THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
DEL RIO NEWS-HERALD | 3A
FROM PAGE 1A TEXAS ROUNDUP
STEAK
From Page A1
The ASSOCIATED PRESS
A taste of Mexico Conversations about steak dinners in Del Rio have to start with a relative newcomer to the city’s steakhouse scene: Manuel’s Steakhouse, 1312 Veterans Blvd. For decades, diners from Del Rio flocked to Manuel’s when it was open in Ciudad Acuña, Coah., Mexico, just across the Rio Grande. When Manuel’s opened its doors here about six years ago, the restaurant continued its tradition of eating excellence. For the past four years in a row, Manuel’s has won first place in the Del Rio News-Herald’s Best of Del Rio survey in the category of “best steak in Del Rio.” Meals at Manuel’s begin with a basket of handcrafted chips and a flavorful, but not too spicy, salsa. The snack allows diners to peruse the restaurant’s extensive menu at their leisure. Manuel’s offers a wide variety of steak choices. There are Angus ribeyes in 10-, 14- and 18-ounce servings, a 16-ounce Tbone, a 16-ounce rib steak and a 16-ounce New York steak. If you’d like your steak dressed up a little, try the restaurant’s Manuel’s steak, a rib steak with ranchero sauce; the Baskin steak, a T-bone with garlic sauce; the Charles steak, a T-bone with jalapeno and melted cheddar cheese; the Brannon steak, a ribeye with Serrano pepper, Monterrey cheese and garlic sauce; or the Bistek Al Albañil, a ribeye smothered with tomato, pepper and onion. In an interview after winning the second of the Del Rio News-Herald’s Best of Del Rio contests for best steaks, Manuel’s manager Mario Cesar Fabila said he believed the restaurant’s success lay in the consistency of its food preparation. “We’ve always used the same ingredients in our food, whether in Mexico or in Del Rio. My mom oversees the cooks and makes sure they prepare everything with the same quality every time. That’s something we won’t change,” Fabila said. He added, “We also try to provide the same kind of atmosphere here that we had in Mexico. … That’s what we wanted to do when we opened our restaurant here.”
3rd suspect arrested in 2 slayings SAN ANGELO — San Angelo police say a third suspect has been arrested for her alleged role in the shooting deaths of two men at a residence. Tom Green County jail records show 27-year-old Krystal Sanchez was being held without bond Thursday on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons. Online records don’t list an attorney to speak for Sanchez, who was arrested Wednesday. Investigators say the bodies of 28-year-old Jimmy Andrew Gonzales and 28-year-old Anthony Martinez, both of San Angelo, were discovered Sept. 12. Police a day later arrested two men on murder charges, which have been upgraded to capital murder of multiple persons.
COFFEE
From Page A1
Photos by Joseph Treviño
Above, Polo Del Rio, a local entrepreneur and owner of Cripple Creek Steakhouse and Saloon, pointing towards the never frozen, high-grade angus steaks that are the pride of the restaurant, on Tuesday at the place’s kitchen. Photo by Joseph Treviño Below, the 20-ounce “cowboy” bone-in ribeye from Wright’s @ The Lake, 8116 U.S. Highway 90 West, doesn’t need much help in satisfying even the heartiest appetite. The steak is shown here with a baked potato side.
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Other excellent choices Another excellent choice for dining out is Wright’s @ The Lake Steakhouse, 8116 U.S. Highway 90 West. Wright’s has a decades-long history in Del Rio and has long been a favorite of fishermen and hunters who stopped in for drinks, a congenial atmosphere and a hearty meal after a day on the lake or out in the field. Wright’s offers a substantial 20-ounce Cowboy bone-in ribeye and an even larger 23-ounce Porterhouse (T-bone) steak. Other steak choices include a 16-ounce New York strip steak, a 16-ounce ribeye and an 8-ounce filet mignon. There is also a steak and shrimp menu item.
High cuisine meets Texas tradition No doubt, what makes Del Rio cuisine a feast of the senses, its quintessential essence is found at Cripple Creek Steakhouse and Saloon, where everyone from the who’s who of the town to workingclass gentlemen taking their happy wives to celebrate their birthdays can be seen in the elegant, old west styled restaurant. The debonair waiters, hostesses and servers infuse cachet in this family restaurant. Add to that the first-class cooks, food servers and Chef Chris Ortiz and what you have is a one of the best cuisines in Southern Texas and all across the border. Ortiz, a young, tall lad with a swift smile is a Del Rio native who graduated from the Le Cordon Bleu of Austin. Yes, we are talking here about the school that’s part of the prestigious Parisian culinary house that dates back to the Middle Ages, renowned for its second-tonone cuisine. There’s “Armadillo Legs,” baked jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and ba-
Ryan added, “There’s not going to be any kind of formal presentation or agenda. It’s basically going to be a listening session.” Ryan said he hopes anyone who is interested in the park, who has questions about the park, who would like more information about the park, to attend the events. “I think we are making a lot of progress, a lot of improvements in the park. For instance, this week we are starting the renovation of our second comfort station at Diablo East,” he said. “I look forward to meeting everyone this Saturday,” Ryan said. Ryan has served as the superintendent of the Amistad National Recreation Area since July 2015. “Time has really gone by fast, and I’ve been enjoying Del Rio,” he said. Ryan came to Amistad from Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio and his 30-year career with the National Park Service has taken him to parks all across the country, including Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Montana and Saguaro National Park in Arizona.
con that are chef artistry at its best. The Filet Mignon, the New York Strip and the Sirloin all are able to satisfy beef connoisseurs. But the crown jewel of Del Rio’s delicacies is Cripple Creek’s “Tomahawk Steak,” made with the best Angus meat that was never frozen, a house seasoning secret recipe that goes back to the Old West and cooked by Ortiz with authentic Mesquite wood. Ortiz’s secret? “It’s made with love,” he says. So what we have here is the best of the Texas border kitchen with the top cooking secrets Le Cordon Bleu has to offer. The result is, well, mind-blowing. The steak, with the long bone attached to it is imposing. Its looks are unabashed,
unrestrained and overwhelms the senses — you risk turning into a steak voyeur. Then there’s the taste. The seasoned, juicy meat is tender, almost like Filet Mignon. It’s a one-way ticket to beef Nirvana. Polo Del Rio, the owner of Cripple Creek, believes that what makes the restaurant’s food so intoxicating is that everything is made fresh. Though the house specialty is prime rib, the steaks also receive the artisanal treatment as the rest of the menu. “What makes it distinctive is that it is made with mesquite. There’s nobody in Del Rio that does it that way,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “We are the only ones that do it.”