San Antonio Current — May 5, 2021

MAY 5 - MAY 18, 2021

Unpacking the Prop B vote | Grazing at Pharm Table | Honky tonk hero Dale Watson

sacurrent.com | May 5 - May 18, 2021 | CURRENT

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in this issue Issue 21-09 /// May 5 – May 18, 2021

San Antonio Current

Hot Dish

29 Music

Honky Tonk Hero

Country traditionalist Dale Watson to perform free show at St. Paul Square

Music Listings

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

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, Lea Thompson, Abe Asher Editorial Interns: Emily DiTomasso, Brianna Espinoza, Katie Hennessey, Cristela Jones, Jay Moreno, Dana Nichols, Emily Schmalstieg, Jada Teague

Advertising

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Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni Events Manager: Chelsea Bourque Sales & Event Coordinator: Sky Hawkes Marketing Interns: Julia Bentley Social Media Content Creator: Meradith Garcia

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Circulation

Circulation Manager: Justin Giles

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Bryan Rindfuss

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

18 Feature PB-Art

New corporate citizen Pabst steps up as a platform for San Antonio creatives

09 News

The Opener News in Brief

‘Warning Shot’

Prop B was a narrow miss with San Antonio voters, but the coalition behind it isn’t done with police reform

Current Events Meat for the Base

City Scrapes

After months of loss, San Antonio should move toward building true community

Poor Marks

Nearly all of Texas’ GOP members of Congress get grades of ‘D’ or ‘F’ on new ‘Democracy Report Card’

16 Calendar Calendar Picks

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18 Arts

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Emerald Necklace

San Antonio’s Howard Peak Greenway Trails were the result of tireless work

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A Bloody Triumph

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Jakob’s Wife is an amazing vampire marriage therapy mash-up you can stream at home right now

25 Food

Startled by Cabbage

O

n the Cover: Designer Paul Vaughn superimposed work

by San Antonio artist Connie Chapa on beer cans. Since relocating Boozy Brunching to the Alamo City, Pabst Brewing Whether or not your Mother’s Day has commissioned work by Chapa plans include brunch, these cocktails and other local creators. are midmorning hits The newly relocated Pharm Table has an energetic and energizing take on mostly vegan cuisine

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CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

H

The Texas Senate approved a bill that would classify providing gender-affirming treatment healthcare to transgender children as child abuse even though medical research shows that children solidify their gender identity as young as 6 years old. The legislation will now move to the Texas House, where its chances of passage are unclear.

H H

President Joe Biden last week nominated Gina Ortiz Jones, a San Antonio native and two-time Democratic nominee for the U.S. House, to serve as Under Secretary of the Air Force. If confirmed, Jones will be the first out lesbian to hold the position.

Alamo Drafthouse’s Westlakes location has permanently closed.

The theater in far West San Antonio was the chain’s first in the city when it opened in 2004. The Austin-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization amid the pandemic and has said it will need to close some locations to pay off creditors.

The Texas Legislature last passed legislation to permanently legalize the sale of to-go cocktails — a feature of the COVID era that’s helped restaurants and bars stay afloat. The proposal now awaits the signature of Gov. Greg Abbott to become law. — Abe Asher

ASSCLOWN ALERT

Stirring the shit with State Rep. Briscoe Cain Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

It’s hard to imagine how Republicans’ full court press for a voter-restriction bill during the current session of the Texas Legislature could be any more of a shit show. But State Rep. Briscoe Cain is sure giving it the ol’ college try.

Last Thursday, the Deer Park Republican maneuvered a voting bill out of the committee he chairs with completely new language and without any public input, drawing a furious response from Democrats and voting-rights groups.

Cain, who provided legal help for Donald Trump’s effort overturn the 2020 presidential election, was so dead set on moving the proposal forward without public discussion that he had to try twice that day.

When the morning hearing devolved into chaos, he waited until nighttime and pushed the proposal out of the GOP-dominated committee on a 5-4 vote.

The move was true to form for Cain, a grandstanding Tea Partier known less for his legislative accomplishments than inflammatory statements like his 2019 tweet threatening to shoot then-presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke if he tried to confiscate Cain’s assault rifle.

Beyond pissing off Dems and civil-rights groups who wanted to weigh in on the dra-

news

That Rocks/That Sucks

Twitter / @BriscoeCain

matically altered voting bill, Cain’s last-minute switcheroo sets up a probable conflict within his own party.

That’s because Cain’s move gutted Senate Bill 7, a priority piece of legislation that already passed the Senate, and replaced it with his own House Bill 6, a vastly different measure that, among other things, includes provisions making it easier for partisan poll watchers to access voting sites.

Expect a food fight between the two chambers as they compete over which version of the voter restriction measure ends up on the governor’s desk. Should be fun to see how many members of Cain’s own party are willing to call him out as an assclown. — Sanford Nowlin

YOU SAID IT!

“Ted Cruz is taking a siesta at tonight’s Biden speech, asleep on the job as usual” — Julián Castro, former San Antonio mayor, on Twitter after video footage surfaced showing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz struggling to stay awake during last week’s congressional address by President Joe Biden.

A federal appeals court last week overturned part of an earlier ruling that gave a group of San Antonio cops qualified immunity in the 2013 killing of 38-year-old Jesse Aguirre.

During an arrest, three SAPD officers put their weight on Aguirre for five-and-a-half minutes, then waited three more minutes before offering medical aid. An excessive force suit brought by Aguirre’s estranged wife will now go back to San Antonio’s federal court.

San Antonio’s two Republican congressmen, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, both accepted campaign donations from disgraced Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn.

Each took $5,800 from Wynn, who left his company in 2018 after being accused of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape — charges he’s denied. Neither Roy nor Gonzales responded to a request for comment.

The Texas House has passed a bill to expand access to the state’s medical marijuana program and boost the potency of the marijuana available to patients. The bill would allow new groups of patients, including those suffering from PTSD, chronic pain and all kinds of cancer, to legally access pot. At present, the state’s compassionate use program is one of the most limited in the U.S. — Abe Asher

Courtesy / Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation

Find more news coverage every day at sacurrent.com

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The MoTrPAC study measures the changes that occur during and after exercise. This will help researchers learn how exercise improves health.

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The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) is supported by the NIH Common Fund through cooperative agreements managed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (NIAMS), and National Institute on Aging (NIA).

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CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

Principle Investigator Dr. Ameet Nagpal For other studies, visit us at http://vpr.uthscsa.edu/findastudy/

Principle Investigator Dr. Ameet Nagpal

For other studies, visit us at http://vpr.uthscsa.edu/findastudy/

news ‘Warning Shot’

Prop B was a narrow miss with San Antonio voters, but the coalition behind it isn’t done with police reform

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

I

n last Saturday’s citywide election, San Antonians narrowly rejected a proposition that would have stripped the city’s police union of its collective bargaining power.

With all precincts counted, 51% of voters opposed Proposition B while 49% supported it — a margin of fewer than 3,500 of the 150,000 votes cast.

The defeated ballot initiative arose from a petition drive by police-accountability group Fix SAPD amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.

Supporters argued that the union has protected a skewed arbitration process that lets officers fired for bad behavior return to their jobs. Media analyses show that roughly two-thirds of fired San Antonio police officers later end up back on the force.

While Prop B didn’t fly, the near miss shows that roughly half of the city’s voters have significant concerns about police abuse of power, said Joe Gershtenson, a political science professor at St. Mary’s University.

“If nothing else, it’s absolutely a warning shot across the bow of the police and the city that they need to do something to address these issues,” Gershtenson said. “They would ignore that at their own risk.”

The San Antonio Police Officers Association said the vote shows that it enjoys support as it hunkers down for another round of talks on a new city contract. The current labor pact expires September 30.

“First and foremost, it’s a victory for the citizens of San Antonio,” union President Danny Diaz told the Express-News. “It was hard fought. The citizens have spoken. Now it’s time to get back to work.”

Still, the mood at Fix SAPD’s Saturday night election watch party was buoyant, even when it was clear the numbers might not break in the group’s favor.

“It shows that people are ready for change,” Fix SAPD Deputy Director Ananda Tomas said. “They’re upset with the system, and they don’t think it’s working for them.”

San Antonio police-accountability activists aren’t done pushing for reforms, she added.

Michelle Tremillo, executive director of Texas Organizing Project, one of the organizations that worked for Prop B’s passage, said the petition drive and subsequent get-out-the-vote effort show that residents don’t need to wait for politicians to take action on important issues.

“The brilliance of this strategy is that it’s something we as a community could do ourselves,” Tremillo said.

Sanford Nowlin

“We don’t need to rely on local elected officials to be brave and stand up to the bullies. This campaign put power back into the hands of our community.”

Indeed, the election turnout suggests local voters were eager to have their voices heard on the issue.

Political observers credited interest in Prop B with driving a staggering 17.3% voter turnout — the highest since the 2005 citywide election. What’s more, 1,300 more people cast ballots for or against the ballot measure than voted in the mayoral race.

To experts, that says Prop B brought out voters who would normally sit out local elections.

Observers say the close race is also noteworthy because by conventional political wisdom, the proposition looked doomed from the start. Much of Fix SAPD’s leadership, including Ojiyoma and Ejiro Martin, the brother and sister who founded the group, were political novices. What’s more, they kicked off their petition drive during the thick of the pandemic.

Further complicating matters, Fix SAPD and its allies were stuck with the daunting task of explaining

a complex ballot proposition that required voters to understand how collective bargaining works.

Meanwhile, the police union stuck to simple messaging that largely tried to equate the proposal with “defunding the police,” a slogan that proved toxic to many progressive candidates during the 2020 election cycle.

“We all know from politics that if you have to start explaining stuff, you’re in trouble,” Trinity University political scientist Juan Sepúlveda said.

In the end, though, it appears that nearly half of San Antonio voters were willing to wade through the complexities and leave the sloganeering by the wayside. The Prop B campaign’s near miss will give the city new leverage on disciplinary issues as it looks to close out negotiations over the police labor contract, Sepúlveda added.

“The success for the Fix SAPD group is that they added something deeper to the negotiation process that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. That’s a huge deal.” sacurrent.com | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

news

Courtesy Photo / Governor’s Office

CURRENT EVENTS

Meat for the Base

Greg Abbott’s claim that Biden will ban red meat par for his fact-free governorship

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

G

reg Abbott drew social media and latenight TV ridicule for tweeting out a bogus report that the Biden administration is coming to confiscate Texans’ brisket.

On Sunday, April 24, the state’s GOP governor shared a widely debunked claim from Fox News pundit John Roberts that the Biden White House’s climate plan includes capping Americans’ consumption of red meat at four pounds annually.

Since Fox aired the segment, administration officials have since pointed out that there’s no such mandate, and Roberts himself conceded that his piece was wrong. Fox’s apparent source was British tabloid the Daily Mail, which published scientists’ predictions that the U.S. would need to slash red meat consumption to reduce greenhouse gases.

Even so, Abbott didn’t let the truth get in the way of — pardon the pun — hurling red meat to his party’s base.

“Not gonna happen in Texas!” the governor proclaimed in his tweet, which included a Fox graphic displaying the erroneous claims.

Of course, the easy thing here would be to go for a quick chuckle and share the quips tweeted back at

Abbott over the laughable claim. To be sure, there were good ones, such as a straight-to-the-point takedown by Parker Molloy, editor-at-large for press watchdog Media Matters.

“That’s not in his plan, you fucking moron,” Molloy fired back.

But the reality is Abbott’s eagerness to share the patent falsehood is symptomatic of a larger problem with his governorship — one that’s no laughing matter.

The tweet is part of a pattern for Abbott, who seems to value riling up the base and positioning himself for reelection more than leveling with the Texans he was elected to represent.

What’s more, that mindset has revealed itself in disturbing ways during some of the biggest crises he’s faced while in office.

As Abbott rushed to reopen the state during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that has now claimed 50,000 Texans’ lives, he was caught on an audio recording telling lawmakers his reopening

plan would increase the spread of the virus. He hadn’t bothered to share that detail in his public cheerleading of the reopening plan.

Weeks later, Abbott was captured on video lying about whether state health officials commingled two types of COVID-19 tests — something that could make infection rates look lower than they actually were.

The February winter storms that killed dozens of Texans and left millions without power also highlighted Abbott’s disregard for facts and straight talk.

Appearing on Fox News during the crisis, the governor falsely blamed renewable energy sources for power failures, saying the storm “just shows that fossil fuel is necessary for the state of Texas.” Never mind that experts lay much of the blame for the outages on the state’s over-reliance on natural gas.

More recently, Abbott displayed a similar disdain for reality when he called a news conference in front of the migrant shelter at San Antonio’s Freeman Coliseum and demanded the Biden administration immediately close the site based on vague and uninvestigated claims that abuse had occurred inside.

So far, a state probe has revealed no wrongdoing, and County Judge Nelson Wolff last Twitter / @GregAbbott_TX week dismissed the governor’s allegations as “completely false.”

Abbott’s Twitter claim about banned burgers would be easier to laugh off if it wasn’t just one whopper among many. And the stakes surrounding many of those truth-averse moments run higher than what Texans order at the drive-thru. sacurrent.com | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | CURRENT

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news

Instagram / San Antonio Food Bank

CITYSCRAPES

After months of loss, San Antonio should move toward building true community

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS Editor’s Note: The following is CityScrapes, a column of opinion and analysis.

T

he past 13 or so months as San Antonio has grappled with the pandemic have been incredibly difficult. It’s been more than a year of fear and anxiety, more than a year of not knowing what is coming next, a year of loneliness and isolation. It’s been an extended time of trial, turmoil and upheaval.

Above all, it has been a time of loss.

We have lost loved ones.

We have lost family.

We have lost friends.

We have lost co-workers We have lost neighbors.

And all that loss has been made even more difficult and trying because we have been unable to assemble, join and mourn together, sharing our feelings and emotions with those we care for and about.

I too suffered a great personal loss during that 14

CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

time, although not from COVID-19. My wife Hilary passed away very suddenly last month. It has been simply devastating.

But what has helped make a difference, helped to sustain me, is my community — the network of family and friends, neighbors, colleagues, students current and former, and people who have touched my life and made me something more. Everyone has been kind and generous, warm and supportive. It is that community that makes my life worthwhile.

San Antonio is more than a collection of buildings and spaces, more than just jobs and “economic development,” more than the imagery and mythology of celebrations such as Fiesta, Diez y Seis, Juneteenth and the Fourth of July. It is — or should be — a community of people who recognize the virtues and needs, the capacity and limits of all its members.

Now, when this community has suffered and lost, when its people have been stressed by hardship and isolation, we need a place and time to mourn together, to recognize our loss and offer our support and

aid. But above all, we need to commit to helping and sustaining each other, to building a true community.

All too often in the past, San Antonians have chosen to live in their own small silos, to stick to their side of town and assume that the problems, needs and wants of someone else — or somewhere else — isn’t their problem. But, in reality, it is.

Our churches, synagogues and mosques cannot thrive in a community that doesn’t recognize the strength in its differences and the necessity of mutual understanding.

My neighborhood, like your neighborhood, can’t function as a true community unless all of our neighborhoods collaborate and share. Those neighborhoods also can’t function unless our local governments and institutions recognize the need to talk with them, listen to them and respond to them.

We need to value and support the institutions that serve us and seek to make this place better for all of us — from area nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to the varied and distinct voices of our news media and our authors.

My own loss isn’t going away. Our collective loss will be here tomorrow, and the next day and month and year. Still, we can see to it that caring is what defines San Antonio as a true community in the days and years ahead.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Shutterstock

Poor Marks

Nearly all of Texas’ GOP members of Congress get grades of ‘D’ or ‘F’ on new ‘Democracy Report Card’

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

S

ome Republicans aren’t exactly thrilled that the GOP has rebranded as the POT: the Party of Trump.

Case in point: last week, a conservative anti-Trump group called the Republican Accountability Project issued a “GOP Democracy Report Card,” assigning letter grades to federal lawmakers based on their efforts to overturn November’s legitimate presidential election.

Given Texas Republicans’ numerous, false claims that widespread fraud cost Donald Trump a second term as president, it should come as little surprise that 19 members of the state’s 24-member GOP delegation earned failing grades of “D” or “F.” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, among the most vocal Washington politicians in attempting to delegitimize the election, earned an “F.” Freshman U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio, a Trump endorsee, was among those with a “D.” The highest-scoring Lone Star State Republican only eked out a “B-” on the report card. But more on that later.

Nationwide, just 14 House and Senate Republicans earned an “A” from the Republican Accountability Project, which operates as part of the organization Defending Democracy Together founded by prominent Trump critic Bill Kristol. In contrast, more than 100 received an “F.” The grades were based on four factors: •Did the elected official sign on to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s

widely ridiculed lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject votes cast in four states?

•Did he or she vote against certifying the Electoral College votes from at least one state?

•Did he or she make public statements intended to cast doubt the election was legitimate?

•Did he or she vote to impeach or convict Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection?

Cruz’s failing grade came down to him being on the wrong side of history on all four counts, while Gonzales earned his low mark for voting against certifying Electoral College votes, repeatedly questioning the legitimacy of the election and voting against impeachment.

Sen. John Cornyn, who vacillated between portraying himself as a moderate and serving as a key Trump enabler, earned a grade of “C-.” Cornyn rejected the articles of impeachment against Trump, and he repeatedly questioned the election results. Even so, he didn’t sign onto the Texas brief, nor did he object to the certification of Electoral College votes.

While known as a conservative bomb thrower, San Antonio-Austin U.S. Rep. Chip Roy was the only member of the Texas delegation to earn higher than a “C” on the report card. Roy didn’t vote to impeach Trump. However, he never claimed the election was illegitimate, nor did he sign on to the Texas brief or vote against certifying the election results.

DATE: APRIL 26th, 2021 RE: REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSAL FOR BIDS FOR RENTAL VANS AND NON-CDL BOX TRUCKS. The San Antonio Food Bank is soliciting bids to furnish the following rental vehicles: - (4) Non-CDL Cargo/Panel Vans

our children’s summer feeding program and will be in service from 06/01/2021 to 08/13/2021.

Please include all associated costs (i.e. mileage, physical damage, liability etc.). Only Non-CDL vehicles listed above will be considered for this solicitation. Please note all bids and contracts are subject to review by TDA. Bid due Date and Time: 5/10/2021 10 A.M. Central time Bid Opening Date and Time: Bids will be opened at 11 A.M. Central Time on Tuesday May 14th, 2021 at the San Antonio Food Bank (Address below). Bidding organization representative welcome to attend opening.

Bid delivery procedures: Sealed bids must be hand delivered by time and date listed above to Chad Chittenden or Heather Guzman.

San Antonio Food Bank C/O: Chad Chittenden 5200 Enrique M. Barrera Parkway San Antonio, TX 78227 Evaluation/Voting Members: George Cox: Procurement Coordinator, San Antonio Food Bank Chad Chittenden: Director of Food Industry Partnerships, San Antonio Food Bank Heather Guzman: Children’s Program Manager San Antonio Food Bank Questions on this communication may be directed via e-mail to: Chad Chittenden Director Food Industry Partnerships, San Antonio Food Bank cchittenden@safoodbank.org through 10:00 A.M. Central Time on 5/9/2021.

sacurrent.com | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | CURRENT

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WED | 05.05 TUE | 05.18 ART

“IS IT REAL? STAGING NATURE”

Quinn in an abridged, 90-minute, semi-staged version of the opera

Theater & Studio inside the Irma & Emilio Nicolas Media Center at

performed in collaboration with the San Antonio Symphony. The opera

TPR’s new downtown headquarters. Last year’s event raised funds for

will be sung in Italian with English titles projected above the stage.

Luminaria and the City of San Antonio’s Corona Arts Relief Program;

$45-$135, 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, H-E-B Performance Hall, Tobin

this year’s will benefit Luminaria’s new Working Artist Fund, which

Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624,

“addresses the impact of COVID-19, the recent winter storm, and other

tobincenter.org. — KMN

ongoing economic hardships on individual artists living and working

The McNay Art Museum’s latest exhibition examines how visual artistry

in Bexar County.” The fundraiser will feature live interviews and perfor-

helps enhance the experience of the performing arts. “Is It Real?

mances by local talent, pre-recorded special performances, appearanc-

Staging Nature” showcases a selection of works by stage designers and

es by artists, dancers and filmmakers and even some surprise co-hosts.

artists created to mimic the natural world onstage. Plays, musicals, op-

The event will also include a viewer poll, in which the audience can

eras, ballet and other performances’ stage design have been enhanced

vote for three winning videos from a selection of 10 favorites chosen by

and inspired by nature. Those designs can range from photorealistic

Luminaria and TPR. The winners’ work will be featured in November’s

recreations to dreamy, surreal interpretations of flora and fauna.

Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival. “As we emerge from a difficult

Featured pieces in the show include opera backdrops, a fairytale

pandemic year, we seek to move forward and assist local artists as they

musical forest from Broadway, an enormous tree trunk set-piece by

adjust to new ways of expressing their creativity,” Luminaria Executive

Houston painter Earl Staley as well as handcrafted Monarch butterflies

Director Yadhira Lozano said in a statement. “The need for virtual

and marionettes made by Mexico City theater artists La Liga Teatro

presentations requires costly software, upgrades, and better equipment

Elástico. “The technical aspect of theatre is exciting — and visitors will

while costs for traditional expenses have risen due to demand. Through

find much of what they see in the gallery surprising,” Tobin Collection

the Working Artist Fund, we hope to address some of these needs.” 6

of Theatre Arts Curator R. Scott Blackshire said in a statement. “The

p.m. to midnight, tpr.org/viva, luminariasa.org. — KMN

artworks celebrate designers, costumers and set painters — artists in

MON | 05.10

their own right — who transport audiences into caves, through forests and to worlds beyond the imagination.” The exhibit is on view through October 24. $15-$20, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Satudays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays, Brown Gallery, McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5368, mcnayart.org. — Kelly Merka Nelson

Ken Howard

SAT | 05.08 SPECIAL EVEN T

¡VIVA! UNO MÁS In what San Antonio musician Garrett T. Capps promises will be “better than Fiesta,” the ¡Viva! live telethon is back for a second round. ¡Viva!

Uno Más — presented by a partnership of Luminaria, Texas Public Radio and Nelco Media — will be livestreamed from 6 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, May 8. It will be carried on TPR and Luminaria’s websites, via YouTube and on multiple Facebook channels. Thanks to a little help from Slab Cinema, Lonesome Rose — the site of last year’s telethon — will also host an in-person watch party. Once again hosted by Capps, this year’s telethon will be livestreamed from the Malú & Carlos Alvarez

Courtesy Photo / McNay Art Museum

Facebook / Spurs

SPORTS

THU | 05.06 SAT | 05.08

SPURS VS. BUCKS Following a pair of disappointing playoff exits at the hands of closers Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the reloaded Milwaukee Bucks are primed for a return to the Eastern

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Conference Finals. While the recent NBA headlines have focused on the

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR

super team in Brooklyn and the resurgent New York Knicks, Milwaukee

Things are about to get downright bloody at the Tobin Center. Opera

has quietly amassed a formidable squad, including in-season acquisi-

San Antonio returns to the stage with Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di

tion P.J. Tucker. When the Bucks and Spurs locked horns back in March,

Lammermoor, an adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of

Lonnie Walker IV led all scorers with 31 points, and DeMar DeRozan

Lammermoor. The opera tells a tale of tragic romance, in which the

showed off his passing game, finishing the contest with 22 points and

titular protagonist is caught between the desires of two men — her

13 assists in a 113-120 loss for the Spurs. With Derrick White likely out

brother, who wishes to marry her off to restore the family’s fortune,

for the season with a severe ankle sprain, Walker’s shooting touch from

and her prideful lover. Lucia di Lammermoor reaches its grisly climax

beyond the arc and DeRozan’s late-game heroics will likely play a factor

with “Lucia’s mad scene,” one of opera’s most famous scenes. Opera

in keeping pace with the Bucks. Along with Dejounte Murray’s con-

San Antonio’s production stars Brenda Rae, Scott Hendricks and Scott 16

CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

Josh Huskin

tinued ascendance, DeRozan’s crunch-time playmaking has provided

calendar

a silver lining for the Spurs this season. $23-352, 6:30 p.m.,

Antonio will have one last time to collectively celebrate the

AT&T Center, One AT&T Center, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com,

legacy of Tim Duncan, arguably the greatest power forward

KENS. — M. Solis

to pick up a basketball. Duncan’s enshrinement into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is scheduled to

TUE | 05.11

take place at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, coinciding with his former team’s showdown with the re-

surgent Suns. It’s fitting that Duncan enters the Hall of Fame

FI LM

with two of his fiercest on-court rivals in Kevin Garnett and

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

the late Kobe Bryant. Garnett and Bryant entered the NBA

The iconic 1952 musical Singin’ in the Rain will be screened

directly from high school, and soon after, the spotlight rare-

against the outdoor backdrop of downtown’s new Legacy

ly strayed. In contrast, Duncan graduated from Wake Forest

Park. In a small, socially distanced setting, Slab Cinema’s

in four years, forged his understated game into the fulcrum

Downtown Tuesday events feature select films at the

for a dynasty, and dominated the league on his own terms.

intersection of Houston and North Flores streets, in the

Just as remarkable, he transformed San Antonio into a City

park across from Frost Tower. Voted the Greatest Musical of

of Champions, and for many a night in June, the center of

All Time by the American Film Institute and remembered

the basketball universe. $23-567, start time TBD, AT&T Center,

for Gene Kelly’s soaking-wet dance number, Singin’ in the

One AT&T Center, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com, Bally Sports

Rain is a transcendent film about making movies and the

Southwest. — MS

transition from silent film to “talkies.” Kelly joins co-stars

SUN | 05.16

Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds in this MGM classic that is, above all else, happy and lighthearted. The 1.2-acre Legacy Park provides an appropriate open-air green space

FILM

to experience the playful musical. The park was built in

INDIE LENS POP-UP: THE DONUT KING!

November 2020 and is directed by David Robinson Jr. — son of the San Antonio Spurs legend — who wants to bring the

The next film in the Indie Lens Pop-Up series takes a look at Courtesy Photo / McNay Art Museum

community together through outdoor events such as the

one man’s American Dream. The Donut King! dives into the

movie screenings. Tickets are required for the event and

“Limitless! Five Women Reshape Contemporary Art.” The ex-

story of Ted Ngoy, who built a multimillion-dollar empire

seating is limited. Audience members are welcome to bring

hibition, which features works by artists Martine Gutierrez,

from the ground up. Filmmaker Alice Gu chronicles Ngoy’s

their own food and beverages as well as chairs and blankets.

Letitia Huckaby, Yayoi Kusama, Sandy Skoglund and Jennifer

journey, starting with his arrival to the U.S. as a refugee

$5-10, 8 p.m., Legacy Park, 103 W. Houston St., slabcinema.com.

Steinkamp, notably includes Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room

escaping the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to the launch of the

— Katie Hennessey

All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins. Friday’s streaming

business that would earn him the royal moniker “The Donut

performance will feature a new dance piece “inspired by

King.” It also tracks his devastating reversal of fortune. The

the boundless, multicultural themes” of the exhibition,

Indie Lens Pop-Up series is presented in partnership by ITVS,

choreographed by the Guadalupe Dance Company on a

PBS’s Independent Lens program, the Center for Asian Amer-

commission from the McNay. Free (registration required), 6

ican Media (CAAM), and San Antonio’s Presa House Gallery.

p.m., mcnayart.org. — KMN

The free virtual screening of The Donut King! will also feature Texas filmmaker Lizette Barrera’s short film “¡Come! (Eat).”

SAT | 05.15

Free, 6 p.m., pbs.org/independentlens. — Jada Teague

SPORTS

SPURS VS. SUNS When the Spurs take the floor against the Phoenix Suns, San

Reminder:

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

FRI | 05.14 SPECIAL EVENT

VIRTUAL DANCE PERFORMANCE: NO LIMITS The McNay Art Museum has partnered with the Guadalupe Dance Company to celebrate its current exhibition

Facebook / Spurs

Logan Industry

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.

creative studio led by San Antonio natives Paloma Cortez and Pamela Rachél — early-April’s weeklong spectacle featured seven San Antonio-based artists’ “creative interpretations of the digital and natural world around them.”

In addition to posing in retro lounge chairs beneath a neon-lit wall of fake flowers and seesawing alongside a grid of 18 mirrored security domes, guests could venture inside esteemed local artist Chris Sauter’s Knowing and Seeing — a disorienting bedroom environment riddled with circular cutouts and curiously inhabited by a handmade telescope and a laptop streaming right-wing YouTube channels.

Projected on the exterior and seeping in through the cutouts were screen grabs of memes and photographs of ants infected with cordyceps fungus (aka “zombie parasites”). Pushing the juxtaposition of playful and challenging work even further was the historic venue itself, which boldly features Meso-American kitsch and a jaw-dropping, three-ton chandelier.

Paint the Town

Bryan Rindfuss

PB-Art

New corporate citizen Pabst steps up as a platform for San Antonio creatives

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

P

abst Brewing Co.’s relocation to San Antonio last fall has generated a steady buzz.

But not all of that buzz can be attributed to the beers the conglomerate brews — hipster-approved Pabst Blue Ribbon and longtime local faves Lone Star and Pearl among them. A fair amount of the chatter centers on the arts initiatives that have become a hallmark of the 177-year-old company’s modern era.

Pabst’s interest in the arts emerged in a fashion that Senior Brand Manager Seamus Gallagher describes as “organic.” Just as PBR was emerging as a trendy brew in the early 2000s, creative types began approaching the brand to request sponsorship — for concerts, performances and gallery openings — and Pabst obliged.

“The creative community kind of ran with it and then we tried to catch up,” Gallagher explained.

“There’s so much [PBR] fan art out there. The brand shows up in pop music … It kind of happened organically and we just try to support it any way we can.”

Over the last two decades, that support has taken shape in murals across the U.S., gallery programs in New York and Los Angeles, and the annual Pabst Blue Ribbon Art Can Contest — the winner of which scores a hefty cash prize and gets their artwork reproduced on roughly 30 million cans of beer.

In its relatively short time in San Antonio, Pabst has 18

CURRENT | May 5 - May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

opened the Southtown gallery PBR Studios, partnered with the artist duo Wide Awake to present the popup exhibition “In Living Pixels” at the Aztec Theatre and commissioned 10 new murals in collaboration with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative.

Strike a Pose From certain angles, it might seem that art is having an identity crisis amid the Instagram era. As Wired reported in the tellingly titled article “Selfie Factories: The Rise of the Made-for-Instagram Museum,” ticketed, touring spectacles such as the Museum of Ice Cream and the Color Factory have lured crowds with pools of candy sprinkles, human-scale snow globes, ball pits for grown-ups and whimsical installations that essentially function as selfie backdrops.

On the other side of the coin, the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery unwittingly struck social media gold with its immersive 2015 exhibition “Wonder.” And smartphone-wielding art fans routinely line up to snap themselves “experiencing” dazzling works by blue-chip artists like Yayoi Kusama and James Turrell.

Not unlike San Antonio’s own Hopscotch — an “immersive art experience” boasting 14 interactive installations created by 40 artists — the Pabst-sponsored “In Living Pixels” combined amusing photo ops with more serious fare. Produced by Wide Awake — a

Further aligning itself with creative consumers while amplifying its support for street artists, Pabst inaugurated National Mural Day in 2019 and celebrated the occasion by commissioning 17 murals in Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville and beyond.

“We’d been doing murals even before then,” said Moima Chowoe, Pabst’s community and social impact lead. “Public art and murals are a great way to connect with artists in the city [and] promote creativity.”

Not long after relocating to the Alamo City from Detroit, Chowoe got familiar with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative, a nonprofit headlined by local fixtures Shek Vega and Burgundy Woods.

“They’ve been doing amazing work and Shek is such a great artist and collaborator,” Chowoe said.

As Pabst was already gearing up for its first big visual push, partnering with SASAI was a no-brainer.

“We were really excited just to hear from them,” Vega admitted. “Have you seen what Pabst has done in other cities across the U.S.? They’re pretty active when it comes to supporting the arts. They bring a whole new dynamic to arts and music and entertainment when it comes to them coming into San Antonio.”

After some planning meetings, the two entities devised “The Mural Connection” — an ambitious project linking the River North and Southtown neighborhoods through a series of 10 new murals unveiled during a community art walk held on April 24.

“It was a really quick turnaround — like almost an impossible one,” Vega said. “But I couldn’t let that opportunity slip.” When it came to the selection process, SASAI turned to artists Vega felt meshed with Pabst’s previous branding efforts. “They have this really cool, fun, edgy, quirky, character-driven [aesthetic] with their can art, so we wanted to facilitate that.”

Uniting the local talents of Los Otros (Vega plus fellow muralist Nik Soupe), Connie Chapa, Angela Fox and others, that aesthetic runs through all the murals save for one apt wildcard: Gary Sweeney’s The Job of the Artist. Presented as a companion to his installation Art Is the Stored Honey of the Human Soul

— a focal point of the San Antonio Museum of Art’s parking lot for 20 years now — Sweeney’s contribution employs salvaged signage to spell out a quote from provocative painter Francis Bacon: “The job of the artist is to always deepen the mystery.”

“The enthusiasm of Pabst is pretty amazing,” Sweeney said of his experience working on “The Mural Connection.” As his piece was pre-existing, he didn’t feel quite the same pressure as some of the other participating artists. “Some of those other artists came up with some really cool stuff and it was a very short period of time,” Sweeny said.

Just a few blocks away on a building Pabst plans to develop as a marketing office and arts complex, Chapa and Fox created long, side-by-side murals that celebrate animals from wildly different points of view. For both artists, the murals represent their largest works to date.

Based on a previous painting commemorating the passing of her beloved cat (title: Kevin in Heaven), Fox’s Secrets of the Wild Woman conjures a surrealist dream sequence starring a female figure, a flying orange feline, a scorpion and snakes.

“I saw so many great pictures and heard stories about little girls interacting with the painting [during the art walk],” Fox said. “[They were] roaring and talking about the kitties!”

A young champion of low-brow art and pinup culture, Chapa serves up an anthropomorphic fantasy with Chiquitas, a bubbly scenario featuring a burlesque-inspired cat decked out in red heels and a fur-trimmed leotard, and a trio of coiffed pooches cruising in an Atomic Age convertible. Despite the hurdle of filling such a large space in a short period of time — not to mention getting rained on and sunburned in the process — Chapa says she loved her first foray into street art.

“I’m comfortable painting on a small scale, so when I first saw my wall I was filled with so much anxiety,” Chapa said. “I almost turned the offer down, but I knew this would be a great way to push myself as an artist. …

In fact, I can’t wait to paint my next mural!

Working with SASAI and Pabst was such an honor and a pleasure. … I’m forever grateful to them for giving us work as we start to get back out there after the pandemic … and I can’t wait to see what other rad and exciting things they bring to the city.”

arts

Opposite page: Local duo Los Otros celebrates the cycling community in the Pabst-sponsored mural Ride. Right (top to bottom): Angela Fox’s vibrant mural Secrets of the Wild Woman; art walk attendees gather at PBR Studios for “The Mural Connection” afterparty; PBR Studios hosts a group exhibit showcasing “The Mural Connection” artists.

Bryan Rindfuss

Bryan Rindfuss

Bryan Rindfuss

Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com

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MAY 6 - MAY 9

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Pablo Francisco

Taylor Tomlinson

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Aida Rodriguez

Bill Bellamy

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CURRENT | May 5 - May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

arts Emerald Necklace San Antonio’s Howard Peak Greenway Trails were the result of tireless work

BY BILL BAIRD

F

ormer San Antonio mayor Howard Peak envisioned the greenway system bearing his name as an “emerald necklace” around the city’s perimeter.

Many miles ago, I set out to circumnavigate San Antonio on foot using the ever-expanding Howard Peak Greenway Trails. And while gaps remain, the portions completed so far have provided a revelatory experience — from Leon Creek’s Hill Country splendor and the Medina’s South Texas tangle to the calm meander of the Mission Reach.

The next leg to explore was Salado Creek, along the city’s east and north sides. Between the Mission Reach and Salado, however, lay another of the gaps in the emerald necklace — a long stretch along sidewalks.

From Hot Wells, I headed east up Southcross Boulevard to reconnect with the greenway system at Southside Lions Park.

Southside Lions was yet another piece of parkland once owned by San Antonio benefactor George Brackenridge. Originally purchased as a garbage dump, the park was saved from the, uh, trash heap thanks to the efforts of the Highland Park Lions Club, hence its name.

I ate my lunch in silence next to the park’s gorgeous, zig-zagging dam, which marks the beginning of the greenway heading north. Well, I should say “relative silence.” The sound from boom boxes and car stereos stacked the air like a spontaneously composed Charles Ives piece. It didn’t bother me, though.

I love an unwittingly improvised post-modern experimental music composition.

Salado Creek was named in 1712 by Domingo Ramón, who also named many of the region’s other waterways, including the Comal, Guadalupe, Brazos rivers and Cibolo Creek. His 1716 diary is an interesting read, and he had wonderful penmanship. It turns out Salado Creek was so named due to the high mineral content in its waters.

Walking north, I passed by several farms on Roland Road, including the Granieri Family Farm, where visitors can purchase homegrown vegetables, pecans and firewood. Family-owned since the 1920s and directly adjacent to the trail, it’s open to the public, but I was told by the proprietors they don’t expect to have anything for sale until June.

Farther along, the invasive waxleaf ligustrum crowds out much of the native flora. It seems tempting to call in someone to rev up a chainsaw.

Not so fast, cautioned Sue Calberg, a KENS 5 journalist and the head of the Salado Creek Foundation, who was kind enough to meet me at Comanche Park

Bill Baird

and show me the hidden springs of lower Salado Creek “If you cut down the shade canopy all at once, it’s a disaster,” she explained.

A passionate defender of Salado Creek, Calberg led me to the freshwater springs that gush from the ground within spitting distance of landfills and industrial waste dumps. The creek’s water table sits higher than those of other Bexar County springs, so even when other areas have gone dry, it still flows.

“Salado Creek is Bexar County’s last, best wild waterway,” she said.

As we walked the trail, Calberg caught me up on the decades-long battle to establish not only the Salado Creek Greenway, but the greenway system at large. State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon was among the concept’s early supporters.

“Going back 30 years or more, people have been saying we should do this,” Calberg said. “She was big on this concept before it caught on.” Calberg also singled out San Antonio planner Dixie Watkins, who first advanced the notion of a linear park on Salado Creek in 1978. And, on the Leon Creek side, she mentioned the efforts of volunteer David Oberg. However, she saved most of her praise for the greenway’s namesake and visionary.

Peak was the city’s last Republican mayor who, in defiance of easy stereotypes, showed that Democrats don’t have sole ownership of going green. He received the State Trail Advocacy Award from the American Trails National Program for his efforts.

“We started agitating, and Howard Peak proposed the first section of trail for his council district when he was just a councilman,” Calberg said. “Initially, neighbors were resistant. But they came around.”

Peak shared funds from his own district’s trails to fund the Westside Creeks Restoration Project.

“That wasn’t even part of the plan,” she added.

“There’s so many things he did that were just ... awesome. He was a bridge builder. Through quiet stewardship, he made it happen.”

Salado Creek Foundation chief Sue Calberg examines a find along the greenway

M trail.

The Salado project began after the massive flood of 1998, Calberg explained.

It began when Texas A&M got a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether educating people about water management issues could increase stakeholder involvement and increase water quality. The rationale?

“If they knew what they had, they’d work to protect it,” Calberg said. “We paid $50,000 for a study of best practices along our waterways. One of the study’s findings was that, for best water quality, creeks need a 75-foot buffer where we don’t mow.”

As if on cue, a nearby city worker fired up a weed eater and began mowing down a field of blooming wildflowers directly adjacent to the creek.

Shaking her head with a weary smile, Calberg began filming the worker and sent the video to Tommy Calvert, the Bexar County Commissioner whose district includes the park.

“I don’t get it,” she sighs. “It looked better with the wildflowers there, didn’t it?”

We continued up the trail to J Street Park, an access point to the greenway system for an underserved community.

In our short few minutes there, Calberg met several first-time greenway hikers. Her infectious enthusiasm seemed to literally rub off on the newcomers and they all posed for selfies.

I said goodbye to Sue and kept hiking north along Salado Creek, feeling even more grateful for the emerald necklace San Antonio can call its own.

The city owes a debt to Calberg, Peak, Oberg, Watkins, McClendon and others who worked tirelessly, often without fanfare, to protect its natural wonders.

These projects don’t just magically happen — they require fighters. sacurrent.com | May 5 - May 18, 2021 | CURRENT

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CURRENT | May 5 - May 18, 2020 | sacurrent.com

screens

Horror movie penned by San Antonio author Max Booth III will debut at NYC’s Tribeca Film Fest

W

RLJE Films

A Bloody Triumph Jakob’s Wife is an amazing vampire marriage therapy mash-up you can stream at home right now

BY JOHN W. ALLMAN

O

ne of the absolute joys of being a film critic and a diehard movie lover is seeing actors that you’ve grown up with over decades deliver awards-worthy performances and shatter any silly notion that genre cinema, horror specifically, isn’t worthy of A-list recognition.

And trust me when I say that there is no actor more deserving than Barbara Crampton, who should be immortalized on the Mount Rushmore of Legendary Horror Heroines with Jamie Lee Curtis and Dee Wallace.

Crampton is proof that talent can’t be contained, no matter the swerves that life throws.

After capturing the horror community’s attention in 1985’s Re-Animator — although I still remember her too from Fraternity Vacation — Crampton became a genre icon with a fantastic nine-year run that included Chopping Mall, From Beyond, Puppet Master and Castle Freak. And then she turned her focus to raising a family, while still making an occasional guest appearance on TV or taking a recurring daytime soap opera role.

In 2011, Crampton roared back into horror with a vengeance in You’re Next, and over the past 10 years, she has amassed a string of iconic roles, culminating with Jakob’s Wife, which very well may be remembered as her best, and rightfully so.

Jakob’s Wife is a triumph in every regard.

From Crampton’s turn as Anne Fedder, a meek almost invisible companion to her small-town Mississippi pastor husband Jakob (portrayed by Larry Fessenden in his own career-best performance) to the remarkable 180-degree turn by co-writer-director Travis Stevens — who has advanced lightyears since his 2019 debut Girl on the Third Floor — there is simply nothing about Jakob’s Wife that doesn’t succeed.

This is a vampire movie that not only rewrites the rules of vampirism for the better, but it presents the idea of eternal life not as a curse, but as a gift, to be given after careful consideration, and for the right reasons.

That’s especially poignant for someone like Anne, who has tamped down her own ambitions for so long that she’s forgotten what it might be like to finally slip free and recognize her true potential.

Kudos as well to Stevens for not just paying homage to vampire tropes that have permeated horror cinema for more than 40 years — I’m convinced that The Master is a loving nod to Salem’s Lot — but for taking our expectations and goosing them with a righteous blast of female empowerment.

Jakob’s Wife also is a nuanced, intelligent and wholly authentic depiction of a marriage at a midlife crossroads, and what that means for two people who truly love one another but have slowly drifted farther apart than they realized — until one half decides that she wants more, so much more, than she’s ever dared to acknowledge.

It’s a heartfelt and surprisingly insightful exploration of faith and love, what it means to have one or both not just challenged but blown up and reconfigured.

And it’s quite honestly one of the goriest vampire films in recent memory with some truly inventive and sure-to-be iconic kills.

More than anything, Jakob’s Wife is a tour-de-force for its leading couple, and that translates to nothing short of a magnificent gift for their longtime fans.

e Need to Do Something, a feature film based on Alamo City author Max Booth’s novella of the same name, will debut in June at New York’s high-profile Tribeca Film Festival.

Booth is also screenwriter and executive producer for the film, one of 66 chosen by the festival from 11,222 submissions.

Debuts at Tribeca can be important launch points for indie films to generate buzz and distribution deals.

“It’s considered a damn good festival,” Booth said. “Hard to get into.”

For the sake of transparency, we’ll point out that Booth periodically writes about books and film for the Current.

Helmed by first-time director Sean King O’Grady, We Need to Do Something follows a dysfunctional family trapped inside their bathroom after a devastating tornado.

But the tension inside the room pales to a horror lurking beyond its walls.

Booth said he isn’t at liberty to discuss distribution details for the 97-minute film, which was shot last fall. However, he said talks are ongoing and he expects it to see release later this year or in 2022.

Booth and his partner Lori Michelle, who together run the indie press Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing — will attend the movie’s June 15 screening. Tribeca is first U.S. film fest to happen in-person since the pandemic hit more than a year ago.

While Booth said he’s excited to make the trip, he’s unsure what kind of lift having a feature film headed to streaming services and possibly theater screens will give his writing career.

“I guess I’ll have to see once I have a book finished and ready to shop around,” he said. — By Sanford Nowlin

Atlas Industries

Find more film stories at sacurrent.com

202 L A M A R ST. S A N A N TO N I O, T X | A L A M O B E E R . CO M 24

CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

The newly relocated Pharm Table has an energetic and energizing take on mostly vegan cuisine

BY RON BECHTOL

B

alance is something we all may want to recalibrate in the wake of the pandemic.

As it happens, balance is at the heart of ayurveda, the venerable health philosophy espoused by chef Elizabeth Johnson at her restaurant Pharm Table, newly relocated to a handsome, patio-equipped space in Southtown.

“Ayurveda is an ancient Vedic medical system focused on maintaining balance: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual,” recently woke foodie mag Bon Appetit noted.

“Food is one of its core tools — healing and re-centering the body with careful combinations of foods, herbs and spices. There are a lot of rules, and there are also no rules. …”

You don’t really need to know any of that to enjoy your experience at Pharm Table, where Johnson’s mostly vegan menu is built around her considerable culinary experience — bolstered by an arsenal of over 100 herbs and spices. I make no claims as to the food’s ability to restore your equilibrium. But I can say that I left happy both times I visited — and that’s no mean feat.

Let me first make another disclaimer: my usual Spidey sense of what’s “right” about a meal was occasionally thrown off by expectations that have one meaning for me but another in the ayurvedic canon. Take the term escabeche, for example. In my experience, this Iberian or Latin American dish is usually fish or meat cured in vinegar, but added vinegar is not part of ayurveda. Hence, Pharm Table’s squash “escabeche” — actually rainbow carrots when I ordered it — uses lime juice instead, and the dish was only subtly sour. Reset required on my part.

So, if you’re contemplating a Pharm Table visit, here’s what I suggest: start retuning your palate by the immersion method and go straight for its bounteous, beautiful and eminently shareable gravlox board. The excellent beet-stained salmon is one clue that all is not vegan here, but the surprisingly appealing cashew “cheese” swings back into the pantheon, and you’ll enjoy a full range of the house’s smoked and citrus-pickled vegetables — the tart sumac onions were a special pleasure. As an optional accompaniment, the $2 supplement for organic, non-GMO tortillas was truly worth it if only to marvel at their uniqueness.

food

Startled by Cabbage

Ron Bechtol

The restaurant makes occasional menu substitutions to fine tune a dish for the temper of the day or to compensate for produce shortcomings. Fennel was a stand-in for hoja santa the day I had the smoked mole verde enchiladas, and the black beans were whole, not puréed with more fennel. Even so, it was one of the most provocative plates I have experienced, even in pre-pandemic times. The collards that replaced the enchiladas’ usual rolled tortillas were vibrant green and just tender enough; cutting into them revealed a vibrant orange filling of sweet potato with bits of braised onion. Further enhanced by the pale green mole featuring smoked tomatillos, the color contrast was stunning. Yes, you do also eat with your eyes.

Little wonder that the Thai zucchini noodle salad — imagine quotation marks around the noodle part —for all of its quieter beauty and varied textures, didn’t quite achieve the same distinction. Yes, there were occasional flashes of brilliance in the contrasts of toasted coconut with fresh mint and wafer-thin radish, but raw zucchini needs a little more help for this Western palate.

Not that there was a competition, but the tamarind amchur curry bowl was a winner among two bowls I tried. Its clenched victory thanks to cabbage soured by tamarind and dried green mango powder. You’ll have to imagine my double-take at being startled by

this elevation of the lowly cabbage. Another component, sweet potato rice — imagine more quotation marks here — was less convincing texturally than its inspiration, but its complex flavors more than compensated for lack of bite. Those so inclined should feel free to add a small piece of marinated Persian chicken to the mix, where it becomes just another element, not the main attraction.

Za’atar-dusted avocado slices were easily the equal of the charred, shawarma-spiced cauliflower in bowl No. 2.

Pharm Table’s beverage program is no stepchild of the food menu, and that’s apparent from the carefully curated spirits selection behind the bar. Its emphasis on agave and other Mexican products, assembled with the help of veteran barman Houston Eaves, formerly of Esquire Tavern, hits close to my heart.

The day-to-day cocktail menu, managed by Ricardo Ruiz, formerly of The Hoppy Monk, takes full advantage of the selection with creations such as the ethereal Caña Mexicana, which by using a Oaxacan rum-adjacent spirit manages to be both delicate and earthy at the same time. Less potent, but equally alluring, is an on-tap blend of ginger and turmeric beer — quotes needed yet again. In any system, this has got to be good for you.

No quotes around good.

PHARM TABLE

611 S. Presa St. | (210) 802-1860 | pharmtable.com | Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Accessible: Yes Price Range: $12-$16 for main plates, not including fish of the day Best Bets: Gravlox board, smoked mole verde enchiladas, tamarind amchur curry bowl, avocado chocolate mousse, turmeric ginger beer, apothecary cocktails The Skinny: Pharm Table’s relocation from Auditorium Circle seems to have energized its plant-forward menu, which now includes non-vegan and non-ayurvedic items such as a fish of the day, cured gravlox and add-ons of chicken and salmon. First bites can be as simple as a ginger meal-starter, designed to jump-start the palate, or as complex as the highly recommended gravlox board with a full sample of house “ferments.” A knowledge of ayurvedic principles doesn’t hurt, but it’s hardly necessary to enjoy dishes such as the stunning mole verde enchiladas with sweet potato-stuffed collards, or the excellent tamarind amchur curry bowl with an optional add of Persian chicken. A barely sweet avocado chocolate mousse gets better with each bite. Drinks such as the turmeric ginger beer and cocktails the likes of the ethereal Caña Mexicana are also worth trying. Service is friendly and informative.

Find more food & drink news at sacurrent.com

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4/15/21

10:25 AM

Exclusions Appl y. Visit Restaur ant For Details.

DAILY LUNCH & DINNER SPECIALS babeshamburgers.com 26

CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

@babesoldfashionedfood

Visit one of our convenient lo locations

(210) 561-2222

4535 Fredericksburg Road

10038 Potranco Road

9207 Huebner Road

(210) 732 -6666

(210) 684-6666

12415 Bandera Road

434 S.W. Military Drive

(210) 695-5666

(210) 595-6666

food Boozy Brunching

Whether or not your Mother’s Day plans include brunch, these cocktails are midmorning hits

W

ho’s got time to click through all of the food stories coming out of Countdown City these days? We get it, you’re busy and just need quick tidbits to get you caught up on the latest culinary happenings.

BY NINA RANGEL With or without Mom as guest of honor, brunch is a perfect excuse to indulge in a mid-morning or early afternoon tipple. With that in mind, we tapped the expertise of three San Antonio pros to offer up easy-to-execute recipes for those looking to expand their brunchtime cocktail options at home.

But let’s be real: any of these drinks would be great to enjoy later in the day as well.

Midtown Swing Alex Lewis, a bartender at downtown’s much-anticipated House of Má, brunches with a refreshing take on an Eastside cocktail she dubbed the Midtown Swing. Generally thought of as a modern-day Gimlet with the addition of mint and cucumber, Eastsides are refreshing warm-weather favorites. Lewis, however, steps her version up with the savory addition of cracked black pepper.

“The ingredients make for a fun, easy-drinking cocktail that’s good for picnics and brunch because it’s not overly sweet,” she said.

The black pepper and Topo Chico take this classic to another level for springtime sipping.

Midtown Swing

4-5 cucumber slices 1 1/2 ounces gin 1/2 ounce lime juice 1/2 ounce mint simple syrup (See recipe below, or just add 3-4 fresh mint leaves) Fresh-ground black pepper Muddle cucumber slices in shaker, add gin, lime juice and mint syrup or mint. Shake vigorously and strain into rocks glass over ice. Top with Topo Chico and freshly cracked black pepper.

Mint Simple Syrup

1 cup water 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup fresh mint leaves

Combine water, sugar and mint in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Simmer for one minute. Remove from heat and let the mixture steep for 30 minutes. Pour syrup into a sterilized glass jar through a mesh strainer to remove mint leaves and let cool.

Texas Wildflower Gin and Tonic Maray McChesney, co-founder of San Anto-

Courtesy Photo / Alex Lewis

nio-based startup Bexar Tonics, offered up a different spin on the springtime favorite gin and tonic. Not surprisingly, it involves her company’s Texas Wildflower syrup, one of three concentrated tonics it produces for cocktail use. The floral addition brings new depth to the classic one-and-one cocktail.

“This tonic is kind of our nod to a Texas spring road trip,” McChesney said.

While lavender is the most recognizable note of the Texas Wildflower syrup, it also contains butterfly pea blossom. Commonly used in teas, the blossom not only adds to the earthy, floral properties of the drink, but enhances its beauty by changing color from blue to a raging fuchsia with a squirt of lime juice.

Texas Wildflower Gin and Tonic

2 ounces gin 1 1/2 ounces Bexar Tonics Texas Wildflower syrup Topo Chico Lime

Fill a Collins glass with ice. McChesney suggests crushed ice, if you have it. Add gin and syrup to glass and top with Topo Chico. Add a squeeze of lime.

Fancy Free SA-based Ranch Brand’s Straight Bourbon is the star of this Fancy Free cocktail — essentially an Old Fashioned livened up by Maraschino, a bittersweet Croatian liqueur flavored with Marasca cherries.

“Everyone can build this cocktail, and it will add another component, Maraschino, to a home bartender’s repertoire,” Ranch Brand co-owner Chris Ware said. “That one new ingredient will translate into a myriad of other cocktails, so I think everyone needs a bottle of Maraschino.”

Fancy Free

1 1/2 ounces Ranch Brand Straight Bourbon 1/2 ounce Maraschino 1 dash orange bitters 2 dashes Angostura bitters Orange twist

Stir all ingredients with ice in a rocks glass until blended. Top the glass off with more ice. You don’t need a garnish, but a cherry wouldn’t be out of place.

Welcome to Hot Dish, where we offer up the latest savory scoops in quick, easy-to-digest servings.

OPENINGS Veg-friendly Willa Eatery has taken over the former Pharm Table location in Auditorium Circle near the Tobin Center.

House of Má, from the minds behind SA staple Singh’s Vietnamese, has opened downtown.

North Central SA drinkery Rod Dog’s Saloon has resumed service following lengthy renovations.

Chef Stefan Bowers has launched the Pump Wagon, a burger-centric food trailer outside Paper Tiger.

Coco Bliss, a new smoothie and juice bar, has opened near Lackland Air Force Base.

Long-awaited downtown tiki bar Hugman’s Oasis is slated to open Friday, May 7.

Nationally lauded Mexican eatery Mixtli anticipates an early June opening for its new Southtown location.

Castle Hills area will next month welcome Tu Asador 210, an asada-focused eatery.

Restauranteur Peter Selig is opening a pair of Italian eateries — Allora and Arrosta — near the mixed-use Pearl complex this fall.

NEWS Il Forno landed on Food & Wine Magazine’s roundup of best pizzerias in every state.

Breakfast joint Comfort Café tops Yelp’s list of Top 100 Brunch Spots in the U.S. Houston-based Cajun-and-more chain BB’s Tex-Orleans aims to open its first San Antonio location in August.

Bar and Thai eatery Hello Paradise has added vegan options and a noodle brunch to its menu.

Longtime San Antonio diner staple Lulu’s Bakery and Café, home to the three-pound cinnamon roll, has closed.

Got a Hot Dish you want to share? Send tips to flavor@sacurrent.com. sacurrent.com | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | CURRENT

27

y t u bea Follow the smokestacks to seasonal favorites,

free f lowers and Mother’s Day photo !

Get a free mini bouquet and digital photo with your same-day purchases totaling $75 or more from at least two Alamo Quarry Market stores or restaurants. To collect your fresh Spring flowers, bring current day’s receipts to the pop-up truck parked at these locations. Plus, enter for a chance to win $100 in prizes.

THURSDAY

MAY 6 | 3 - 6pm Bath & Body Works

FRIDAY

MAY 7 | 12 - 6pm Kay Jewelers

One per customer. While supplies last. Employees of Alamo Quarry Market and all of its tenants are not eligible.

Follow the smokestacks to San Antonio’s premier lifestyle shopping center featuring over 65 uniques shops and fabulous choices for fine and casual dining. Highway 281 at 255 East Basse Road | (210) 824-8885 | QuarryMarket.com | Follow us 28

CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

Friday, May 7

music

Music Listings

The Muñoz Brothers Band This San Antonio-based Chicano soul ensemble is led by brothers Isaac Muñoz and Fernando Muñoz Jr. The large ensemble’s

horn-driven approach spotlights saxophone and trombone while

putting a fresh spin on a venerable homegrown sound. Free, 7 p.m., St. Paul Square, 1160 E. Commerce St., Suite 200, stpaulsq.com. — MIKE MCMAHAN

Saturday, May 8

Robert Earl Keen at Whitewater Amphitheater Even casual Third Coast country fans know that the Texas A&M

grad has been working the circuit since the early ’80s and that his

songbook goes far deeper than “The Road Goes on Forever.” Many also noted the singer-songwriter’s commitment to his bandmates.

He reportedly refinanced his home during the pandemic so he

could keep them salaried and insured while off the road. $28-$98, 9 p.m., Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, (830) 964-3800, floattheguadalupe.com. — MM

Courtesy Photo / Dale Watson

Honky Tonk Hero

Josh Merritt + Cece Sensor Kentucky-based Merritt recently released the concept album

Reynolds Station, which is inspired by the drug epidemic decimating

Country traditionalist Dale Watson to perform free show at St. Paul Square

O

rural America. Sensor, who hails from Southern California, lists a

variety of influences from classic (Elvis Presley) to contemporary (Ed Sheeran) to in-between (Amy Winehouse). Free, 8 p.m., Fitzgerald’s Bar & Live Music Venue, 437 McCarty, Suite 101, (210) 607-7007, fitzrockssa.com. — MM

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

ne of the most prolific and revered revivalists of real-deal country music is rolling into San Antonio for a free show Thursday.

Singer-guitarist Dale Watson and his band will perform on May 6 in St. Paul Square as part of the entertainment district’s open-air concert series.

A staunch adherent to old-style honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound pioneered in the 1950s by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, Watson has spent more than three decades carving out a career as a Nashville outsider. His dedication to independence and authenticity over commercial success helped lay the foundation for the alt-country movement.

More than three years ago, Watson left his longtime home base of Austin, saying the fast-growing tech mecca had “sold itself,” much to the detriment of the artists and musicians who can no longer afford to live there.

“I make a good living,” Watson told the Texas Standard radio show. “But the city has really made it hard to make a living and live in the city limits.”

Since his 2018 relocation to Memphis, Tennessee, Watson took over and renovated a classic venue called Hernando’s Hide-A-Way and set up his own recording facility called Wat-Sun Studios not far from Graceland.

The singer’s 2019 album Call Me Lucky landed on a number of critics’ Best Of lists

Tuesday, May 11

for the year. Reviewers noted that songs like the swinging “Tupelo Mississippi & a 57 Fairlane” made it sound like he was rejuvenated by his new surroundings.

On his February 2021 album Dale Watson Presents the Memphians, Watson let his guitar do the talking and delivered 10 retro-style instrumental tracks. Recorded over two days during the coronavirus lockdown, the album expands on country twang with flourishes of surf rock, blues and jazz.

A performer seasoned by a life on the road, Watson’s live shows are energetic affairs. He keeps humorous stage banter flowing between songs that run the gamut from cry-in-your-beer laments to truckin’ tunes, all delivered by a crack band.

Watson’s website shows a packed itinerary that’s keeping him gigging through Texas and the Midwest as the nation slowly emerges from nearly a year of COVID-forced isolation. That’s good reason to expect the singer will be practiced and ready, not to mention buoyed by getting back to doing what he’s best at.

Organizers of the St. Paul square show recommend music fans enter at Lilly’s Greenville, 1160 E. Commerce St. Attendees who want table seating at adjoining restaurants should make reservations at either Cuishe Cocina Mexicana or Toro Kitchen and Bar, or at Lilly’s if you’re just looking for cocktails.

Free, 8 p.m., St. Paul Square, 1160 E. Commerce St., Suite 200, stpaulsq.com.

Thursday, May 13 Midnight Mezcal Steeped in classic American country and Western swing, this trio lets their Mexican roots shine — in case it wasn’t clear from their name. The band sports a diverse resume, as singer-guitarist Mint Parker has opened a stadium show for Guns ’n’ Roses. In addition, both Parker and guitarist Rob Fabre have appeared on the Mexican edition of The Voice. Free, 7 p.m., St. Paul Square, 1160 E. Commerce St., Suite 200, stpaulsq.com. — MM

Thursday, May 13 Kyle Nix Nix, fiddler for country hitmakers the Turnpike Troubadors, stepped out on his own for the first time with the solo debut Lightning on the Mountain and Other Short Stories. In keeping with the title, he introduces a different character from a different part of the country in each of the album’s song. $20-125, 7 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — MM

Friday, May 14 King Pelican at Tucker’s Kozy Korner The Alamo City’s King Pelican will bring its signature surf sounds to East Side institution Tucker’s Kozy Korner and perform on the spot’s new outdoor stage. Free, 9 p.m., Tucker’s Kozy Korner, 1338 E. Houston St., (726) 999-3764. — MM

Saturday, May 15 Decimation Fest 3 This extreme-metal bill featuring outfits including Desolate A.D., Terrorform, Cauterized, Plague, Decimate and Ammo For My Arsenal promises, well, aural decimation. Looks like the perfect antidote for end-of-the-pandemic nihilism and a post-vaccine return to the world of crushingly loud live music. $10-$15, 7:30 p.m., Bonds 007 Rock Bar, 450 Soledad St., (210) 225-0007, bonds007rockbar.com. — MM

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.

AUTO AUCTION

E M P LOY M E N T

JUNE 23, 2021 at 3:00P at

SAN ANTONIO VEHICLE IMPOUND FACILITY ALL VEHICLES LISTED WERE IMPOUNDED BY SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPT. AND WILL BE SOLD VIA JOYRIDEAUCTOS.COM.

ID#

YEAR

MAKE

MODEL

VIN NUMBER

FEES

4048500

1900

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$3,507.75

3917246

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$5,399.35

3919662

1999

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$5,356.05

3915146

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NOT VISIBLE

$5,421.00

4055254

1900

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$3,494.15

3966226

2014

TRAILER GENERIC

TRAILER

5VNBU1215ET125262

$4,728.20

Registered owners may pick up vehicles 4070849 by showing proof of ownership & paying 3706300 all towing & storage fees prior to Auction.

FEES ACCRUE DAILY AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

3625 Growdon Rd. San Antonio, TX 210.881.8440 30

2006

HYUNDAI

AZERA

KMHFC46F46A109080

$3,277.65

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

GOLF CART

JR1101748

$9,231.40

4049926

2011

HONDA

OTHER

JH2PD010XBM200694

$3,530.75

3562707

2000

GMC

CAB

NO VIN

$10,913.40

3699997

2019

TAO TAO

MOPED

L9NTCGPG5K1010926

$9,339.65

OTHER NOT IN LIST

MOPED

L9NTCGPB7L1000405

$3,270.95

4070192 3858995

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

ATV

NOT VISIBLE

$6,215.35

4042567

2005

KAWASAKI

MOTORCYCLE

JKBVNKA125A016248

$3,206.00

3316065

2017

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

5VNBU1623HT182471

$5,897.30

3828430

2011

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

1B9BT1313B2692857

$6,763.30

3862608

2001

SUZUKI

MOTORCYCLE

JS1GV77A912102114

$6,193.70

3974264

2000

BMW

3 SERIES

WBAAM334XYCB26093

$4,613.25

3345723

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

BIKE

NOT VISIBLE

$13,468.10

3952668

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$4,894.70

4031219

1999

OTHER NOT IN LIST

OTHER

NO VIN

$3,833.85

4014821

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NOT VISIBLE

$4,050.35

4100049

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NOT VISIBLE

$2,816.30

4205237

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NOT VISIBLE

$1,234.05

4053191

2000

TRAILER GENERIC

UTILITY TRAILER

NOT VISIBLE

$2,881.25

3917246

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$5,442.65

3877166

2000

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$5,955.55

3944978

1990

OTHER NOT IN LIST

TRAILER

NO VIN

$5,002.95

4085982

2000

TRAILER GENERIC

TRAILER

NOT VISIBLE

$3,032.80

4016759

1973

CADILLAC

OTHER

6L67S2Q404238

$4,028.70

3846937

1992

HUMMER

OTHER

SN0126436

$2,902.90

4033002

1981

HONDA

MOTORCYCLE

JH2MC0109BM109003

$3,862.20

4205045

2000

MOUNTAIN BIKE

MOTORCYCLE

L08YCNF09H1000657

$1,409.05

CURRENT | May 5 – May 18, 2021 | sacurrent.com

Data Scientist II - Rackspace US, Inc. San Antonio, TX 78218.

Applies & integrates coding, statistics, mathematical & business analytics skills to manage & manipulate high volume data from a variety of sources. Req’d: Bach in quantitative or tech-related field + 18 months exp related to the position. Send resume to: careers@rackspace.com, Ref. 20437.

Chief Transformation Officer (SVP) - Rackspace US, Inc. San Antonio, TX 78218. Develops & oversees policy framework, transformational strategy & transition plans of business operations. Req’d: Bach in Business or rel field + 10 yrs operations leadership experience. Send resume to: careers@rackspace.com, Ref. 26633.

SQL Server DBA III - Rackspace US, Inc. San Antonio, TX 78218.

Perform database engineering & administration activities including design, planning, configuration, monitoring, automation, self-serviceability, alerting, space management, database backup & recovery. Req’d: Bach in CS, CIS, MIS or directly related field + 5 yrs database-related exp.

Send resume to: careers@rackspace.com, Ref. 10503.

Mission Solar Energy LLC seeks degreed and experienced Production Equipment Engineer Module Line to work in San Antonio, TX to be responsible for working on solar module production line equipment design, performance improvement modifications, mechanical and electrical integration, product handling systems, and overall cost of ownership reduction programs in accordance with company and factory policies and procedures.

Submit resume electronically to: icazares@missionsolar.com International CFO at CHRISTUS Health (San Antonio, Texas). Collabw Gen Treasurer in mgmt. of the US fin office on acctg, ops & strategic issues. Adm fin affairs of hospitals in US, Mex&Peru. Master’s in Bus Adm or Finance or for eq. +3 yr exp is same/similar pos as Fin Director for Non-profit implem fin policies &making recomm to senior leadership. Mail CV & Cover ltr. ref job title to Amelia Litterio, CHRISTUS Health,919 Hidden Ridge, Irving, TX 75038 C.H. Guenther & Son, LLC (San Antonio, TX) seeks SAP Trade & Sales & Distribution Analyst to support trade promotions processes executed through Vistex IP modules & order to cashbus process executed through SAP SD model. BS in Comp Sci, IT, Engg, or Bus & at least 5 yrs in sys, analyst, soft eng, or rltd role. Email applications to corpjobs@chg.com.

FLASH

SALE TICKETS KICK OFF

FRIDAY, MAY 7

AU G U ST 20, 202 1 WI T T E M U S E U M TICKETS AT SAWHISKEYBUSINESS .COM