God, Guns, Church & Country Life in Texas & Anything Else I Care to Think of.
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Thursday, July 3, 2025
ElCon
ElCon, El Conquistador, this evening where I was ambushed by a large crew of churchpersyns. What a lot of surprise fun! ElCon's notoriously TexMex and hasn't changed since the '90s or at least that's what it feels like, nice.
It's hard to beat a good Mexican restaurant that's been there for a long time.
Sometimes I miss going to the local really good Mex restaurant. But the whole 'planning for an ocean invasion' that's required to get Mrs. Andrew out of the house doesn't make it worthwhile. Though, hmmm, can do take out...
Years ago, Mrs. and I overnighted in Hillsboro and ate Meskin in some little hole in the wall joint in a former Dairy Queen on the same side of I-35. The hotel clerk said it looks bad on the outside, but you'll love the food. She was right about both appearances and the food, some of the best we've ever ate. A few years later, I noticed they'd built a new building behind the old one but looking at mapping program, don't think it's the same place, think it's the one south of El Conquistador a little bit. I've slept since then, ya follow?
Anyway, Mrs. and I are semi-planning on attending the big Texas Monthly barbecue weekend in Lockhart the first weekend in November. We might ambush you ourselves for luncheon on the way down if that might be agreeable.
When the family was living in Santa Maria and Vandenberg back in the late 60's, Dad, the eternal wanderer, would take us out to basically a whistle stop on the main railroad out there. A small town, mostly serving the people who kept the railroad running.
He'd park the station wagon in the shade of a building, we'd go to the Mexican restaurant around the corner. Said restaurant was fully decorated in bullfighting posters and such. The people didn't speak much English but Dad, the eternal foodie, would somehow get our order across to them.
That's the standard I hold all Mexican restaurants to. Memories from when I was 4-7 years old. There was no 'anglo' food for us kids, but Dad did make sure not to order extra spicy for us.
Dad was like that. Drop him anywhere in the world and in 15 minutes he'd have 10 friends and be ordering local food and having a great time.
Japanese food in J-Town in Hawaii, where the venders really didn't speak much English but you could point at the rubber-food display. Greek food in Greece or at the local Greek Orthodox Church, point, hold up # of fingers for servings, go on. He talked about doing that in Korea, in Japan, in the Bahamas and Bermuda, some places in South America, lots of places in the USA.
Want a good BBQ sandwich? Dad could always find that hole-in-the-wall BBQ place that only locals went to, the type of place that slaps unknown bbq meat between two slices of white bread and it makes modern bbq places seem weak and underflavored.
Me? I tried that here in the university town I live in and suddenly the bbq restaurant, 2 blocks down from where I was working was out of food at te time. Yeah...
It's hard to beat a good Mexican restaurant that's been there for a long time.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I miss going to the local really good Mex restaurant. But the whole 'planning for an ocean invasion' that's required to get Mrs. Andrew out of the house doesn't make it worthwhile. Though, hmmm, can do take out...
Years ago, Mrs. and I overnighted in Hillsboro and ate Meskin in some little hole in the wall joint in a former Dairy Queen on the same side of I-35. The hotel clerk said it looks bad on the outside, but you'll love the food. She was right about both appearances and the food, some of the best we've ever ate. A few years later, I noticed they'd built a new building behind the old one but looking at mapping program, don't think it's the same place, think it's the one south of El Conquistador a little bit. I've slept since then, ya follow?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Mrs. and I are semi-planning on attending the big Texas Monthly barbecue weekend in Lockhart the first weekend in November. We might ambush you ourselves for luncheon on the way down if that might be agreeable.
Oh yeah, to be clear, clergy don't pay if I'm sittin' with 'em. Comprende?
DeleteWhen the family was living in Santa Maria and Vandenberg back in the late 60's, Dad, the eternal wanderer, would take us out to basically a whistle stop on the main railroad out there. A small town, mostly serving the people who kept the railroad running.
ReplyDeleteHe'd park the station wagon in the shade of a building, we'd go to the Mexican restaurant around the corner. Said restaurant was fully decorated in bullfighting posters and such. The people didn't speak much English but Dad, the eternal foodie, would somehow get our order across to them.
That's the standard I hold all Mexican restaurants to. Memories from when I was 4-7 years old. There was no 'anglo' food for us kids, but Dad did make sure not to order extra spicy for us.
Dad was like that. Drop him anywhere in the world and in 15 minutes he'd have 10 friends and be ordering local food and having a great time.
Japanese food in J-Town in Hawaii, where the venders really didn't speak much English but you could point at the rubber-food display. Greek food in Greece or at the local Greek Orthodox Church, point, hold up # of fingers for servings, go on. He talked about doing that in Korea, in Japan, in the Bahamas and Bermuda, some places in South America, lots of places in the USA.
Want a good BBQ sandwich? Dad could always find that hole-in-the-wall BBQ place that only locals went to, the type of place that slaps unknown bbq meat between two slices of white bread and it makes modern bbq places seem weak and underflavored.
Me? I tried that here in the university town I live in and suddenly the bbq restaurant, 2 blocks down from where I was working was out of food at te time. Yeah...
Dad led a treasured life. Miss him.