The Busy Gourmand

When traveling around the country you often have to rely on the recommendations of hotel employees to find out about local restaurants.  These recommendations can be perilous as some of these recommendations are based on payola (if the employee makes the reservation they are definitely getting a kick back) and some are based on the tastes of people who feel that the Olive Garden is a gourmet’s delight.  On a rare occasion my tastes coincide with a recommendation. This happened last week in San Antonio with La Fogata.

The experience began when the restaurant sent a shuttle bus to the hotel to pick us up.  There were eight of us so apparently we qualified for a shuttle ride.  However, the idea that a restaurant had to provide a shuttle to induce people to go made me a bit uneasy.  Hordes of people usually means lousy service.  So I settled into my shuttle bus seat and waited for what was to transpire next.

I quickly found out that you have to be careful of first impressions.  When we arrived we were quickly whisked to a table set up for our party of eight.  Menus were already on the table and drink orders were taken within two minutes of arrival.  So far so good.  The biggest surprise came when I opened the menu.  It was a menu that I would expect in Northern Mexico which included food that I have missed since I stopped doing business in Mexico a few years back.  There was nothing resembling “Tex-Mex” or whatever bastardization of Mexican cuisine that is served all over Texas and called “authentic.”  This menu was the real deal.  It came with a funny English translation; “a la parilla,” which means food cooked over a wood fire, was translated into English as “cooked on the grill with the flame of charcoal.”  I knew then that this was the real deal.

The menu is extensive. It would be too hard to describe the whole thing. It included many of the dishes you can experience in Northern Mexico from Queso Flameado, melted queso fresco with chorizo, to four different stuffed poblano chiles, to fish tacos, and of course a real sopa de tortilla served with fresh guacamole and a variety of cubed cheeses.  I opted for something very simple Chile Poblano al Carbon, which is a poblano chile stuffed with chicken and cheese and then grilled.

After ordering my expectation level went way up.  I think the menu had inspired me, or maybe it was the glass of Mexican wine I was drinking.  When the food arrived I was not disappointed.  The food was 100% freshly prepared.  The poblano was charred but not flimsy.  The mix of the pepper and the filling was a great contrast.  The refried beans which I normally push to the side were freshly made.  I ate them all.  And the rice, what can you say about rice, except it had not been sitting in a warming dish all day and was still moist and a nice accompaniment to the poblano.

Others at the table had the Sopa de Tortilla.  It was an enormous bowl.  When the fresh avocado and cheeses were added the taste was beautiful.  The fish tacos were very nicely done.  And very simple.  Everyone else had a variety of tacos and enchiladas.  Everyone seemed very pleased.

The service was attentive.  And there were no complaints when we asked for separate checks.  And if you like mariachi music there is a group wandering the restaurant that will play any of your favorites.  The restuarant itself is very large.  Although cavernous the areas are broken up into smaller rooms so the dining is still intimate.  There is a lot of outside seating for the months with warmer weather.

Most entree prices are below $20.  For parties of 5 or more they will add a 20% gratuity whether you like it or not.

On the ride back to the hotel in the shuttle bus I thought the whole experience was well worth it.  And the shuttle bus allows you to have that second glass of wine.  After all you do not have to drive yourself back to the hotel.

A link to the restaurant’s web site is here.    www.lafogata.com