RFI: San Antonio

Dee to thread (I think)!

*squee!*

This thread is TAILOR-MADE for me, baybee! *does dance*

You asked about "any good CD or vinyl stores, worthy used-book stores, don't-miss places to dine, and/or other interesting stops to keep in mind"? Well, considering that you're either going to stay close to downtown or close to the airport, I'll keep the part of town that's easily accessible from both places in mind here.

1.  Good CD or vinyl stores
Close to downtown, on Main St. and near the corner of Main and Cypress is Hogwild Records. It's pretty much the only record-only store we have in this city, unless I'm neglecting others. If you want to go to one of our local CD Exchange chain stores, which specialize in second-hand CDs but also have some new CDs and some second-hand videos and DVDs in stock, there are two locations that are going to be pretty close to you. Closer to the airport is the location on San Pedro, just off 410, near North Star Mall (I think you go south on San Pedro); closer to downtown is the location on Broadway, near the intersection of McCullough and Broadway (closest touristy site: the Witte Museum). The one that I frequent is like nine miles away from downtown and maybe three or four miles away from the airport and is located on Evers Rd., just off 410 (there's an Evers Rd. exit and you're going to want to go north here -- it'll be right where there's a KFC and a Subway, not where there's a Furniture Factory Warehouse). I have CD Exchange to thank for almost half my entire CD collection.

2.  Worthy used-book stores
We have several Half-Price Books locations in town, but again, you're going to want close proximity to either the airport or downtown, so we'll go back to either on Broadway, close to where the CD Exchange location is but further south, or off 410 and San Pedro, but much closer to North Star Mall (it's almost right across the mall). This location will be kinda hard to spot unless you try to look for either a Best Buy or a Barnes & Noble, since those two stores have signs that are more visible from the highway. Just go past where the Best Buy is and towards the back and you won't be able to miss it.

I'll have to answer the rest of your questions a little later, when I have enough time to think about that.

3.  Don't-miss places to dine
Trust me, you do want to miss out on the obvious -- Mi Tierra, La Fonda, etc. Basically anything along or near the Riverwalk or Market Square is going to be purely for tourists and will not be worth the money you'll end up spending. You'll want to head on out further from the downtown area (this is where renting a vehicle becomes U&K) and try out a few places.

Ok, first of all, you have to try out a Bill Miller's location, because everyone who lives here goes there at least once a month. It's basically barbecue fast food with some fried chicken options, but it's a local institution. These locations are going to be the ones closest to downtown, but if you go through the rest of that site, you can see where the other locations are going to be. If you're in the market for home cooking or the best (IMHO) fried chicken around (yes, again with the fried chicken, but it's SO worth it), try out Earl Abel's, which is on McCullough near the intersection of Broadway and McCullough (it's going to be near the aforementioned CD Exchange).

If you're looking for Tex-Mex, go to La Jacala on West Ave. (near the intersection of West Ave. and Hildebrand, where there's an "Art Deco"-style H-E-B grocery store), which will be more toward the West/Northwest part of town, but it is so worth the venture. My favorite Chinese place is nowhere near downtown but can be accessed from the airport area -- it's Taste of China, which is on Colony Dr. but can be accessed via Wurzbach, off Wurzbach and I-10 and going north. It's a buffet, but a good one. (If you're going from the airport area, you're going to want to head south on 410 and then turn onto westbound I-10. There's a Wurzbach exit there.)

Oh, I could go on; basically, if you want any further recommendations, pick up the Friday edition of our local daily newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News, and go through the Weekender magazine until you hit the Dining section. There are just way too many restaurants for me to mention. I know that in my part of town, there was at first a surge in Indian restaurant openings and now there's a surge in Thai restaurant openings, and I'm seeing more Vietnamese and sushi places open. We've just gotten in three Chipotle Grill locations locally, so that's also fairly exciting.

Thanks, Dee. Mighty nice of you.

It's my pleasure, Lee G!!

I haven't even told you about the attractions you should go to! Hm, I don't think you'll have enough time for either the Sea World or the Six Flags Fiesta Texas, but you will have time for at least some of the following:  the aforementioned Witte Museum on Broadway, the San Antonio Museum of Art (downtown on Jones Ave.), the McNay Art Museum (in the ritzy near-Northeast side neighborhood known as Alamo Heights *, on N. New Braunfels), the main branch of the local public library system (a six story enchilada-red building that's located downtown, near where San Pedro and Main meet up), etc. The Riverwalk is also a great place to just stroll along, and you'll even come across Rivercenter Mall, which contains the local IMAX theater.

If I knew you weren't going to be pressed for time and had more than just a couple of days, I'd have liked to have shown you some of the sights, give you more of a feel of the city as a whole. Because there are so many facets to this place and for every complaint I might have to register about this city, there are at least two reasons for me to love it. It's my hometown. It's in me as much as I'm in it, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.

* Famous resident of Alamo Heights: actor Tommy Lee Jones.