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Hole In One - San Antonio


jkgourmet

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Along with two other couples, we finally got around to trying the Hole in One. As you know, it's a short menu, and only open on Sat, Sun and Monday nights. Others have written about the chef, and since they know his history better than I, I'll leave them to add that information to my comments, if they want to.

The atmosphere is, well, zero. Even at night, you just can't make a driving range with plastic beer tables look good. And I could do without the TV - switch it to some music channel and lower the sound.

But the food! Oh my, what wonderful stuff. Husband (like most of the table) had the filet, which was perfectly prepared to medium rare as ordered. In a demi-glace (not too much, which is a good thing, IMO) along with mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes and some vegies. The meat was outstanding. I like the meat at Tango and Recoletta. And I like US beef. Without hesitation, we both can say this was the best piece of beef we've ever tasted in Mexico. (Others at the table were equally impressed with their meat.) I enjoyed the side of the portobello mushroom with Gorgonzola, and noticed the husband, who is not huge fan of mushrooms or gorgonzola, finished off every bit of food on that plate. Amazing at $95 pesos.

I ordered the lamb shank, a personal favorite for both of us. The preparation/sauce is not the traditional wine-based gravy (though it may have contained some red wine, or possibly port). Instead, it seemed more of a Mediterranean take on this dish, including roasted tomatoes, and a variety of spices that blended so well, it was nearly impossible to determine exactly what they were. Very little fat on this shank, and tender as can be, but not soft and mushy. Served on a small square of polenta (not the awful runny kind either!) that was spiced up quite nicely. Frankly, I would have licked the plate clean, but the rest of our table might have thought I'd lost my mind. Considering the price of $120 pesos, I wonder if the chef has lost HIS mind!

Service was a bit slow, but not enough to make any real issues for us. I think the kitchen is small and careful that they 'get it right.' For this, I certainly can allow a few extra minutes. Also a nice touch that they happily packed up the lamb bone for the dog of one of our friends.

The wine list was surprisingly large, and frankly, if I had really known how good this food was, I would have popped for a better wine. As it was, we simply chose the cheapest red, which was just okay. At $95 pesos for the entire bottle, I figured "who cares?" With this kind of food, I CARE, and a better wine would only make the meal better.

We are already planning on a return visit next weekend, with out of town guests who will, no doubt, think we are nuts for raving about the food at a driving range. Personally, I think we're nuts if we DON'T go back and try the rest of that menu - and whatever they come up with in August.

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We've dined there several times and have enjoyed every meal. The prices are low because you're not paying for "ambiance" or fancy table settings. The wine prices are very reasonable too. Remember too that Pancho and his family are in the food and wine business so they've got access to ingredients at wholesale prices. The kitchen is small and so is the menu and the chef and his assistant(s) are all in culinary school. Pancho has done a good thing for the food and wine scene lakeside. When I dine out I'm looking for good food and good service. "Ambiance" is nice but I'm not willing to pay much for it. As far as I'm concered, for a great meal it doesn't get better Lakeside than Hole in One!

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I'd have to agree that the steak dish you had was perhaps the finest piece of beef I've encountered in Mexico. He obviously knows who to order from, and better yet, how to make it into such a fine-tasting dish. I've cooked probably a thousand steaks in my life, and I know how important the preparation is, no matter how good the cut. In fact, I botched one just this week... .

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As far as I'm concered, for a great meal it doesn't get better Lakeside than Hole in One!

actually, I think that you could put those two entrees against the vast majority of big city restaurants in the US or most European countries and have a fair battle.

I'm anxiously looking forward to another visit this weekend, and busy bribing husband to order something besides the filet so I get to taste something different off his plate!

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If you've been here anytime in the last couple of years, you would have noticed the construction, as it seemed to go on forever: Beside Pepe's auto-supplies, just past the 7/11 in San Antonio, they were building some weird-looking structure on the second floor of a concrete building. Looked like a stadium, with huge curved spikes going way up high. Could not figure out what was going on up there. Then one day there was a cover attached, and it became El Hole In One driving range.

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Count me among the fans.

We finally went there this afternoon to taste what everyone's talking about. We ordered the Lamb Shank and the Filet of beef. The lamb was delicious, but really the filet was spectacular (which was the bigger surprise). I won't bother reviewing it, as Jeanette's in the original post covers it perfectly for what we ordered....all the way down to the tasty polenta. What a treat in this town. Hope Boy Wonder Chef Erick (?) sticks around for a while. Other than Chili Bang (which I love....please re-open, please re-open) and our very rare forays to #4, this is by far the most sophisticated food in this town. (And I don't care for "sophisticated" for its own sake.....there's a place I won't name that tries and fails in my view.) Hope it lasts.

Food coming out of the kitchen was more than a bit slow.....and the flies were HORRENDOUS on a Sunday afternoon.

And I don't care. We'll be back. Soon.

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I'd have to agree that the steak dish you had was perhaps the finest piece of beef I've encountered in Mexico. He obviously knows who to order from, and better yet, how to make it into such a fine-tasting dish. I've cooked probably a thousand steaks in my life, and I know how important the preparation is, no matter how good the cut. In fact, I botched one just this week... .

The Paz extended family has everything connected well. Booze, imported goodies, and Tony supplies all the meats.

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Not true. Pancho told us on Saturday that he gets nearly all the meat from Costco.

We had a lovely, long discussion with Erik, the chef. According to him, the beef comes from costco (including those lovely filets) and the lamb shanks come from Tony's. Other interesting ingredients come from SuperLake. In fact, Erik described to us his weekly visits to SuperLake as "being like a kid in a toy store." And yes, that's an exact quote.

He also is hoping to go to an invitation only chef school (only 6 out of 400 will be invited) next January. Lakeside residents should enjoy The Hole in One now, while they still have the chance, before he is gone.

He also explained that he no longer works at Number 4. When they heard about his after-hours business venture, they fired him. He also said that, a few weeks later, they asked him back but he preferred being in charge of his own kitchen and extended the hours at Hole in One. Which now include Martini and appetizers on Thursday and Friday nights, from (I THINK) 4PM to close. He also remains a full time student at the culinary school. In addition to his native Spanish, he speaks fluent English and some French (both of which he explained are required by the culinary school). All at 21 years old. Very impressive guy.

He intends to keep changing the menu every other week, but is trying to keep the lamb shank permanently on the menu, by popular demand. I couldn't agree more.

PS - I ordered the prime rib last night. Good piece of meat that I would have preferred prepared more simply. A bit too busy, IMO, with the sauces and stuff. Good prime rib, well prepared, can easily stand on its own, especially with the excellent sides this place prepares. Others at the table totally enjoyed the filet and that lamb shank. Shared appetizer of a unique take on crab imperial was very good, chunks of real crab and other ingredients didn't overpower it. Had both deserts, both good, but the creme brule was a standout.

The service remains slow, but, as Erik explained, the kitchen is small and they prepare every dish to order. I do not think this is something that they are going to change, so if getting your food order to the table quickly is important to you, I don't think you will enjoy The Hole in One. (unless you go very early when they first open, before they get busy.) Service staff are pleasant, helpful and (I thought) more professional than our prior visit. I suspect Erik is doing some training on that side of the business as well.

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OMG! Grow up folks! Stop whining and start acting like the OLD FARTS that you are and make a decent contribution! If you want to bitch and bicker, take it off line. If you have a decent on topic comment to make, do so. Many of you have no credibility when you whine and moan.

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Six of us had reservations at 6:30 last night and were seated on time. Initially our waiter was there to take drink orders and shortly thereafter took our salad and dinner orders. Then the wait began..30 full minutes before the salads arrived and they forgot one salad order. Entree was served an hour after that. Two ordered lamb shank and mahi which were good the others ordered filet which was small and tasted like it had been marinated in liquid smoke and terraki..not good as had been discussed earlier. We then ordered an assortment of deserts which took another 30+ minutes. The creme brulee was a poor imitation of flan but grainy and flavorless the others enjoyed their raspberry desert. The drinks and wine were good and fairly priced. Overall the food was average but very very slow even though the waiter tried hard. We will give it another chance in a week or so but my guess is that they are not prepared to turn out meals in a timely manner. We were seated by 6:30 and left shortly before 10:00. The ambiance was not a factor as there is none but overall the dinner as a whole was average at best. Our hope is that they will improve..we will see.

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Sorry to hear your wait was long, although it's usually slow even on Mondays. It's a small kitchen and everything is prepared to order. Just an FYI: Creme Brulee is not flan, nor is it an imitation of flan. Overall we find the food to be way above average and well worth the wait.

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No question that the kitchen is slow (the waitstaff if just fine). For better or worse, Erik, the very young chef, insists on preparing each dish to order.

As I've previously posted, if a long wait for food is going to ruin your evening, you will not enjoy the hole in one. And that's perfectly reasonable, especially given that the ambience is zero. As for us, we have enjoyed the food, the low priced wine list and the earnest attempt of everyone involved in this business to bring something new to the lakeside dining scene.

I do not think the kitchen will change this policy. At least, not until Erik leaves for Spain in december (as he is hoping to do).

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Six of us had reservations at 6:30 last night and were seated on time. Initially our waiter was there to take drink orders and shortly thereafter took our salad and dinner orders. Then the wait began..30 full minutes before the salads arrived and they forgot one salad order. Entree was served an hour after that. Two ordered lamb shank and mahi which were good the others ordered filet which was small and tasted like it had been marinated in liquid smoke and terraki..not good as had been discussed earlier. We then ordered an assortment of deserts which took another 30+ minutes. The creme brulee was a poor imitation of flan but grainy and flavorless the others enjoyed their raspberry desert. The drinks and wine were good and fairly priced. Overall the food was average but very very slow even though the waiter tried hard. We will give it another chance in a week or so but my guess is that they are not prepared to turn out meals in a timely manner. We were seated by 6:30 and left shortly before 10:00. The ambiance was not a factor as there is none but overall the dinner as a whole was average at best. Our hope is that they will improve..we will see.

Interesting perspective. We were there at the same time (I remember your party of six). Three of us ordered lamb shank, which by any measure was spectacular, and one seafood risotto, which was reported to be wonderful. As for the service, we enjoy going out for the entire evening, and believe that a decent wait between courses is essential for conversation with friends. It certainly is not fast food (there are other places which you could try for that). And, as Jeanette says, the chef prepares everything to order, which is essential to the quality of the food.

As I have said, I believe this to be the best food Lakeside. If I had something else to do in the evening I would go to a fast food place and suffer a dish kept under a heat lamp. Just my opinion, of course.

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