09/11/09

A favorite for the last 15 years...

by spursrule

I'm a bit surprised by the negative reviews Tip Top has gotten here since they were on Triple D. I have enjoyed eating here since the mid-90s, and not a thing has changed since I started eating at Tip Top.

For starters, I'm a huge fan of their onion rings. Tip Top is one of the few places that doesn't just completely drown their rings in batter. I like that the sweetness of the onion comes through loud and clear in their rings instead of the taste of oil and salt one usually associates with the appetizer.

Their chicken-fried steak is heavily battered, but I have no complaints there because that's how I like it best. The gravy they put under it is delicious too and the portion size is pretty generous in addition. I can live without the fries they serve with it though.

I have also tried their fried chicken and came away impressed; juicy inside, crispy outside. The cheese enchiladas are pretty solid; a bit greasy with lots of cheese, but still good.

Their homemade pies are pretty solid too, but I almost never have room for desert because of the size of the plates and my need to get rings whenever I go.

The only entree I have tried that I didn't care for was their seafood platter; it's breaded way too heavily and ends up tasting like the overly salted deep-fried stuff you'd get at a Long John Silver's.

All in all though, I'd highly recommend Tip Top as an excellent place to grab a chicken-fried steak and a rootbeer float.

• Pros: Delicious chicken fried steak, fried chicken, and onion ring
• Cons: They sell bottled sodas, so no refills.

06/05/09

Overhyped by the locals

by Dreadlockd

I had the displeasure of dining there the day DDD filmed there. I had been reading some reviews at another forum and the day I decide to go, the Food Nework is there filming. "Great!" a friend and I thought.

There was a line, it looked promising. We were seated within 10 mins no biggie, I've waited longer. The staff was a little slow, but we excused them bc the filming crew had the whole place crowded. We tried to ignore all the fuss going on and ordered a plate of onion rings. Now there are quite a few people singing the high praises of the onion rings I just knew this was going to a mutli-mouthgasmic experience. Instead I felt like a lover who got the short end of the stick...pun intended. The onions ring although plentiful, were lacking ANY kind of seasonings. It was a huge let down. I went on to order the fried chicken, because this looks like the type of place Grandma is in the back carefully soaking chicken in buttermilk. It was more like poor Granny was in the back slumped over a deep freezer trying her best to chisel chicken out of a pre-battered box. The portion was huge, but again lackluster, the mashed potatoes, we just mashed potatoes nothing fancy. The salad, iceberg with an obligatory sprinkling of carrot and red cabbage. Depressing right?

My friend ordered the CFS, which was also the main reason we decided to patron Tip Top. It came "plate-sized" as many had promised. They failed to mention that if my eyes were closed had I taken a bite out of the plate I wouldn't know the difference. The CFS was bland, and the batter way too thick. The batter to meat ration was way off in favor of the batter. Ungodly I thought, but the locals seemed to be enjoying their dinners. It must've been the cameras right? Or perhaps I should've gathered from the large Golden Girls crowd the food would reflect that theme.

I tried back a few months later, hoping I had been wrong about this local San Antonio institute...but to my avail, the same tasteless over sized food.

I'm beginning to think the larger the portion the better some SAntonians think the food taste.

Quality people....def not quantity!

• Pros: Old Timey decor
• Cons: The food

03/01/09

Cholesterol Heaven

by CknFrdStkLvr400

If possible, I would have given this dump a 1/2 star.

Nostalgic, Historic, Landmark?

If I want something archaic, I'll defrost it from my deep freeze.

The VERY WORST THING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS THE WAITRESSES. Some idiot wrote a comment about the "waiters" here. There are no waiters here, ONLY waitresses! And they are the bottom of the barrell. The only thing they can read is the menu, they're toothless, and the can only find their way to two places: work to the TipTop when they wake up, and the trailor park after work.

WHAT A DUMP!!!!