Thursday, May 17, 2012

Green With Envy With Green Restaurant!

Chicken Fried Steak With Kale Salad And Mashed Potatoes
Brown Gravy Is The Key!
     Green is the first restaurant that I got to visit in San Antonio a few years ago so I feel like an expert now.  They've grown since I saw them, too! They have another location in the burbs called Green at Alon as well as one downtown. I didn't make it to the new location this time, but there is always a next time. The first time I visited the downtown location was without a camera, so I returned to document the goodness. The first tip, is make sure to order the kale salad (or something that comes with it). I'm not sure what they put in it, but it might be the best kale I've ever ate. I would eat kale every day if it tasted this good! Apparently, my mom fangled the recipe so hopefully, I'll get to try my hand at making this, especially since my CSA with Bell Organic started back up again.
     My second advice is: get the chicken fried steak. I consider myself a connoisseur of the chicken fried steak. New Jersey's long departed Veggie Works' Singing Cowboy set the bar awfully high and Green's comes the closes. The only thing missing is the all you can eat salad bar! Just to give you an idea of how good it is, my dad who isn't a vegetarian said it's the BEST chicken fried steak in Texas. Not that's a pretty resounding endorsement, right? Unfortunately, my brother ordered it and not me. Good call, brotha! So don't be a rookie like me and try something new. Just get it, even if everyone at the table orders it. Trust me! 
Flautas
AKA Taquito! The Special Of The Day! 
    What makes Green so special besides the food of course is the friendly staff and owners. While we were perusing the menu, co-owner Mike came up to our table and brought us a taste of the special of the day. Every time I've been there Mike always goes out of his way to make each table feel special. To top it off, while we were leaving Mike gave my mom a $5 off coupon. Thanks, Mike! 
Flautas Plate With Smokey Refried Beans, Mexican Rice And A Side Salad
     I'm a fake meat and potatoes man, so you don't hear this very often, but you have to taste these beans! It might be a bit of liquid smoke but these beans were on fire!
Crispy Fried Pickles

Panko Coated And Deep Fried Goodness! 
     While I was tempted to order the Buffalo wings, I wanted to venture out into the deep uncharted waters so I went for the fried pickles. Something that I've never seen on a menu before. While everyone else at the table gave me the evil eye for considering it, everyone loved them! The panko coating provided a nice crunch and the pickles had a nice vinegary bite that was amazing, especially when dipped into the special poblano sauce that was provided. I even ate the spinach bedding that came with them! Apparently, deep fried pickles is a Texas thing, so this out of stater schooled the locals in some Texas culture! 
CeCe's Stir Fry
Kale And Popcorn Tofu!
     Like I said make sure you get the kale salad, here I didn't make a rookie mistake. The stir fry had an excellent mix of broccoli, peppers and popcorn tofu slathered in a delectable sauce. However, I couldn't stop eying my brother's chicken fried steak. Luckily, I made an arrangement to "sample" some of his, just in case. You know, just to minimize my losses. It's about risk management people. Though, I should've just followed my instincts and just ordered the chicken fried steak as well, but I needed to sample more of the menu. What I won't do for my loyal readers. 
Cupcakes A Plenty!
No, I Didn't Eat Three Cupcakes, But I Wished I Did!
     Another cool thing about Green is that when they ask you if you want dessert, they say would you like to hear about them or should I bring the dessert tray! Ummm, it's pretty awesome when someone comes up to your table with a silver tray filled with desserts. Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. The three flavors are peanut butter cup, lemon ginger and the raspberry almond. I forgot who got what cause I sampled them all. mwwwwhahaha! In a shocking upset, the raspberry almond won. I thought for sure lemon ginger would've but it needed more ginger! 
Kale Healer Smoothie

Cause You Can Never Have Enough Kale!
Green Inside
A Vibrant Atmosphere Inside What Used To Be An Abandoned Bakery!
Green Outside
They Even Have An Herb Garden That They Use!
Out Front
One Of the Many Reasons Why I LOVE This
Place. This Banner Out Front!

     Japanese Tea Garden
     Now if you're still with me, I know it's a rather long post. Here is my final tip. Go visit the Japanese Tea Garden. It's a short five-ten minute drive from Green, but it's worth it. Hands down it's the coolest attraction that I've been to. It blows away the River Walk and the Allamo. I've never been to anything quite like it and it's the gem of San Antonio. So without saying much more, I'll just post some pictures. 
Koi
More Koi
A Stone Tent

Trickling Water Fall
THE Coolest Bridge

Green Vegetarian Cuisine on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

Heather said...

So glad you found Green! I love it and go there all the time. Next time, go for the sesame chik'n. It comes with kale salad and coconut cilantro rice, and is so deeply satisfying and utterly delicious that I get that same entree' pretty much every time I go to Green. I also recommend the peach tea, if you haven't tried it.