San Antonio Trip -- The Veggie Way

Yes, I eat raw vegan. Yes, this would be my first trip to a real vegetarian restaurant. I live in a cow town, remember?

We "freshened up" and went to go get BonBons from her B&B. It was a very nice house on the edge of a beautiful area of town, midtown I believe. (Don't ask me about exact locations beyond Grace's house, and I only know one way to get there.) It has been redone in such a way as to maintain the integrity of the original home, and the one suite we saw was so refreshing and lovely it looked like a place even my mother would approve. (My mother's idea of roughing it is a hotel with no room service.) BonBons, it turned out, loves to take pictures, so we obediently posed before we left.

From there we took BonBons' larger car to the restaurant, talking off and on to the others the whole time, planning to meet up. This would be one of our running gags, phoning each other constantly, along with having to turn around almost every time we went anywhere. Coordinating several people in different cars, only one of whom knows the town well and who still gets turned around sometimes anyway proved to be mirth provoking on quite a few occasions.

The restaurant is called Green, and is San Antonio's only 100% vegetarian and kosher restaurant. They grow some of their own veggies, which you can see as you walk up toward the restaurant. The garden seemed to have an abundance of kale, and indeed they were pushing that as a side dish -- deliciously, too. The rosemary was also lovely, and Blossoming picked a bit, saying you should always take rosemary when you pass it, for remembrance.

Grace said that this first meal was her treat to us for coming, and ordered appetizers. I had an out of this world raw juice, nice and green and I made myself get over my usual squeemishness and give sips to those who wanted it. The pecan hummus was so good, I couldn't let a bit of it go to waste.

Not long after we got there, Eagle came. It was so good to see her again! By this time we were talking and laughing, and hoping that CanDo and Ninja wouldn't have trouble finding the place. Actually, Ninja didn't make it, but CanDo showed up.

It's a good thing we don't have such a great vegetarian restaurant in my town, or I would never want to eat at home. They were happy to do my wrap sandwich in a large chard leaf, and the "sushi" Grace gave me a piece of to try was fabulous. Everyone's food looked like something out of a beautiful cookbook.

A word here about our eating -- I eat raw vegan, BonBons is pescatarian, Eagle is vegetarian, Grace is ovo-lacto vegetarian, and Blossoming, CanDo, and Ninja are omnivores. Makes dining an experience, that mixed bag.

We talked a mile a minute through dinner, then went to find Ninja at her hotel. She had brought goody bags! They were full of her home baked treats, and I set mine aside to bring my kids. They loved it all, she is a good cook. Even Sweetie was impressed by the cupcake.

Back to Grace's house to chat until the early hours, and plans set for the next day. Grace and Blossoming went with BonBons to go back and get Grace's car, and I tried to get a bit of rest. It didn't work too well, I am too used to getting up at 4, and habit got me going early.



Today is:

Buttering-Up Quarter Finals -- Fairy Calendar (I have no idea what this means, but anything to do with butter sounds good.)

Feast of Guardian Angels -- Spain (patrons of the police force)

Inter-American Water Day

Name Your Car Day

National Custodial Workers Day

National Fallen Firefighter's Weekend (Through tomorrow)

National Fried Scallops Day

Phileas Fogg's Wager Day

Republic Day -- Guinea

St. Leger's Day (a/k/a Leodegar; patron against blindness)

World Farm Animals Day


Anniversaries Today:

Redwood National Park established, 1968


Birthdays Today:

Lorraine Bracco, 1955
Sting, 1951
Annie Leibovitz, 1949
Donna Karan, 1948
Don McLean, 1945
Rex Reed, 1938
George "Spanky" McFarland, 1928
"Sheriff John" Rovick, 1919
Bud Abbot, 1895
Groucho Marx, 1890
Mahatma Gandhi, 1869
King Richard III of England, 1452


Today in History:

Saladin takes Jerusalem from the Crusaders, 1187
Jacques Cartier discovers Mount Royal (Montreal), 1535
Kazan is conquered by Ivan the Terrible, 1552
Jan Lippershey completes a prototype of the modern reflecting telescope, 1608
George Washington transmits the Bill of Rights to the States for ratification, 1789
The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales with Mexican troops attempting to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, and meeting with stiff resistance, 1835
J Osterhoudt patents the tin can with key opener, 1866
John Logie Baird performs the first test of a working television system, 1925
The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá, 1928
Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published, 1950
The anthology series The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS television, 1959
Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of United States Supreme Court, 1967
NATO backs US military strikes following 9/11, 2001
American Samoa joins the North American Numbering Plan, 2004
NFL plays first regular season game outside United States when the Arizona Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-14 in Mexico City, Mexico, 2005