Your Next Vacation Destination.....?

[tmay407]

Nothing really insensitive about it.

There are plenty of poverty stricken countries American tourists visit where the food is really good.

Since Cuba opened their doors recently and are trying to "cater" to tourists, most of what is offered at most places is your stereotypical pasta, hamburger, pizza, etc.

I’m good with being called insensitive in some cases when I deserve it, just don’t think this was a good reason for it…especially when two other people explicitly said the food sucked and I said I was surprised to hear that since I love finding good Cuban spots stateside.

Like you mentioned, I’ve been to lots of poverty stricken countries that serve great food as a default. Has nothing to do with any sort of world status. Food is food.

 

[アミーゴ]

Ya'll probably used to those goodyear star spots for food smh

 

[tmay407]

Ya'll probably used to those goodyear star spots for food smh

Goodyear makes decent tires, but I only trust Michelin

No lie though, that 3 Michelin star spot I ate at in Barcelona was a garbage dinner. Almost every other dinner I ate over those two weeks was better. Got back home and drove 20 minutes to get Wienerschnitzel and enjoyed it more.

 

[アミーゴ]

Goodyear makes decent tires, but I only trust Michelin

Don't they critique restaurants?

 

[ballinsam23]

Gotta do both on vaca. Hit the local spots and a Michelin rated one.

Both rarely miss.

 

[アミーゴ]

Gotta do both on vaca. Hit the local spots and a Michelin rated one.

Both rarely miss.

Wait I thought it was Goodyear this entire time

 

[keko jones]

Wait I thought it was Goodyear this entire time

I thought you was trolling.

 

[アミーゴ]

 

[tmay407]

The Michelin spot I ate at in Barcelona was awful. I think we had about 12 of us seated for dinner, and 4 of them got out of the restaurant an hour before everybody else. The timing of service was incredibly bad. My wife and I were looking at the couple next to us (the only people left after everybody else left 30 minutes earlier) questioning what we did to hold up service when our plates were the first ones bussed the entire night. Total waste of $1k.

The saving grace was this American influencer girl who was complaining about everything all night. The guy she was with was like 30-40 years older. One of the courses was squab and she had no clue what that was. The guy next to us (who was with us for an extra hour) started making a pigeon sound at her and she was looking all around the room trying to figure out where the bird was.

 

[アミーゴ]

The Michelin spot I ate at in Barcelona was awful. I think we had about 12 of us seated for dinner, and 4 of them got out of the restaurant an hour before everybody else. The timing of service was incredibly bad. My wife and I were looking at the couple next to us (the only people left after everybody else left 30 minutes earlier) questioning what we did to hold up service when our plates were the first ones bussed the entire night. Total waste of $1k.

 

[tmay407]

I’ll do it again. That was a Goodyear 3*, not a Michelin 3*. I now know the difference.

 

[アミーゴ]

I’ll do it again. That was a Goodyear 3*, not a Michelin 3*. I now know the difference.

 

[tmay407]

When I hit you up for those Amsterdam recs I’m fully expecting Goodyear recs

 

[アミーゴ]

When I hit you up for those Amsterdam recs I’m fully expecting Goodyear recs

 

[jayt1202]

Officially booked our flights to San Antonio for three nights for the XFL championship on Saturday. Any recommendations for dinner after 8pm or so? We arrive late afternoon on a Thursday. Also has anyone been to the Esquire Tavern? Place looks legit and really good reviews. We are staying at Best Western in downtown for reference.

 

[tmay407]

Officially booked our flights to San Antonio for three nights for the XFL championship on Saturday. Any recommendations for dinner after 8pm or so? We arrive late afternoon on a Thursday. Also has anyone been to the Esquire Tavern? Place looks legit and really good reviews. We are staying at Best Western in downtown for reference.

Oh damn, did I forget to send you my nice dinner spots when I got back from vacation or was that someone else?

But definitely do a night at The Pearl. Get a dinner reservation at Southerleigh (I don’t know if you need a reservation if you’re good waiting an hour or sitting outside, but always better having one just in case). But then hit that underground jazz spot beneath the food court at The Pearl. I don’t even know if you can make a rez because I always showed up there by myself…and I don’t know if it’s even listed on the maps, but it’s below the food court. That place was ******* awesome.

If you’re gonna be visiting SA, you have to be fine with the dirtiness of the Riverwalk. If you’re doing that, the Esquire Tavern is a must from what I’ve heard (haven’t personally been, but always heard great things). Be good with the dirtiness and just walk around and explore the rest of the area. There’s also a Pat O’s Piano Bar on the Riverwalk. Everytime I’ve been there one of my friends has annoyed the absolute **** out of me with the their requests…but it’s never super crowded and drinks are just like Nola.

On Saturday hit the Guenther House for brunch (then grab e-bikes and scooters down to Blue Star Brewing for beers…not sure if those are even still allowed? But there are several good breweries in SA you can Uber to if not.)

I’ve also made a habit of eating at smaller, authentic Mexican food spots in San Antonio…I still have a lot of contacts down there for that and can get you recs in a few minutes…was actually just texting a few of the ladies I used to work with in my SA branches, so I know they’ll send me recs for whatever you want within a few minutes. I do have a REALLY solid Italian place in western SA (by St Mary’s) that I’d put up against any Italian place I’ve had in Dallas. Former coworker’s parents own the place, so I can grab a last minute reservation if needed for that.

 

[tmay407]

Here’s the list I got from a hipster bartender last time I was down there (old work phone got a cracked screen and I couldn’t touch most of the screen anymore). Last one is Josephine St., which is right on the edge of The Pearl area.

 

[tmay407]

If you just message me what areas you’ll be in I can text my guys that live there to get spots deep in the hoods for the best breakfast or lunch tacos. Talked to a few of them within the past couple days, so I know they’ll respond quick.

 

[danikerhino]

I had a great time in Hawaii even though I missed visiting a few places that I wanted to go to(Bishop Museum, Kualoa Ranch, Pearl Harbor). I must've went to like 8 beaches, ate at random restaurants around the whole island, and seen some of the most lush vegetation in my life. The locals were friendly and that Aloha spirit is really reflected on the rode because it's easy to get on the wrong lane since alot of streets force the outside lanes to go left or right, but people never honked or rode my bumper if I merged late. I'm a naturally positive person, so this really vibed with me. In fact, the only rude people that I ran into were other tourists that apparently didn't get the memo.

All in all, I'm going to try to make another trip out there in the coming years, but gotta go to NYC and Paris.

 

[tmay407]

I had a great time in Hawaii even though I missed visiting a few places that I wanted to go to(Bishop Museum, Kualoa Ranch, Pearl Harbor). I must've went to like 8 beaches, ate at random restaurants around the whole island, and seen some of the most lush vegetation in my life. The locals were friendly and that Aloha spirit is really reflected on the rode because it's easy to get on the wrong lane since alot of streets force the outside lanes to go left or right, but people never honked or rode my bumper if I merged late. I'm a naturally positive person, so this really vibed with me. In fact, the only rude people that I ran into were other tourists that apparently didn't get the memo.

All in all, I'm going to try to make another trip out there in the coming years, but gotta go to NYC and Paris.

Don’t feel too bad about missing out on Pearl Harbor. It was really amazing to see the harbor, but at the risk of sounding like an American *******…there’s a significant piece of American history that is just…sunken in a harbor. It’s not like visiting the beaches of Dunkirk or seeing Auschwitz or Birkenau, which are hundreds of years older.

Add trips to other places in Europe to your WWII wish list and I think you’ll be a lot more grateful for seeing those spots than if you had gotten to see Pearl Harbor.

 

[danikerhino]

Don’t feel too bad about missing out on Pearl Harbor. It was really amazing to see the harbor, but at the risk of sounding like an American *******…there’s a significant piece of American history that is just…sunken in a harbor. It’s not like visiting the beaches of Dunkirk or seeing Auschwitz or Birkenau, which are hundreds of years older.

Add trips to other places in Europe to your WWII wish list and I think you’ll be a lot more grateful for seeing those spots than if you had gotten to see Pearl Harbor.

Good to hear, I'll see it when I go back. I'm a big history buff, but unfortunately I was already winded and sweating for hours by the time I thought about Pearl Harbor. I honestly didn't feel like walking around outside anymore and opted to hang out in Sand Island and than ate at Boiling Crab instead. My main goal changed from Pearl Harbor to making sure I went to a good Luau, so I ended up picking the Polynesian Cultural Center in to learn more about Hawaiian history and go to a good Luau in one.

 

[tmay407]

Good to hear, I'll see it when I go back. I'm a big history buff, but unfortunately I was already winded and sweating for hours by the time I thought about Pearl Harbor. I honestly didn't feel like walking around outside anymore and opted to hang out in Sand Island and than ate at Boiling Crab instead. My main goal changed from Pearl Harbor to making sure I went to a good Luau, so I ended up picking the Polynesian Cultural Center in to learn more about Hawaiian history and go to a good Luau in one.

I was in Honolulu on vacation for a few days while my wife was working and went to Pearl Harbor one day. The whole time I was just picturing the story about Mike Leach losing his hat in the harbor, so I think that ruined part of my visit. But as a WWII nerd, I’m so much more intrigued by seeing some of those of those other sites I mentioned in my last post.

The other days I got sucked into all day happy hour on the beach a block from our hotel, so definitely caught a good sunburn on my pale skin.

 

[danikerhino]

I was in Honolulu on vacation for a few days while my wife was working and went to Pearl Harbor one day. The whole time I was just picturing the story about Mike Leach losing his hat in the harbor, so I think that ruined part of my visit. But as a WWII nerd, I’m so much more intrigued by seeing some of those of those other sites I mentioned in my last post.

I feel you, Normandy is up there on my list, also Auschwitz, Warsaw, that WW2 museum in New Orleans, Omaha Beach, and that Holocaust memorial in Berlin.

 

[tmay407]

I feel you, Normandy is up there on my list, also Auschwitz, Warsaw, that WW2 museum in New Orleans, Omaha Beach, and that Holocaust memorial in Berlin.

My dad’s mom was from Warsaw. I don’t think he ever actually knew where his dad was actually from. But he’s never actually been out of the US (outside of trips across the Mexican border before a passport was needed). One of my lifelong goals has been taking him on a trip to find out where he’s from. If any of y’all are into deep searching genealogy or can set me on the right path, please let me know.

 

[アミーゴ]

I feel you, Normandy is up there on my list, also Auschwitz, Warsaw, that WW2 museum in New Orleans, Omaha Beach, and that Holocaust memorial in Berlin.

Normandy is beautiful but it haunts your soul. I haven’t been the same since.