Chacho's Nachos

           Chachos Mexican Grill and Cantina reminds me of the old days when I used to visit my grandma’s house and she would make me a huge plate of some genuine Mexican cuisine. It just has that kind of Mexican home feeling to it. Which if you didn’t grow up with a big Mexican family always running in and out of the kitchen throwing together taco and enchilada plates then I can understand how maybe you don’t see the correlation. It’s a place with a pleasant environment that you can kick your feet up!

Chacho’s Mexican Grill and Cantina is a great place for UTSA students to check out. If you’ve ever been to Chachos the first thing you might think of could be the Monster Kong Nachos which is a nacho plate stacked higher than belief with bean & cheese, picadillo beef, shredded chicken, chicken & carbon (mesquite) beef fajitas nachos, served w/queso, guacamole & sour cream. General Manager Jay Larzelere says people come from all over Texas to visit one of their 6 locations and try out their Monster Kong Nachos. He personally recommends the sloppy burrito with melted chili con queso saying it is by far his favorite item on the menu and everyone should give it a try.

            All 6 locations are open 24/7 with daily lunch specials from 11-3 and their most popular hours being 7-10 p.m. daily. Some of their most popular items on the menu are their specialty margaritas and around these times there are tons of UTSA students that decide to come in and have a drink or two. Mr. Larzelere says their margaritas are their most popular items to people over 21.

            Chacho’s has been around since the early 90’s with the location at i-10 and Callaghan being the first location ever opened, and the 2^nd location being the one off of Bandera. So obviously Chacho’s Mexican Cantina is San Antonio born and raised. I’m not even from San Antonio and I know how amazing Chacho’s is for this place.

            I asked Mr. Larzelere if he had one thing that he wanted UTSA students to know about Chacho’s what would it be and he specifically focused on how great the food was for the price and not only how great it was but how much you get for how much you are paying. “you just can’t beat the value of our Nachos…if you were to go somewhere else you’d be paying $10 for a plate of nachos. Here at Chacho’s you can get a bigger plate than at most other places for 7 bucks!

-- Chris Garza

Bobby J’s Old Fashion Hamburgers

            When I think of Bobby J’s burgers I think of southern hospitality. It has been family owned and family operated since 2000. Bobby J’s employee Marcus Gonzales says they take pride in having only one location so they can manage the quality of every home-made burger that comes out of their kitchen. As a UTSA student from the great state of Texas I know exactly how I like my burgers…”Texas-Sized” which is exactly what you get when you go to Bobby J’s a big juicy Texas-Sized burger. Even if you’re in the mood for a light snack you can go get a satisfying 1/3 pound burger for less than $5!

Bobby J’s is about more than just burgers though. They have been voted the best burgers, fries and chicken fried steaks in Helotes for 8 years running now. I got the pleasure of talking to the Son of the man who started it all; Jeremy Williams, who is also the current General Manager of Bobby J’s. He said his personal favorite item is the bacon burger with pepper jack cheese “Gotta have that pepper jack cheese” he says.

I asked Mr. Williams what the three most popular items on his menu were. He told me people love the bacon burger, the western burger, and the mushroom burger but that’s the great part about Bobby J’s there’s just so many different ways to get your burger the way you want it. I’m serious! They have things on the menu that you would never think of making a burger out of. Whether it’s a Frito pie burger, or a burger to satisfy your craving for Mexican food and burgers at the same time Bobby J’s has what you’re looking for.

Mr. Williams understands the potential of advertising to UTSA students and wants everyone to know that here in San Antonio you can’t beat the value you get at Bobby J’s. When I asked Mr. Williams about the best time to come in to eat he told me one of the great things about his restaurant is that even when they are busy the wait time is only about 20 minutes and when you come in and it’s not busy they take pride in explaining the menu so that everyone makes the correct decision on which burger will furthest satisfy their needs. Bobby J’s is open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 11a.m. to 8 p.m. Mr. Williams hopes to stay open later on weekends if he can get UTSA students to come in for late some night burgers.

            

           Bobby J’s is home to the “Mighy Gonzilla Burger” a beast of a burger filled with 3lbs of meat and an overall approximate weight of 4- 4^1/2lbs. It’s a beast of a burger that has only been conquered (by challenge rules) by 2 people in the competitions history. Mr. Williams knows there are people out there at UTSA that can conquer this burger and he hopes to see some of us UTSA students come in and try!

            

           This last thing I’m going to say about Bobby J’s will appeal to people like me with an ear for music. Every Friday and Sunday night they have live indoor performances with a wide variety of local talent coming through to perform. They also have an outdoor pavilion for outdoor performances during the time of year that the weather permits it.

           

            Bobby J’s Old Fashion Burgers is where I go to get my burger fix. Its cheap food that you don’t feel like you should be paying a cheap price for but after meeting the people behind the scenes I’ve realized they just want to give people a good burger. It’s not about the money Mr. Williams just wants to finish what his father started by bringing the community of Helotes, and hopefully the rest of San Antonio together while enjoying an amazing burger.

--Chris Garza

The SUBWAY on the UTSA CAMPUS

Good Afternoon Ya’ll,

Today I’m writing to ya’ll to talk about my recent experience with the SUBWAY here on the 1604 University of Texas at San Antonio College campus.  The SUBWAY that I visited this time around is the one on the main strip of campus, connected to the HEB University Center.  Although I frequent this location quite often throughout this past fall semester this particular time was special.  Out of the ordinary if you will.  But the service and subs were fantastic for an extremely low price.  It was truly affordable AND delicious!

Let me set this particular scenario for you. . . It was the day before the fall thanksgiving “break” and due to its untimely day that thanksgiving fell upon it was only a four day break from school.  Being a fellow from out-of-state (New York) I didn't really feel the need to go home and spend the holiday with my family.  So instead, like many other students here at UTSA, I stayed on campus for the holiday break.  Now you know how thanksgiving is all about the “table spread” right?  Well, in my case I decided to go eating nontraditional per say.  I stopped at the SUBWAY right before break began, knowing that all of the dining facilities on campus would be closed until the following Sunday (four days)  I needed to substantially stock up on food supplies.  I ordered 7 foot-long subs in total, all being subs that would need to be toasted and of a different variety of sub.  The service was phenomenal and the sub artist didn't even skip a beat and went about preparing the subs without a single utterance of disapproval.  The total amount that was due at the end was a whopping $43.72, for each individual sandwich it cost $6.21 tax included.  Not too bad if you have $100 worth of dining dollars left to spend before the end of the semester.

The setup of this particular SUBWAY is phenomenal.  There is always heavy traffic when I’m there to purchase food; the SUBWAY is small yet compact, like most subways are.  But this particular SUBWAY location has two doors one specifically for entering the building, and one for exiting.  They are easily marked so to not create confusion for the customers.  This is a pretty nifty feature, because like I said before there is a lot of traffic that goes through this particular SUBWAY and it was easily accessible and allowed for you to be in and out of there within 7 minutes with a sandwich in hand. 

In conclusion, the men and women that work at this SUBWAY are extremely nice and efficient.  For the average college student, time management is key in being successful in all of your courses.  Students have to eat, but most students do not have the time to eat, so why not go to SUBWAY and within two-three minutes you’ll be feasting on a delicious sandwich.  I highly recommend this location when you are on campus and in a rush to get from point A to point B.  Not only is it quick to grab a inexpensive bite to eat, it is also healthy.  Have you ever seen the SUBWAY commercials with Jared AND our very own Tony Parker of the Spurs here in San Antonio?  They both endorse SUBWAY as healthy and filling. 

Check this ad taken from Youtube (SUBWAY, 2007):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtP0RWtJpLs

-Welty

Greek Restaurant Worth Trying

Mina and Dimi's is probably my number one Greek restaurant in San Antonio.  If you like Greek food that is cheap and authentic then this is a place you should try out.  Being a UTSA student myself I know that having the time to cook is limited and getting fast food gets old sometimes so going to a nice, small restaurant is a nice change once in awhile.  This restaurant in particular is a small "ma and pa" own style restaurant located off of highway 90 and highway 410.  It's menu ranges from small individual meals, like a gyro, to platters for two people, like the Hercules platter, plus many other options for a reasonable price that also includes wines and desserts.  Its inside is a nice, cozy environment that haves a Greek atmosphere to it.  The prices, I believe, are really cheap and reasonable for a UTSA student along with the amount of food they provide you with.  Location is somewhat far from the campus however, it is worth going to and trying out.

When it comes to the food, I would say I have tried most of the dishes and I have never been disappointed with my meal.  Depending on the occasion and depending on how many people are with you depends on the dish.  For example, typical gyro dish includes a pita with gyro slices on it topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, feta cheese and tzatziki sauce with homemade, seasoned fries on the side.  Sounds delicious right?  For a bigger crowd a Hercules platter may be an option which includes grilled onions, tomatoes, 4 oz of gyro meat, 2 beef shishkabobs. 2 chicken shishkabobs and oven potatoes with tzatziki sauce and honey mustard sauce along with 2 salads and pita bread.  That is a lot of food just for two people and all that food comes for a really reasonable price.  Lastly to finish off a good lunch or dinner a warm, yummy piece of baklava is the perfect dessert for ending a perfect meal.

So through this whole entry, I am suggesting to all UTSA students to go and try this wonderful Greek restaurant for a highly authentic meal for a great price and also to take a break from fast food and taste this small restaurants food because they are worth it.  If you want to check them out before going and look through their menu I will provide the link to their website.
www.agreekhouse.com/

www.tripadvisor.com

-Doris

Welcome!

Good afternoon, World!

Welty here, welcome to the "UTSA Places To-Go" blog!  We're glad that you're here!  We're a group of Technical Writing students that will be blogging on various places to eat.  As a group, we have divided up what "locations" and "hotspots" for local food attractions.  Whether it's places on the 1604 Campus, places downtown, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, or just great places to eat we'll have it covered.
Thanks for stopping by and look forward to our upcoming blog posts!

-Welty