Red and white-checkered posters and decor along with a short order menu, burgers wrapped in foil and put in paper bags all added to the feel of a time gone by.

What was different was the fresh made to order food that Five Guys served up.  I will say that I didn’t understand the menu lingo at first, but the person taking our order explained everything to us.  I guess she could tell we were new to this burger joint.  We both had the “little hamburger”, a full size burger with mayo, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions and grilled mushrooms.  You can add additional items for an extra charge, but we really didn’t need any more.  We also split a regular fries which was plenty for us, but you can get a large fries if you are really hungry. Our burgers were very juicy and all our food was very fresh.

The menu also offered hot dogs and a few sandwiches for those who aren’t in the mood for a burger.  The only thing missing to make this a real blast from the past was the jukebox and the ice cream shakes.

Five Guys is open 7 days a week from 11AM to 10PM.

1321 N. Loop 1604 East, Suite 105, next to Costco.

210.402.7305

www.fiveguys.com

My husband and I just wanted to go see a movie, and when we looked at the cinema list, we just picked whatever looked like it wasn’t a kids movie.

We didn’t know who was in it, and it wasn’t till the opening credits that I realized that Robert Rodriguez produced Predators.

I used to love Robert Rodriguez. His first movies were fantastic. Then he had kids and let them write his scripts… I lost faith in him for a while. I stopped going to see his films. So it was probably a good thing I didn’t know he had made this before hand. I will say though, that Predators has restored by love for Rodriguez. This movie is back to his action packed best. There’s lots of blood and gore, without it being too gruesome. There’s plenty of twists in the script to keep you guessing.It wasn’t directed by Rodriguez however, that was left to Nimrod Antal.

After seeing Predator versus Alien I wondered if there was going to be a test to see if these guys could all get along, but nope, they’re all just bait. They group includes elite military mercenaries, a rapist on death row, a Japaneze Yakuza, Mexican Mafia and a psychopath. The Predator costumes are great. They didn’t change them up from the original or give them some kind of overhaul. I hate it when movies do that.

Each character battles their own personal demons while battling the Predator.

There’s some bad reviews out there for Predators, but my husband and I really enjoyed it.

Flicks and Food is under new ownership!

We’re still based in San Antonio, and we’ll still be writing about Flicks and Food. But, just like when people move house, we’ll be moving some things around.

First thing we did was add some categories for Food. We know when you’re looking to eat out, you don’t always think Italian or Greek. Sometimes you don’t care what type of food it is, as long as it’s romantic or outdoors. So we went ahead and classified restaurants into our own set of categories. When you write a review, feel free to put a restaurant into several categories.

Flicks is still here too, although we’ve made some changes. We got rid of a couple of categories, trying to streamline things a bit.

We hope you’ll like the changes and find them a bit more user friendly. We’d like to get some real interaction on the site. It’s going to be a community site, and we want you guys to share your experiences with us. So go ahead and write a review, respond to somebody else’s review and get involved. We’re running contests each month to bribe you into contributing.We’ll also be organizing some Tweetups so you can meet the other reviewers.

The easiest way for you to contribute to Flicks and Food is to use the SUBMISSIONS page. If you’re familiar with WordPress, go ahead and create an account. Either way, we want to hear from you.

So go ahead, take a look around, check out the new place. Think of this like a housewarming party. If you’d like to donate a gift, go ahead and sign up and write a review. If you’re a restaurant, you can always donate a meal for the monthly contests.

Baby Day is offered every Tuesday during the first show of each film. These show times allow parents to bring their infants, or any children under 6 years old. Baby Day shows are generally not children’s films, rather our regular movies, and are shown with the intention that customers with small children have an opportunity to experience the Alamo without having to arrange for child care. Admission is free for those under 6 years old. During the movie the lights are left a little brighter and the sound a little lower.

So now you can still enjoy going to the movies with your kids, without having to see a kids movie!

Huli Huli Chicken

Aloha!

You’ll be saying Mahalo at the end of your meal here!

The Aloha Grill has been at their location on Harry Wurzbach outside the gates of Fort Sam Houston for almost 6 months now.

We’ve been eating at Aloha since they served lunches on Fridays at their old location in the Aloha flower shop on Austin Hwy. Over there, it was a leisurely lunch and had a dedicated following. Since moving to their new location, and being full time restaurateurs, you can now enjoy a quick fix of Hawaiian sunshine any day of the week. The menu has expanded and thankfully, the food is still fabulous.

The Aloha grill is one of the few places that has drinks made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Whether you want a can of soda from Hawaii, or their local made sweet tea made with raw sugar, it’s all good. I love the sweet tea. They never let your glass get empty and the raw sugar adds a depth of flavour unlike anything else.

This week when my husband and I went in, I ordered the Huli Huli chicken. He got the chicken curry and rice.

Aloha Curry

The food came out in less than 5 minutes! The Huli Huli chicken was so buttery tender, a toothless person could have eaten it. It came with sticky rice, mac salad, which is like a cross between a potato salad and mac salad, but super delicious, and then a choice of green beans or coconut cream corn. I got the corn.

The Curry is like a Japanese Curry. Full of flavour, but not spicy like an Indian curry. It sits on top of a bed of rice. Both meals were huge and we needed to go boxes. We swapped our leftovers for dinner!

The staff are super friendly. If you’ve ever seen the Hawaiian booth at the Texas Folklife Festival, you’ll probably recognize the staff when you walk in to The Aloha Grill. They have the Shave Ice booth and do the Hawaiian dancing. Everyone at The Aloha Grill has that Aloha spirit and I always walk out feeling like I’ve had a mini Hawaiian vacation.

Being close to the base at Fort Sam Houston, it’s a perfect spot for a quick lunch for military folk. Many of them have been stationed in Hawaii and love getting the authentic cuisine of the Islands. Hubby and I keep meaning to go check out the dinner service. They have a larger menu for dinner and once a month they put on a Luau. Definitely one to go check out.

So if you’re looking for a taste of the Islands, go check out The Aloha Grill.

We decided dessert was definitely a must at Auden’s.  Who wouldn’t be tempted in trying a comfort dessert, right?  My husband decided on the Baklava Cheesecake.  The nut and honey crust and topping were a nice touch for the creamy cheesecake.  Not sticky sweet or fruity for a change of pace.  However my choice for dessert was the most luscious lemon pie I have had in many years.  I have spent years comparing a certain lemon pie from my childhood to lemon pies all over the world.  I have to tell you Auden’s Kitchen lemon pie is the pie of my dreams.  A perfect flaky crust, a tart/sweet melt in your mouth, to die for filling and the perfect real, made from scratch meringue to top it all off.  If you don’t get to Auden’s Kitchen for anything else, go for a slice of lemon pie.  However I bet you can’t resist many of the other offerings on their menu.

Auden’s  Kitchen is open for lunch and dinner as well as Sunday Brunch and they offer take away.  They also offer an extensive wine and beer selection.

www.audenskitchen.com

I was hungry, so I decided to start with the Calamari which was fried in a perfect light batter so it was crispy and not at all greasy.  The Calamari was accompanied by thin jalapeno  and lemon slices which were also fried in the same batter.  The dish was served with a sweet chili garlic sauce which had a nice after bite.

Being it was Memorial Day weekend I decided on the Classic Backyard Burger for the main course which was fixed just like a backyard grilled hamburger should be done; thick slices of onion and tomato, lettuce, pickle, mustard and mayonnaise, American cheese on top and served on a sesame seed bun. Of course the burger was served with a large cup of great fires.  The menu states that the burgers here are ½ pound and extra lean.  However they will  “boulderize” your burger if you are feeling really hungry, upgrading it to a double meat for an extra charge.  The ½ pound was plenty for me after having already partaken of the Calamari earlier.

I found the hamburger just a bit dry (probably because it was extra lean, so I’m thinking healthier), but otherwise it hit all my Memorial Day cookout cravings for a burger.  The service at Stone Werks was prompt and attentive throughout the meal and even though it was Happy Hour and the start of a long, busy weekend, it wasn’t overly noisy.  I would recommend Stone Werks Big Rock Grille if you are looking for a Sports Bar atmosphere with a good draft beer selection and extensive sandwich, salad and pizza type offering.