San Antonio, TX - Biga on the Banks; I believe to receive five stars you have to have, outstanding food and excellent customer service. That's it. If you get these perfect, then five are easy to achieve.

We truly had a wonderful experience here and they deserve every earned star. I made reservations a week in advance and inquired about their vegetarian options for my wife. The lady on the phone indicated that the menu changes each night based on what the executive chef has available for local fresh fare. However, she also included that when we arrive, mention it to your server and they will make anything you want to her liking. Wow, ok, that sounds like good customer service. We arrive for our evening out, seated at our table (a wonderful table along the glass over looking the river), and our server comes over and immediately says to my wife, "I understand you're a vegetarian, please allow me to show and describe our vegetarian options. If any of these don't sound attractive, please describe what you're interested in and I'll speak to the executive chef." My wife and I both paused and were in shock. This means the woman I spoke to regarding the reservation, noted she was a vegetarian and spoke to our server for us. I feel like I'm in the home-run derby right now. We don't even have our food and we're blown away.

I started with the wild mushroom truffle soup. I am a sucker for mushroom soup. What adds an element of elegance and sophistication is that it's assembled at table-side. The bowl came with the mushrooms and truffle oil in the center of the bowl, but the creamy soup wasn't too be found. After the plate was set down, then the server poured the soup on top of it. I was absolutely ready to dig into it. Of course it was delicious. It maintained that wild mushroom flavor, still a little rustic, but the truffle oil blended the creaminess of the soup with the rustic of the mushrooms.

I chose the venison and quail, and she ordered the roasted beat dish. I was so impressed with the complexity and caliber of both dishes favors. They were very well developed, harmonious, and complimentary in flavor and texture. The venison was perfectly cooked medium-rare. The quail was so delicate and had just enough charred flavor on the skin. It also came with a wonderful reduction sauce to compliment both meats very well. The surprise of the dish was the pureed potatoes and the sauteed brussels sprouts. Initially I tried the puree and it had flavor, but needed a bit of salt, however, then I tried the sprouts and they had the salt the puree was lacking. Putting them together was a perfect symphony. The crunchy and saltiness of the sprouts were perfect for the soft and smooth puree. Bravo!

My wife absolutely loved her beat dish, which came along with some kind of wonder cheesy grits-like puree underneath the vegetables. I have to admit, this may have been the only time I've seen her eat the entire vegetable dish. It also had asparagus that were so interesting. The only way I could describe it was that it seems as though it had been cooked in liquid nitrogen because it was fully cooked, but somehow it maintained this crystallized crunchiness to it. Bravo!

Of course the desert was a perfect way to end the meal.

Compliments to the host, server, and chefs!