Bier Garten Riverwalk

Bier Garten Riverwalk is located in downtown San Antonio near the Alamo in the Riverwalk District.

It is an authentic German restaurant with a wide variety of beers to choose from and a small, but good menu. There is limited seating inside the building, but lots of seating outside by the water.

The staff were very friendly and dressed in traditional, German garb. There is a large German population around this part of TX, but none of the staff I spoke to could actually speak German.

I tried one of every Wurst available: Bratwurst, Polish, Knockwurst, Weisswurst und a Nuremburg wurst wheel. Actually, I tried just a bite or two of every wurst. I couldn’t eat this all by myself, so I brought a couple #FoodieBuddies with me to help out. We ordered more than enough food for all three of us!

A bratwurst, polish and knockwurst with mashed potatoes, kraut balls, bier cheese, sauerkraut and large, Bavarian style pretzels

There were two more wurst not included on this dish; a weisswurst and a Nuremburg wurst wheel. I love weisswurst and though I’ve had (and really enjoyed) Nuremburg style wurst before, I’d never had it in a wheel form!

“In the area of Germany where I used to live, weisswurst is the sausage they used to make the the popular German street food, currywurst.” #SteveSpeaks

Nuremburg sausage wheel

The Nuremburg wurst wheel was only available as a sandwich. It was on a huge (but not big enough) bun, smothered in bier cheese with bacon infused onions. It was a meal unto itself! #Recommended

Of all the German (and Austrian) restaurants I’ve visited on my travels this summer; Biergarten Riverwalk was the most authentic looking and tasting one that I experienced. That, and the setting in downtown San Antonio next to the riverwalk was absolutely gorgeous!

#NatsJourneys #FoodieFriday #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #SanAntonioTX #RestaurantReview #HighlyRecommended

Des Moines, Iowa

This past July, I wandered about the greater Des Moines Iowa metroplex. The metro is made up of several cities along I35 and I80 that all converge around the capital city of Des Moines. I stayed in a couple different hotels, drove around several popular areas, toured shopping districts, hang outs and (of course) restaurants. 😉

This city lies smack dab in the middle of Iowa. The population of the greater metro is around 700,000.

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#GoogleLocalGuide

SHOPPING: the Des Moines metro boasts several indoor malls: Jordan Creek Town Center (newest, biggest and best), Valley West Mall (used to be awesome) and Merle Hay mall (was cool in the 1970s). All three are still in operation. There are also multiple shopping districts around. These include retail, hotels, restaurants and even apartments (i.e. West Glen Town Center).

Jordan Creek

Valley West

Merle Hay

ENTERTAINMENT: DesMoines has no major league teams, but a ton of minor and club teams to watch (baseball, soccer, arena football, hockey, etc…). They host major tournaments for several sports.

Des Moines boasts a beautiful riverwalk, a biodome, a science center, several theaters, a thriving arts scene, a plethora of public parks (that includes the nation’s largest skate park) and even an amusement/water park called Adventureland.

As for me, I spent my time at the popular Smash Park. This large facility is a bar, restaurant and entertainment venue in the city of West Des Moines. It boasts many pickleball courts, as well as bocce ball, darts, cornhole, etc… They host gatherings, leagues and tournaments year round.

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Smash Park: pickleball, cornhole, darts, arcade games, bocceball, board games, giant Jenga and Connect 4 all built around a bar and restaurant.

DINING: Classic, local restaurant chains, like B’Bops (burgers, fries) and Tasty Tacos (Tex Mex fast food) can be found all over the cities.

Several local eateries have been making waves statewide and even nationally. Zombie Burger (2 locations) with their “Walking Ched” (a maccy cheesy burger with 2 breaded and fried mac and cheese cuts making up the bun. Also Fong’s Pizza (2 locations) with their Crab Rangoon pizza and Dragon Balls (cream cheese and jalepeno stuffed inside chicken wrapped in bacon)

Zombie Burger’s Walking Ched. It’s supposed to have a small serving of mac & cheese on it too, but I ate it separately (too messy)

Fong’s famous Crab Rangoon Pizza

Fong’s Dragon Balls

With low housing costs, growing industries and a growing arts and dining scene, people are flocking to Des Moines. If you’re looking for a new place to transplant to, or even just want to take a weekend vacation and explore; follow my advice and check out Des Moines. You won’t be disappointed!

#NatsJourneys #WanderingWednesdays #TastyTravels #ExploreYourCity #DesMoinesIA #CulinaryAdventures #HighlyRecommended

Hospital food in Wichita KS

It’s been a long time since I wrote a restaurant review blog. Now I’ll tell you why. I’ve been deep undercover doing research on hospital food in Wichita, KS. 😉

I recently spent a good deal of time in hospitals in Wichita. There are several hospitals, but Wesley and St. Francis are the biggest two. I spent time in both places trying out their food.

OK. I was in the hospitals for other reasons, but the food was the best part of those experiences (except for surviving to live awhile longer). Let’s take a look at them…

The Wesley menu. Specials change daily. Always two options for specials plus you can order anything else you want.

A simple sandwich.

Breakfast at Wesley. The pancakes are good. The turkey sausage is not. (order the pork sausage links)

Pot roast was good. Gravy was bland.

Asian chicken and rice. Not impressive.

Chicken breast with gravy, green beans, potato and bun. This was really good!

Cheeseburger! (in Wesley, not paradise) I’d order a side salad with most meals. The dessert selection is really good too.

Beef stroganoff. Decent, but not as good as my mother used to make.

The personal sausage pizza is really good (and filling)! I’d always save a slice for a midnight snack

Chicken parmesan with pesto noodles and cauliflower. Sounds impressive, but was lacking in flavor.

Ranch noddle and veggie dish was really good!

Chicken Pot Pie. A+

Meatloaf with gravy. The meatloaf was OK, not a fan of the gravy.

Chicken strips with mashed potatoes and country gravy. This was one of the best meals at Wesley. Simple yet packed with flavor. #ComfortFood

It was a mexi chicken dish with sour cream. Could’ve used more spices. Was far more bland than I expected.

I tried the salmon. Not recommended. The corn at Wesley always needed butter and pepper to make it taste decent. Luckily they provided that.

The St. Francis menu has a few pictures. It’s larger, but has no daily specials except soups.

Dinner at St. Francis differs from Wesley. Asparagus is a side item option (bonus points), but their white country gravy is disappointingly lacking in flavor.

Tried chicken tortilla soup at both hospitals. Wesleys looked and tasted homemade. Spicy and watery. St. Francis’ was thicker and full of chicken. Lots of protein in this one, and tasted great! #winnerwinnerchickentortillasoupdinner

Flat bread pizza you make yourself. I made a meat lovers supreme. This was an excellent food option!

Sesame chicken stir fry. Pretty good.

All in all, the food at both hospitals was pretty decent. I would never recommend staying in a hospital just to try the food. I’m a professional. Do not try this yourself. 😉

Foods I tried at both hospitals and the winners:

Chicken tortilla soup – St. Francis

Country gravy – Wesley

Pizza – St. Francis

Cheeseburger – Wesley

Pot roast – St. Francis

Meatloaf – Wesley

Both hospitals had their pluses and their minuses. Both had goid sized menues. Both had options within the dishes to make them to your taste (pizzas, burgers, sandwiches).

Due to the daily specials (2 for lunch, 2 for dinner), Wesley had more variety in their menu. I know St. Francis has an award winning menu, but for me, the winner was Wesley.

Have you ever been in a hospital with a unique or interesting food options? Let me know about them in the comments! 🙂

#HospitalFood #CulinaryAdventures #EveryDayisanAdventure