If you read today’s Overeducated Housewife post, you know that last night Bill and I met up with one of Bill’s former co-workers and his wife.  Bill and I had been wanting to try Blue Star Brewing Company near downtown San Antonio.  A friend of ours from Houston who is into craft beers kept telling us to try it.  So we finally took the plunge last night…

This is a photo of the front of the restaurant…

Blue Star Brewing is in a small artsy community.  I noticed a couple of other bars/restaurants nearby and art galleries.  We didn’t take the time to go exploring, since our companions were going to be joining us.  Upon entering the restaurant, we were asked if we preferred indoor or outdoor seating.  Since it was a beautiful evening, we opted to sit outside.  We sat at a picnic table with a nice view of the Riverwalk.

The menu.

 

We perused the menu while we waited for our friends.  There were several tempting looking dishes being offered.  Blue Star has a number of burgers that are made with bison and beef.  They have salads, barbecue, some Tex/Mex inspired dishes, and other comfort foods.

A Raspberry Geyser

 

The first beer I tried was the very refreshing and somewhat low boozed Raspberry Geyser.  It had 3.8% ABV.  This beer is no doubt popular with the ladies as it doesn’t taste much like beer.  It’s more like a Belgian lambic.  I found it very refreshing and it was probably my favorite beer of all those I tried last night.  The waitress did offer to bring me a taste before I ordered, but I decided I’d take a chance.

Bill’s Flying Pig Extra Pale Ale was a hit.  It was crisp, refreshing, and hoppy.

Our friends arrived as we were enjoying the first round.  We ordered hummus to snack on while we decided on dinner.  The hummus was good, but the bread was a little hard.  I was worried about eating too much of it because I just had a crown prep done and didn’t want to break my temporary crown… or any teeth!  More veggies would have been nice, since there was a lot of hummus, but not much to eat it with.

My second beer.  This was called Close Encounter.  It’s a sour beer made with prunes and tamarind.  Bill was put off by the prunes, but it was a nice beer that came in at 4.8% ABV.  I would have liked a bigger glass.  A snifter is fine with a really strong beer that knocks you on your ass, but this didn’t seem to warrant the small glass it came in.

I had fish and chips.  The fries were good– garlicky with just enough salt.  The fish was fine, though it doesn’t rival anything you’d find in England.  It arrived to me a little cool, as if it had sat for a bit.

Bill enjoyed his pulled pork sandwich.  I didn’t taste it.  

 

I also tried the Texican lager, but forgot to take a photo of it.  That’s just as well, since I thought it was the least interesting of all the beers I tried.  It arrived to my table with almost no head and was a bit on the watery side.  At 4% ABV, it’s not too strong… but I didn’t think the flavor was all that inspiring.  It makes for a nice hot weather beer, though.  It will probably rehydrate you better than a boozier beer will.

The stout was yummy!

I wasn’t so put off by the Texican to skip trying the Spire Stout with dessert.  This stout went very well with the chocolate cake.  In fact, I probably should have just had two stouts and skipped the cake.  It wasn’t all that great.  Bill had the cheesecake, though, which was nice.  It wasn’t too sweet or super heavy, which made it pleasant on a warm March evening.  In all, the bill for Bill and me came to about $83 before the tip.

A couple of quick shots of the inside of the restaurant.  I was trying not to be too conspicuous.

The bar area looked inviting.  

I enjoyed the snarky signs posted around Blue Star’s parking area.  You can park yourself or use the complimentary valet.  We used the valet.

 

Blue Star rents bikes or you can take one of the ones the city rents.  I’m impressed with San Antonio for copying Europe and offering public bikes.  I would have probably enjoyed a Riverwalk stroll too, if we hadn’t already been out for a few hours and our two dogs didn’t need a pee break.

When we got home, there was a big truck parked outside our house.  Not two minutes after we entered our dwelling, the doorbell rang.  It was two Hispanic guys who were probably looking for the previous tenants.  They weren’t threatening.  Probably were hoping for a crash pad.  It made Bill nervous, though.

All in all, last night was a lot of fun.  I’d go back to Blue Star Brewery, though there are other craft brewers whose beers have impressed me more.  Also, while service was friendly and accurate, it was a bit on the slow side.  But we weren’t in a hurry and we weren’t rushed, so I can overlook that for a Saturday evening.