Menger Hotel

I played some word association with my 7-year-old daughter today.

I said "cat". She said "dog".
I said "book". She said "school".
I said "TV". She said "cartoons".

If you were to play this game with most people, and say "San Antonio" as the first word, most people would reply with "Alamo".

Not to take away from our famous icon, but just steps away from the Alamo lies another historic treasure, often overlooked by locals.

In the shadow of two towering Marriotts, and blocks away from the Westin and Holiday Inn, lies the Menger Hotel.

Here is what Wikipedia says about its history:

The Menger Hotel, located in downtown San Antonio, Texas, was built in 1859 (23 years after the fall of the adjacent Alamo). In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt used the bar to recruit Rough Riders which fought in Cuba in the Spanish-American War.
The Menger was San Antonio's most popular hotel in the 19th Century. O. Henry, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mae West, Oscar Wilde and others were known to frequent the bar and hotel, which was periodically enlarged and remodelled to accommodate more guests.

In 1876, the first public demonstration of barbed wire ever was held outside the Menger and orders taken afterwards inside. In 1885, Richard King, the south Texas entrepreneur and founder of the King Ranch, died at the Menger.

The hotel also holds the unofficial title of "the most haunted hotel in Texas."

My daughters love to take the elevator up to the third floor when we visit in the hopes of seeing a ghost.

Last week, they thought they had seen one.....the player piano in the lobby was eerily pounding out notes, and mysteriously, the pedals were moving up and down.

But, I'm ahead of myself.

We have only stayed at the Menger once. A few years ago, my husband and I got a RARE overnight date, so we headed downtown. Our room overlooked the gardens of the Alamo. We were blocks away from the premier of the movie "The Alamo", and got to meet Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, and Jason Patric.

Our regular visits to the Menger are to eat. This is what every San Antonio local should try sometime.

We turn right on Commerce from 281, and take another right just after the River Center Mall. The street is made charming by cobblestones and the boutique facade of the hotel. We continue around the next corner, and pull into the valet.

HINT: Valet parking is free at the Menger if you are eating there. It beats fighting traffic in the dark mall garage structure.

We drop off the car, and walk down a hallway lined with windows filled with historic artifacts. On our right is the old bar where Teddy Roosevelt gathered the Rough Riders. We see a picture of them at Camp Bullis. The bar is still open, and although we take a peek, it is not our destination.

As we continue, our daughters admire the wooden phone booths on the left. Pay phones - they are always deserted, as now everyone has cell phones. We realize that our daughters may never need to use a pay phone. I consider putting in two quarters just to let them try it out, but my family is hungry and we have a reservation.

We walk into the newer lobby. Newer is relative, because it still has the air of an elegant old European lobby. The oriental rugs are gigantic. The sitting areas are inviting. The shops on the right are filled with wonderous and sparkly items not usually found in a hotel hallway. It is here that our daughters think they have spotted the piano ghost. It is playing Christmas songs.

A walk through a wide hallway brings us into the original lobby. It is beautiful. When you look up, it is several stories tall, and topped by a stained-glass ceiling. The iron balconies on the differnent floors make it feel like the exterior of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Somewhere in the distance is the sound of a vacuum cleaner. In front of us, occupying a lot of volume in the space is a large Christmas tree. I touch it and see that it is fake, but the scent of evergreen is still permeating. I locate the source behind a Victorian couch, where the air freshener is being circulated by the air conditioner. It smells real, and it smells like Christmas. Then, it smells like cigars as we pass the humidor shop, then the stairway, and finally the dining room.

Our daughters like to pretend that they are early-nineteenth century girls, like the American Girl "Samantha" that they read about. They put on what we call "Menger Manners" and do their best to behave. It doesn't help that the FIRST table you encounter is the circular dessert table, where their manners are tested by their excitement over chocolate pudding and coconut cake.

We are led to our table, near a grand fireplace. Unfortunately, San Antonio is having 80 degree weather in DECEMBER, and the fireplace is vacant. A few feet away, it seems like spring, as we look out to the lush courtyard.

Being veterans now, and knowing that we will choose the buffet, we pick up plates right away. We know that it is one of the best values in town. $12.95 gets us a multi-course meal, tea or coffee, and dessert. Children 6-11 are $5.95.

We start at the salad table. I have a Caesar salad, but I'm quickly tempted by the marinated garbanzo beans mixed with bleu cheese. It doesn't disappoint - it is FABULOUS - and I make a second trip back. Fruit and cheese are a favorite of mine, too. The weather is too hot for soup, but I have enjoyed the tortilla soup in the past.

For my main meal, I bypass the turkey carving station and choose stuffed porkchops and tilapia and vegetables. I could choose a variety of sides - rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, etc., but my eyes have been set on that dessert display that made such a good impression. I choose pecan pie and toffee ice cream.

Feeling full and happy, we head back to the car.

By the way, the Menger is known for their mango ice cream, and I am embarrassed to say that I haven't tried it yet. It is not usually on their buffet table, and must be ordered separately.

However, maybe you can try it and post back here, letting us know how it is. Tell me, too, if you encounter any of those elusive ghosts.

Visit the Menger Hotel Website!