It's late on New Year's Day almost January 2, which as we know this year is the day when many college bowl games will take center stage.
So it's like Monday is New Year's Day 2.0.
Therefore, I'm choosing right now to write about food and football once again, specifically RG3 and the Baylor Bears and San Antonio Mexican food.
In other words, the Alamo Bowl.
I went along for the ride with Baylor friends to the Alamo Bowl last week. I had no agenda. I just wanted to join the party and see Heisman-winner Robert Griffin III showcased in the Bears' bowl game.
Wouldn' you know it? My friends happened to pick Rio Rio for dinner.
Rio Rio on the San Antonio River Walk has its place in my restaurant hall of fame, inasmuch as that sort of thing vaguely exists. It's the type of place where I would generally say that I had the best fajitas or chili relleno I ever ate. However, the distinction is skewed by the fact that I probably ate there the first time when I was 12 years old and didn't really know great Mexican food from a Taco Bell chili cheese burrito. And since then, I've probably eaten at Rio Rio, on average, about every three years.
The fact that Rio Rio seems to be getting progressively worse might actually be the case. But it's also possible that my original estimation of its greatness was severely inflated and as my Mexican food palate has become more sophisticated, Rio Rio seems less like a purveyor of the very best and more like run-of-the-mill tourist-trap Mexican food.
That's not to say that Rio Rio was terrible. Far from it. And I don't think it's fair to evaluate a restaurant on what was surely one of its busiest days of the year, given the number of Baylor fans on the river on the day of the Alamo Bowl. I estimate that Rio Rio's outdoor tables were constantly full from 11:30 a.m. until past 7 p.m. So they didn't necessarily have the luxury of fresh ingredients and time to prepare them.
All of that to say, my beef fajita nachos represented nothing special at all. They were fairly tasty sustenance.
That's kind of the whole vibe of the River Walk. It's a fun little place in the world and fun place to hang out every couple of years for a day or so. But from here, there ain't much reason to bypass the greatness of Austin to travel to San Antonio's River Walk. That's not to say San Antonio doesn't offer other worthwhile restaurants. It does. This is merely a commentary on the River Walk.
However, just to add another layer of qualifications to this blog, I want to salute San Antonio for having a world-class sports destination set up. The ease of parking in downtown San Antonio, even among a huge crowd on a filled-to-the-gills weekend, the availability of dining on the River Walk and the convenience of walking to and from the Alamodome made last Thursday almost perfect.
I've been to Soldier Field. I've been to Madison Square Garden. I've been to the Superdome. I've attended sports events and dined on multiple continents and never experienced the combination of festivities and sports as on our trip to the Alamo Bowl on Thursday.
Granted, it was a Baylor sports fan's version of heaven and that made me feel a little bit out of place. As much as I like Art Briles and Robert Griffin III and Ian McCaw, I'm at best a supportive observer. I don't bleed green and gold, and that was almost a prerequisite for fully enjoying San Antonio on Alamo Bowl day.
But let me conclude by pointing out that I began this football season by writing a blog about how Baylor was a fantastic athletic department that deserved a place in a major conference.
I feel like that goes without saying now.
