Mark Schofield
ColdFusion Developer
Big'z | Febuary 18th 2007
 It is a beautiful day; 66 degrees with bright blue skies. The perfect day to sit outside and eat. The family and friends went to Big'z Burgers. For us it is a new restaurant and we wanted to give it a try. Big'z is located outside Loop 1604 on the access road between Bitters and Huebner. We arrived around noon; just missing the big crowd.
Big'z looked to be a really cool place. A well defined area for a line leading to two registers. The girl behind the counter greeted us and gave us time to read over the menu. There main fare is hamburgers. But, the choices were many. What caught my eye were the sauces. There were choices like "Wasaby Mayonnaise", "Habenero Ketchup", "Rosemary Mayonnaise" and several others.
 We ordered two cheese burgers (cheddar), chicken tenders for the children and drinks. The drink bar was on our side so refills were easy to get; and free. With drinks in hand we headed outside. We stepped onto a LARGE porch with covered seating and seating out in the sun. We sat in the sun and the kids headed out to the play area.
Now, the play area did not look like a lot of fun. There was no playscape or jungle gym. I have forgotten that all kids need is a few trees, dirt and rocks. These three simple ingredients kept them busy the 15 minutes we waited for the food. After lunch they went out and played another 15 minutes. It was fun to watch as they used their imagination to crate new games. They played chase, tag and rock collecting. I asked my youngest what she thought of the place and she said "Fun". The play area in enclosed so supervision is only required to prevent ouchies.
When the food arrived it look fantastic and tasted even better. The burgers were moist and the bus soft. All the condiments are at a bar. There were tomatoes, lettuce and pickles etc. The lettuce was cut into bite-size pieces making it easy to get just enough lettuce to cover the meat. I hate pieces of lettuce which are twice the size of my burger.
The fries were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and went great with the sauces I mentioned earlier. Did I mention that I loved that Wasaby Mayonnaise. The onion rings were awesome; thin and crispy with lots of flavor. To top it all off we ordered chocolate milkshakes. Mmmm. Mmmm good!
This was a cool place to take the kids. I loved the enclosed are and the simple items around with which the kids could play. The food was good; well worth a trip back.
Fralo's | November 4th 2006
I took the family and a few friends to Fralos' to check out the pizza and listen to a little live music. We arrived around 6:30 and the place had already begun to fill up. The waitress was busy but was helpful in find us a table to accommodate six adults and 4 children. We sat a few tables away from the band in a large picnic style bench and the children sat in a similar bench, only smaller.
 We ordered a cheese pizza for the kids and the sampler for the adults. Since the restaurant does not have a liquor license, yet, we brought our own adult beverage. We were charged a $4 corking fee but that was no problem. While we waited we watched the kids play hop-scotch, climb several of the large rocks in the area and generally run around. There were several other kids there the same age with which they played. Even better we sat at our table and talked.
When the pizza arrived we were good and hungry. The kids gathered around their table and ate their cheese pizza. The adults were able to sit and enjoy their pizza, and enjoy we did. The sampler was fantastic. Each slice had a unique set of ingredients from 5 cheeses to italian sausage and artichoke hearts to ripe tomatoes and asparagus. It was so good we had to order a second.
When it was time to go home the kids, of course, wanted to stay. After much encouragement were were able to get the kids in the car. Halfway home they were asleep.
The experience at Fralo's was great. I loved being outdoors under the starts and the oak trees. I enjoyed the live music. We originally went to see the band the Secret. This was a big band back in my younger days. I thought there were having a reunion tour :). The band was actually just the singer from the Secret and a friend.
Bobby J's
Our current family hangout is Bobby J's. Bobby J's is located in Helotes on the top of a small hill.As you enter the restaurant you get that "small store/big flavor" feel. Once our food is ordered the kids race out the back of the restaurant to the ramp heading up to the large sitting area. This area overlooks parts of Helotes and the Hill Country. It is beautiful during the sunset or in the early evening. There are many large, brightly painted picnic style benches in which to sit.
The kids love to explorer the area looking at the rocks, plants, flowers (in season) bugs and best of all the love to race up and down the ramp  from the restaurant to the top of the hill. The best part, for the parents, is the whole back area is enclosed with only one way in/out. The kids are able to play without the worry of them running too far or getting lost.
I have been taking the family there since my girls were babies. They are older now and still love going to Bobby J's.
|
