No Rain No Gain Texas: Central Texas

I had dreams of blue bonnets dancing through my head when I planned a trip to central Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Fredericksburg).  I spent a few of my childhood years in Texas (Fort Hood) and lived there a few years as an adult.  I remember driving along the highways and seeing gorgeous fields, blue bonnets in bloom along the roads and highways that is why it is the state flower of Texas.  I was hoping to share this experience with my husband when I planned a trip there in the spring.  I was also hoping to share my love for TexMex food and Texas barbeque with him.  He grew up an Illinois city boy living in the Chicago area most of his life, so I thought Texas would broaden his horizons.

We decided to fly into Austin, Texas to be centrally located to other cities we wanted to visit.  On our first trip we stayed at the Driskill Hotel, because it was well rated as a high class older remodeled hotel. The Driskill was a real buzzkill.  The first room they showed us was so small, we upgraded to a larger suite.  While the room was large the bathroom was the size of a coat closet.  The service at the bar was horrible.  The parking garage next to the hotel had a filthy elevator to get to the hotel, the employees were near the entrance to the hotel polluting it with cigarette smoke.  On our second trip we stayed at the Hotel Viata in the sparrow suite, which was amazing.  The warm Italian Villa charm of this luxury hotel had large bathrooms and a free-standing soaking tub that was relaxing.  The hospitality was great as well.

Austin was where we decided to hunt out some awesome Texas barbeque.  The first place we tried when we got there was walking distance from our hotel, Cooper’s Old Time Pit Barbeque.  Well, the fact that the place was practically empty should have been a clue.  The meat was equivalent to chewing on flavorless leather.  I was ashamed that I had bragged to my husband about how great Texas barbeque was and it was miserable.  The macaroni and cheese were bland and flavorless as well. 

Fortunately, the next day we ventured to Terry Black’s Barbeque.  The place was packed with people, and it took some patience to find a parking place which is very limited.  There was a very long line, and I thought it would take forever to get food, but the line moved quickly, and the employees were very efficient.  It was well worth the wait.  The meat was so tender and juicy it melted in my mouth, the barbeque sauces contributed to that smoky Texas barbeque flavor I had been craving.  It is a go to every time we are in Texas.  We went there again on our return trip.  We didn’t do much sightseeing in Austin itself, I can’t say I really found anything that really interested me in the city.  We did, however, rent this cool red Ferrari from Xtreme Xperience and did the hill country drive that was supposed to be a scenic drive in the roads west of Austin, Texas.  We saw some orange and yellow flowers that were nice, but no blue bonnets in site.  However, the car was still great to drive.

San Antonio, Texas was on the bucket list to go to the Alamo and the river walk.  I had heard stories of how romantic the river walk was and had to go see it for myself.  We decided to stop at the Japanese Tea Garden first in hopes of seeing some great flowers in bloom.  In my mind I was expecting an explosion of colored flowers.  It ended up being a lot of greenery with a few small spots of colorful flowers.  I wouldn’t go back but would recommend it as a one-time experience.  Then we decided to venture to the Alamo and look for food.  On the walk to the Alamo, we stopped at The Esquire for a drink.  The Esquire is famed for its longest wood bar.  It was a great place to stop for a drink. 

Then off to the Alamo.  Well, while it did hit the “bucket list” experience it was not much to look at.  We spent 10 minutes there and were off to find some TexMex food. 

Based on reviews we went to Acenar Mexican Restaurant on the river walk of San Antonio.  This place got a 7 out of 5-star rating by both of us.  The food was truly amazing, and the plates had super large portions.  They had a server making fresh guacamole tableside.   

The Riverwalk itself scared me.  There is no railing, and the water is murky green in color.  I was worried I would fall in, so I steered clear of walking along it.  Far from romantic in my mind.

One of the main reasons for the trip was a visit to the wine tasting region of Fredericksburg, Texas that people on the internet rave about.  We even went twice in case we had missed something on the first trip.

Fredericksburg is a low-key town that rolls up the sidewalks early, so we opted to stay in Austin, Texas on both trips.  It was a 90-minute drive from Austin that was tolerable.  Driving along the highway I thought for sure we would get to see plenty of blue bonnets.  I opted to drive into Fredericksburg for breakfast both times we had visited.  There were a couple of restaurants that people had raved about for breakfast, so I thought I needed to try them.  The first trip we went to the Old German Bakery & Restaurant that sits along the main street when you drive into town.  I usually order biscuits and gravy when I am down south, because I long for that flavor of the biscuits and gravy I have tasted in the south many times before.  The place was busy so I was hoping the food would be great.  What a letdown the biscuits were dense and inedible with greasy gravy that lacked any time of flavor.  My husband tried the pancakes thinking that it would be a hard thing to mess up, they were doughy and bland.  We left hungry and disappointed.  On the return trip we went to Emma & Ollie’s that sits off the beaten path.  This was a quaint little spot that lived up to its reputation and then some.  I ordered biscuits with tomato gravy yes; I was questioning the concept myself.  The tomato gravy was the next level version of sausage gravy, the tomato was subtle but added a nice balance to the creaminess of the sausage gravy.  The biscuits were moist, buttery and flakey.  I wish I had the recipe for I would try to recreate it at home.  If I ever go back to Fredericksburg, Texas Emma & Ollie’s is going to be one of my stops.  I wish I had done it on both trips.  I highly recommend Emma & Ollie’s.

After eating breakfast, we set out to do some wine tasting.  The first stop was Becker Vineyards since they opened earlier than other wineries.  I am a white wine drinker and my husband a red wine drinker.  I found the selection of wines at Becker Vineyards to be very limited.  What they did have was too dry for my liking.  Then we went off to Augusta Vin Winery, they sit a little out in the country off the main highway.  This was a gorgeous property that you drove up to it passing fields and fields of green grapes.  Very picturesque.  They had a large tasting bar with a wonderful selection of vines.  Our sommelier was very engaging and knew her wines.  We also ordered these amazing chocolate truffles that melted in our mouths and paired well with the wine.  What a true pleasure Augusta Vin Winery was.  I would not only recommend Augusta Vin Winery to anyone, but plan also to go there every time we are in the area.  We visited Augusta Vin Winery on our second trip to Fredericksburg, Texas.  This was the only place we purchased wine to take back to the hotel with us.

My husband and I enjoy beer as well and stopped at Alstadt Brewery while in Fredericksburg, Texas.  The full-bodied flavor of the beer was a pleasure to my palate.  We ordered a flight of beer to share between the two of us, which was more than enough.  The beers were smooth, crisp and you could tell they were brewed with pure Texas water.  Alstadt Brewery we highly recommendation even if you don’t think you are a beer drinker, you should give it a try.  We stopped at Alstadt Brewery on both of our trips and highly recommend it for beer.  The restaurant there I WOULD NOT recommend, did not even come close to German food.

Other wineries that we tried were Baron Creek Vineyards, it was a nice place to stop that had a decent selection of wines.  Not as memorable as other places.

Signoir Vineyards, I do not recommend them.  No seating on the inside and have hard metal chairs outside to sit in the gnats were abundant there and not a place that we could enjoy a glass of wine. 

Driving back and forth from Austin to Fredericksburg two separate times there was not a blue bonnet to be seen.  We even went on the Willow City Loop drive that was recommended out of Fredericksburg, but there were not really any flowers in sight.  On my second trip to the area, I asked one of the locals why there weren’t any flowers to be seen.  They informed us that they had a bad drought that year.  NO RAIN NO GAIN TEXAS.  If I ever visit again, I will make sure they are getting enough rain to make sightseeing more memorable.