Sometimes a business traveller has simply got to get out of the hotel. Recently, I attended a super conference in San Antonio, Texas. The hotel was ideally situated on the famed River Walk. However, after 2 days of 7 am -7 pm meetings and evening socials, I needed just a couple hours in the fresh air. I’d heard that the parking lot of the Pearl Brewery was amazing on weekends. So, I jumped on a local bus to head up to one of the city’s bustling open-air markets.
Saturday at the Pearl
Perhaps a 15 minute ride from downtown San Antonio, the Pearl Brewery proved to be the perfect destination for breakfast and brunch. The market included a curated combination of local growers and producers amidst live music and children playing on a green area.
The Sol y Luna, located at 4421 De Zevala Road, had breakfast pastries modestly priced that tasted better than I can even describe. I was tempted to load up, but I decided to leave room enough to sample a number of vendors.
The line for coffee and macaroons at Bakery Lorraine, Patisserie Viennoise was so long! I was too impatient to wait, but I did manage to take a photo of the treats.
These oyster mushrooms were the most beautiful I’d ever seen, and were grown by the third generation of a family of mushroom growers. If I were home, this is what I would have purchased. I could just imagine how good they tasted.
My morning breakaway turned out to be all about the pop-up restaurant Gwendolyn. As a farm-to-table restaurant located in downtown San Antonio, all of their ingredients were local, organic, sustainable and seasonal. The CIA trained chef made everything by hand, including the sausage and breads which were made in-house. Even more impressive, Gwendolyn sources all perishables within a 150 mile radius of the restaurant; and the restaurant has personal relationships with all of their vendors, farmers and growers. The menu changes daily to offer unique 3 and 5 course dinners. With a capacity of 45 diners, reservations can be made online.
I selected a breakfast sandwich of pumpkin sausage and summer squash served opened faced on house-baked bread with a vital farmed egg and a dash of tabasco sauce on top. Doesn’t it make your mouth water?? Oh yum. By the last bite, I was satisfied to return to the hotel.
These are the kind of unexpected delights one can expect Saturday at the Pearl Brewery.