:
Fish Sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, freshly zested ginger and a bit of corn starch as a thickening agent. A little bit of sugar can help round out the flavors. Good luck.

Two places for you, both easily accessible from downtown and not more than a10 minute drive. The Smokehouse, Roland Ave at Rigsby is right off I10 E. Augie's Barbed Wire Smokehouse, on St. Mary's St, located off US 281 N just near the SA Zoo is another place for good SA BBQ. My only hit against the Zoo-Q is the sauce...not very good. Pit-smoked and locally owned one-shop BBQ that will satisfy. Google 'em for directions.

Breakfast: Your local taqueria on the way to work. 2 chorizo and egg and a bean and cheese for two and change. Throw in a huge beverage of choice and you still come in well under five.
Lunch: I do a lot of work around Brooks City-Base so I give a huge nod to Chaba Thai in BCB Landing. Skip the tea, opt for ice water, and you come in at less than eight bucks for an as-ordered entree with soup and tip. The basil eggplant, thai hot, is almost perfect.
Dinner: I'm flummoxed. I haven't had a sub-$15 dinner in a while...except for family style. If you put a gun to my head, I'd take the elevator to Bohanan's and have the fois gras appetizer. Of course, you can't tempt fate...or can you?

The last true butcher, like the one my mom and pop dragged me to as a kid, is in SoTex. If you want it, with specific directions ("12-14 lb pork shoulder with skin on") they'll do it. Since I live in SA, I don't have to worry about shipping, but they bend over to meet customer requests. Find 'em here: http://www.bolnersmeats.com/.

BTW, while Central Market was selling USDA Prime aged rib eyes (not dry-aged) for $20+ a pound, Bolner's was selling USDA Prime in-house dry aged for $15.(yes, they hang the sides and butcher on-site). You won't find those deals every day, but, if you want 10# of baseball sirloins, I don't know of anywhere else that you'll find that level of can-do.

You're going to be hard-pressed to find a $15 pp place for dinner that's not a) a zoo b) a no-frills strip mall store-front or c) a haven for folks without enough cash after filling the tank. I'm pretty sure you won't get out the door of Paesano's for your ceiling [why eat there if you don't have a couple plates of the signature Shrimp Paesano]. But pizza can fill the bill, with a salad. I'd recommend Rome's Pizza (http://www.romespizza.com/menu.htm) on DeZavala. The pies aren't write-home-to-..., but they are good. They've built a good following with area residents, even though you eat off of paper plates. The salads are predominately iceberg, but the house dressing is good enough.
Bring your own ambiance, and have a satisfying pie and salad for well under $15 a head.

eyedoc...thanks for the post. My pop was talking about this very pizzeria tonight at dinner. He said the pies were great, and he talked at length about how perfect the crust was, how they made the mozz every day in house, eteceteras. But, he didn't think the prices would be able to sustain it in a price-conscious city. Any thoughts out there?

All of the following are local. All are walk or take a cab.

Steak: Bohanan's Prime Steaks & Seafood, A great fois gras starter and a wonderful room. On Houston St. Make reservations.

Sandwiches: Schilo's Delicatessen on Commerce. You won't find the mile-high NY style deli sandwiches, but it's pretty good.

Carib-infuenced: Azuca on S.Alamo. Good food, and good thing you're not trying to find a parking spot on the weekend.

Continental: Le Frite Belgian Bistro on (? S Alamo ?)...great hanger steak and moulles frites.

After dinner quiet time: Havana Riverwalk's Club Cohiba. Order your drinks at the bar, and then go up the steps to the right, take a left onto the quietest veranda on the river.

Google any of these appended with "San Antonio," and you'll have no trouble finding addresses and phone numbers [i'm lazy, so sue me]

It's been a while since I last was in Lakewood, but, kids or no kids, Cafe Brazil on Lower Greenville was always a nice walk-to place for Sunday breakfast....

If you're referring to the HEB Central Market on Broadway about the bread, I'd suggest that you give it another try. Although it's a supermarket, I haven't found better french bread (crusty and hard on the outside, pillowy and full of yeast holes on the inside) in this fair city. The Central Market bakery may be in a supermarket with supermarket quantities, but the breads are near-equivalents to what I used to get from my boulangerie in Belgium years ago.

Too bad about the the italian sausage...give the chicken/feta/spinach sausage a try at Central Market. It's really good. Fish? Again, Central Market. Spendy as hell, but f-r-e-s-h. Costco has good bargains on farm raised salmon and whole trout...if you're feeding four or more.

There's a halal market on Wurzbach just west of I-10, called Ali Babba. If you like Mediterranean food, it's a great place to get everything you need for a hummus/shish/olive/lamb fest.

Welcome to the smallest city in the US that happens to be the US's 7th most populous...so many contradictions in this gem.

It's actually a quick-stop family mart with a bbq joint attached to the side of it...and it may actually be on the corner of Commerce and Walters. I can never figure out which street is which. It's on the NE corner of Walters and Houston/Commerce, just north of St Phillips College. [so i guess that would be houston st]. In any case, it's really an east side bodega with Q on the side...not a proper restaurant, per se.

The original Rudy's is not cab-fare friendly, nor can you get public transport to the area. I think it's a 12 -15 mile one way trip to the original from downtown. I'd give a whole-hearted second to the Liberty Bar...sit at the bar, eat lunch/dinner and meet some very interesting folks.

As for radiowh0re's other recommendations, you can't really go wrong, although I'd shy away from Budro's and DeWese' Cafe...jmho. If you love a steak, try Bohannan's. It's on Houston next door to the Palm. The candied jalapeño jelly with cream cheese freebie is terrific, as is the fois gras appetizer.

You may want to give Bolner's (http://www.bolnersmeatmarket.com/) a try. They are a proper butcher shop that can Q whatever your heart desires. I'm pretty sure they won't Q on-site, but they've been around since before my parents were born, and they have a very loyal customer base. Family owned and operated since day one.....
There is also a pretty good Q place at the NE corner of Houston and Clark. Some days there's a guy with a trailer-mounted pit parked in the lot (usually Fridays and Saturdays). You may want to talk to them, as I haven't the slightest clue if they'd Q on site or even cater for that matter. But, the Q they serve is the kind of Q I grew up with...good East side brisket with soul (no pun intended).

HEB stores are successful because each store manager is able to cater to his/her local clients, in addition to the standard corporate-required stock. Which is why both Kroger and Safeway stores in San Antonio came and went. The old Safeway in my neck of the woods is now an Azteca store (Goliad/Walters/Southcross), while the old Safeway at Boerne Stage is now....wait for it....an HEB. Not sure why the HEB hasn't moved further north on I-35 than (I think) Waco.

Ditto on Tito's.
Decent table wine: Ste Genevieve Cab or "Red" They're not great, but it's just as good as any table wine you'll find in a cafe or trattoria on the Continent. JMHO.

There are a couple bodegas in the downtown area...just ask your concierge to point you in the direction of the nearest one. You might find some at the Walgreens on Houston and St. Mary's Street (southeast corner)

I might add that Bluebell is good, but it ain't the cat's pajama's either. Me, I tend to the Ben/Jerry spectrum of Phish Food. But, you can find Bluebell ice cream in downtown SA. If all is lost, there's a Haagen Dazs just south of the Alamo (that is, if your standing in front of the Alamo, looking at it, take a right). Hope this helps.

btw, is that friend of yours an TAMU grad?

Have you tried Nick's on Thousand Oaks? As I recall, my mom raved about them. It's a little far for me to travel for a dog, but if you're in the area, give 'em a try.

Central Market makes very scrumptious cakes. The staff is very friendly and helpful. It'd suggest calling ahead to place your order, because the pie case tends to get raided early in the days leading up to the big US holidays. You can follow this link to the main site http://www.centralmarket.com/cm/index... , but unfortunately, no pictures. Just ask the bakery for a quick rundown of the cakes, and tell 'em how many people will be at the feast.

my follow-up to Radicke's Bluebonnet Grill:

Parking is limited, and the store is open for breakfast and lunch M-F. I haven't been for breakfast, but I've gotta give the comfort food seal of approval to this hole-in-the-wall. The kitchen serves a table set of maybe fifty people at a time in the space of my home kitchen. The wait staff are all-business and friendly at the same time. Drink a 44 oz tea with your meal, and ask for a to-go cup with z-e-r-o complaints. The grill doesn't serve insane portions, just a nice fulfilling 6-8 ounce portion of the main course, along with half-cup portions of the sides. This is the food I grew up with: grandma in the kitchen with an oven and a quartet of cast iron skillets on the stove.

I complained about the liver in an earlier post, and on my last visit, I found the suspect liver lobe excised from the plate. If 'perfect liver' is possible, I had it on my last trip. As I declared to the other three at the table, "The person who grilled this obviously loves liver."

I think an obvious reco for this little hole in the wall is how plates go back to the kitchen: empty. I've had better mac-n-cheese at Mr and Mrs G's, I've had better dessert at Bob's on Roland (now know as the smoke house). But I've never had as good of a plate of comfort food as the Bluebonnet Cafe. If you don't agree, lets meet for lunch and dissect the relative pros and cons of this classic food roadhouse.

no body wants to read this, but central market makes good to very good sausage. wieners is what you will seldom find, but the chicken/feta/spinach and other varieties have never disappointed. if you're having a tube steak party, get hebrew national for the kids and a couple dozen mixed plates of CM in-house sausage for the adults and teens. CM is a bit spendy (4.99/lb on deep discount sale), but they n-e-v-e-r disappoint. jmho.