San Antonio Current — December 16, 2020

DEC. 16 - DEC. 29, 2020

sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

in this issue San Antonio Current

Issue 20-26 /// December 16 - December 29, 2020

Cool-Weather Cocktails

Publisher: Michael Wagner Editor-in-Chief: Sanford Nowlin

Warm up to these drinks from SA bartenders

Editorial

Digital Content Editor: Kelly Merka Nelson Contributing Arts Editor: Bryan Rindfuss Food and Nightlife Writer: Nina Rangel Contributors: Ron Bechtol, Chris Conde, Daniel Conrad, Jade Esteban Estrada, Dan R. Goddard, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Kiko Martinez, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, Leah Thompson, Abe Asher Editorial Interns: Emily DiTomasso, Brianna Espinoza Trevor Flynn, Katie Hennessey, Dana Nichols, Deanna Wilson

37 Music

The Year of Listening Dangerously What I learned from spinning 259 unfamiliar albums during the pandemic

Advertising

Advertising Director: Michael Wagner

Marketing and Events

Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni Events Manager: Chelsea Bourque Sales & Event Coordinator: Sky Hawkes Marketing Interns: Julia Bentley

Creative Services

Graphic Designer: Samantha Serna Production Interns: Pedro Macias

Circulation

Circulation Manager: Justin Giles

Euclid Media Group

Chief Executive Officer: Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers: Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services: Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator: Jaime Monzon Senior Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni www.euclidmediagroup.com National Advertising: Voice Media Group (888) 278-9866, vmgadvertising.com San Antonio Current 915 Dallas San Antonio, Texas 78215 sacurrent.com Editorial: (210) 227-0044 / Fax - (210) 227-7755 Display Advertising: (210) 227-0044 Fax: (210) 227-7733 Classified: (210) 227-CLAS / Fax - (210) 227-7733 The San Antonio Current is published by Euclid Media Group

Jaime Monzon

25 Feature

The 11 Most Exciting New Restaurants in San Antonio Right Now

08 News

The Opener News in Brief

Verified Audit Member San Antonio Distribution – The Current is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader.

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Glitter Political

H. Drew Galloway Cut His Own Path

by Encouraging Young People to Vote

Current Events

Gov. Greg Abbott’s Craven Silence on COVID-19 Puts His Political Ambitions Ahead of Texans’ Lives

15 Calendar Calendar Picks

18 Arts

Mistress of Mashups

Kitsch and erotica commingle in the lowbrow work of San Antonio artist Connie Chapa

23 Screens

Berserk in the Bathroom

San Antonio author Max Booth III has a novella turned into a forthcoming horror film

DEC. 16 - DEC. 29, 2020

25 Food

A Tsunami of Oyster Bars

Thanks to new restaurant openings, San Antonio is now awash in the oceanic delicacy

Down to the Details

Southtown’s Camp Outpost delivers great dining by getting the small stuff right

‘A Bit of Our Culture’

Newly opened La Milanesa serves up taste of home for San Antonio’s South American community

On the Cover: Kumo, which offers a Japanese-influenced take on modern Mexican cuisine, is among the city’s most innovative new eateries. Photo

by Jaime Monzon. Cover design

by Samantha Serna.

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

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news

That Rocks/That Sucks

H

After Republicans’ advantage in the Texas Senate shrunk by one seat in the November election, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is again pushing to lower the number of votes required to take bills to the floor of the chamber. Patrick wants to lower the number from three-fifths of members — 19 out of 31 senators — to a simple majority of 16.

Republicans will hold 18 seats during the next legislative session. Patrick led the effort to lower the number to its current threshold in 2015.

H

The city of San Antonio has issued an open call for artists who want to work on public projects funded by a city bond program that runs through 2022. Applications are open to a range of individuals and organizations with the capacity to make and promote public art. The deadline to submit an application is January 18.

H

The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to hear a suit by scandal-plagued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to throw out election results in four states that helped President-elect Joe Biden win the November election.

Legal scholars considered the last-minute suit a longshot, blasting it as a publicity stunt based on flimsy argumentation.

H

For the sixth consecutive presidential inauguration, San Antonio-based Dixie Flag and Banner Co. will manufacture the massive flags that serve as a backdrop to the event.

“Over the years, we’ve done all sorts of custom projects, but this is certainly one of the more special ones,” President Vanessa Van de Putte said. — Abe Asher

YOU SAID IT!

“[U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz] has proven himself neither to be a genius in terms of the law nor a genius, frankly, in terms of [emotional intelligence]. He is a sad sack.”

Find more news coverage every day at sacurrent.com

— Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro,

commenting on CNN about the Texas senator’s interest in arguing to overturn the November election in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

ASSCLOWN ALERT

Allen West’s version of ‘law abiding’ Assclown alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

If you’ve been paying attention to Team Trump’s fruitless attempts to overturn the November election, chances are you’re aware that Texas Republican Party Chair Allen West floated the idea of secession when things didn’t break his way.

After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Texas’ absurd request to overturn Joe Biden’s win, West — who took his role in July — issued a statement suggesting the “law-abiding states” that backed the suit should “form a Union that will abide by the Constitution.”

Local CBS affiliate KENS 5 went black on December 1 for Direct TV, U-Verse and AT&T TV customers. Tegna, the broadcaster that owns the TV station, along with 59 others around the country, is at an impasse with telecom giant AT&T over the fees that it charges cable and satellite providers to air its stations.

Mark E. Watson III, the former CEO of Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. — an insurance firm with U.S. headquarters in San Antonio — agreed to pay a $450,000 fine to federal securities regulators over perks paid to its top executive that weren’t reported to shareholders. The deal comes six months after the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a separate fine to Argo itself for $5.3 million in undisclosed benefits it paid to Watson. He stepped down in late 2019 amid regulators’ investigation of the company.

Beyond the dangerous and inflammatory nature of that statement, let’s look at West’s military record for a moment to examine just how much he actually cares about following the law.

A former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, West resigned from the military in 2004 after facing charges for abusing an Iraqi police officer who wasn’t cooperating with interrogators, then staging a mock execution for the man. Faced with two violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that could have yielded a court marshal and prison time, West agreed to resign.

During the incident, West allowed his men to beat the Iraqi man, whom he subsequently threatened to kill, the New York Times reported.

West fired a “warning shot” in the air before counting to five, finally angling his barrel away from the prisoner’s head before firing again.

If that’s West’s version of abiding by the law, Texans should be wary of anything this assclown suggests. — Sanford Nowlin

The city of San Antonio and a strip club it recently shuttered for pandemic safety violations are suing each other in state district court. The city and XTC Cabaret filed their lawsuits within an hour of each other last month, with the club suing the city to regain its certificate of occupancy, and the city suing to shut the club down permanently over alleged criminal activity.

— Abe Asher

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

news GLITTER POLITICAL

H. Drew Galloway Cut His Own Path by Encouraging Young People to Vote

BY JADE ESTEBAN ESTRADA

I

t’s an early Wednesday morning when H. Drew Galloway appears on my computer screen. A week has passed since he announced he’d be stepping down as executive director of voter mobilization group MOVE Texas to make way for new leadership.

After almost five years at the helm of the grassroots organization, he hopes to merge his passion for building statewide political infrastructure with his experience helping others understand and exercise their voting rights.

Though Galloway, 38, is well known in the Lone Star State’s progressive circles, the Georgia native’s political awakening occurred only eight years ago, while he was a member of Travis Park United Methodist Church.

“I attended a [Non-Discrimination Ordinance] meeting there and fell in love with the church,” he says. “Ultimately, that’s the community that taught me how to organize, show up and testify, and how to call through a list and get people to show up.”

In April 2016, Galloway’s skill set helped him get hired as the executive director of MOVE San Antonio, as the organization was known before its statewide expansion. Its moniker, then and now, is an acronym for Mobilize. Organize. Vote. Empower.

“It was just me and a field organizer and a couple of fellows,” Galloway says of the group’s 2016 election season. “We were small [and] scrappy.”

Months later, President Donald J. Trump’s policies — such as the travel ban, which affected international students at area universities — “sent shockwaves through the youth sector,” Galloway adds.

Concern over the administration’s agenda galvanized college students and helped transform MOVE over the next four years.

Today, MOVE Texas is staffed by 30 full-time employees. It also employed 45 part-time organizers ahead of the 2020 election.

“We’re in nine cities and over 65 campuses,” he says.

“The volume of the work has exploded, especially this year.”

Galloway, who will leave in April, is proud of the space he’s helped create for new voters and up-andcoming leaders.

“Culturally, MOVE Texas has become a political home for young people across the state,” he says, adding that tapping into emotion is the first rung on the ladder of civic engagement.

I ask which emotion he means.

Jade Esteban Estrada

“Campaign lore says that there are two emotions that voters use: anger and [being] afraid,” he replies.

“I think the great thing about working with young voters, particularly new voters, is that those voters are hopeful. We can really help craft this pathway for them around the issues that they care about to keep them engaged between elections.”

Despite an enthusiasm for voting Trump out of office, the Texas Democratic Party took a down-ballot beating on Election Day. When our conversation veers to the campaigns of MJ Hegar and Gina Ortiz Jones, who ran for Senate and the U.S. House, respectively, Galloway tells me he’s reminded of an activist who used the words “in the struggle” in her email signature.

“That always made me think about how the work never ends,” he says. “It’s always going to be there, it’s just our chance at doing the work.”

Galloway sees missed opportunities when candidates lose a race then shut down their website and disappear until six months before the next election cycle — if they come back at all.

“You have to ask yourself, ‘What did that campaign leave behind? What steppingstones did they leave for other organizers for 2022?’” he says. “I would argue that Beto O’Rourke is the only recent candidate that has built something out of a campaign that he ran.

I don’t know if he won over Republican hearts and minds, but he at least had a conversation with them.”

I ask Galloway which three leaders he considers the rising stars of the progressive movement.

“Alex Birnel at MOVE Texas,” he says without hesitation. “Raven Douglas from the Center for Secure and Modern Elections and Rae Martinez, the director of Texas Rising.”

I ask Galloway how progressive is too progressive on the political spectrum for the average Texas voter.

“It makes me think of this saying, ‘We made the path by walking.’ [Progressive candidates] are these trailblazers, [even though] they might be on the fringe of the Overton Window when it comes to acceptable progressive policies,” he replies. “People like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cristina

Tzintzún Ramirez are making the path by walking it.

And that means that they are not always going to be successful, and honestly, they may never be successful on a large scale, but they are lining up the next Alex Birnel, Raven Douglas or Rae Martinez to run for office and be successful.” He pauses for a moment. “You know I play bagpipes, right?”

I tell him I did.

“I am a hardcore competitor in the bagpipe world,” he says.

This year, Galloway ranked second in his grade for the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association, the largest piping organization outside of Scotland.

He shares the words of his bagpipe mentor: “It’s not about winning; it’s about playing every single time.”

When he competes, Galloway explains, he’s not worried about placing in the contest so much as showing the judge just how well he can play.

“I think about running for office in that way,” he says. “So, it’s not if Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders won the presidency. It’s like, ‘Did they cut a path, and did they play?’”

A few days later, I meet Galloway for a photo shoot at Travis Park, across the street from the church that helped him turn his activism into a second career.

He explains that he once participated in a protest at the park demanding the removal of the Confederate statue once at the center of its green space.

“I still remember standing across the street at night watching the city pull that down,” he says proudly.

Galloway says Travis Park also reminds us that homeless people are part of the San Antonio community.

“So, when I see things like that bench over there, with the middle bar in there?” he asks, pointing.

“That’s an intentional thing so that homeless people can’t lay on that bench. They instead have to come over here and lay on the stone or they have to lay on the ground.”

As we walk to the church, he says, “This reminds me that while we’ve come a long way, we still have a lot more work to do.” sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

news

Instagram / @governorabbott

CURRENT EVENTS

Gov. Greg Abbott’s Craven Silence on COVID-19 Puts His Political Ambitions Ahead of Texans’ Lives

BY SANFORD NOWLIN Editor’s Note: The following is City Current, a column of opinion and analysis.

T

he Office of the Texas Governor has been a recent flurry of press releases.

Among other things, Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to send Department of Public Safety troopers to Houston to combat road-rage shootings, and he’s trumpeted tech company Oracle’s relocation to the state.

But with the exception of logistical announcements about the arrival of new vaccines and the reveal for a rapid testing pilot program only available in a handful of cities — El Paso being the largest — his office has been suspiciously silent about this winter’s terrible resurgence in COVID-19 cases.

That surge has pushed the state’s coronavirus death toll just shy of 24,000. As of Monday, 9,230 Texans were hospitalized for COVID-19, and the number of cases reported in the state since the start of the pandemic has topped 1.3 million.

That qualifies as a crisis. True leaders are out front during crises, not silent.

Sadly, though, Abbott has shown that he’s more eager to engage in political maneuvers than being a leader. The latter would require courage, and it’s increasingly clear that Abbott lacks the spine for anything but vying to remain in power.

Here’s the issue: the Republican governor’s biggest 2022 reelection fear isn’t the Democrats but an attack from within his own party. Figures to Abbott’s right — new Republican Party Chairman Allen West, for ex-

ample — continue to bash him for the mask mandate he ordered this summer. They demand that he quit caving to socialist notions and “reopen the state,” health consequences be damned.

The Democrats’ inability to land a single statewide seat in the November election suggests Abbott’s calculus may be right. In the absence of a marquee candidate with the stature of Beto O’Rourke, the party is likely to come up short in 2022.

Abbott’s betting that if he can stave off an attack from West, who could be angling for a run, or from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, he’ll be safe.

But at what cost?

Texas hospitals are already straining from the aftermath of Thanksgiving gatherings, and the cold weather and the Christmas holiday will only worsen the situation, public health experts warn.

The distribution of vaccines, which started this week, will remove some peril for frontline workers, but it will be months before they’re available on a widespread basis.

Hospitalizations will continue to rise. So will deaths. Before those grim tolls worsen, along with the strain on health care workers and the economic devastation faced by average Texans, Abbott should cast aside his personal ambitions for once and think of the people he was elected to serve.

After all, their lives depend on it. sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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14 CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

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Shake and strain into a glass.

Garnish with espresso beans.

calendar

SAT | 12.19 MON | 12.28 BURLESQUE

SEASON’S TEASIN’S: YOUR HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Stars and Garters Burlesque, seven-time winner of the Current’s Best Burlesque Troupe title, debuts a very special holiday production on Saturday, December 19. The professionally shot and edited show Season’s Teasin’s: Your Home for the Holidays will be available to stream for free through December 28, though there are two tipping options available for anyone moved by the spirit of generosity. Following the tragic death of S.T. Shimi, a longtime member of Stars and Garters who performed as Black Orchid, all proceeds from the show will go to benefit her family. Hosted by Tori Pool, Season’s Teasin’s includes a final performance by Black Orchid as well as appearances by troupe members Suki Jones, Pystol Whips and Miss Sugar Free, and special guest stars Gayvey Crockett and SaLydia Menad. There’s just one catch to this Christmas gift: due to all the, ahem, unwrapping involved, this show is for 18+ only. Free, December 19-28, starsandgartersburlesque.com. — KMN

Paramount Home Entertainment

TUE | 12.22

Facebook / Trans-Siberian Orchestra

FRI | 12.18

FILM

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

LIVESTREAMED MUSIC

As part of its virtual watch party series, TPR Cinema Tuesdays

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

is promoting holiday togetherness with a Christmas staple

The pandemic has upended a lot of holiday traditions, and

— Frank Capra’s film It’s a Wonderful Life. The 1946 classic

that includes the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s annual winter

centers around George Bailey (James Stewart), a small-town

tour stop here in San Antonio. But, never fear: much like

building and loan manager who decides he wants to end his

beloved Christmas hero Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,

life on Christmas Eve after a financial crisis brings him to

the Internet is here to save the day! That’s because diehard

a breaking point. However, thanks to an intervention by a

fans of the holiday-themed rock orchestra can still get

guardian angel, Bailey learns how wonderful life truly is. The

their jollies this year with a livestreamed concert. Slated for

virtual screening will take place Tuesday, December 22, fol-

Friday, December 18, the concert will feature a 90-minute

lowed by a film discussion and trivia. To take part in Cinema

performance of the band’s iconic 1996 album Christmas Eve

Tuesdays, participants must have an Amazon Prime account.

& Other Stories. Tickets are $30, but merch-loving fans can shell

A link to the Amazon Prime Watch Party will be sent out on

out up to $185 on bundles that include everything from T-shirts

Tuesday afternoon. While event registration isn’t required,

to TSO-branded face masks. $30-$185, 7 p.m. CST Friday, De-

those who do so ahead of time will be included in a drawing for a TPR prize basket. Free, 7:30pm, Texas Public Radio, tpr.

cember 18, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, tsolivestream.com. — Kelly Merka Nelson

Siggi Ragnar

org. — Emily DiTomasso

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT 17

Mistress of Mashups Kitsch and erotica commingle in the lowbrow work of San Antonio artist Connie Chapa

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

G

Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com

rowing up as an artistic kid in a Jehovah’s Witness family, San Antonio native Connie Chapa would often draw pictures on issues of The Watchtower during meetings at the Kingdom Hall — to her mother’s chagrin.

Although she didn’t study art in high school, she doodled regularly and drew manga-inspired characters in journals that got passed between friends.

“I guess that’s where I really got [my first] critiques,” Chapa mused. “From friends in school.”

In contrast — and perhaps reaction — to the strict conservatism of her family’s religion, Chapa became captivated by provocative representations of women in glossy magazines and fantastical anime alike.

“Especially with my early work, I was very much fascinated and inspired by the female figure and pinups,” Chapa said. Amusingly, she didn’t have to look far for artistic inspiration. “My dad had cardboard cutouts and stuff, and I would think, ‘Oh wow, here’s a woman in a bikini!’ [I was] being told that that stuff was grotesque [or] wrong. But I thought it was beautiful [and] amazing. And so, my love for drawing, especially the female figure, came from all of that.”

She may have even gotten Pops in hot water on occasion.

“It’s funny, my mom would ask us to help out around the house and if I came across some of my dad’s dirty magazines, I would be like, ‘Whoa!’ I’m sure I ratted out my dad a couple times [with questions] like, ‘Hey mom, how big do you think my boobs are gonna get?’ [I wasn’t] trying to rat out my dad, but there definitely have been times where I accidentally [did]. Oops, I’m sorry, Dad!” After high school, Chapa enrolled at Northwest Vista College to pursue a degree that eventually shifted from optometry to fine arts. While studying painting, sculpture and art history, Chapa also used her anatomy books as references for drawings.

“I was just learning the basics,” she recalled.

“I had an idea, but I wanted to learn ways to create my own methods and techniques.”

In time, Chapa’s pinup-inspired sketches gave way to fully realized works, including ink drawings, watercolors and acrylic paint-

Courtesy Image / Connie Chapa

ings of kitschy stuffed animals, nymphlike nudes and vintage-style babes brandishing whips, sprouting devil horns or tied up in shibari ropes.

In 2016, Chapa participated in her first exhibition, a group show hosted by Black Moon Gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex. Titled “The Sci-Fi Show,” it turned out to be a pivotal experience for Chapa since it marked the beginning of her exhibition history as well as her relationship with Black Moon proprietor Zane Thomas, who remains her partner.

“I was really lucky when I first met Zane,” Chapa said. “He was very helpful and he’s very encouraging. I’ve been able to step outside of my box a lot more and own up to who I am and not be afraid of what I want to do.

He’s really helped me become the artist that I want to be.”

Underground Inspiration Beyond anime, sci-fi and classic pinups, Chapa is specifically inspired by the work of Eric Stanton (1926-1999), an iconic fetish artist whose erotic illustrations depicted latex-loving glamazons dominating weak and abusive men — and each other. Chronicled in the book Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground, Stanton played a key

role in bringing fetishism out of the shadows alongside contemporaries such as sexploitation kingpin Irving Klaw, pinup queen Bettie Page and Bizarre magazine publisher John Willie.

With its mélange of aesthetics drawn from underground comix, tattoo culture and street art, the “lowbrow” movement is also a thematic touchstone for Chapa, who counts artists Mitch O’Connell, Robert Williams and Rockin Jelly Bean among her influences.

These two distinct aesthetics coalesce seamlessly in Chapa’s recent work, which includes poppy paintings of sexed-up animal-human hybrids and floating heads of women wearing ball gags modeled after vintage doll faces.

These works also take cues from Chapa’s ever-growing collection of kitsch and tchotchkes.

“I collect a lot of ceramics, like Napco [figurines] and different ceramic critters along with rubber-faced dolls and kitschy things,” Chapa said. “I wanted to start using my collection — which is a big inspiration for me.

I’ve been doing that a lot more, and I hope to continue to do that.”

Intriguingly, Chapa manages to tame some of her wild subject matter by placing it in an undeniably playful context.

Courtesy Image / Connie Chapa

Holiday Mashups Earlier this year, Chapa found herself searching for new ways to create work and interact with her social media followers during the COVID-19 pandemic. After “spit-balling ideas” on a walk with Thomas one day, Chapa settled on an unusual plan: She would fill their gum ball dispenser — aptly dubbed the Mystery Machine — with 63 capsules containing Halloween-related prompts, crank it three times and create original paintings incorporating the three random subjects that tumbled out. Pushing the envelope even further, she decided to paint these “monster mashups” on vintage receipt paper salvaged from the Albert Clemenez General Store in Sunman, Indiana.

“I didn’t think anyone was going to be interested to begin with,” Chapa said. “It seems confusing at first, which I totally understand. [I figured] if I got 10 people to participate, that would be cool. Because really what I wanted was to flex my creative muscles.”

To her surprise and delight, 51 people sprang for her monster mashups

— which sold for $45 each, sight unseen.

As if banking on one pagan holiday wasn’t enough — sorry, Jehovah!

— Chapa recently rebooted the project to the tune of 24 yuletide mashups she painted on 1970s-era Christmas carol sheet music. Unsurprisingly, the anthropomorphic Christmas demon Krampus factored into the equation.

Beyond the income and experience, Chapa says the mashups have trained her to paint quicker.

“It was all in all a good process,” she said. “It seems like a lot of people were having fun with it and I was having fun with it too.”

Although she capped her holiday sales on December 11, Chapa plans to continue with the project next year, bringing it back in October and keeping it going through the holidays.

She also plans to collect all the 2020 mashups in a zine and is entertaining the idea of branching out into other holidays.

“I do like the idea of some Valentine’s Day or Easter mashups,” she said.

For more about Connie Chapa, visit artedecoco.square.site and follow on Instagram @arte_de_coco. sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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Atlas Industries

Berserk in the Bathroom

San Antonio author Max Booth III has a novella turned into a forthcoming horror film

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

B

ook publisher. Author. Hotel manager. Feature screenplay writer.

Max Booth III is doing it all these days.

Actually, he quit his job as a hotel manager last year, so scratch that one off the list.

“I worked at that hotel for eight years and despised every second of it,” said Booth, who co-owns Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, an independent horror fiction press based in Schertz. “I wrote a book about my hotel experience called The Nightly Disease. If anyone reads that, they will know what my job was like.”

Luckily, a week after Booth quit, he got word that one of his novellas, We Need to Do Something, was going to be made into a feature film … in Detroit … during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the sake of full disclosure, we’ll also mention here that Booth is an occasional Current contributor.

The novella tells the story of a family who seeks shelter in a bathroom from an incoming tornado. When the twister hits, a tree crashes through the house and traps them inside the windowless lavatory.

“The family already hates each other, so it’s interesting to see how they deal with being trapped in one small room together,” said Booth, who also wrote the screenplay and got to be on the set for the 18-day shoot two months ago.

During our interview, Booth talked about the kinds of horror movies he enjoys watching and what he was thinking when the film landed actors Pat Healy (Cheap Thrills) and Vinessa Shaw (Hocus Pocus) to play the parents trapped in a bathroom with their 9-yearold son (John James Cronin) and 16-year-old daughter (Sierra McCormick).

We Need to Do Something is currently seeking a distribution deal.

What are your overall thoughts about movies that are set in one location?

I’m a big fan. I really enjoy the claustrophobic element that comes with being in one setting.

I like the challenge of making a character stay in one room and not leave. If someone is stuck in one room, it gives you the opportunity to kind of go crazy with dialogue.

Had you tried to get any of your books made into movies before?

I had gotten some TV and movie interest for another book of mine called Touch the Night.

I reached out to a friend who has experience in TV and film, and he put me in contact with his manager, who then became my manager. We started looking at some of my other books that could potentially get some interest from other companies. He loved We Need to Do Something because the setting was just one location, so it would be easier to film

during COVID.

Did you get to participate in any of the casting or pre-production?

Yeah, I’m also an executive producer on the movie, so I was involved with all the casting decisions and other decisions like how the bathroom in the movie was going to look. I got to watch a lot of audition tapes. The cast came together once the movie was funded.

What were you anticipating when it came to casting?

I didn’t know what to expect. When they told me that Vinessa Shaw was interested, I was like, “The lady from Eyes Wide Shut? Are you serious?”

I really like actor Pat Healy. He had a very small role in my favorite film of all time, Magnolia.

Yeah, every time I bumped into Pat, I was so tempted to tell him to suck my dick. (Something actress Julianne Moore’s character tells him to do in Magnolia.)

Are the kinds of horror movies you like the same as the kinds of horror books you like?

I love anything that is vague. I don’t love it when things are spelled out for you in case you weren’t paying attention. I’m a big fan of The Lighthouse that came out recently. That movie was an inspiration when I was writing the novella. The kind of madness they experienced was what I was trying to achieve.

So, if you were put in this position that the family finds themselves in, trapped in a bathroom, how do you think you’d fare?

Would you survive at least a couple of days?

I would die immediately. I would eat my family.

Find more film stories at sacurrent.com

24 CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

food Kumo / Jaime Monzon.

The 11 Most Exciting New Restaurants in San Antonio Right Now

BY NINA RANGEL

N

ationwide, thousands of restaurants closed this year amid pandemic stay-at-home orders. Those that survived have been forced to navigate a tricky new regulatory environment and shift much of their focus to takeout and delivery.

Despite those challenges, San Antonio food-service entrepreneurs forged ahead in 2020.

Many braved the risk, took a leap of faith in the community and opened new restaurants.

What’s more, some of those ventures turned out to be inventive, thoughtful and soulful enough that they’re likely to shake up the local culinary scene for some time to come.

The unique, innovative approaches taken by these 11 newly opened Alamo City establishments make them the most exciting additions to the Alamo City’s food scene this year.

Kumo

From the minds that brought us modern-Mexican icon Mixtli comes Kumo, a seasonal Mexican restaurant with a strong Japanese influence. Kumo dinners feature up to 10 courses of chef-selected dishes — all served in a sexy, date night-friendly atmo-

sphere. The pair of oft-awarded chefs bill the spot as an omakase, which in Japanese means “I leave it up to you.” That allows the kitchen to tailor the dinner based on the availability of fresh seasonal ingredients. Real talk: if there’s one culinary team we’d want to guide us through that kind of dining experience, it’d be this one.

5251 McCullough Ave., (210) 338-0746, restaurantmixtli.com/kumo.

Agave Azul

The menu at this Tobin Hill-area neighborhood star is chock-full of comforting Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes just like your abuela used to make. The monster-sized servings and bold flavors honor the legacy of co-owner Ismael J. Roldan, a 40-year veteran of the restaurant business. Roldan’s daughter Paola operates the business day to day, serving up

Some of San Antonio’s most intriguing 2020 restaurant openings include Kumo (above) and Curry Boys BBQ (below), both of which offer cultural fusions.

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savory stuffed poblano peppers, chicken mole and parrilladas along with equally delightful SA-approved lunchtime staples such as enchiladas and tortilla soup. 1626 McCullough Ave., (210) 507-2202, agaveazulsa.com.

Curry Boys BBQ

Curry Boys’ “Southeast Asian curry and classic Texas BBQ” tag may leave you scratching your head. However, dive into the eatery’s brisket curry bowl — smoked Texas brisket with complex green curry, jasmine rice, cilantro and fried shallots — and the fusion suddenly makes delicious sense. The new concept Curry Boys BBQ from the boys behind Pinch Boil House and South BBQ is a harmony of fresh ingredients, fun attitudes, casual atmosphere and, yes, expertly prepared brisket. 2334 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 320-0555, curryboysbbq.com.

Find more food & drink news at sacurrent.com

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

food

Instagram / @magpiesanantonio

The Magpie

This neighborhood bistro brings pasta and Korean-influenced plates to San Antonio’s East Side with a thoughtful focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients thanks to chef Jungsuk “Sue” Kim. The Magpie now offers boxed lunches and Sunday Brunch, but remains a special weeknight dinner destination.

While the draw here is the comforting and sometimes fiery Korean influence, don’t miss the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich with crispy pork belly, housemade pâté, pickled radish and carrot, chile and cilantro. 1602 E. Houston St., Suite 106, (210) 389-1584, magpie.us.

Mi Roti

The Magpie’s opening brought an innovative neighborhood bistro to the city’s East Side.

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has finally brought life to a long-vacant deli space on Houston Street downtown. Operated by partners Thierry Burkle of long-gone Alamo Heights French restaurant L’Etoile and local chef Edwin Salazar, diners can expect this spot to sate the cravings for freshly baked brioche buns (or should that be “bunz”?) and prime beef patties that are ground in-house. 122 E. Houston St., (210) 354-3555, tastybunz.com.

Owner Nicola Blaque made a splash in 2018 with local Jamaican food stalwart The Jerk Shack, and her newest venture the Pearl Bottling Department is drawing similar praise for its Caribbean flavors. Named for roti, a West Indian flatbread used to cradle savory street foods, Mi Roti takes customization to a new level, offering sophisticated wraps stuffed with components including jerk chicken, curry goat, rice, mango chutney, shredded kale and spinach.

Don’t sleep on the hot sauces, which range from “slight heat” to “mouth on fire.” 312 Pearl Parkway, Building 6, facebook.com/miroti210.

Southerleigh Haute South

Bunz Handcrafted Burgers

This 3,500-square-foot puro San Antonio neighborhood pub opened in early October, offering indoor and outdoor

After two years of blood, sweat and renovations, Bunz Handcrafted Burgers

The team behind lauded Pearl eatery Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery introduced the city’s far North Side to its approach to Southern-style food this summer, offering the original eatery’s signature fried chicken plus fresh and expertly prepared seafood and a full oyster bar. The brewery’s inventive and well-crafted beers provide a fine accompaniment to the vittles, whether you’re posted up at the bar or on the sprawling patio. 5822 Worth Parkway, Unit 112, (210) 236-8556, southerleighhautesouth.com.

Jaime’s Place

Instagram / @miroti210

areas to enjoy food, drinks and live music on the city’s West Side. Jaime’s Place boasts tons of room to enjoy the night air and dance with your plusone after one, or more, of its signature wine-based margaritas. The super-approachable spot offers plenty of space to social distance while enjoying classic SA music, craft beer and antojitos for days. 1514 W. Commerce St., (210) 5649083, jaimesplace.pub.

Brasserie Mon Chou Chou

Sure, the food at new French dining spot Brasserie Mon Chou Chou is tasty, but what really helps it excel are the stellar service and a comfortable atmosphere that feels like a magic portal to Paris. Enjoy a full meal or an afternoon snack of wine and oysters in the gilded dining room or on the patio. Either way, the air carries the scent of melted French cheese on crisp baguette with smoked paprika aioli and cornichons.

Did we mention the food was tasty? 312 Pearl Parkway, Building 2, (210) 4693743, brasseriemonchouchou.com.

Europa Restaurant and Bar

This new Fredericksburg Road destination, voted Best New Restaurant by Current readers, takes inspiration from countries spanning Europe, from the Greek isles to the Balkan Peninsula.

Such expansive geographical aims can lead to stumbles for restaurant kitchens. Not so at Europa, where the dishes are generally note-perfect. The

Mi Roti is owner Nicola Blaque’s second San Antonio spot serving bold Caribbean flavors.

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spaghetti pescatore, for example — a delightful combination of mussels, shrimp, calamari and baby clams tossed in a spicy tomato-basil sauce — is evocative of a summer afternoon on the Mediterranean. Europa’s cocktails are also fresh and bright, and the wine list has something for everyone. 8811 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 558-3323, europarestaurantandbar.com.

Best Quality Daughter

Chefs Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin and Quealy Watson, who began their culinary partnership at The Monterey, Hot Joy and — most recently — Tenko Ramen at the Pearl, bring an irreverent approach to food through their work at Best Quality Daughter. The “New Asian-American” restaurant serves up umami-filled bites and surprising sips in a positively gorgeous atmosphere, reminding diners that it’s perfectly acceptable to just sit back and find joy in eating. Snag a seat at the bar and order the mochi-cheddar hush puppies with Thai chili jam and the sticky riceand- shiitake egg rolls. The truth is in the name here: the culinary experience will indeed be of the best quality. 602 Avenue A, (210) 819-4236, bestqualitydaughter.com.

sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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food

Courtesy Photo / Little Em’s Oyster Bar

A Tsunami of Oyster Bars

Thanks to new restaurant openings, San Antonio is now awash in the oceanic delicacy

BY RON BECHTOL

T

here are many versions of the following quote, which is attributed to Jonathan Swift: “He was a bold man who first ate an oyster.” None, as far as I know, suggest that that first shucker and slurper could have been a woman, so let’s add that to the stew for the record.

Whoever the oyster-eating OG might have been, their progeny have grown up to be diehard connoisseurs, a phenomenon that can be witnessed even in inland outposts such as San Antonio where we’re experiencing a veritable tidal surge in oyster bars. The newest, helmed by a woman at that, opened in early December.

There’s been excellent, country-wide

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seafood availability ever since the advent of modern air freight — think of those classic towers with their tiered displays of crab claws, shrimp and oysters.

The Alamo City has reaped the benefit of that availability for a while, as evidenced by now-shuttered oyster purveyors including Jason Dady’s Shuck Shack (scheduled to reopen in late 2020), Andrew Weissman’s Sandbar and Luke, where 50-cent happy hour Gulf oysters were a compelling draw.

Still soldiering on is the eponymous Ostra at the Mokara Hotel & Spa on the River Walk, where a dozen chilled oysters on the half shell will set you back $28 — a relative bargain by today’s

CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

The newly opened Little Em’s offers San Antonio a rare taste of West Coast oysters.

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standards.

All that said, the current bivalve surge might well have been set in motion by a Texas-inspired fried rendition.

Humor me here, but I’m thinking that it’s not a total accident that Mark Bliss’ chicken-fried oysters made an early and noteworthy appearance when he was in charge of the kitchen at Silo on Austin Highway. The dish is still on the menu there and at Bliss, the restaurant he later founded in Southtown.

To boot, one of the city’s best raw sources is at now at the offshoot Silo Terrace Oyster Bar on Interstate 10. True trigger or not, on an early December Saturday the restaurant, with its breezy, elevated outdoor terrace, was offering a choice of seven — from Massachusetts, Maine and Prince Edward Island.

All were $3.75 each with a half-dozen priced at $21, a dozen chef’s choice at

$39 and a dozen of your choice at $42.

Building on this success, the Silo management, which also operates Silo Prime and Nonna in the Fairmount Hotel, recently launched an oyster bar on the Fairmount roof — a venue worth seeking out if only for its sophisticated urban feel. The outdoor setting also makes it a perfect pandemic hangout, and as a result I’ve been there twice in the past couple of months. The menu there describes oysters as though they were bottles of wine. Sweetheart Creek oysters from MA, for example, are “sweet and buttery … with a smooth, silky texture, vegetal notes and a crisp, metallic finish.”

In typical fashion, the bivalves are brought to you nestled into an icy tray with a few condiments and a convenient tag listing names. With the foregoing descriptions in mind, try only to add a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of mignonette, a classic oyster accompaniment of red wine vinegar, shallot and cracked black pepper. After all, who would profane a glass of Sancerre with cocktail sauce? Prices range from $3.75 each to $41 a dozen. An excellent wine match, the 2018 William Fevre Champs Royaux Chablis, will set you back $64 — worth it for the armchair escapism.

If you try hard, you might be able to conjure a waterside setting at Southerleigh’s outdoor oyster bar at the Pearl.

At least there are periodic dancing fountains on the adjacent plaza. At certain times, staff will also shuck oysters outdoors, and a server will recite availale options to you at the walk-up counter. Your other option is to check in at the restaurant’s main desk and ask for an outdoor seat, from which you can summon up the menu on your phone from the convenient QR code.

On my visit, there was an additional, off-menu selection, allowing me to sample five in total — including a surprisingly good Gulf oyster that needed only a slight hit of lemon and a whisper of horseradish to wake it up.

Prices at Southerleigh range from $2.50 for the Gulf variety to $3.75 for the tiny, briny Petite Salt. And since you’re at a brewery, why not pair the shellfish with a crisp, dry beer? In the past, Southerleigh has offered Oso Bay Oyster Stout, a beer brewed with actual shells, but the suds selections may change as often as oysters, so look instead for the likes of the Southerlight, a “clean and dry” lager.

Paris, in the area west of the Bastille, was where I was first exposed to shame-

food Fresh Oysters Call for Champagne and Other Crisp Sparkling Wines

BY RON BECHTOL

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ost of the places mentioned in the accompanying article will package oysters to go — shucked and tucked into ice. Be sure you drive carefully on the way home as you really don’t want to lose any of that precious liquor.

Ron Bechtol

less, streetside displays of fresh oysters.

Stand after stand offered ice-cradled Fines, Fines de Clair and Belons straight from the Bays of Arcachon, Cancale and Marenne-Oléron, France’s three, renowned oyster sources.

Many years later, at the end of a whirlwind tour of Europe, San Antonian Emily Carpenter and her contractor husband Houston also fell in love with oysters in Paris. However, upon returning home — and a subsequent oyster bar road trip that included Sydney, Australia among other ports of call — they turned that love into more than a memory. On December 4, their “mom-and-pop” ode to the oyster, Little Em’s Oyster Bar, officially opened in King William. It’s pretty in pink, blue and white, and it offers both indoor seating and an airy patio facing South Alamo Street.

West Coast oysters are a rarity in San Antonio, and as a sign of their dedication, the Carpenters are directly flying in Blue Pools, a “tumbled” Pacific variety from a grower on Washington State’s Hood Canal. Rounding out what

Southerleigh at the Pearl offers outdoor seating and a chance to pair oysters with beer.

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is currently a list of five are four more from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Massachusetts, all sourced through intermediaries and all priced at $3.75. The menu also includes a “dressed oyster,” a creation of chef Benjamin Crumley, that is — for now — an oyster-topped shot of his award-winning michelada.

It’s not all oysters at Little Em’s, though. There’s also a burger. But the only other non-seafood item, a beef fillet, comes topped with a lump crab demi. From there on, it’s all fruits de mer as the French would say — starting at shrimp and ceviches, a crudo, crab claws, a lobster roll — all of which can be topped off with a caviar service at $65-$85. Unlike oysters, which can be a little less meaty, though still safe, in summer due to their reproductive cycle, caviar is always in season.

Another option is to self-shuck. (Please promise to acquire a proper shucking knife such as the one from OXO. A reinforced glove for the non-knife hand is also a good idea.) Groomer’s Seafood offers generic East Coast oysters at $1.75 each; Gulf Blue Bands come at $12.95 a dozen. At Central Market, there are Connecticut Blue points at $1.49 each, while the Gulf variety sells for $.89. You will now want some wine, still or sparkling, to go with.

One of my favorite suppliers, Woody de Luna at Vintages 2.0 (vintages2.com), a one-man wine brokerage that can act almost as a personal sommelier, offered the following advice for classic oyster whites: Chablis and Muscadet. Petit Chablis, a chardonnay planted in less chalky soils than Chablis without the “little” appendage, is, he says, a “remarkable value ($22 for the 2018 Domaine Louis Michel) … saline and crisp.” Among the big-C Chablis, he offers the Jean-Marc Brocard Vielles Vignes de Sainte Claire as “one of the most distinctive Chardonnays in the world”. The 2019 vintage is available at $23.99.

Muscadet Sevre et Maine comes from a region to the west of Chablis near Nantes and is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape — yet is also has the citrus and mineral qualities that make it a good oyster companion. And it is often another genuine steal. De Luna recommends the 2018 Muscadet de Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie Domaine Michel Brégeon at $19.99.

In the realm of bubblies, and this is the holiday season after all, he suggests the Muré Crémant d’Alsace Brut. (It’s made like Champagne but not in the designated region.) It rings up at $16 and has “freshness and finesse coupled with depth of character.” On the splurgier side, he has the $47 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Cuís Premier Cru Blanc de Blanc (an all-Chardonnay Champagne) — a mouthful in every possible way. Whole Foods also might stock it, he says.

Another of my favorite wine sages, Central Market’s Heidi Holcomb Rinehart, concurs: “Anything blanc de blanc,” she says. While a brioche-like Champagne might be just the ticket in other situations, “you don’t want anything too yeasty or bready with oysters,” she says.

Holcomb Rinehart also adds Spanish Cavas to the mix, pointing to the Naveran Brut Vintage Cava at $15.99 and also the 2017 Raventos i Blanc, a Blanc de Blanc and a personal favorite of mine, at $19.99. Her splurge selections were the JM Labruyére Grand Cru Prologue at $45.95 and the Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles Bouzy Grand Cru at $39.95.

But for those taking the no-large-gathering dictum really seriously, she calls our attention to the splits: just you, a half bottle of bubbles, and a dozen (or more) oysters of your choosing. To that end, she has some American sparklers to offer: the Shramsberg Blanc de Blanc out of California for $22.99 the half bottle and even a New Mexican Gruet Brut at a mere $10.73.

At that price, you could have one Christmas Eve, another Christmas Day, another New Year’s Eve … and still another with leftover ham or turkey. By that point, you’re no longer obliged to think oysters.

Unsplash / Alexander Naglestad

sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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BY RON BECHTOL

M

y mother used to have a saying, and maybe yours did too: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Admittedly, as a food critic, I long ago abandoned that maxim. But it keeps creeping back into my head as a result of this pandemic and the ensuing struggles of the restaurant and bar industry.

“Now is not the time to indulge your critical chops,” the little voice keeps saying. All the while the devil on my other shoulder has contrary counsel. “Consumers are also in a pinch, and now is also not the time to pull your punches,” it advises.

For the moment, the best course of action seems to lie here: pick review subjects wisely. Fortunately, San Antonio’s Camp Outpost appears to be a wise choice indeed.

For starters, the new Southtown eatery ticks all the physical boxes. The ample outdoor space is shaded and misted and furnished with sturdy and widely spaced picnic tables. Much-reviled faux turf makes sense here, both dogs and kids seemed to appreciate it on my visits. An Airstream trailer, initially thought of as a second, outdoor bar but now destined to become a pop-up vehicle for appearances of local brewers, distillers and the like, adds a nostalgic touch.

If you like, you don’t even have to enter the thoughtfully refurbished and light-filled interior, except to bage slaw, lemon, pickled onion and charred onion order. And for that, you can always designate one aioli — are so good that I might just have to plead for masked emissary from your dining party. Servers will more of them. bring your food to you, usually swiftly.

Same goes for the pickled red onions And that food is as well-considered as that grace the fried chicken sando, the layout, doubtless thanks in no small which is no slouch in its own right. The part to the experience of Dan Ward, Camp Outpost crust is desirably crispy-crunchy, yet the longtime honcho of Piatti, Camp 1811 S. Alamo St. 78204 the bird within remains moist. A grilled Outpost’s parent institution. It’s not an eatatcamp.com sesame bun brackets this one, and my expansive menu, smart under current Sunday-Wednesday, only observation — sorry, Mom — is that restraints, but it all works — even down 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; it, along with the house-made brioche to the details.

Friday-Saturday, bun that cradles the burger, both came Details such as croutons. I’m starting 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. cold one night. There’s something not at the left-hand side of the printed menu Entrees: $11.95-$19.95 quite right about a cold, grilled bun. But where Camp Chicken Caesar resides. to end on a positive note, the grass-fed Pulled pieces of very good organic, burger itself was beautifully char-crustrotisserie chicken are the titular star, but ed, and if the “secret sauce” didn’t make much of an the crunchy croutons, often an afterthought, nearly impression, I’m sure it must have been good or othersteal the show. Romaine, radicchio and kale provide wise I’d be restraining myself right about now. the textural bulk, and the only thing I might politely Getting back to superlatives, I absolutely adore the venture to do differently is to use less of the classic smashed Yukon Gold potatoes that are available as a Caesar dressing.

Continuing down the menu, I’ve had all of the three side. The dirty fries with porchetta drippings remind me of a barbecue I once attended at a winery in Italy, sandwiches and would rank them in order of appearand if they didn’t quite reach that mark — the dripance. The succulent rotisserie porchetta on ciabatta is pings there were on polenta — well, Italy is a hard act simply sensational, and its accompaniments — cab-

Ron Bechtol

to follow.

Under the menu’s “Share” category, you won’t want to be generous with the excellent grilled broccolini with just the right amount of chili oil. However, you might be convinced to let go of a few crispy brussels sprouts with candied pecans. Of the Camp Plates, I’ve only had shares of the crispy shrimp tacos, and they’re well worth repeating.

I spent a summer during high school as a counselor at a camp for disabled children on an island in Washington’s Puget Sound, an experience, coupled with years of camping trips, that prompts the following observation: genuine s’mores can only be made over the coals of an open fire — preferably with the aid of a marshmallow-toasting stick you’ve whittled to a point yourself.

Accordingly, I’ve never ordered Camp Outpost’s s’more, one of its only desserts offered so far. Even in a pandemic, some standards remain.

But Camp Outpost offers one perk traditional camping never had: on-tap cocktails. Out of six, I’ve tried the Smoky Negroni and the Maple Old Fashioned and heartily recommend both.

Before you ask, the Highwheel Betty-spiked charro beans may come in a tin cup, but the cocktails do not. sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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food ‘A Bit of Our Culture’ Newly opened La Milanesa serves up taste of home for San Antonio’s South American community

BY KATIE HENNESSEY

A

s the qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup played on a dining room TV, the atmosphere inside La Milanesa Restaurant and Grill made it seem like the eatery had been transported from its Northeast San Antonio strip center into another country.

Jersey-wearing fútbol fanatics clustered around the screen, voices rising as the game heated up onscreen.

The Uruguay-born chef is known to run out of the kitchen, screaming “Gol!” after his preferred team scores.

“This is basically our little corner or Uruguay or Argentina for whoever comes in,” said Octavio Millan, owner of the newly opened La Milanesa, 3261 Nacogdoches Road, which specializes in the cuisine of the two South American countries. “You can come here and find everything you grew up with, everything you haven’t tasted in a while. It’s your corner just for that.”

A native Uruguayan, Millan was tired of driving to Houston every time he wanted food traditional to his culture. After 18 years in the United States, he decided that if no one else would open a Uruguayan restaurant in San Antonio, he’d do it himself.

So far, it’s been a tough dream to follow. Three weeks after the restaurant’s difficult February opening, he was forced to put a temporary pause on business due to the citywide COVID-19 shutdown.

But Millan has struggled through, saying the restaurant is more than a business venture — it’s about pursuing a passion. His vision was to create a second home for San Antonio’s South American community, which is accustomed to traditional food, tango music and lots of soccer.

“San Antonio is a very diverse city, and we wanted to add a bit of our culture here as well,” he said.

Family, food and community Running La Milanesa is a family affair. Millan and his wife Iberia created dishes based on the food they grew up with in Uruguay. Their five children, who help as servers and with daily operations, were raised on their recipes.

“What we care about the most is that our food is cooked exactly as it would be cooked at home,” Millan said.

Francie, the Millans’ middle child and the first in the family to be born in the U.S., is the current Miss San Antonio Teen USA, a title she uses as a platform to represent Latinx culture in the community. A world

Katie Hennessey

languages student at Northwest Vista College, she translated for her father during this interview.

“I’ve learned more about my culture and where I come from since the restaurant opened,” she said.

“This is the closest thing I’ve gotten to experience that resembles what my parents grew up with.”

Uruguayan and Argentinian food bear many similarities. La Milanesa’s namesake dish is a breaded meat cutlet that’s popular in both countries.

There are many takes on the dish, which was brought to South America by Italian immigrants. The restaurant’s Milanesa Napolitana marries Uruguayan and Argentinian styles by adding tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, ham and a fried egg.

Its La Milanesa Texana adds a local spin by topping the thin cut with homemade barbeque sauce.

“We wanted to give people something they could familiarize themselves with, while still daring to try something new,” Octavio Millan explained.

Millan said he’s been surprised by the number of non-Latinos who have become regulars at La Milanesa. And while there is something for everyone on the menu, South American immigrants have been its core clientele, drawn by a sense of community.

“One day we had an older woman who came in for the first time. While she was eating, we started playing tango, and she immediately started crying,” Millan said. “She said, she had not heard music like

that since she was young and living in Argentina. The memories were rushing back from her childhood.”

‘Never give up’ “In Uruguay, we grew up with the culture of soccer that told us to never give up,” Millan said. “Even if the rival is 10 times stronger, it is 10 times better for us.”

That lesson in resilience has come in handy. The COVID-19 pandemic has so far kept the new restaurant from breaking even. But in Uruguayan spirit, Millan turns to the soccer field for inspiration.

“If you are Uruguayan, your dream is to become a professional soccer player,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of them are behind that dream, but the dream itself is what maintains you.”

Chasing a dream teaches hard work, Millan added.

He hopes his entrepreneurial pursuit shows that to his children.

Francie Millan, who created a self-empowerment organization during the COVID-19 pandemic called Powerful and Empowered, said she wouldn’t be where she is now if it weren’t for her father’s example.

“I tried to win Miss San Antonio Teen USA for three years, and I thought I would never be able to reach it,” she said. “My dad told me if that’s my dream, I have to work 10 or 20 times harder. So I did, and it turned everything around.” sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

food

Cool-Weather Cocktails

Shutterstock

Warm up to these drinks from SA bartenders

BY NINA RANGEL

C

ool weather has finally hit San Antonio, and whether you spend your winter nights binge-watching TV or bundled up in front of a fire pit, an expertly prepared cocktail will make the experience even more cozy.

We asked a trio of San Antonio bartenders to share recipes perfect for ringing in the holiday season.

3 cardamom pods

Picks Bar Kentucky Mule

Bar Loretta’s Boozy Hot Cocoa

It’s all about the garnish with Picks’ super-simple twist on a classic Moscow Mule. Co-owner Jessica Marinez’s wintery take is garnished with tart pomegranate seeds, aromatic rosemary sprigs and candied ginger.

Ingredients:

Method:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.

Don’t bring the mixture to a boil, as it cooks off the alcohol. Take off the heat and strain. Serve in your favorite mug. Or keep warm in a crockpot set to its lowest setting to enjoy for the duration of a holiday evening.

Southtown’s Bar Loretta won’t be serving up its elevated approach to Texas cuisine until 2021, but that didn’t stop owner Roger Herr and cocktail consultant Michael Neff from sharing this winter fave.

Ingredients:

1½ ounces bourbon 3 ounces ginger beer ½ ounce lime juice

1¾ ounces Ilegal Mezcal 12 ounces prepared Hot Cocoa 2 ounces Fernet Branca-eggnog whipped cream (recipe below)

Method:

Method:

Fill a copper mug or cocktail glass with ice. Pour in the bourbon and lime juice.

Top the glass off with ginger beer and give it a quick stir. Garnish and serve.

Mulled Wine from The Hayden

Haleigh Guillory brings years of experience to her post as Bar Manager at The Hayden. Her mulled wine recipe is reminiscent of sangria, but earthy, warming spices make it that much cozier.

Ingredients:

2 bottles of red wine (almost any will work) 1 cup amaretto 1/2 cup of pitted black cherries 2 oranges, sliced 1 lemon, sliced 2 bay leaves 4 cinnamon sticks 2 star anise 8 whole cloves

AFRAID OF YOUR

PARTNER?

FEAR SHOULD NEVER BE A PART OF LOVE. HELP IS HERE. CALL 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) Line Open 24/7 If it’s an emergency call 911.

Prepare cocoa per instructions. Herr and Neff use a Ghiradelli mix and recommend a powder mix with no milk or cream added, but any will do. Combine mezcal and cocoa in a festive mug. Top with the special whipped cream and shaved chocolate or cinnamon.

Fernet Branca-eggnog whipped cream ingredients: 1/2 ounce Fernet Branca 1 ounce eggnog 3 ounces heavy cream 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Method:

Combine all ingredients. Whip with an electric mixer until peaks form. Chill for at least 15 minutes as the whipped cream solidifies. If you don’t have a mixer, combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, ensure a good seal, and shake vigorously for five minutes. sacurrent.com | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | CURRENT

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What I learned from spinning 259 unfamiliar albums during the pandemic

BY MIKE MCMAHAN

T

he pandemic upended our lives this year, dealing us anxiety and shifting our normal routines. Many of us took refuge in the comfort of beloved albums or songs, because nothing lifts you up like something from your “Favorites” playlist.

I chose not to have that kind of listening year.

I began the year by simply keeping a list of 2020 releases that I heard, not expecting that the plague would come along and change everything. Since we all needed pandemic goals, I switched things up a bit and asked, “What would happen if I spent 2020 listening to as many unfamiliar albums as I could?”

The rule was simple: an album (or concert recording) would count if I hadn’t listened to it as a whole. Even if I knew a handful of songs, I rationalized, I’d never taken it in start-to-finish. This allowed me to slip in Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, for example, despite knowing all but a handful of tunes.

In the end, I spun 259 new-to-me albums and came away with a handful of observations about the current state of music. Of those I explored, 90 were from 2020. The rest came from earlier years, the oldest being a Glenn Miller live album from 1939.

For one observation, it turns out dystopian visions produced by genre-mixing provided a fertile ground for innovation on some of 2020’s best releases, including Wake’s Devouring Ruin, Protest the Hero’s Palimpsest, Pure Reason Revolution’s Eupnea and Grimes’ Miss Anthropocene.

No more safety blanket In the same way the pandemic tossed routines out the window, this listening process ended the emotional safety blanket of music.

Many of us define our musical tastes in high school, college or maybe our mid-to-late 20s.

I still enjoy old favorites, and still listened to them this year, despite my listening project.

“Music’s repetitiveness is at once entirely ordinary and entirely mysterious,” writes music cognition researcher Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis in her book On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind. “The radio is full of songs

music

The Year of Listening Dangerously

Unsplash / Olena Sergienko

whose choruses repeat again and again, and these repetitive songs get downloaded and replayed over and over.”

As the year unfolded, I found myself wondering whether I was missing some growers, since I heard many albums just once. Part of the reason I was able to take in such a volume is that music was so much more expensive prior to the birth of downloading and streaming. If you dropped $20 on a CD, you were going to damn well listen a few times.

Finding favorites Two of my most-listened-to favorites from 2020 were new albums from Pearl Jam and Phish, acts with whom I have had long-time love affairs. Phish’s new album, Sigma Oasis, is the band’s best in almost two decades.

However, the songs had all been available on live bootlegs. So, even in trying to escape repetition, my mind sneakily found it.

Since I worked from home, I did essentially no driving starting in March. Consequently, much of my listening was via headphones, and I found myself gravitating to instrumental music.

Perhaps the escape wasn’t as emotional as a familiar lyric, but instrumental music allows the listener room to breathe while — if done well — being enveloped in a world as detailed and foreign as Game of Thrones’ Westeros. Jazz, and improvisation in general, relies on the musicians developing their own language. So, seeing the best players as Tolkienesque isn’t the biggest stretch. Improvisation is the enemy of repetition.

Two of the best instrumental releases of this year I discovered — Arcing Wires’ Prime and Tigran Hamasayan’s The Call Within — found new ways of speaking jazz in the language of progressive rock, while Krust’s The Edge Of Everything looked backward to the drum-and-bass sound of yesteryear to shine a light in the dark.

But it wasn’t just improvisation that held an alure. I found myself invested in electronic music as well, likely for the same reasons. In it, there was no COVID-19, no Trump, no any-

thing. Just beats and synthesizer swooshes.

No more tentpoles

Maybe it’s because Gen X never outgrew it, but pop culture seems to cut a wider swath than it did back in the MTV days. The ’80s never went away in the same way the ’50s or ’60s did.

In the ’80s and ’90s, you could look at a list of “best albums” from the given year and be familiar with most of them. The 2020 lists have been filled with albums most us likely have never heard. This year’s Grammy albums? Not a clue. Pitchfork’s best of the year?

Who? Am I just old and out of touch? (Don’t answer that one.) How many records would a person have to hear to capture the year?

The answer to that last question seems to be “too many,” particularly outside of any one genre.

The barriers for entry to music have been lowered due to the widespread availability of recording equipment and the end of major label dominance. The result is that the amount of music has increased exponentially, but concept of “tentpole” albums has been all but eliminated, at least within the realm of rock.

You’ve still got your Kanyes, Beyoncés and Taylor Swifts, of course, but far fewer albums seem to loom over the culture at large. Even gossip sites like TMZ seem to give as much digital ink to tech bros like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as they do high-profile pop artists such as Drake.

The big takeaway from my 2020 experiment is that “best of” lists are truly no different than curated Spotify playlists, which is to say they simply reflect the creator’s preferences, essentially no different than some guy on the bus saying, “Hey, check this out.”

Did I have my favorites? Hell yes. Are they the objective “best” records? I’ll defer to you on that one. You’re on your own in this brave new world. Whether it’s an algorithm or that random friend offering a recommendation, dive in. Choose your cliche: world-oyster, kid-candy store or whatever.

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

38 CURRENT | December 16 – December 29, 2020 | sacurrent.com

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