Lunch at Boudro’s, San Antonio

NCFC had it’s annual meeting in San Antonio. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to San Antonio. I didn’t really know what to expect. But to be candid, it was kind of disappointing. I did my usual survey of the local restaurant scene online – Yelp, Open Table, Google, NY Times. I didn’t come up with much encouragement.

It seemed like most of the restaurants on the River Walk are pretty tourist oriented. Not that that’s bad. But that usually means they lack a distinctive style or flavor that sets them apart.

Most of the sources I checked recommended Boudro’s. It’s described as a Texas bistro. So when a coworker and I arrived and had free time for lunch, I sought out Boudro’s. It was about a four block walk from our hotel, the Marriott Rivercenter.

Now, the weather when we arrived was distinctly not Texan. A cold front was moving in from the north, and it was starting to get chilly. Still, the tables on the River Walk looked inviting. They were still in the sun, so we decided to tough it out. Wasn’t too bad, really.

My coworker had the Boudro’s burger. He liked it quite a lot. The burger was prepared to his liking – done medium. The fries that came on the plate looked very nicely done – thin and crisp.

I had a daily special fish. It was a local fish; I don’t really remember what kind it was. But it was very expertly prepared – cooked through but not overdone. It had a tomato salsa on top, and was served with a side of rice with kernels of corn. I thought it was very good.

As we were sitting along side the canal, a boat tour went by. I recognized one of the riders as someone from the NCFC meeting. Later, while we were enjoying our meal, he and his wife walked by. They were looking for a place to have lunch. We recommended Boudro’s. When we saw him later that same day, he said that they really enjoyed their lunch, too.

Then, after the meeting had ended, I was returning to Minnesota with our CEO. He started describing a restaurant where he went for dinner during the meeting. Turns out, it also was Boudro’s. He quite liked it. So on the basis of our favorable experience, and the reports from two other trusted colleagues, it seems unanimous that Boudro’s is definitely a place to eat when in San Antonio.