Trying out a wing joint in San Antonio.
Last Friday night, after one of the worst wind/hail/thunderstorms we've encountered in 11 months of living here, we made the painfull (for me) drive down to Bertram to meet up with the old Fiero car group I've been a member of for the last 21 years. Bertram is a nice little (and old) town and we went down the winding hilly FM 2657/963 to Burnet then over to Bertram on 27. (If I ever go again, I'll take the Eastern route down 195 out of Killeen and thru Florence) The car meet went great but we planned on leaving Sat afternoon but there was a wine/art/junk festival wife wanted to walk around before we left and I didn't feel like eating festival food from a vendor booth. There are some good places to eat in Bertram, but....
Stay out of a place in Bertram called Flanigans. We crossed the tracks just as the old Cedar Park train pulled in and it was interesting to see the old cars disgorge their tourists. The building itself is great. An old saloon downstairs that you could easily envision Matt, Festus and Miss kitty sitting in with a view of the upstairs where you can see the old hotel room doors but that's where the good parts end.
Eclectic' is not a word I ever want associated with food ever again but that very description that should have been clue #1.
I ordered something I never thought it possible to f*** up.. I mean you have to work really hard to screw up something with only 2 ingredients and one of those comes already fixed right out of a little bag...right? WRONG!
No pics but I feared the worst when the girl told me they always "serve our Frito pie 'Austin Style'. Clue #2. Fears were justified.
1. Came on a big plate with the fritos & chili obscured by a big pile of green crap. Spinach, cabbage, lettuce and celery. WTF????? On a Frito pie???
2. After scraping that sh** off onto an empty saucer, I spied the chili only to find some moron had molested it with beans IN the chili.
3. Came proudly procalimed with 'home made pickles and sliced jalapenos'. Pickles may not have come froma store but I'd hate to see the home they were made in.. I'd comment on their taste, if only they had any. The peppers looked the part but their taste too was missing as was their heat. They would have been in negative territory on the Scoville chart. I've had bell peppers hotter.
4. I ordered just water. (the girl asked "Would you like a water glass?" I replied "Only if it comes with some ice and water in it." She gave me a dirty look but brought wife and I each a glass of ice water.) Now, I realize most of the city water around here, including here at home comes from a lake and not wells and I'm used to it sometimes having a little off taste but it
AIN'T SUPPOSED to smell and taste like dead fish!!! It was sure 'nuff nasty.
I'm pretty sure some damyankee or fugitive from the extreme NorthWest/NorthEast moved down here for tax relief and bought an old building and turned it into a refuge for other yankees or socialists from some Eastern bloc country but they won't have to worry about this born and raised Texan ever darkening their doors again and even my Yankee raised wife said she never wanted to endure a meal like that again but she's been in Texas for nearly 4 decades now.
Anyway, that's my food critique for this week.
