XL Food & Drink: The Main Course

Hill Country Grill

Satisfying food on the square won't break the bank

By Dale Rice
AMERICAN-STATESMAN RESTAURANT CRITIC
Tuesday, September 05, 2006

SAN MARCOS — How often do you get to eat in a building where history was made?

There's a spot on the square here, the former San Marcos State Bank and Trust building, where fine dining comes with a setting made famous by outlaws — both real and cinematic.

From the nonfiction past, the bank was the site in 1923 of one of the Newton brothers' famous robberies. According to the plaque by the front door, the Newtons used so much nitro to blow up the vault that the blast took out much of the bank wall and showered the street with coins, prompting the Texas Legislature to increase the penalty for the illegal use of explosives.

Nearly 50 years later, the replaced vault (at the end of the bar) was the setting for a scene in "The Getaway," the 1972 Sam Peckinpah movie starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw. (The metal bar McQueen snapped with bolt cutters is still there.)

Recently remodeled, the building is now home to the Hill Country Grill, which features a masculine décor of antler chandeliers, game trophies and dark wood.

For an appetizer, the Hill Country Grill serves an imaginative eggroll version of a Reuben sandwich ($5.95), with the wrappers encasing chopped pastrami, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. Sliced on the diagonal to make four portions, the eggrolls were served with — what else? — Russian dressing for dipping. It's definitely a novelty; it was worth trying once, but I'm not sure I would order it again.

The salads brought crisp greens and good dressings, with a Caesar salad ($2.95) well-coated in pungent dressing and an iceberg wedge ($3.50) — our friendly and attentive server's recommendation — covered with blue cheese dressing, diced tomatoes and bell peppers.

For the entrees, the grilled shrimp ($16.95) was served in a gratinée dish with a generous amount of an "aioli sauce" that, fortunately, was more cream sauce than mayonnaise. The tender shrimp were accompanied by delicious sautéed green and yellow beans and carrots.

A nightly special, the beef medallions ($21.95) offered tasty slices of tenderloin with a chipotle beurre blanc sauce. The medallions were neatly stacked on a small plate with a rice-stuffed red pepper on the side.

The desserts — old-fashioned and huge — had a common feature: They were hidden under giant mounds of whipped cream.

The strawberry shortcake ($4.95) featured frozen berries in syrup over homestyle biscuits with vanilla ice cream. The thick, rich, walnut brownie ($4.95) was served with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The desserts illustrated one of several easy ways Hill Country Grill could make its food presentation more sophisticated, which could earn it another star:

•Remove the whipped cream blanket from the brownie and shortcake (plus it wouldn't hurt to use sliced, fresh strawberries).

•Serve the beef medallions on a large plate with a pool of sauce and a 6-inch branch of rosemary for garnish rather than the 2-inch wisp of the herb that topped my entree.

•Present the shrimp and vegetables together on a plate rather than in separate dishes.

Those are relatively minor things that would make the food look as appealing as it actually is.

With its ambience, service and food, Hill Country Grill is worth a visit for more than a taste of the bandit history that flavors its walls.

drice@statesman.com; 445-3859