Last night I had a hankering for some good ol' American-style diner food. After several searches via google and urbanspoon turning up popular city diners that were either already closed or about to close for the day, we ended up heading to the Broadway 50/50.
This was not the first, second or third choice on the night's list... but it boiled down to finding an eatery open late--as it almost always does. And this is something seemingly hard to come by in the SA, perhaps because of all the earl-to-bed types inhabiting the city.
It was not disappointing that this venue ended up being the destination, as it has been on our 'places to see' list since we moved back. I was also exciting to see on their website that the night's special was meatloaf, as this was precisely what I was craving. We arrived around 9:20pm and I asked myself how we always end up eating so friggin late. It is what it is.
I already liked the location of the restaurant/bar since it happens to be in one of my favorite San Antonio neighborhoods: Alamo Heights (or I guess you could say one of my favorite cities; it being it's own and all).
The restaurant is seat-yourself, which is fine by me. We found ourselves a booth with a good view of the stage--not hard to do considering the size of the place--because a band was about to go on. We were only waiting a minute or so before the waitress found her way to our table, handed us menues and took our drink orders. The kitchen closes at 10pm, which seems a bit early for me but seems to be on par with the competition.
I ordered the special of the day and the mister ordered the chicken fried steak. Although we were harassed by gnats throughout our meal I did enjoy it since I was starving.
It would have been nice if the meal were hotter and the meatloaf was definitely not the best I've had, but they didn't skimp on the portions and the beer was ice cold so my stomach was satisfied.
We listened to and critiqued the band throughout the night while taking in the decor. It has a 50's feel but it isn't heavily done, so you don't get the time machine feel. The music that night was actually pretty good, though I wouldn't buy their album (if they have one). Apparently that band is there every Thursday if you want to check them out.
Over all I would give the Broadway 50/50 3 out of 4 jalapenos. Consider it a bar with above average bar food and you won't be disappointed. Think of it the other way around and I'd say it leaves something to be desired.
I will be returning. Put it in the regular rotation!
