changes seasonally) are blackened Gulf drum, topped with avocado relish, with roasted potatoes in lemonbutter sauce; smoked pork tenderloin in a poblanomushroom sauce, served with scalloped potatoes; and the Grill’s famous crab cakes, accompanied by a crisp Asian slaw in a sweet sesame soy vinaigrette. “I like to use rice vinegar because it is fragrant, yet light,” Burkle said. “We put out a fantastic spread for Sunday brunch,” he said. “We offer 18 different salads, five main courses and an omelette station, a waffle station , two kinds of soups, and it’s all prepared from scratch, nothing frozen. We try to mix it up with usually a fish dish, some beef, veggies, some pork and always with at least one dish with focus on a different region, like maybe a Thai-inspired dish or a Mexican specialty. We want our clients to enjoy different options with each visit, or they can choose a more classic dish like our eggs Benedict.”
and we make very small profit margins, but it’s a tradition and our customers enjoy it.” The early bird menu is available seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., offering a three-course meal for a fixed price, with healthy and delicious entrée options such as snapper with beurre blanc. Also, every Tuesday wines are half price. But even the regular menu features something for everyone. “If you’re on a budget, we have some options for you as well. Overall, we keep our prices very reasonable,” the chef said. Burkle said that within the next several months, he plans to add a taco truck, with food only to go or to eat on the patio. The truck will be open only in the afternoon, during the hours between lunch and dinner, when the restaurant is not open. The menu will include some classic Mexican dishes.
The 10,000-square-foot restaurant employs 60 people with room for about 250 guests inside, plus “We are not going to re-invent the wheel,” he said. “We another 3,000 square feet of patio space with room to are going to mix Mexican classics with French savoir faire, a mixture of simplicity and flair. In our kitchen, we don’t accommodate an additional 100 patrons. work like robots; we are conscientious about what we do. “The top five or six entrées we serve are all fish or seafood: We cook everything from the heart, with love.” redfish, halibut, scallops, sea bass, snapper or grouper, crab cakes and tilapia -- pretty much in that order,” the THE GRILL AT LEON SPRINGS chef said. “We also have our annual Lobster Festival 24116 IH-10 West, San Antonio, TX 78257 (during the month of August). We don’t charge much, 210-698-8797, www.leonspringsgrill.com 48 On The Town | September/October 2014