Slow Down and Savor - a food blog
I’m having so much fun re-living my husband’s and my “nearcation,” as we have dubbed it. Think staycation, only a little bit further. Our recent Spring Break Nearcation was in the form of a 2-day trip to nearby San Antonio. We started out with lunch at Cured, a crazy amazing restaurant specializing in charcuterie located in the historic Pearl Brewery.
That afternoon, we put our tourist shoes on, and headed to The Alamo, followed by a river cruise and relaxing stroll down at The Riverwalk.
After seeing the sights and sounds, we decided it would be nice to continue our relaxing walk from downtown back to The Crockett Hotel to enjoy a happy hour drink at the Ernie’s, the hotel bar, then get all dolled up for dinner.
We’d already decided on visiting Tre Trattoria, a Jason Dady restaurant. Basically, it was touted as being a relaxed, yet romantic Italian place with a James Beard semi-finalist at the helm. Sounded perfect, right? So I made reservations for two at 7 p.m., and we headed out with 20 minutes to spare, so we could leisurely walk our way to dinner.
We arrived at 7 p.m. on the dot, and announced our arrival at the hostess stand. We were met by confusion. The hostess clearly didn’t see our reservation on the computer, but she played it off well. She wasn’t even phased as she quickly led us through the modern and bright dining space to a booth. Very nice.
That’s when I noticed I had a missed call and a voice mail from, guess who? Tre Trattoria. OOPS. I’d made our reservation for the OTHER Tre Trattoria in Alamo Heights, and we were already looking at menus at the Downtown location. I called the other people back, apologized for the confusion, and got settled in.
My husband and I were really on a charcuterie kick, and decided to continue on that path with a starter of pulled-to-order mozzarella with olive oil, sea-salt and toast, and an order of house cured soppressetta. Yum. For our main courses, I picked the house-made linguini and clams, and Michael went with the Mozzarella Stuffed Wagyu Meatballs with fresh spaghetti and San Marzano Fresca.
While we waited, we sipped on some craft brews, enjoyed conversation and just being together on our nearcation. I can’t emphasize enough how rejuvenating this trip was, no matter how short it was, it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Our mozzarella and meat came pretty quickly, and we were excited to dig right in. I was pretty impressed by the amount of cheese that came with one order, but oh man… The mozzarella tasted super fresh, like cold, salty cream. I don’t know how else to explain it, but it was truly delicious. The meat was also very good. I liked the two together. Yum.
Soon, our entrées were out, and my word, they were pretty! My linguini and clams were sort of one note in appearance, but the taste was explosive. Oh my goodness, you guys. I fell head over heals. This dish was bombtastic. The sauce!!! The sauce had a nice warm and zesty heat that followed a salty-sweetness. Obsessed.
My husband’s mozzarella stuffed Wagyu meatballs were ENORMOUS! Like, HOLY MOLY. I guess that’s why this place is known for family style.
When Michael took his first bite, I immediately launched into 20 questions. He loved the meat, but said that my red sauce was better than this red sauce. Say what? I mean, I trust him and everything, but he had to have been pulling my chain. Granted, his comment made me blush, but, for real? Mine better than theirs?
Well, he let me take a taste of his meatballs, so I could see what was what, and I was surprised.
I mean, the meat was incredible. The mozzarella, once again, was incredible. The sauce though? Can I be honest here? I totally agreed with him! The sauce tasted just like crushed tomatoes from a can without any treatment whatsoever. With canned tomatoes comes a metallic acidity that isn’t at all complementary to Wagyu, which is supposed to be the best meat in all the land, second only to Kobe. Why would you put THAT on Wagyu???
Anyway, I cleaned my plate, and nearly asked for a straw in order to suck the remaining sauce. It was so good. Michael finished one of his enormous meatballs, and enjoyed it after scraping off most of the sauce.
Overall, our romantic Tre Trattoria meal was good, and ended up being a nice end to a pretty perfect day in San Antonio.
