Gruene Texas: Gently Resisting Change Since 1872
Written: Dec 09 '08
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Gruene is a nostalgic trip to Texas of a century ago.
Cons: None really.
The Bottom Line: Gruene Texas: antique shopping capital, river activities magnet, and fine dining and nightlife hub of Central Texas. Nostalgia meets good times.
|
|
|
| mrkstvns's Full Review: Gruene Historic District |
Gruene Texas is a delightful slice of small town America, the way it was a century ago. Conveniently inconvenient, just a few miles of Interstate 35, midway between downtown Austin and San Antonio, Gruene is a place where Texans go to stroll, relax, dine, drink, dance, and float their weekend away. It's a mellow place for lively evenings. It's a breath of fresh air. It's a rare triumph of substance over commercialized mediocrity.
Gruene is an old-fashioned kind of place. In fact, my review title is stolen right off one of their billboards. It's a pretty accurate and concise statement though. Things in Gruene don't seem in step with 2008. That's the real magic of the place.
Gruene as an Antique Shopping Destination
Gruene is a fun town to stroll through on a warm afternoon, ducking into the small independent shops that line its narrow streets. The antique shops are my favorites (you just never know what kind of gems you'll find in there...often something that reminds you of rummaging around in grandpa's garage or grandma's attic). There's good shops for locally made crafts too, plus the odd little knick-knack shop with JUST the perfect gift for a hard-to-buy-for family member with discriminating tastes.
Gruene as a Dining Destination
My family spends several weekends every year in San Antonio, exploring the historical sights or just having some great weekend fun at theme parks like Sea World Texas. We also spend a couple weekends every year in Gruene's next door neighbor, New Braunfels, home of Schlitterbahn --- America's best water park. When we're in San Antonio or New Braunfels, we often plan a pitstop on the way home in Gruene because the restaurants have such wonderful ambience, good down-home eats, and friendly attitudes. Our two favorite Gruene pitstops are the Gristmill and Adobe Verde.
The Gristmill is Gruene's largest and best known restaurant. Even my kids love going there because it has a rustic, ancient feel to its cozy dining rooms. At this time of year, you can count on a fire in the big brick fireplace of the front dining room, but in the summer months we just love sitting out on one of the deck areas, looking over the Guadalupe River rolling by below. They call the restaurant "the Gristmill", but the funny thing is, it never was a grist mill! The place was originally built back in the 1870s, but it was built as a cotton gin --- not a gristmill. If you go, I'm sure you can ask the staff about the place's colorful local history (or you can just read the bronze historic plaque outside, like I did).
Adobe Verde is my "other fave" in Gruene. I don't need to tell you all that I love Mexican food, and I'll even eat your basic Tex-Mex or southwestern takeoffs on the classic dishes when I need to. Adobe Verde is definitely more Tex than it is Mex, but the food is still tasty, freshly prepared, and zesty enough for me while being unzesty enough for the kids to eat. There's usually live music to be heard out on the back patio, but be warned: that can also mean a long wait for a table if you hit the place on a busy Saturday night (the only kind of Saturday night I've ever seen in Gruene, by the way.)
Gruene as a Nightlife Destination
Gruene is an outstanding place to go if you're looking for fun, exciting nightlife, and Gruene Hall is the reason why. There's often live music to be heard elsewhere in Gruene, but Gruene Hall is the magnet that keeps folks coming back for "the real deal".
Gruene Hall is an old rickety-looking white clapboard building at the town's one and only main intersection. It's an old fashioned honkeytonk dance hall where big name bands play as couples crowd the dance floor in between chugging down chilly bottles of Shiner Bock (don't even bother with the boring national brands....that would just be caving into change, not gently resisting it). Gruene Hall often has well known national acts: particularly big names in country music. In my view though, it's Gruene Hall's focus on Texas bands that make such a wonderful place to keep coming back to. A few bands that will be playing Gruene Hall over the next few weeks include Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, Los Lonely Boys (Willie Nelson's favorite young band), Del Castillo, and a whole lot more. If you want to see who's on stage when you're passing through Gruene, click your way on over to: www.gruenehall.com
Gruene as a River Destination:
People in Central Texas love nothing better on a hot summer day than gently floating downstream in an inner tube on one of the region's many gentle rivers. The Guadalupe River is one of these classic Central Texas rivers, and there are several local tubing outfitters in and around Gruene that will rent you an inner tube, drop you in the river, and then meet you downstream with a bus for a ride back into town.
The Guadalupe is an excellent river for tubing. A bit chilly, but scenic, gentle, and fun.
Of course, being a river, there's folks who will enjoy it for other reasons. Plenty of anglers like dropping a line into the gently flowing waters to try their luck, and it never fails that you don't see a few folks spinning their lines overhead as they cast out their fly lines.
Fish it, float it, enjoy it. And if you do get tired of floating the Guadalupe River, head on over to nearby New Braunfels and try out the Comal.
Spending a Night or Longer...
There's no chain hotels in Gruene (thank, God!) but there are a couple of places to spend a night. Hope you like cozy, intimate bed and breakfast inns, because that's what you find in Gruene. They're long on character and romance and short on glitzy advertising and nagging shortcomings. The best known of these inns is the Gruene Mansion Inn with its 30 guest rooms in the heart of town. You could also try the Gruene Homestead Inn, or do a Google search since there might well be others I don't know about. If you really MUST have your impersonal corporate chain motel room, head 5 minutes down the road to New Braunfels --- they have what you want.
Bottom Line...
I like Gruene. I like its mellow mood. I like its feeling of living history. I like Gruene Hall. I like the riverfront setting. The only thing I don't like is that some day, the gentle resistance might break down. Until that day comes though, I like Gruene...
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.