The Adventure Begins

A few blogs back, I wrote about our sudden decision to return to San Antonio, looking for a new adventure.

We love this area, and find San Antonio a delightful place. A tiny hamlet that consists of a Post Office, a gas station and two restaurants, it has a charm of its' own. It's the place where Conrad Hilton got his start, and at one point, was the banking center for the region. That was back in the days when silver was king and the railroad determined the growth of a city.

But that was years ago and now its main claim to fame is that it's the gateway to Bosque del Apache, and of course the Buckhorn, also referred to as Manny's Buckhorn Cafe. I've written about the Buckhorn before, if you like, you can read about it here. It boasts a decidedly superior green chili cheese burger and all the ambience of a small town treasure.

So when we heard through the New Mexico grapevine that the Food Network was coming to the Buckhorn, we immediately changed our plans. We left Elephant Butte early so we could be around and see what goes on behind the scenes of a Food Network shoot.

Yesterday, we went and talked to Robert, who owns the Buckhorn. He confirmed that in fact, the Food Network was doing a piece on them and their famous green chili burgers. He told us to be at the restaurant today at 11:00 and we could see what was going on. He also told us they would be shooting tomorrow at Bosque del Apache, and he thought we might be able to attend (which luckily, we will).

We showed up at the Buckhorn at 11:00 to find a camera crew shooting Robert as he talked about how they prepared the famous green chili and made their burgers. We were told it would be best to go inside and have our lunch as they would soon be moving into the restaurant proper to shoot.

What a lot of people they need to film one of these segments! Lighting people, camera people, sound people, producers, directors, clipboard people, it all created quite an air of excitement. We watched as they talked to the waitresses, the cooks, the owners and finally they started talking to customers. I found it fascinating, all this for a thirty minute show.

We really didn't want to be on camera, both of us are pretty shy before a crowd and we were more than happy to observe. That said, they did come and talk with us, and we were even treated to a harmonica solo by the owner Robert! What fun! Will it make it on film? We don't really care, we had a ball. And of course the burgers were great.

And tomorrow will be a whole other event. We are to be at the Bosque at 9:45, wearing plain shirts (no stripes, no logos) and we'll just have to see what transpires.

NOTE: I was willing to bet that this would have been a throwdown with Bobby Flay, but so far, everyone insists that it will be a segment for a show called Hamburger Nation . . .

Hmmm, we'll see tomorrow.