flavor LÜKE: JOSH HUSKIN / BELLA: VERONICA LUNA
Still hungry? Go to sacurrent.com/dining for even more restaurant listings.
Lüke San Antonio
Modern Auden’s Kitchen San Antonio’s contemporary-cuisine godfather follows the upscale-downhome trend at Auden’s Kitchen, with globally inspired comfort food such as Duck Duck, featuring the bird two ways, and tempura shrimp served on cold Asian noodles with chunks of fresh watermelon. 700 E Sonterra Blvd, (210) 494-0070, audenskitchen.com
Bella On the River The River Walk has been sorely lacking a place like Bella — until now. Live jazz and a cozy patio make this a perfect choice for
tourists and locals alike. Mediterranean fare ranging from eggplant to chorizo paella spans the Southern European menu, with something for everyone. A romantic spot with tons of charm and reasonable prices, don’t miss Bella on The River. 106 River Walk, (210) 404-2355, bellaontheriver.com
Mediterranean cuisine in a small meze plates format coupled with contemporary ambiance, an intimate bar, and large patio. The winning atmosphere and five-star food bring San Antonio a new level of culinary sophistication. 555 W Bitters Rd, (210) 496-0555, bin555.com
Biga on the Banks
A Current readers’ favorite for River Walk dining and for its renowned guacamole, made fresh tableside with plenty of spice and citrus, Boudro’s makes braving the downtown tourists fun, and the Tex-Mex bistro fare is gastronomically rewarding, too. 421 E Commerce, (210) 224-8484, boudros.com
Bruce Auden’s menu includes such SouthwestContinental dishes as chicken-fried oysters with squid-ink linguini and pancetta, and grilled Texas quail, all of which can be paired to appropriate wines by the glass from Biga’s ample list. 203 S St Mary’s, (210) 225-0722, biga.com
BIN 555 Jason Dady, executive chef and owner of Bin 555, offers
Boudro’s
Lüke San Antonio’s pan-seared fish keeps it pretty close to home: nothing on that plate traveled far to find a spot on the River Walk brasserie’s menu. Gulf Coast fish, (usually black drum, a succulent relative of seatrout) is done up meunière — brown butter, lemon and parsley — and for those daring tastes, amandine as well. Blue crab is similarly sourced, and for other dishes Chef Steven McHugh hauls back eggs, chicken, and fresh produce from local farmers’ markets by the wheelbarrow load. “We try to be as local as we can, whenever we can,” he says. Lüke, opened in November, 2010, is the westernmost outpost of New Orleans chef John Besh’s culinary empire. As a brasserie, or what McHugh jokingly calls the “older obnoxious brother of a bistro,” Lüke makes French- and Germanstyle cuisine accessible to everyone, whether they arrive in a “three-piece suit or a swimsuit.” (A happy hour that includes 50-cent oysters helps, too.) “It’s in a fine-dining style because that’s our background,” McHugh says, but the menu doesn’t mind getting your hands dirty, offering hardy fare like croque monsieur (with fried organic yard egg), crispy Hill Country cabrito, shrimp creole, and sausages made in-house. But the choices might shift with McHugh’s next trip to the farmers’ market. “Our menu changes daily. It really depends on what I can get my hands on, what’s in season,” he says. Local fish and veggies aside, Lüke also stocks native whiskey (Garrison Brothers), vodka (Rebecca Creek), wine (Becker Vineyards), and among its 80 beers: Ranger Creek, Alamo, and Rio Ale, to name a few. (This too honors the brasserie tradition of being “a beer house that serves food.”) And despite its tourist-magnet location and its fine-dining pedigree, Lüke is intended to be a spot for San Antonians. So when McHugh says, “We very much want this to be a local restaurant,” he means all sorts of things. — Brandon R. Reynolds 125 E Houston St, (210) 227-5853, lukesanantonio.com
continued on page 14 sacurrent.com /// FLAVOR 2011-12
13