Central Park Pizza - Downtown San Antonio

Central Park Pizza

136 E Main Plz
San Antonio, TX 78205

(210) 223-4880

http://www.centralparkpizzaofny.com

Hours

M-F 11 AM - 8 PM

Sat 12PM - 8PM

Service - 5/5

Food - 5/5

Price - 4/5

Overall - 4.25/5

She Said: 

So Thomas and I were visiting downtown the other day and stumbled upon a pizza place not far from El Mercado.  We almost missed it, but I found the fountain outside the courthouse to be utterly charming, and decided to stop in. Sorry - no pictures today - I forgot my camera.  But we will go back again, I am sure. 

Being from MA, I have a love for good pizza, which is hard to find in Texas.  All too often it is just not right compared to what I grew up with.  Over the nearly 10 years I have been down here, I have tried countless "NY style pizzerias" all of which were disappointing. Until this week.

We decided to get a large cheese pizza to share - in my opinion, you cannot tell the true quality of a pizza until you have tasted it plain.  Toppings are just that, toppings.  You can't have a good sundae with lousy ice cream, and a pizza that doesn't have the mix of sauce, dough, and cheese right isn't going to be that great no matter what you put on top of it. 

Drinks are free refills if you are dining in which is nice.  It took a bit for our pizza to finish in the oven, so I admired the building.  It is an older building, that has been refurbished - you can see where the drywall and plaster has been pulled away to reveal the original brick.  The floors are a nice hardwood and it is a pleasant place to sit an eat.  It can be a bit warm inside but if you go to the few tables all the way in the back, there is an ac unit right there.  Otherwise they have fans going and the restaurant isn't too warm. 

Ah, the pizza - what can I say?  This is easily the best pizza crust I have tasted since moving down here.  The sauce is just right - sweet with a touch of savory oregano, without feeling like you have to go in the kitchen with a tazer and tell the cook to back away from the oregano. The cheese blend was almost right for what I remember, but the cheese is melty and very good.  Overall Thomas almost didn't get to have any pizza, so I guess that means it was good, right?

I highly recommend them.  The staff is nice, the pizza hot and fresh and definitely different from most of what you can get down here. They also serve pasta and subs. 

Val. 

Benny's Tacos on Walzem

Val here:

I don't like a lot of Mexican or Tex Mex or Southwest food.  It tends to be the wrong kind of spicy, and some of the ingredient combinations just don't suit me.  Thomas has been working on introducing me to more of the cooking other than the stereotypical dishes.  I like his homemade carnitas and pork guisado (he is allergic to beef).  I do however, like breakfast tacos.  I am sure these aren't traditional and are totally American, but hey, a quick tasty breakfast is a quick tasty breakfast.

I am very fond of Benny's tacos in the morning.  They make incredibly tasty breakfast tacos - so far my favorites are the potato and egg, and I ask them to add a strip of bacon. Nom Nom Nom.  Their pork chop taco is also really good.  Thomas often gets chorizo and bean, and Goggles likes them too.

We were just there last week, having a quick breakfast after a meeting.  The service was fast, polite and helpful.  The tacos were fresh and delicious.  I got my usual.

They have great prices and if you get there at a reasonable hour of the morning, their more basic breakfast tacos are 2/$1.50 and much healthier than any sandwich at a fast food place. This is the to-go place for breakfast.  They also cater well - we had them make the tacos for Thomas' son's 18th birthday breakfast, and they made an outstanding breakfast.


He says:
If you are in the Walzem area, go there... They have great tacos at cheap prices. Their Salsa Verde is to die for. Get there early during the school year, though. They are a local favourite and get crowded right before school..

Yum Yum Indeed! - Yum Yum Thai on Nacogdoches

Yum Yum Thai
13777 Nacogdoches
Ste 101
San Antonio, TX
210-598-1731
Price Range - inexpensive
Indoor seating only, no television
Music is Asian, played at a moderate level, good for conversation.  Great place for a casual date.
Atmosphere: Very nice, tastefully decorated
Service: Excellent
Value: Incredible.  High quality meals for very reasonable prices, good sized servings.
Overall: 5/5 stars.

She said:
This is one of our regular places to eat.  We go here fairly often in the rotation, so obviously we like it well enough that it is going to be somewhere we go again and again.

Our good friends initially recommended this restaurant, and so we gave it a try.  Oh my goodness.  After the first trip, we kept returning.  We often went to Thai Chalurn on Walzem (and we still do...) but when we have the time to drive out to Yum Yum (which is a lot further from where we live) we get there whenever we can.

The owner and her husband run the restaurant.  She cooks and he is the host with the most.  Kind and courteous, with an excellent memory for faces, he greets and seats the guests whenever he is in.  The waitresses are all sweet and helpful, and if there is something they cannot help with, he comes over and makes sure everything is right.

The restaurant is fairly new, and business is good, but they could do with more customers - so I definitely urge you to give this a try.

This restaurant has a flexible menu and they are great at working with allergies.  All of their ingredients are fresh, and everything is made from scratch.  I tend to be a bit less adventurous than Thomas, so once I find a favorite dish, it is hard for me to order anything else.   I usually get the Orange Chicken, with an appetizer of spring rolls.  Thomas has ordered all over the menu, often getting Laab with pork, and Tom Yum Gai with chicken.

Good news for spice lovers and spice haters - they are VERY flexible as to how hot you order things.  Warning though the difference between hot and Thai hot is exponential.  Do not get the Thai hot unless you really want to burn something off. Thai hot is hot enough that Thomas only gets it sometimes (and this is the man that picks thai peppers off the bush and eats them at work).

Now for the details: Their orange chicken is a crispy fillet of chicken breast, breaded and fried to perfection. It continues to be a bit crisp after the sauce is added, but it is never dry, and never greasy.  The sauce is sweet without being overpoweringly sweet, and they remember just how much Thai pepper to add to it for me.

The spring rolls are crunchy, and the sauce is sweet with a touch of Thai pepper.  The flavor is incredible, and Thomas is happy he can eat them.  They make them with chicken and vegetables and noodles and they are to die for.

I could not do the Laab or Tom Yum Gai justice, so Thomas will come back and post about those.

He Said:
This is one of our favourite places to go out. It is a hole in the wall place that delivers World Class food and service. Fine dining on a family budget.

Everything on the menu is great. I have tried everything that I can (Beef and seafood allergies suck) and have found it all amazing. Pad Thai, Laab, Tom Yum Gai, Spring Rolls... I just can't relate how good and fresh tasting the food is. The bulk of the peppers and other produce they use are sourced locally. So if you are a localvore, this is the place for you.

This Husband/Wife duo take their customer's satisfaction seriously and do everything they can to make sure that everything is right.  Their waitstaff and HusbandOwner keep your drinks filled and table cleared without hovering and the Wife/Owner runs the kitchen like I can imagine her kitchen at the house is. When She isn't cooking She'll come out and chat with the diners and make facetime (one of the things I look for in restaurants.)

If you like Thai food, go eat there. If you've never tried Thai food, go eat there. If you don't like Thai food, they have an excellent Chinese menu, go eat there!

Lucy's Fried Chicken in Austin, TX - Lunch with friends

On our way back to San Antonio, we decided to have lunch with our friends from Tomatoes to Tomatillos; Cornstalks to Queso in Austin.  We called them up and they suggested meeting at Lucy's Fried Chicken.

Overview:
2218 College Ave
Austin, TX 78704

M-F, Sun - 11 - midnight

Sat - 11 - 1AM

Parking: very few spaces

Noise Level: Loud Music, hard to converse inside.

Outdoor seating: Plenty, with fans to keep you cool

Inside atmosphere: Small, limited tables, ecclectic industrial look to the decor.

Review: MIXED.  I would give it 3/5 Stars.

She said: TomTom told us to look for the neon sign of a girl with chicken, and the restaurant was fairly easy to find.  Warning - there is a fair amount of road construction in the area, give yourself more time than normal to get there.  The parking lot was tiny and crowded, but we lucked out and someone was pulling away as we drove up. 

The outside was intriguing and unusual architecture, looks like a fun place.  

Inside: LOUD - What I can't hear you....

The service - was excellent - the waiter was very pleasant and attentive, made sure to correct any issues and kept our drinks full.  We liked him.

The food - Mixed.  Thomas and goggles got the fried deviled eggs and were kind of "meh" about them.  I shared the fried chicken livers and thought they were rather tasty.  Not the best I have had, but very tasty.  Goggles thought they were dry.

When TomTom and her husband arrived, they couldn't decide on gizzards or livers, so the waiter offered to get them a basket half and half, which was immediately dubbed "lizzards" and saved the day.  I like that they are flexible about their menu.

For dinner Thomas Goggles and I split a basket of fried chicken.  It came with pickles (YAY) and jalapenos (BOO) on top, which was weird, but whatever, I just grabbed my chicken from the bottom.  We also ordered the Mexican Coke Sweet Potatoes and the grilled corn.  

The sweet potatoes were tasty.  I like mine to either be more sweet  or more savory, and these were in the middle.  But the overall flavor balance was good.  The chicken was very tasty and crispy, but slightly greasy - I used a lot of napkins.  There was a good spice to the batter, not spicy per se, but well seasoned. The corn was completely disappointing.  In my opinion, corn is sweet, and if its flavor profile has been drastically altered in the cooking, they should probably have mentioned it on the menu.  They prepare their corn by boiling it in crawfish boil, then grilling it - so I bit into it and was like "oh holy hell what the frag is wrong with this corn did they spray it with mace?" because I don't handle spicy well, especially surprise spicy on food that is supposed to be sweet.  Thomas couldn't eat it because it tasted like it had been grilled with beef. 
Now the corn had a good texture, don't get me wrong, and it would probably rock if you like crawfish boil spices.  

The waiter handled the situation well.
We got dessert: I had the shoofly pie, goggles had the apple pie and TomTom ordered the sweet tea pie.  Thomas didn't want dessert, but he tried all of ours.  All of the pies were pretty good.  The shoefly pie was rich with molasses, the apple pie had a good crust and the sweet tea pie was...interesting.  Light and airy and sweet with tea and lemon.  I highly recommend the pie.

Thomas trying to decide what he thinks of the Sweet Tea Pie.

Over all, I feel that the food is a bit overpriced, and that the menu fails to describe some of the flavors.  It was noisy, so don't choose it for a night where you want to talk a lot.  Plan to park elsewhere and walk because the lot is small.  The pies are amazing and the chicken is pretty good.  The service is incredible, and they have an interesting selection of specials on the chalk board. 


He Said:

On our way home from Waco, as we were passing through Georgetown, we called TomTom asking where a quick/good/cheap place to eat near the 35 corridor was. After her and Val talked a bit we decided to meet at Lucy's. I'd never heard of it but the directions had it close enough for a quick in and out so, sure let's meet them there.

One of the problems of traveling to places that are mass transit oriented, like Austin is, is some places have very inadequate parking. And if they are popular it makes it problematic finding a place to park that won't end up with a large fine and towing. This is the case here. Be willing to park and walk or be a Parking Buzzard.   We lucked out that just as we were pulling in, a minivan being poorly driven was trying to get out and the Yukon behind us was impatient for me to get out of the way so they could swoop in and ended up backing up and running off while exclaiming profusely (glad I can't read lips). So, the shotgun parking lot is really in full effect here.


Once parked I was able to take in the decor. Pallets used as exterior decorating/shielding of a stairwell and an otherwise pretty nondescript building. Look for the Big Neon Sign that is all retro-pin up of a girl giving you chicken on a side street off of So. Congress and Oltorf. They had open air seating with plenty of tables, but Val and TomTom are from the Great White North and we decided that air conditioning would make it more enjoyable.


The first thing I noticed was the volume of the music. I thought it was loud on the outside because of all the seating out there so it could be heard, but inside it was even louder. Goggles, Val, and I had to lean close and talk like people in a nightclub. Second thing I noticed was the decor felt like someone wanted the Old Austin Weirdness so very badly that they just bought some random stuff and forced it to work together. Although the Wall-O-Chalkboard for the specials menu was a great touch that was actually kinda cool. Old metal drafting chairs and work stools were the seating inside and it looked like retro-70's plastic contour chairs outside.


As soon as we were in the door, the waitstaff was very courteous and helpful. We were seated, had menus, and drinks ordered in very short order. There was no pressure to order as we waited for TomTom and her Husband to show up and when we did order some appetizers they came out quick and hot. Our waiter was apologetic about the grilled corn (more on that later) and took very good care of us.


Lucy's has a very simple menu, That revolves around stuff fried or grilled, a handful of sides, and several appetizers. This could be a good place to grab a bite for those "headed home from the club" munchies.


Goggles and I tried the deep fried deviled eggs an appetizer and we all split an order of chicken livers. The deviled eggs were intriguing but not as interesting as we had hoped. Although the spicy sauce for them was very good. The livers on the other hand were great. Large, moist, livers with a thick crunchy batter with a little seasoning on them in a wire basket. They were made of much yum.


We decided on a bucket of chicken with sides of grilled corn and Mexican Coke (made with real cane sugar) sweet potatoes. The chicken came out in a galvanized bucket that was lined with wax paper with a stack of pickles (boo) and Jalapenos (yay) on top. There was a good mix of light and dark meat. The batter on the chicken was the same as on everything else but was very nice since the chicken was marinated in tastiness and very moist. The sweet potatoes were good. They had a well rounded flavor but nothing to really stand out. In retrospect, adding a quick shake from the salt shaker would have made them a bit better. They just needed something to round out the palate. The grilled corn was a mistake. I love spicy food. I eat Thai peppers straight off of my bushes here at the house. What had been done to this corn was an abomination. Come to find out they are boiled in crab boil before being grilled. One bite and I was done. You couldn't taste any sweetness from the corn and there were meaty flavors that my brain equated with beef ( I have a horrible allergy to beef that makes me react for about 2 weeks and want to shoot myself from the painful disgusting things it does to my body). So, I didn't even bothering asking what else it was grilled with to try and soldier on and try the corn beyond the single bite I had. The sad part is the menu just listed it as grilled corn. You should at least mark that is spicy. I can imagine some poor kid trying to tell his parents the corn is hot the resulting scene if they don't try it themselves.


The desserts were... different. Goggles got the apple pie, Val the Shoofly pie, and TomTom the Sweet Tea pie. The apple pie was good, in a "good apple pie" sort of way. I like mine better. The Shoofly pie was tasty, but a little too heavy on the molasses. The Sweet Tea Pie... I'm still not sure. it had a great texture for a chess pie. It was sweet and lemony. Just, my brain couldn't reconcile the pie texture with tea flavor. I will have to try it again to see if I can process better next time.


So, a wrap up: Lucy's Chicken. Bring ear plugs. Bring a pillow for the seats if you are sitting inside. Order the livers and gizzards (TomTom got them and said the gizzards were great), Get a bucket of chicken and plan on leftovers for a couple days (cold fried chicken is a staple of Southern Cuisine), Avoid the grilled corn unless you feel you need to do penance for something, and prepare for some original desserts. AND try to ignore the forced funkiness. On the PLUS SIDE: I overheard the waiter say that they ONLY serve TEXAS beers. That will bring me back for more.


For yet another opinion, feel free to check out our friend's review. 

Naara Cafe

Greetings readers! Val here, hoping everyone is having a great Friday night. I am posting live from Naara Cafe. Thomas is not much for new-fangled data phones, so he will post his review later.

So here goes our first installment of "And that is what he/she said"

She said:
Tonight Thomas and I decided to go to Naara.  It is one of the places we go to relax.
I tend to enjoy Naara because it has the crucial combination of friendly wait staff, good food, and excellent beverages.

Naara is an excellent place to go when you want a light meal, to enjoy hookah, or just hang out with some of your friends.  They have board games, appetizers, pizza, sandwiches, meals, desserts, and a wide variety of drinks.

One of the things I find most interesting about Naara is that the atmosphere is always a little different. It is a great place to people watch, and has probably the most diverse clientele of any restaurant we go to. It is almost always busy, with people of all ages, walks of life, and ethnicity. Conversation can be heard in at least three different languages, and the crowd is always congenial. The only downide for me is that sometimes they are playing some great traditional or modern Middle Eastern music, and at other times they play pop/r&b like you can hear on almost any radio station. I prefer the Middle Eastern music by far. The patio is gorgeous, tastefully decorated in rich earth tones, with live plants and a merrily bubbling fountain. People gather, laughing and talking and playing games.

When we go to Naara, we are usually greeted by Sol Maz, the wife of the manager, Shayan.  They are usually omnipresent during weekend evenings, greeting guests enthusiastically and making sure every one has a great time.

Thomas sitting on the couch outside at Naara

Tonight we weren't very hungry, so we split a Combination Kabob Plate: four skewers of marinated lamb and chicken, served with Basmati rice, hummus, bread and house salad.

Thomas ordred black tea, I prefer sweetened Turkish coffee.  For shisha, we chose a mix of the house rose and raspberry.  This is one of my favorite blends, though next time we return we will choose something different.

In my opinion, the chicken was sublime.  It was very well seasoned, moist and tender.  Usually I prefer lamb, but tonight it was a bit tougher.  Still, it was well flavored and we enjoyed everything.

Akbar Mash-Dee (Persian Ice Cream) and Turkish Coffee

 The Turkish coffee tonight is incredible as ever, rich and sweet, without being cloying or bitter. The black tea is excellent too, full bodied and perfectly brewed.







Update:

Dessert tonight was wonderful.  We both shared Sweet Rolls, described as filo dough wrapped around cashews & walnuts and baked to golden brown.  They were delicious.  Crunchy without being messy to eat, lightly sweet, and richly flavored with just the right amount of honey.  We also shared Akbar Mash-Dee (Traditional Persian ice cream, with rose water, real cream, saffron, and ground pistachio.) This by and far is my absolute favorite dish at Naara.  There is not an easy way to describe this ice cream. It is floral due to the saffron and rose water, lightly sweet, with just a bit of earthiness from the pistachio.

 






He Said:
It was a long week at work. I was chained to a desk most of the week and really needed to blow off some steam. We decided to go to Naara. One of our favourite places to have dinner and hookah.

We were seated at one of the curved, padded benches that has a low table. There are regular tables inside and patio tables out side as well. This one affords some of the best people watching. We always sit on the patio. Everything is so relaxed and inviting out there. Stucco walls painted earth tones, black wrought iron ornaments, ceiling fans, and lights that blend to make the perfect ambiance for an evening relaxing. There is always a good cross section of people there. From the young soldiers trying to "out manly" each other (Been there and done that myself) all the way to multi-generational families (grandfather and grandson playing chess while everyone else eats and chats) they all blend in to make a rich tapestry of interactions.

Neither one of us was really hungry so we decided to split a combo kabob plate. It has very generous portions of marinated chicken and lamb char broiled to perfection with a fresh salad (lettuce and greens with a light vinaigrette. Garnished with crumbled white cheese and sliced green olives), Perfectly cooked basmati rice, tasty hummus, and fresh grilled pita.

She said the lamb wasn't up to par, I didn't see it. Tasty, moist, with perfect char marks and not over done. The chicken was the same. The hummus was fresh and full flavored without any one of the spices overpowering the earthiness of the chickpeas. Fresh. Grilled. Pita... 'nuff said there. What really stood out for me tonight was the perfect balance of flavours in the salad. I usually don't like olives, but decided to try them out with the salad. Whoa! They fit in and made an incredible balance to the greens. The whole meal was a balance of flavours that fit so well. If you usually eat your food one thing at a time, try mixing it up with this plate. You will taste new things with every combination.

I usually get the Turkish coffee, but on a lark decided to get the plain black tea.(they have a variety of flavoured teas available) It is served in a utilitarian stainless steel pot with a side bowl of rough sugar "cubes". (real lump sugar) The pot came with 2 attractive glass cups to serve into. I was hooked at the first sip. This was excellent tea. Last time I had tea this flavourful by itself was years ago at the Richmond Arms in Houston. Matter o' Fact: I even ordered a second pot. The glass cups are a great touch because of how beautiful of a color the tea is.

On to the hookah. All the hookahs at Naara are works of art. They even sell them up front. As well as coals and shisha. We got a blend that is a favourite of us both: rose and raspberry. The floral notes of the rose and the slight astringency of the raspberry ( it is real raspberry flavour, not at all "cool-aid-ie") makes a well balanced flavour that is enjoyable for the 3 or so hours we stay and hang out here. There is a separate menu for the varieties of shisha flavours they have. If you are unsure, ask the waitstaff. They are all very knowledgeable and can provide guidance. If you don't want to futz with your coals or just don't know what to do, they have guys walking back and forth every few minutes with baskets of hot coals to help or show you the process.

For dessert we got the Sweet rolls and Val got her usual Persian Ice Cream. The sweet rolls were great tonight, as usual. Each one a few hundred layers of tissue thin pastry with nuts and honey rolled inside. Each a little smaller around than my little finger and slightly crunchy. Val really likes the Persian Ice Cream, but I have to really be in the mood for it. It is very sweet and floral (being made with rose water and such) and can be a little overpowering. (But I don't like some Belgian ales for the extreme floral notes as well.) But their desserts are a great finisher for the meal because they are just the right size so you don't feel all "After dinner mint , sir?" finishing them.

All through the night the Manager Shayan and his Wife Sol Maz circle like a hawks (with smiles plastered on their faces). Their sharp eyes making sure that everything is perfect for their customers and ready to answer any questions or provide for your needs. The wait staff satellite from them so there is never a time you have to wait very long to get more of anything or have questions answered. You can tell that they derive great joy from making sure their customers have a good time.


As an aside:
We bought a hookah from there a couple months ago and are having some issues getting it to smoke right. Shayan overheard us asking one of the staff for pointers and he swooped over and said to bring it in with us next time and he will make sure all is right or fix whatever is wrong. Himself.



Great Food, Great Service, Great Place.
Naara Cafe and Hookah