The Guenther House and Alamo Cafe

Hey everyone! 

It's Kevin again. Couple days late, but all is well in the kingdom. I hope that all our readers out there in cyber-world are doing well also! So this past weekend was LOADS of culinary fun. 

Alicia and I started our weekend out for the second time in a row with a pretty lengthy wait (little over an hour) with brunch at the Guenther House. Fortunately, we started our days off for the second week in a row with some very tasty food to reward our patience. Let me start by saying this place is just a cool place to be. Alicia and I are both what one might call history buffs, and Guenther House totally appeals to that part of us. It started in 1858 as what would become Pioneer Mills. They take this rich history and easy access to such fresh materials to produce an amazing atmosphere and delicious food. I chose to chow down on the good 'ol fashioned Cowboy Breakfast. It came complete with biscuits and gravy (affectionately known to me and the mates as Bees and Gees) delicious thick cut bacon and a couple of sausage patties. The biscuit was easily THE biggest biscuit I've ever seen in my life. Good news for me is that the biscuit wasn't just fluff, but had some good substance. Delicious, flaky, soft, and warm. All the things you look for in a biscuit.

What you see in the above picture is the eggs and potatoes Alicia and I both had with our meals.The poached eggs were very good and the potatoes were the Pièce de résistance. They were cooked to perfection, not too soft or too hard, and the best part was the chorizo seasoning that was spread all throughout. Gave the potatoes a nice kick without being overpowering.

In addition to the eggs and potatoes, my beautiful wife had a fantastic waffle. Very soft and was covered in whip cream and awesome fresh cut strawberries. One thing I have definitely noticed since we moved down here is there seems to be an abundance of fresh fruit. It has been quite the adventure for our taste buds. 

Bottom line: If you are looking for a cool place to eat (felt like eating at Paula Dean's house) and some delicious down home southern cooking then Guenther House is the place for you. All in all it was a great meal, and between food and two coffees total came out to about $25 dollars for two.

The Guenther House, 205 E Guenther St, San Antonio. 800.235.8186. guentherhouse.com.

After a long day of housework Alicia and I met up with our friends Brian and Chelsea for a delicious dinner at Alamo Cafe. This time we went right in and were seated immediately. Don't mistake the lack of wait for a lack of a wait for a lack of deliciousness. This place was off the chain! Some delicious classic Tex-Mex was in store for us. They had their own tortilla factory on site and the results were amazing. The tortillas were hot, fresh, and delicious. 


Brian and Chelsea especially got to enjoy the freshness to go along with their fajitas. If you haven't noticed by now most of the pictures from this week are from half eaten food. I promise that's for a reason that does NOT include the word "forgot". The food was just that good! I didn't get to personally try the fajitas, but judging by the smell of the meat, sound of the sizzle, and haste with which they scarfed them down I would guess they were excellent!

Alicia had something my West Texas/New Mexico friends might know as "Navajo Tacos" but are known here in the River City as Puffy Tacos. They consist of what is essentially an unsweetened sopapilla filled with meat, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. As you can see my lovely bride also topped hers with some delicious sour cream and guacamole! Everyone's dishes came with a side of Spanish rice and refried beans. Normally this is the part of Tex-Mex Alicia avoids because her moms rice is usually light years better than any restaurant. This was not such a time however as she seemed to enjoy it surprisingly. Unlike previous places where everything was greasy and the taco fell apart, Alamo Cafe had a light fry, that kept it crunchy and delicious.

Finally I ordered the chicken chipotle enchiladas. Now I must admit this was a little bit of an adventure. I enjoy chipotle, I love chicken enchiladas, but I've never had them together. The results (just like a good Indiana Jones movie) did not disappoint. It was quite the meshing of flavors and to be honest I'm not sure any description I provide will do it justice. Just know it was cheesy, chickeny, spicy, Tex-Mex goodness. We topped off our meal with some sopapillas served on literally a plate of honey.

The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a good place to get quality Tex-Mex, and want to avoid everything that comes with going downtown then Alamo Cafe is the place for you, and with two locations in the San Antonio area there's bound to be one close by.

Alamo Cafe, 14250 San Pedro/10060 IH-10 West, San Antonio. 210.495.2233/210.691.8827. alamocafe.com

Well I do believe that is it for this installment of We Ate the State. Until next time happy chowing, and God Bless!

- Kevin