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real furry cow hide. And there on the appetizer menu in the lounge, the Accidental Vegetarian was thrilled to discover a dish composed entirely of Brussel sprouts. By now you probably realize that in Texas, naked on a vegetable is about as acceptable as naked would have been on a person in the Victorian era. By the time this sprout had been tarred and feathered with butter, oil, teriyaki, Worcester sauce, almonds, raisins and who knows whatall, it would take a month on a mechanical bull to twist it o . e city slogan is “Keep Austin weird. ” What could this mean? As we exited the theater one night, a guy came strolling down the street in a cowboy hat, a purple cape, 1970s style oversized glasses, cowboy boots, and a teeny weeny purple bikini. I guess the shirt and pants were still at the dry cleaners.’
New Braunfels was hard to locate. e historical part of town is now written as ‘Gruene’ but is pronounced, “Green. ” You’re
Once in, we tried the trout in chili pepper, lime and salt, with a half order of six onion rings that stood a foot tall.
supposed to drive around in the countryside under a tree canopy and spot the name on a water tower. Anywhere else a historical town reached by windy roads through the woods and featuring bars, dance halls, beer gardens, and bands belting out the blues would be rattling with idling motorcycles. But this is a very mellow place, with antique stores and bed-and breakfasts. e adults seemed to have left the kids with Aunt Ipad and gone out to a paradise of open carry beer. ere are several nice restaurants in the handful of blocks that make up the heart of this town, and we chose the Gristmill. is is a very large establishment, sprawling along the side of a hill above the Guadalupe River. It looks like it was patched together over time by local carpenters not working from a master plan. e replace in one room is decorated with three boars’ heads, in another room, a longhorn bull. You wait for a table next door inthe beer garden where there are so many people ahead of you that it takes four full time folks just to write down the names on a chalk board and then cross
Top: Onion rings Texas style. Middle: Music, dancing and great food can be found in Gruene. Bottom: Breakfast burritos – a San Antonio original.
20 Spring 2016
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