Two Step Restaurant and Cantina

Reviews 3

JE

Jeff Turpin

At Two Step, the food ranges from good to pretty great/borderline excellent, and the atmosphere is awesome as well. However, the service is hit-or-miss with people ranging from carrying out the bare functions required of the job to the waiters that are actually familiar with the menu and can make recommendations. The jist of it is there is WAY too much deep-fried food (TX actually has a wide variety of food, not just deep-fried), but some things are well-done, especially the house-made desserts. The bacon-wrapped brisket-habanero stuffed jalapenos are one to pass on. Without cheese, there were missing a punch and moisture. Between the heat from the habanero and the jalapeno, the brisket was barely noticeable. The fried and smoked baby back ribs were good... but I was quesy eating something so rich already that is then deep-fried. The ribs were delicious and the coating was good. Its just not something I would eat again. The Texas rolls are definitely something I would recommend eating as they are filled with chicken, sausage, and brisket with a poblano avacado sauce. Really delicious. Even more delicious were the brisket flautas drizzled with chipotle cream sauce. Of the four appetizers, you could definitely order the brisket flautas and Texas rolls and be well satisfied. Regarding the sides, I have tried the roasted corn with cotija, chili, mayo, and lime (very good); the green beans in bacon, onion, and butter (good but hardly any bacon or onions and the butter taste was faint), and the mac n cheese. Now, the mac n cheese is some of the absolute best mac n cheese Ive had. And thats saying something. Possibly the top 5 Ive ever eaten. We tried the "crispy" (not) sauteed chicken breast with sweet corn butter, chorizo, and cotija, and it was fairly good. Not excellent or great, but tasty. Even better was the parmesean breaded pork chop with raspberry chipotle sauce. There was something I didnt quite like about the pork chop, but it was still fairly tasty and juicy, especially with the sauce. I feel that Stonewerks does a better version of this same dish, however. Finally, with the desserts, they make them fresh. And boy... does it show. THIS is what Two Step really does best. The chocolate custard cream is a simple dessert, but one of the most delicious and satisfying youll ever have. The pecan pie is one of the best 3 pecan pies Ive ever eaten. The crust is delicious and the pecan pie filling is very dark and gooey like caramel. Its topped with a delicious vanilla bean ice cream as well... and for the few brief moments that piece of pie existed we were in paradise. In short, Two Step is a great restaurant especially given the lack of actual local, non-chain restaurants in the area. A number of things are good, some are great, and the desserts are exceptional. Its definitely one of the better American restaurants to visit in town.

ST

Steve Schwerdtfeger

We have driven past Two Step hundreds of times and finally tried it the other evening. I really hate to give any place a bad review, in fact I usually do not review places I dont like. But my family found the food to be the most bland we have had in our three years in San Antonio. Texas BBQ is suppose to be bold and smoky and this was not what we got. My lovely bride ordered the smoked chicken ($14) which turned out dry and lacked smokiness despite being called "smoked" chicken. The toast served with it was good but the sauce served on the side tasted like doctored up ketchup and was too sweet for a Texas joint, in our opinion. Strike one. Our son ordered the pulled pork sandwich ($10) with mashed potatoes. He really enjoyed the potatoes, but felt the pork was bland--again, no smokiness or seasoning--and the sauce was not to his liking, either. When he critiques his food without us asking how his meal was, I know he is disappointed. Strike two. I had the roasted poblano chicken sandwich (also $10). First off, it was served on a piping hot plate that was so hot, I could not pick up the sandwich to eat it. Seriously. I waited a few minutes to pick it up and it was still too hot. Not to be outwitted by a hot plate, a knife and fork were quickly employed. The poblano was about the only flavor present in my sandwich. The chicken was tender and not overcooked, but had no flavor. The avocado was generously applied but didnt do much for this sandwich, either. At least the borracho beans were tasty and I ate every bite of them. But, it was a the sandwich that triggered strike three. We also each had a house salad and what we got looked like it was straight from a bag. Nothing remarkable. No added cucumbers, tomatoes, or onions. No sliced almonds or shredded parmesan. Just a salad mix. At $4 each we were not impressed. At least my wife ordered sliced egg on hers for an additional $1. The ranch dressing seemed okay but my blue cheese dressing didnt have much blue cheese flavor or chunkiness. The second batter just struck out as well. On the positive side, our server was attentive and friendly and the restaurant is very nice, really. We just didnt have a good experience with the food. Maybe we chose an off-night to go there, but we didnt get enough of a good vibe to make a return trip. Sorry, Two Step, we will not be back.

EN

Ensy

I dont know how this restaurant has good reviews, the food we were server was bad, not restaurant quality at all. I try to be as fair as possible in my reviews but I just cant say anything good about the food. This review is based on only one visit on a Wednesday afternoon around 2.30pm, so to be fair it is possible that things are better at night times, but we wont be giving it another shot Im afraid it was just too poor. I ordered the pulled pork sliders appetizer. The pork was really greasy with lumps of soft fat distributed all through it. There was no bar-b-q sauce served with the pulled pork and the meat itself had an unpleasant flavor. My husband got the brisket and sausage, he said the brisket was not very good - unpleasant flavor and tough, but the sausage was decent and I tasted a bit and agree the sausage was nice. The french fries were not good, they were luke warm and soft, not crisp at all. All of the food tasted like it had been put in the microwave and reheated from some food that was pre cooked. We also ordered the Queso and chips which came with two little jars of salsa, but our server said the queso would be a little while. Ten mins later she brings the queso and it was very bland, it tasted like milk mixed with condensed milk and a little cheese, just a thin milky slop, definitely not restaurant quality queso. Also, it was REALLY hot with little burned bits around the edge and a crusted ring stuck on the sides which is a tell tale give away that it had just been reheated in the oven or microwave not cooked to order. The salsa was passable, but really just tasted like it came out of a jar. All in all I really dont think anything that was served to us was freshly cooked, you can tell the difference between reheated food that has come out of the microwave, and freshly cooked food. I dont think you should pay restaurant prices for food this poor and so I am sad to have to give such a bad review, but it is an honest and fair review. The one star is for the girl serving us, she was pleasant.