Day 9: Mostly sightseeing
Miles: 125
Roadfood: New Braunfels Smokehouse, Olmos Pharmacy

Today was a laid back day. I finished posting yesterday s log and drove out to New Braunfels for breakfast at the Smokehouse.

The best thing about this breakfast was the smoked pork chop, the biscuits, and the fresh fruit. The pork chopped had been smoked to the point of being flavorful. So many places inject smoke flavor rather than use real smoke. The Smokehouse uses real smoke, and you can tell the difference. There is a slightly bitter flavor to many commercially  smoked meats. You do not find that bitterness at the Smokehouse, just a mellow, flavorful smokiness that is pleasant on your tongue.

The biscuits were light and fluffy and freshly made. However, the scrambled eggs were overcooked and hacked to bits on the grill. They were inedible. The potatoes were real hash browns and OK for what they were. The fresh fruit garnish was a nice touch. I have not been eating much fruit and the beautiful large fresh strawberry was perfect. This is watermelon season in Texas and the slice of watermelon was fresh and tasty.

After a short drive through the hill country I wound up coming into town from the north so I stopped back at Olmos Pharmacy for lunch.

I ordered a patty melt and a cherry shake. I wanted chocolate malt, but the malt machine was not working today. The patty melt was perfectly done. The meat was juicy and the bread was grilled to perfection. The sandwich was grilled until it had just the right brownness to impart flavor and a crispness that most patty melts are lacking. With a little mustard, this was a perfect sandwich.

I do not usually like raw tomatoes. However, when I noticed that the tomatoes I was served were not your usual hothouse commercial tomatoes, I decided to try them. I put a little salt on them and was rewarded with a marvelous fresh locally grown tomato that you do not find even in the summer in most restaurants.

I admit that I was stumped as to how to handle the way the cherry shake was served. They give you a small glass that has the whipped cream in the bottom half. I always thought the whipped cream went on the top of the shake. Then they give you the cup containing the shake right off the mixing machine.

I did not know quite what to do with this, so I poured some of the shake over the whipped cream and ate it with a spoon. Then I tried to pour some more into the little cup. The shake kind of missed the cup and spilled on the counter. Then I noticed I was wearing the shake as well. I got a straw and finished the rest of the shake by drinking it right out of the stainless steel mixing cup. Oh – by the way  it was a great shake. Fresh made with real ice cream and mixed on an old fashioned shake mixing machine.

Olmos is a must for breakfast or lunch when you are in San Antonio.

My project for the afternoon was to take a long walk on the Riverwalk and see if anybody could draw a Guinness properly. I tried what were supposed to be two Irish pubs and one
English pub. I tried a pint in each. Only one Irish pub kinda sorta served the draught with an almost decent waterfall.

My yardstick is an Irish pub in Old City Philadelphia called the Plough and Stars. They served a Guinness that seemed like it took five minutes to draw and the waterfall went on for several minutes. Oh well, I guess it was too much to hope for in a tourist area in San Antonio during happy hour.

Since  there is a sandwich in every glass , I skipped dinner and continued my walk. Here are some additional photos from my walk.

http://www.roadfood.com/insider/photos/862,21,203894.052,1,7586,66.239.79.2
203945,203894,203894,2006-05-24 23:37:53,RE: NJ to TX In Search of TX BBQ”