Flavor - Winter, 2016

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STATUS:

San Antonio Treasure De-Classified OPERATION: McNay Art Museum Outreach

CASE NO: 178423671895431-001 DETAILS:

CONTACT: 6000 North New Braunfels Avenue San Antonio, TX 78209 mcnayart.org / (210) 824-5368

¡MI McNAY ES SU McNAY!

BEQUEST OF MARION KOOGLER MCNAY, 1950.24. © ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/ ADAGP, PARIS

REFERENCES:

We used to be San Antonio’s best-kept secret, now we’re telling all. The McNay is an intriguing destination offering world-class art, as well as diverse and diverting experiences for everyone. Avenues to hike and bike, lawns for picnics, quiet courtyards for relaxing, surprise and inspiration around every corner. Now that you know, McNay. welcome to The

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Your Hometown

Winter 2016

Spice Store Since 1985.

Publisher: Michael Wagner Associate Publisher: Lara Fischer Editor-in-Chief: Michael Barajas Flavor Editor: Jessica Elizarraras Art Director: Sarah Flood-Baumann EDITORIAL Contributors Writers: Jeremy Banas, Alexis Barnhart, Ron Bechtol, Karah Carmack, Lauramay LaChance, Charlie Smith, Mark Stenberg, Erin Winch Contributors Photographers: Lizzy Warburton, Michelle Claire Lorentzen, Dan Payton, Bryan Rindfuss, Jaime Monzon, Amada Claire Miller, Rob Carrasco, Ismael Rodriguez Digital Content Editor: Alejandra Lopez ADVERTISING Sales Manager: Chelsea Bourque Senior Multimedia Account Executives: Carlos Aguirre Jr. Multimedia Account Executives: Sarah Estrada, Jenavie Aguilar Account Manager: Ashley McLean MARKETING & EVENTS Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni Events and Promotions Manager: Mary Gonzales PRODUCTION Production Manager: John Mata Graphic Designer: Tina Corbeil Production Interns: Rosario Corona, Joseph Drake, Phillip Knowles CIRCULATION Distribution Manager: Richard Garcia Distribution: Pam Clepper, Gabriella Gutierrez, John Miller, Joe Dominguez, Alfredo Gutierrez, Oscar Alpizar BUSINESS Operations Manager: Sarah Estrada San Antonio Current 915 Dallas St. San Antonio, Texas 78215 Editorial: (210) 227-0044 / Fax: (210) 227-7755 Advertising: (210) 227-0044 Fax: (210) 227-7733

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75TH ANIVERSARIO

LA FAMILIA CORTEZ RESTAURANTS ARE CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF SERVING WORLD-FAMOUS MEXICAN FOOD AT EL MERCADO. ALL OF US AT OUR FAMILY OF RESTAURANTS — MI TIERRA CAFÉ AND PANADERÍA, MARIACHI BAR, LA MARGARITA, PICO DE GALLO AND VIVA VILLA TAQUERÍA — THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE AND YOUR FRIENDSHIP.

- La Familia Cortez

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HELLO

14 DINE

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HOT RESTAURANTS

TRENDS

From bakeries to Taiwanese shaved ice and everything in between, here’s where you should be dinin’, sippin’ and imbibin’ this season

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ENTERTAIN

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS 3 globe-

MEET YOUR MAKERS From broth to boozy cherries and more, San Antonio’s makers are stepping up their game

THE SAN ANTONIO 100 We’re counting

spanning grocers we’re loving right now

down the dishes we love in our fair city. Check out the first dozen inside.

EASY AS PIE Impress your pals by baking the Beyonce of pies TAMAL THEORY Seasonal goodies to unwrap for lunch or dinner

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FOOD LOVER’S CALENDAR

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LIBATIONS

ON THE COVER We’re swooning over the sweet treats at Chocollazo, including our cover star, the revamped chocolate éclair cake. Read more about Chocollazo and SA’s hottest eateries on page 14.

Photography // Liz Warburton Art direction // Sarah Flood-Baumann

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A WORLD-CLASS VENUE!

WINTER FLAVOR

Spotlight your private event in

SAN ANTONIO’S ULTIMATE FOOD LOVER’S GUIDE

The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, a dazzling architectural treasure, is the perfect place for any private event. With its awe-inspiring surroundings and amazing in-house catering, The Tobin Center is ranked as one of the best places to host your next show-stopping private gathering.

offer- a ready event staff tending to hosts, patrons, and vibe while our in-house catering matches savory flavors to each affair’s individual uniqueness- events are experienced at the Tobin Center.

To schedule your next event, call: (210) 212. 0928 or e-mail: PlanYourEvent@TobinCenter.org For more info, visit: www.TobinCenter.org

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With indoor and outdoor venues offering versatile, comfortable, and unique spaces, the Tobin Center’s exclusive atmosphere will embrace and impress any crowd, from a private party of 2 to gathering of 3,000. Taste what world class has to

EXPERIENCE THE UNRIVALED SOPHISTICATION OF FLAVOR AND DESIGN, ON STAGE AND OFF.

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A Gift for Every Occasion!

Discover unique jewelry, creative children’s toys, a wide book selection and regional gifts perfect for everyone! All sales help support the educational programs at the Witte Museum.

Members enjoy discounted rates all year!

For more information, please call 210.357.1895.

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JAIME MONZON

HELLO

WELCOME TO

There are more options than ever to grab a bite to eat and drink in our fair city. If you’re all about discovering new cuisines, shopping local and drinking great tipples, there’s no better than the present for being a San Antonio diner and imbiber.

Since we last met this summer, we’ve welcomed specialty bakeries, a new form of shaved ice, more Mexican seafood and casual eateries. As new eateries open this winter and some are applying finishing touches even while we finish this publication —Andrew Weissman’s Moshe’s Golden Falafel and his return to fine-dining with Signature off La Cantera Parkway, Battalion with Stefan Bowers, Tacoart, Chisme from the folks behind The Monterey, NOLA Brunch from the owners of The Cookhouse and more noodles via Ming’s Thing — our list of eateries to visit keeps growing.

With this installment of Flavor, San Antonio’s Ultimate Food Lover’s Guide, we gathered 10 restuarants we’re loving right now, along with where to find one of the most thoughtful cocktail menus in town. You’ll want to stock your pantry with six locally made products, and hopefully find new international markets to add to your grocery shopping. And lastly, we introduce you to the first dozen dishes in our San Antonio 100, which includes bites you should seek out within our borders.

Here’s to a 2017 filled with fresh restaurants, exciting cuisines and even more flavor.

Sales | Service | Leasing Visit our Showroom at: 1126 S. St. Mary’s 210-354-0690

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Stay hungry, San Antonio

JESSICA ELIZARRARAS [ FOOD + NIGHTLIFE EDITOR ]

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DINE

TOP

T E R A E LOVIE S WE

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DINE

LIZ WARBURTON

S'MORES WITHOUT THE MESS

CHOCOLLAZO

M

aybe it’s nostalgia that makes us want to grab for every milk chocolate bar inside Chocollazo.

Maybe we’re eating our feelings after a long day at work or after simply remembering every horrible thing that happened in 2016 and we’re reaching for something, anything that will make everything feel OK. Whatever the case, a visit to Chocollazo's Boardwalk on Broadway will leave you wanting more.

Owned by chocolatier Mary Collazo, the family-run establishment is a lesson in decorative restraint. The stark white and black walls let you focus on the task at hand: not blowing your

M U LT I P L E L O C AT I O N S , CHOCOLLAZO.COM

paycheck on boutique chocolate treats and fun candy. Those familiar with Chocollazo’s food trailer roots will find familiar items — Collazo calls them yum yums with good reason — in the cases and shelves.

There are oodles of truffles and bon bons inside the gleaming display case with favorites such as the chipotle toffee crunch, peanut butter, caramel macchiato and baconGerman chocolate. Of course, presentation matters and Collazo knows that. Collazo toils endlessly making sure each geometric truffle has just the perfect amount of sheen or colorful cosmic dust (you can sneak a peek at her truffle splatter board on the opening spread).

Baked goods were a staple of the truck but the opening of the brick-and-mortar shop called for skilled hands to give the desserts some oomph. Enter pastry chef Jenni Williams who baked her way across country clubs in West Virginia, North Carolina and Florida before moving to San Antonio earlier this year.

Though she specializes in custom cakes, Williams has also revamped all of the baked goods on the menu.

The added flair makes them almost too cute to eat — almost.

Whether you’re stopping in for crepes on weekend mornings, or picking up gifts for co-workers or just restocking your Pocky stash, Chocollazo’s got you. —JE

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1017 N. Flores | 210-267-2652 | 5pointslocal.com

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DINE

DAN PAYTON

BOK CHOY 5130 BROADWAY, (210) 437-2200 EATBOKCHOY.COM

CREAM CHEESE RANGOONS

O

pened in May of this year, Bok Choy is the Cece’s stir-fry manifested into a restaurant: by no means authentic, but bearing enough veggies that you’ll leave feeling less guilty than if you’d opted for a burger and fries. You’re there for the quick-service fare (no doubt the systems have been perfected through its predecessors Green and Earth Burger), but do notice the massive chopstick wrapper that serves as anchor for the restaurant. It’s just plain fun.

The menu is simple enough to navigate, though still extensive.

On the sides and appetizer front,

spring for the Vietnamese fried spring rolls, which are a must.

Hand-rolled and stuffed with an almost surprising amount of shredded carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms all still bearing a toothsome snap, the spring rolls are served in pairs with bright orange duck sauce that can, and should, go unused. The cheese rangoon, delivered both a pliable crunch and creaminess not often found in other variations.

I can sing the praises of a pad kee mao, or drunken noodles, which was garlicky and served steaming hot in a traditional to-go carton. It retained its heat through my drive home and even after

digging in to the mound of wide noodles (cooked al dente), fragrant Thai basil, tender bell pepper, chunks of onion and fried tofu.

I took a gamble on the beef and broccoli for later visits. The texturized vegetable protein used creates a chewy, but tender nibble, and the “brown” sauce toes the line of soy-filled and too salty while effectively covering the carrot slices and broccoli florets that accompany the dish.

I’ll stick with the basics and keep enjoying my movie-night snacks.

The fare at Bok Choy falls in line with Green’s palate-pleasing offerings and we shouldn’t expect anything else.—JE

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Tuesday–Thurday: 4-11 | Friday & Saturday 4–12

Barcelona in your backyard! on East Grayson 511 E. Grayson | facebook.com/thebintapasbar | 210.994.8099 20

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DINE

THE NORTENO BURGER

HAWX BURGER BAR & ELECTRO LOUNGE 2603 VANCE JACKSON ROAD, (210) 320-4299 HAWXBURGERBAR.COM

S

@S.A.VORTOOTH

an Antonio has another burger master on the rise, and this one is entirely self-taught.

Christian Hawx, the 24-year old owner of Hawx Burger Bar and Electro Lounge on Vance Jackson Road, previously worked four jobs simultaneously to support his selfstarted, struggling insurance company. The persistence paid off.

So much so, that he was able to sell the company at a profit and open a restaurant this past February that is now growing a rapt audience for its burgers, cocktails and beer.

How exactly does an insurance broker become a restaurateur?

Pretty much by accident. Hawx was entertaining friends one night, cooking dinner. He made burgers. They raved. He listened.

He grinds the meat himself, mixes the spices by hand and plays around with ingredients and flavors. His meticulousness shows, with an Angus chuck burger that’s savory and juicy. Want cheese?

You’ll get two slices, not one — hand-sliced, at that. The veggies are fresh from local area farmers and all hand-sliced in-house, as well. And you’ll find those veggies on the bottom of the burger, not the top, so they keep the bottom bun from getting soggy.

And then there are the buns. You’ll find two types on the menu – one is a shiny, fluffy brioche topped with both white and black sesame seeds, well buttered and delicious. The other is a wholewheat brioche variety, complete with a smattering of toasted oats on top, also impeccably slathered with butter.

Hawx’s favorite item on the menu is The Norteño burger.

“It’s what burgers want to grow up to be,” he correctly surmises.

Inspired by the rich flavors of Mexico, the Norteño was the first burger he created. Cheddar and Oaxaca cheese, hickorysmoked ham, avocado, applewood smoked bacon, grilled onions, grilled jalapeños and homemade chipotle aioli all adorn this masterpiece. It’s a spicy, pungent and over-the-top celebration for the senses. –CS

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DINE

MICHELLE CLAIRE LORENTZEN

TORRE IMPERIAL AND A DRESSED MODELO

MARISCOS EL MARINERO 1819 MCCULLOUGH AVE.,

A

fter more than a year of will-they-won’t-they open tension, El Marinero finally opened its doors off McCullough in mid-September.

Much like at sister restaurant Taqueria Chapala Jalisco (which formerly sat in the remodeled Pizza Hut structure), the flavors are on point and at reasonable prices.

The interiors are, of course, decked out with seascapes both above and under the sea (mermaids, sharks, orcas, a sea-weathered boat captain that looks strikingly like the former Most Interesting Man in the World, what have you) and the space is still relatively cozy, which help harken back to days of El Bucanero’s first location off S. W.W. White

(210) 465-9178 Road. The menu comes bearing a slew of dishes reminiscent of other Mexican seafood joints that came before it such as El Buc, Camaron Pelado and Las Islas Marias, but with its own unique twists.

Find delicately battered and fresh shrimp tacos, oyster shots for bivalve fans, fried platters, over-the-top micheladas and camarones aguachile.

If those aren’t enough to entice, let the Saladitas Gamesa serve as vessels for one of the molcajetes the mariscos, or the especially eye-catching Torre Imperial. Layered ceviches, octopus, scallops, shrimp, and avocado combine for an impressive bite worth topping said tower over. –JE

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DINE

ISMAEL RODRIGUEZ

SUMMERMOON 3233 N. ST. MARY’S ST., SUITE 102, (210) 320-1773 WOODFIREDCOFFEE.COM

A SUMMERMOON LATTE

W

ood-fired coffee beans and Moon Milk are just two things that make San Antonio’s newest coffee shop so addicting and unique. This Austin-based shop that is Summermoon Coffee, which opened in October.

So what is this mysterious Moon Milk all about? It’s basically a combination of seven secret, all-natural, all-organic, sweet ingredients they add to your milk (or any non-diary alternatives) to create a magical flavor that can only be explained as … heavenly.

Their most popular drinks are their Moon Milk lattes, which they call Wintermoon for iced and Summermoon for hot. Getting a latte with a Full Moon (full strength of Moon Milk) might be more sweetness than you’re ready for but you can adjust that by asking for Half Moon (think vanilla latte on the sweetness scale) or even a Quarter Moon.

A good quality cup of coffee is one that’s smooth

and not bitter and that’s exactly what you can expect from Summermoon. To achieve this perfect flavor they stepped back in time (to around the 19th century) and built a brick hearth when they opened their first shop in 2002 to roast their beans in. And it’s not powered by gas or electricity, but rather a wood fire, fueled by Texas Oak and three people hand-roasting the beans daily in south Austin.

Aside from Moon Milk and smooth-flavored coffee, you can also order blended drinks such as an espresso milkshake, frozen hot chocolate or an organic fruit smoothie. To eat, they have pastries from Bird Bakery, tacos from El Milagrito Café and a few sandwiches. Located next to the TriPoint, the space inside is trendy and welcoming with plenty of tables and chairs and even a few outside. Each Summermoon Coffee shop has a unique vibe of its own but the quality of the product remains the same. –LL

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DINE

THE BREAD BOX 555 W. BITTERS ROAD,

SUITE 1115, (210) 277-8612 THEBREADBOXSA.COM

D

DAN PAYTON

THE BAMBINO HUEY LIVES AT BREAD BOX

elicious bread, warm soups, and freshly baked deserts are foods that just scream fall. The Bread Box in the Alley on Bitters has now been serving up all of these, and more since their restaurant opened last November. The eatery serves a plethora of great sandwiches, salads and breakfast options on the menu, all prepared in house by co-owner Lucas Kent.

The Bread Box offers up many daily specials, including cupcakes, cakes, pies, soups and entrees.

Typically these specials will reflect the season; on my particular visit they had a delicious curried potato soup. Other fall options they’ve had have been curried zucchini, chicken noodle, and other autumnal favorites.

The entrees have been seasonal spicy gumbos, and roasted turkey dishes that are excellent for keeping us warm and toasty in the chill of fall and winter months.

The desserts however are what complete the menu and make the Bread Box shine. With permanent menu items like apple pie, pecan pie and bread pudding, the daily offerings expand the menu even more with seasonal favorites. The shining star of the menu though is the Bambino Huey dessert.

The Bambino Huey is a dessert that is perfect for later in the year. It’s a dish that is similar to a sugar cookie, but made in a small glass dish (like a pie) the center is filled with custard and then topped with whipped cream. It was a dessert that was popular at Bambino’s back in the ’90s and after the restaurant closed, the dessert was unavailable. The Bread Box received permission from the creator to have it offered on their menu, and it’s not to be missed.

There isn’t a bad item on the menu at Bread Box, and with so many delicious options, it’s a place you’ll keep going back to again and again. –EW

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ISMAEL RODRIGUEZ

DINE

TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA FROM THE BIN

THE BIN

511 E. GRAYSON ST., (210) 994-8099

A

t 40, Jason Dady most definitely still has some tricks up his sleeve. And he knows San Antonians love a tipple or two or three …

After announcing the opening of The Bin in mid-September as a way to bring back the Artisans Alley eatery he opened in 2006 only to close it later to make way for Umai Mi, Dady and co have delivered a new concept to the area. Who knew we needed a chill, mostly inexpensive and authentic tapas bar?

And unlike his other efforts with specific audiences, The Bin is laid-back and staffed by knowledgeable employees who will help you achieve any task at hand whether you’re hoping to have a few snacks before heading out for the night or you’re looking for a cozy date night spot or you’re in search of a place for a few pals to share a couple of wine-filled porrones with.

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Visits (and there should be multiple) to The Bin must include an assortment of bites. Broken down into small, medium and large tapas, the menu includes deviled eggs, olives wrapped in piparra peppers and anchovies, a tortilla Española with crunchy potato chip bits, Spanish olives, stuffed piquillo peppers and mini baguette sandwiches.

You’ll want to double your order of the grilled goat cheese sandwiches with tomato jam (a crossover item from Bin 555) because sharing won’t be an option. The Spanish octopus, with extra virgin olive oil and smoked paprika is also a must, and if you’re feeling the treat-yoself spirit, an order of thinly sliced Iberico or Serrano ham is also in order. Split a porron, order the Jose Andres G&T or the grapefruit variety and enjoy. It’s not a ticket to España, but it’ll most certainly do. —JE

My American vodka beats the giant imports every day.

Try American! It’s better.

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W I N T E R F L A V O R • sacurrent.com HawxBurgerBar.com | 2603 Vance Jackson | SA , TX 78213 | 210.320.4299

DINE

BAKLOVAH BAKERY

MANGO MOUSSE AND TURKISH BAKLAVA NEST (BOTTOM)

9329 WURZBACH

ROAD, SUITE 104,

DAN PAYTON

(210) 982-3231

T

his October San Antonio gained yet another bakery. But where we’ve got plenty of panaderias and a few French bakeries already filling bellies, a hole remained to be filled. These days, we’re filling it with assorted baklavas from Baklovah Bakery.

Opened by the same owners as Pasha Mediterranean Grill (multiple locations), Baklovah Bakery sits in the

same complex as sister eateries Pasha and Naara, and Ali Baba’s International Market. In case your sweet tooth strikes after noshing on hummus and kebabs or after finishing a hookah, make your way over to the gleaming bakery. What lies before you are several cases worth of Mediterranean baked goods, and you’ll want to show restraint or risk blowing your budget on dessert.

There are oodles of cookies to choose from — grab a few of those for your morning coffee. A case of almost-too-cute mousses, cream puffs, large macarons and opera cakes Pick up a few of these too, as flavor combinations change often (the traditional chocolate and matcha lime shouldn’t be missed).

But the stars of the show are in the large display case in the corner. One look at the spread in front of you is euphoric and overwhelming at once. Choose between Turkish baklava nests, walnut baklava, pistachio baklava or rolled pistachio lady fingers so dainty you’ll wonder who’s tasked with coiling these two-bite cuties. Asked for a warmed kanafeh, a cheese pastry delicately bathed in rose water for an extra special treat. –JE

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Party Saturday Night and still make Brunch on Sunday!

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Every Sunday from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

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DAN PAYTON

DINE

SUKEBAN

1420 S. ALAMO ST., SUITE 101, (210) 562 3231

BEAUTIFUL ROLLS AT SUKEBAN

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ukeban, Blue Star’s sushi and sparkling wine bôite with an anime vibe, has been open long enough now to get its groove. The cheeky boss-girl and Samurai sword-wielder murals suggested irreverence from the get-go, while the shou sugi ban (charred wood) wall cladding, suggested a nod to the traditional past. Where does that leave us? Right about where you think it might: deliciously in between attitudes.

For starters, sparkling wine isn’t what most of us first think of when Japanese cuisine comes to mind; for those of a classic bent, several sakes, and a number of fine Japanese whiskies are available. But it’s the sparklers that are the true passion of Gerry Shirley, who, along with his wife Mon, are the twin poles of the place.

Place an order of nigiri or sashimi, take a tiny bit of the wasabi that will appear alongside (you can dilute it with soy sauce), and then follow it with a sip of your sparkler. Does it work for you?

It did for me, with the bubbles racing along the tongue in pursuit of the sharpness of the wasabi.

The irony, however, is that the wasabi-soy dip, which most of us are used to using no matter what, is often not needed or wanted at all.

If it’s the pure taste of fish you’re after, head straight for the sashimi — and if your server suggests that a particular offering is good right now, pay attention. The suggestion landed me an especially fresh and delicate order of silky, sliced yellowtail. It was so pristine, in fact, that I almost totally resisted dunking in the soywasabi. Again, the bubbly was boss. I’d also have it with the Japanese omelet, done expertly here, that many consider to be another real test of a sushi joint. –RB

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www.attaboyburgers.com

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DINE

CUT OUT

SNOPIOCA

6423 BABCOCK ROAD, SUITE 104, (210) 455-8638 SNOPIOCA.COM DAN PAYTON

MANGO SHAVED ICE AND SPAM MUSUBI

S

an Antonians with sweet tooth are getting their fill of Taiwanese shaved snow when Snopioca opened in early September.

The shop, opened by Texas transplant Steven Lee and business partner Jerry Han, occupies 2,000-square-feet of utilitarian space. Asian shaved snow or ice uses dairy products and flavoring, which are frozen and then shaved into ribbon-like layers. The result is fluffy and soft, milky but not yet creamy and customizable.

Snopioca’s starting lineup of flavors include the basic cream, mango, strawberry, taro root, honeydew and matcha green tea.

As customers come into the shop,

they fill out a paper slip with choice of ice, fruits, toppings and syrups.

A regular serving will cost $5.25 plus tax for one topping and one drizzle and a large will cost $7.25 for 2 toppings and one drizzle.

But the specialty treats aren’t confined to the usual flavors or just sweets (they’ve added Korean sushi and Spam musubi recently).

This October, Lee and Han whipped up a delectable batch of pumpkin spice shaved ice topped with Teddy Grahams, cinnamon and candy corn. Here’s how one writer described it: “The snow stretches and works like a membranous type of cotton candy, pulling apart before each crystalline crunch. The syrupy

milk, beeswax in color, warms what it touches and lends a calming viscosity to the textural topography. The Teddy Grahams work well, soft with a fine bite and a good snort of cinnamon, but the candy corn (often an exception to my dormant sweet tooth) becomes unpleasantly stony when cold, though a warming period in your mouth softens them into edibility. The cumulative effect of the snow and toppings is a textural mélange, though one that favors the softer side of the spectrum, accompanied by dulcet pumpkin undertones, soft cinnamon and spice accents, and just enough sugar to remind you that you’re treating yourself.”–MS

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SEOUL MARKET PHOTOS BY SARAH FLOOD-BAUMANN

L A N O I T A N R E T IN

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A TRIP TO SEOUL ASIAN MARKET

LEA THOMPSON

T

here are several Korean markets and restaurants in San Antonio’s near east side, but the variety at Seoul Asian Market easily makes it the best choice for culinary shopping adventures. Once you enter the store, you’ll find dozens of Korean fruit drinks, sodas, sweet breads and readymade foods.

The market is both exciting and overwhelming in its packaged food choices — there is no one option for dumplings, noodles, seaweed, green tea or kimchi, so you should avoid shopping hungry at all costs.

A disappointingly small but convenient produce section can be found to the left of the entryway. Grab a couple of cucumbers, carrots, green onions, a head of spinach, and a container of shiitake mushrooms from the cooler. You’ll find garlic in the cooler past the produce case. Sift the freezers for a variety of seafood and meat cuts that you wouldn’t typically find at mercados.

Browse the aisle dedicated to soju (Korean alcohol, usually served ice-cold and neat) and fruit wine, or explore the wall of tea — flavor variations of ginger, goji berry, barley, plum, and Job’s Tears, which promises a deliciously wheaty taste and energy boosting properties. Walk down the aisles and pick up sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and vegetable oil. Grab a package of Dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles), which can usually be found in bins located at the end of the aisles.

The cafe alone is worth a visit to Seoul Market — the ladies who work behind the counter do not speak English, but they are very nice, and there are English translations on the menu. You’ll find everything from bibimbap, mackerel and steamed dumplings to fishcakes and spicy noodles.

The cafe has an unusual ordering system, but there’s no need to be intimidated. Head to the front register to check out the menu, place your order and pay for your food.

1027 Rittiman Road, Suite 101, (210) 822-1529.

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Bring your ticket to the kitchen, and continue to shop or wait at the counter until your order is called. (The cafe is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

In this case, we’ll be ordering beef bulgogi, or Korean grilled beef, to-go. While you wait, if you’re feeling brave, pick up several hot sauce varieties from the shelves closest to the cafe. Be sure to listen carefully when they call your order so you don’t accidentally pick up the wrong order (yes, this has happened more than once. I’m always excited to be near the kitchen and delicious food).

Get lost in the bright packaging, interesting names and spellings of cookies and candy throughout the store.

Before you exit, stop by the left front of the store for a thrift-shop-style assortment of mismatched dining ware, Korean films on DVD, random toys and furnishings.

If you successfully make it out of the store without returning to buy another daikon or bag of Tako chips that you don’t really need – congratulations, you’re officially a food market shopping pro. Call your friends to humble brag and invite them over for dinner, which will take you less than half an hour to make.

CUCUMBER SALAD: Cut the cucumber into thin slices. In a small bowl, mix ½ tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablepoon of rice vinegar, ¼ teaspoon of red chili powder, and sesame seeds. Coat cucumbers with sauce, chop green onion and sprinkle over cucumbers. Salt to taste and serve.

JAPCHAE WITH BULGOGI: Break off the desired amount of noodles, cook in a large pot for about five minutes until tender. Drain. Use clean scissors to cut noodles with scissors to desired length, and drizzle noodles with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil; toss to coat.

Mix soy sauce and sugar together until sugar dissolves.

Heat vegetable oil and cook carrots and onion for about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add spinach until wilted. Add bulgogi to mixture; toss to combine, and pour onto noodles.

Sprinkle sesame seeds over the dish and serve.

DESSERT: Enjoy one or several varieties of dasik (cookies), candies or frozen treats and serve with hot tea. I unwrapped several packages of Bungeoppang (a fish-shaped waffle filled with ice cream and red bean paste) and served them alongside matcha Kit-Kat bars.

Forget presentation, people will be impressed by the taste and fun novelty of the desserts.

Throw in one of your favorite Korean soap operas on DVD, and take pride in the fact that you are an adult who has made more than enough delicious food to last for several days.

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Jingle all the way to Central Market to find everything you need to make the holiday season magical. Whether you’re the host of the party or the guest, we’ve got delicious main dishes, sides, and desserts guaranteed to make everyone jolly. Plus flowers, wine, and more. Shop in-store or order online.

holiday.centralmarket.com

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N T H O N Y H OT E L , 3 0 0 E T R AV I S 300 East Travis St. || San Antonio, TX 78205 | 210-352-3171 78205 )3003East 5 Travis 2 - St. 3 1San 7 1Antonio, | TX RE B E| 210-352-3171 LLESA.COM

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ENTERTAIN

STROLLING THE AISLES AT A L I B A B A I N T E R N AT I O N A L ALI BABA MARKET PHOTOS BY SARAH FLOOD-BAUMANN

FOOD MARKE T RON BECHTOL

For a good time, call 691-1111.

Or, better yet, head straight for Ali Baba International Food Market on Wurzbach just off I-10. Like most international markets, there are cheap thrills galore to be had if you just keep your eyes (and nose) open. As the name implies, Ali Baba specializes in Middle Eastern goods (emphasis on Iranian), but an expansion has created room for more Indian and other Asian products as well. Here are some highlights of a recent visit. I started with no particular goal in mind, but one emerged over the course of 30 minutes or so.

PICKLED THINGS: Middle Eastern cuisine is more attuned to pickles than we might imagine. Check out the jars of cornichons, shallots

and garlic, all at prices way below regular supermarkets — assuming you could find, say, pickled shallots at a conventional source. On the Indian/ Pakistani shelves, you’ll also find mixed pickle, mango pickle, green chili pickle…

6-inches; pick up several packages as they freeze well. But also take a look at the pre-loaded pitas already topped with a spice mixture and looking very much like the manakish served next door at Naara Café.

DATES: There are more kinds of

cool cases at Ali Baba are stuffed with real Eastern European yogurts not freighted down by big-company advertising; you’ll find Bulgarian feta, considered the best by many connoisseurs; and there will be less familiar products such as halloumi (great grilled) and shanklish (great topped with tomatoes and onions) cheeses. Buy as many of these as you have room for.

dried dates here than anywhere else in town, I’m convinced (they are at the rear, near the produce).

And though I’m not sure how to use them, you’ll also find fresh dates.

Who knew they were yellow?

PITA: Who also knew that pita came in sizes as big as about 24-inch in diameter or elongated at about 10-by28-inches? I’m assuming you’ll want the regular size that’s merely around

CHEESES AND YOGURTS: The

9307 Wurzbach Road, (210) 691-1111

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The Rampant Lion BURGERS AND BEER

100 N. Santa Rosa St. Suite 140 San Antonio, TX | 210.994.7880 44

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MEATS: Ali Baba runs a halal butchery, and though many of the products look the same as non-halal to us, you’ll find things such as ground goat here more easily. Ground lamb, too — and again at prices less that regular supermarkets.

Buy some lamb.

PACKAGED SNACK MIXES: Where to start — there are tons of these proto-chaat mixes on the shelves, good for eating out of hand, or, as we will see later, as a crunchy topping. I bought a product called Manglori Mix consisting of dried chick pea flour, dried peas, dal, red chili, mango nectar powder… and I couldn’t stop eating it.

Resist: save at least some for the recipe to follow.

SWEETS: There’s everything from saffron-tinted rock candy to packaged Turkish delight from Istanbul. Take your pick of flavors, but my money’s on mastic delight (the basic flavor — gum mastic is a stabilizer) or chocolate. Let’s say chocolate.

So here’s what we’re going to do with your goods: Fire up the grill.

APPETIZERS: Stuff some of the packaged dates with the shanklish, the well-used tennis ball version at Ali Baba being made from sheep’s cheese coated in spices. It’s called “robust flavor,” but it’s not too challenging, honest. Slice some of the halloumi — this we will grill, maybe just to be drizzled with a little olive oil blended with mint, basil and a touch of pepper flakes.

SALAD: Go simple here — let’s say romaine with sliced red onion dressed with real Greek yogurt blended with mayonnaise, thinned with lemon juice, dusted with dried dill (Ali Baba has racks and racks of dried herbs and spices) and seasoned with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Toss and top with the packaged snack mix, breaking up any really big pieces. (The snack mix is also good atop straight, unflavored yogurt.) Serve pickles alongside.

GRILLED LAMB PITA BURGERS: I have made a spiced lamb burger recipe from Bon Appetit, and it’s great, grilling the lamb right inside the pita for maximum juiciness. Feel free to add a little heat in the form of Aleppo pepper flakes or smoked paprika, a little creaminess with one of the cheeses.

DESSERT: Open the package of Turkish delight.

Dig in. Ali Baba also has Turkish coffee if you want to go all the way.

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MICHELLE LORENTZEN

RON BECHTOL

N AV I G AT I N G L A MICHOACANA M E AT M A R K E T La Michoacana Meat Market is a Mexicanowned chain of specialty markets that operates principally in Texas cities with large Latin populations. There are nine in San Antonio alone. There’s probably one near you.

The branch I usually head for is at 1224 N. Flores St. To the right upon entering, it’s the pan dulce that immediately grab one’s attention. The selection isn’t huge, but you’ll find all the usual suspects (colorful conchas, camote-stuffed empanadas … all at friendly prices). New to me were an empanada filled with leche quemada and a bread in the shape of a mazorca, or ear of corn, that was filled with something sweet and yellow (maybe corn, maybe not).

The taqueria also has its special allure. But I’m more often on the prowl for a dried chile (pasillas are sometimes difficult to find elsewhere) or maybe a packet of ground, dried shrimp. And then I just get lost in the looking. Cola de Caballo (horsetail) is supposed to be good for hair, nails and bones; damiana is alleged to have sexual potency benefits, to which I can’t attest — but I do know that it also flavors a liqueur from Baja California … Just FYI. La Mich’s produce department is both a revelation and a cause for disappointment. The revelation comes when one finds fresh and fleshy verdolagas (purslane), classic for pork dishes. For those times when you need fresh banana leaves for wrapping Oaxacan tamales — or any of a number of things destined for the grill (fish, for example.)

For plátanos machos in varying degrees of ripeness. And for succulent red and green tunas. But the issue with some of the more conventional produce is that it’s just not as pretty as the museum-quality stuff we’re used to elsewhere. Still, the price is always right. Might as well pick up some guacamole ingredients while here.

The interior aisles are a kaleidoscopic mix of things foreign and familiar.

Who knew there were Multiple locations, lamichoacanameatmarket.com. so many different flavors of canned, 46

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ENTERTAIN

Dine In • Order Out Lunch • Dinner

refried beans? Same goes for bottled hot sauces.

Pickled vegetables, here called ensalada, I could eat straight out of the jar. Michelada mixes could be done without, but I tried Doña Chela because of its ingredient list (chiles first) and used it with Alamo’s pilsner. Bastante bueno.

And I especially like the lactose department with its assortment of Latin cheeses and creams. Pick up some of La Michoacana’s own queso fresco and perhaps a packet of Honduran or Salvadoran sour crema. Then direct yourself to the meat market that takes up the entire rear of the store. A lot of what’s there is familiar cuts by different names. There’s a large selection of pre-marinated fajita meat. But we have something else in mind. To the left, head straight for the chicharron grande, about the size of a pillow case. Next, we suggest the cecina — thinly sliced sheets of beef that have been salted, dried a little and coated with a chile molido.

Here’s what we’re going to do: The chicharron will be snapped into pieces to serve as a base for your favorite guacamole. (Mine is a recipe a friend and I developed for Boudro’s years ago.) Some packets of habas or garbanzos with chile-limon could also be put into play.

The cecina we will cook simply in a frying pan with a little oil. Yes, it may be a tad chewy; it’s a trade-out for the taste. A big smear of one of the refried beans, say the chipotle, wouldn’t hurt here — maybe drizzled with crema Hondureña. Next, take some platanos machos — just beginning to yellow, peel, cut into rounds about 1-inch thick, fry in neutral oil until beginning to yield, remove, smack with the bottom of a bottle to flatten and return to the oil to fry to golden brown. Drain and salt.

If this seems like too much work, pork tamales from the steamer near the door are only $1.29 each and are quite good.

Dessert? Let’s use some tinned guava paste sliced and paired with slices of the queso fresco. A couple of micheladas and we’re done here. Oh, and if you need to atone for something, you might as well pick up an assortment of votive candles for whatever pecado most needs expiating.

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he holidays remind us to celebrate the important things in life — family, friends and, obviously, pie. Whether you prefer sweet, savory, or decadent dessert experiences, here are three pie recipes that go beyond the pumpkinspiced and apple flavored basics.

I’m usually a purist when it comes to pie flavors, but this blueberry sage pie has a special place in my heart. Flaky, buttery crust, fresh, aromatic sage and sweet blueberries -- what’s not to like? Serve the pie warm with your favorite ice cream, coffee and enjoy with your favorite people.

P E A C H CO B B L E R ▶ It may not technically be a traditional pie, but is there anything as satisfying and comforting to a Texan as peach cobbler? Chef Lorenzo Morales added this dessert to the menu at Jazz, TX, but the recipe originates with his family.

“This is something that we would have at holidays, especially at Thanksgiving. My grandmother would buy canned peaches, but it’s always been amazing,” said Morales. “It very much fits with the cooking style we have at Jazz, TX — it’s Southern and homey kind of food, it’s not complicated at all.” Although there are no plans to take the cobbler off the menu anytime soon, it’s a comforting, delicious recipe to share with your own family during the holidays.

Filling 2 cups canned peaches

Cobbler 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup whole milk

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk all ingredients for batter together, breaking up the butter as much as you can. Butter a 9-by-7inch glass baking dish. Drain peaches from the syrup and place all in baking dish. Pour batter on top of peaches and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown. Allow pie to cool.

Top pie with ice cream and serve.

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EASY AS PIE 3

desserts to wow your guests with this holiday season

WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHY LEA THOMPSON

TURTLE PIE ▶ This is pretty much the Beyoncé of pies — I haven’t met anyone who didn’t love it.

This is a variation of my family’s beloved turtle pie recipe. Made with chocolate, pecans and caramel, this triple-threat is rich, flavorful and incredibly decadent. The first layer features caramel, which you can opt to buy from a grocery store if you’re not comfortable making it yourself.

Crust

Caramel

8+ Oreo cookies, pulverized

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup water

Whipped Cream 10 ounces heavy cream

Chocolate Filling 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Meringue

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 ounces heavy cream, warmed

2 ounces egg whites, pasteurized

½ cup pecan halves 1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1 ounce egg yolks, or 2 egg yolks, pasteurized

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven at 350 degrees.

CRUST: Combine pulverized Oreos and melted butter, and place directly into pie plate. Press firmly against plate to form crust. Bake crust for about 8 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool.

TO CARAMELIZE SUGAR: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place pan on stove over medium heat; do not stir, but agitate and swirl the combination until it turns a dark amber color. (Keep an eye on the pan, it can go from ready to burnt very quickly).

TO ASSEMBLE: Remove from heat; add butter, warmed cream, pecans.

Pour mixture into pie shell. Place in fridge until completely cool. Meanwhile, use a whisk or whisk attachments to whip cream; refrigerate and set aside.

Make meringue with egg whites and sugar. Meringue should be fluffy and light but should form stiff peaks.

Stir melted butter and yolks into melted chocolate. Fold in half of whipped cream. Fold in meringue. Place chocolate mousse on top of caramel and pecan mixture in the pie shell. Decorate with remaining whipped cream, crushed pecans and chocolate curls. Serve immediately.

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B LU E B E R RY S A G E P I E Filling

Crust

6 cups frozen blueberries

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons lemon zest ¼ cup cornstarch 1+ tablespoons fresh sage Pinch of salt

CRAFT SANGRIA, MARGARITAS AND BEER PAIRED WITH SLIDERS, TACOS AND SALADS

2 tablespoons fresh sage ¼ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons chilled shortening ¼ cup ice water

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease pie plate using non-stick baking spray.

FILLING: Combine frozen blueberries with the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, cornstarch, sage and salt in a small bowl.

CRUST: Pulse flour, butter, sage, shortening and salt in the food processor until it forms a coarse meal. Pulse the processor, slowly adding ice water, until dough forms.

TO ASSEMBLE: On a floured surface, roll dough into ball, wrap and chill for at least one hour. Divide the dough in half. Place dough on lightly floured surface and roll, in one direction, using a lightly floured rolling pin.

Grease the pie plate using non-stick baking spray. Using pie plate as a guide, roll out pastry circle to a circle slightly larger than the plate.

Lift the dough and gently fit the pastry to hang over the edge of the plate. Fill pie with blueberry filling. Repeat dough-rolling process and place the second circle on top of the filling.

Using a sharp, small knife, cut small vents on the top crust. Fold overhanging pastry over the top and crimp all around the rim, using fingers or a fork.

Place the pie on a foil-covered baking sheet, and bake it for approximately 30 minutes. Bake until the pie is golden and the filling has begun to bubble up through the vents, another 15 to 45 minutes. Allow pie to cool before cutting. Slice and serve.

LOCALLY SOURCED • CRAFTED WITH LOVE

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VOTED BEST

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK

BY YOU! AS SEEN ON

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918 N Main Ave • San Antonio, TX 78212 • 210.222.9422 • LulusBakeryandCafe.com 54

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SHUTTERSTOCK

TA M A L T H E O R Y

CHARLIE SMITH

Seasonal goodies come in more than just a few packages

T

he tamal is the cornerstone of San Antonio’s fall menu, a beloved side dish that takes center stage this time of year. And while everyone has their favorite, we thought it’d be fun to highlight some of the more unusual variations of this time-honored recipe. Here are our top four delectably unusual tamal picks for your holiday consumption.

Cocina Heritage’s Cochinita Pibil Tamal Cocina Heritage’s commitment to ancient Mayan recipes yields an outstanding cochinita pibil tamal that rises above. The spicy cochinita pibil pork filling, itself a signature, stand-alone dish of Cocina Heritage’s, is made from scratch, along with their accompanying achiote paste, and is slow-roasted for hours with pork before being fastidiously rolled into masa-covered banana leaves – no corn husks will do here – which provides an unreal, mouthwateringly earthy flavor. Also not to be missed: their vegan tamal in banana leaves. Order by the dozen.

(210) 560-3454, cocinaheritage.com.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF OF VIVIA VEGERIA

ENTERTAIN

Viva Vegeria’s Three Sisters Vegan Tamal Wrapped in the more traditional corn husk and filled to the brim with corn, squash, beans and vegan pepper jack cheese, the Three Sisters vegan tamal makes for a spicy and pungent result. Get your fill every Tuesday, officially “Vegan Tamal Day” at their south side restaurant, served with a delicious chipotle sauce, rice and beans. Or order by the dozen.

They’ll have them waiting for you just in time for the holidays. 1422 Nogalitos St., (210) 465-9233, myvegeria.com.

La Hacienda Products’ Sweet Tamal

VIVA VEGERIA’S

La Hacienda Products produces a tamal with subtle, yet effective flavors.

Their delicate sweet tamal effuses a perfect hint of brown sugar and features raisins and pecans, making for an unexpected and fun dessert twist. Serve à la mode for additional yumminess. A staple at The Pearl’s farmer’s market, La Hacienda Products’ Blanco Road location is a verifiable tamal shop. Order by the dozen for your holiday festivities.

6421 Blanco Road, (210) 377-0808, lahaciendaproducts.com.

Pharm Table’s Quinoa Tamal Bowl The name of the game for Pharm Table’s signature quinoa tamal bowl, aside from its bouquet of flavors, is presentation.

A feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds, house-made salsa, kimchi salad and pickled seasonal vegetables (ours were carrots – surprisingly good) join the tamal, decorated with a colorful palate of kale dip spread, lentil purée, mung bean sprouts and beets. Add their protein of the day as a side. 106 Auditorium Circle, (210) 802-1860, pharmtable.com.

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How 6 entrepreneurs have taken a love of food into production

T

he farmers market phenomenon has done much to spur the growth of independent, specialty foods. Relatively limited oversight has meant that budding entrepreneurs could feel free to promote that special sauce that all one’s friends had raved about — all in small quantities and for a limited audience. But say you sold out every week and are emboldened to expand. That’s where the fun really begins. Case in point:

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PHOTOS BY // MICHELLE LORENTZEN

M AKERS

Shrub Drinks

> Cynthia Guido and Cathy Tarosovic had met through food even before becoming members of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international organization supporting women in the food industry. Through doing many events together, they quickly discovered that they have extremely similar palates. Fast forward through individual resumés, and in 2012 they established a business together that first sold soups and prepared sauces at the Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market. “Everyone loved them,” says Guido, "but it was like cooking on spec; you never knew what whim and the weather would help sell.” So, after throwing away too many gallons of “divine soup,” they turned instead to another avenue they had been experimenting with: shrub drinks.

The move brought its own challenges of the ‘what is it?’ sort. “Eighty or 90 times a day fielding that question at market was a slow day,” says Guido. But you have to keep answering — and if you can get them to sample, “taste sells it.” Shrub Drinks, basically a fermented fruit syrup that is currently enjoying interest in both cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks, is now both the only product and the name of the enterprise, but getting to a label they could legally slap on a bottle wasn’t a cakewalk.

The manufacturer’s license is just paying money, says Guido; the fun comes with regulations. “We particularly enjoyed a great deal of oversight,” she says — from submitting each flavor (they now market 10 but have developed more) to state approved labs and from there to a professional at A&M, to “certificates of origin” for each ingredient, to documentation of proper fruit washing, to constant monitoring of pH. “It’s a high mountain, but I’m here to tell you it can be done,” says Guido, the proof of which is expansion to shelves at Central Market, Larder and out of state. shrubdrinks.com

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Humble House Foods

> Theirs is another case of morphing to suit the audience — and dealing with regulations, according to co-owner Luis Morales, a graduate of the local Culinary Institute of America’s second class. “I went to the courthouse to get a DBA in 2008,” says Morales, but that was the easy part. He began with cheeses and had even wanted to do smoked meats, but meats are a whole different ball game, and cheese also became too expensive to do because of regulation. So in 2011, they switched to pestos. The pestos have been tweaked a little but remain basically the same; a cilantro version was added.

“But customers wanted more,” says Morales, so they developed and tested a line of moles and another of hot sauces. “We were sure moles would be the star,” he says, “but no — it was the hot sauces people wanted,” leading, despite a “totally saturated” market, to the regular production of guajillo and red jalapeño, ancho & morita, and habanero and aji amarillo. Don’t give up on the moles, though — they haven’t.

“We’ve been in front of millions of points of view over the last [few years],” says Morales, “and can see that things are evolving. People will now feel free to ask ‘what is a morita?’” In terms of his own evolution, Humble House has just been accepted at HEB (the Holy Grail), having won third place out of the yearly Quest For Texas’ Best competition.

They got $10,000, no strings attached, and will be on shelves in 150 stores come the end of January 2017. “Fortunately, we had just bought the correct equipment to scale up…we need to go nationwide,” he says. humblehousefoods.com

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Taste Elevated

> A cool 10K seems to be a magic number in the craft foods business. Les Dames d’Escoffier just gave that amount to two such female producers. Lori Krieger was one of those recipients.

Lori and her husband Benny had both moved back to small-town Texas from D.C. and corporate careers to raise a family. There were these fig trees that just wouldn’t stop bearing, this itch to keep making something (fig chutney in this case). “I got addicted to the process, I wanted to do more … mustard seeds, candied oranges … A business idea was born.

With some help, she picked a name, did a design, got a UPC code, borrowed $20,000 from her dad, and contracted Fischer & Wieser in Fredericksburg (a company that was already turning out related products) to do the minimum 100 case run. “We were storing bottles in closets, under the beds…,” she says. Here comes the Cinderella part: “I had an acquaintance who was a manager at Central Market. He was hesitant at first but finally agreed to set up an interview.” Long story short, they asked her if she would be willing to travel to all of their markets, and the result is a product line that now tops a dozen products.

The Kriegers took back the manufacturing process and opened a facility in Castroville in 2015. When asked about regulatory and other issues, she replied “Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? The day the FDA walked into here was the scariest day in my life!” But she survived, and her retail focus has shifted from Central Market to HEB. The Les Dames scholarship will be used to buy equipment to turn out such new product as a smoked tomato and onion chutney. As for those backyard trees, we hope they’re retired. tasteelevatedshop.com

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Fond Bone Broth

> Alysa Seeland, founder of Fond Bone Broth in New Braunfels, was the second Les Dames award winner; as with all of them, the stipend must go towards equipment. And as with most producers of specialty food products, health benefits are stressed. This is personally true in Seeland’s case.

“I was marooned on a ‘Texas island’ when my husband came here for a job. We had one car. So, despite a total lack of any food background, I cooked my way through nine cookbooks in three months,” she says. When, after the birth of her first child, she had to have emergency surgery, she decided to investigate the restorative uses of the broth she had been making.

(It could be noted here that the term “restaurateur” comes from the French for “someone who restores.”)

“I started drinking it. My friends thought I was crazy.”

“I tested a different recipe every month and went through three rented kitchens in the first year," she says. Though fine as a beverage, customers argued imbibing the broth was limiting. We’d have to say that customers are right, but only if the broth is used in a way that lets its subtleties shine through (think risotto).

Let’s skip through the “cease and desist” order from giant Campbell’s Soup regarding the product’s first name, Stockpot. She was more interested in expanding than dealing with attorneys, and so Fond, French for “base” was born. Now, this family enterprise is producing 400 jars a week from a starting base of 40.

A Kickstarter will hopefully help them open a kitchen of their own in 2017. The newest product, Liquid Light, a synergistic combination of turmeric, cracked black pepper and lemon thyme, has just launched, “but we want to keep control,” she says. And that includes spending time with farmers. The mud-spattered Subaru will apparently see even more mileage in the months to come. fondbonebroth.com 64

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Element Kombucha

> Health, fermentation…they seem to go hand in hand these days — at least in the eyes of many beholders.

Kombucha, a fermented tea and cane sugar product that depends on a “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeasts” to get it started, may be the product most currently in vogue. Though it surely owes at least some of its acceptance to equally traditional fermented foods such as sauerkraut. Kevin Rayhons, whose background is in film and videography, fell into fermentation almost by accident. “Seven or eight years ago I decided to make some lifestyle changes, eat better, work out more … I was drinking a lot of water but got tired of it.

I needed more flavor,” he says. He warily drank his first bottle of kombucha …

Rayhons admits that the decision to start making his own was largely economic: “The stuff was $5 a bottle. I can make this at home.” Having built up some savings, he next decided that there was a local market, found a space with a commercial kitchen, began with five-gallon batches of Element Kombucha … and now does 10-40 gallon batches of six flavors, plus the occasional seasonal special. Locals familiar with jamaica drinks may especially appreciate the jasmine-hibiscus blend. “We expect to do 2,500 gallons total by the end of this year,” he reports, the “we” now includes partner, Tim Trofimenkov.

Trofimenkov was also interested in using kombucha in cocktails, they had this commercial kitchen, and “what if we just do a tap room?’ morphed into the full restaurant operation now known as Alchemy Kombucha and Culture. You can sample all the drinks straight and in inventive cocktail form there. elementkombucha.com 66

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Texas Black Gold Garlic

> My mother, who lived into her 90s, was a proponent of garlic for anything that ailed you. Got a cold coming on? Sliced garlic on homemade bread with butter and you were good to go. Though, maybe not out in public.

She would have loved Black Gold. Stephen Paprocki came on the fermented white garlic product from a more directly culinary direction when in the kitchens at La Mansion del Rio. “[Former executive chef] John Brand used to bring it in all the time,” he says.

Being a naturally curious guy, Paprocki started researching ways to make the stuff himself that didn’t infringe on a provisional California patent.

He employed a food safety lab, figured out a kind of oven that will subject heads of garlic to 40-60 days of controlled heat and humidity in order to transform chemical components that boost natural anti-inflammatory properties. He took out loans and began processing peeled cloves in a Robot Couple, filling packets and jars by hand … all this while adapting an industrial-scale hydraulic press into something that can work for garlic. And theoretically both attending to a day job and promoting the Chef’s Cooperative, a group that gets 5 percent of Black Gold’s profits.

“All I did last week was to drop off garlic seed to farmers in places like Nixon and the Brazos Valley,” says Paprocki. “It’s been a good year and I’m now up to 1,440 pounds a month." He’s expecting 5,000 pounds by next year of products such as Texas Black Gold in whole heads, Black Garlic Wing Sauce and Black Gold Garlic Mustard. He’s already in seven states including Alaska. And yet he dreams of producing another, totally unrelated product: Texas Absinthe. “There’s a farm growing wormwood,” he says. texasblackgoldgarlic.com

BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER 210.332.5149 • Quarry Village # 105 • San Antonio, TX 78209

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We’re compiling a list of our favorite 100 dishes in the city with the San Antonio 100. Check back for new dishes we love that either scream SA or that you need to enjoy ASAP.

12 COURTESY OF BLISS

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dishes we're loving right now

Bliss’ Chicken Fried Oysters

We don’t know who the brave soul was who slurped down the first raw oyster. But we do know, or at least we assume, that it was a long time before the first chicken fried version appeared. Again, humor me, let’s posit that this leap occurred in Texas — at Biga at its first location. Mark Bliss, who was dinner sous chef at the time (1992), says the inspiration came from a fried oyster dish at The Tarpon Inn in Port A and was taken forward from there by him, lunch sous chef David Garrido, and owner/chef Bruce Auden. “Its initial presentation was on the half shell as a kind of deconstructed Rockefeller,” says F L A V O R • sacurrent.com

Bliss. Texas chicken fried steak meets Gulf Coast oyster under the same, crispy mantle. Minus the cream gravy, of course.

The CFO accompanied Bliss to Silo during his tenure there, and it’s still on the menu, where it’s called “signature,” in an incarnation served with sautéed spinach, applewood smoked bacon, and mustard hollandaise. Originally, says Bliss, it was presented over angel hair pasta “to change it up a bit.” (As later modified by Garrido, fried yucca chips were part of the equation.) The now-iconic creation also remains on the menu at Biga where it comes accompanied with swiss chard, pancetta, and whole grain mustard hollandaise and is dramatically presented over black, squid ink linguini.

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MARK STENBERG

ALCHEMY'S EGGS IN PURGATORY

The dish will not die.

With all due respect to the other co-creators, I somehow think of Mark Bliss’s eponymous restaurant in Southtown as its primary home. Here, it’s currently served as an “easy to pick up” slider with buttermilk chive biscuits, candied bacon, spinach, brown butter hollandaise, and more chives for garnish. It’s a personal favorite when I feel like sitting at the bar with a glass of white wine on the lush side. My early oyster experiences were of the Puget Sound sort (and my mother made killer biscuits), so this puts together homes past and present. I’ll toast that with a sparkler such as Bliss’s Contadi Castaldi Brut Rosé — which does the trick with oysters both raw and artfully fried. No courage needed. 926 S. Presa St., (210) 225-2547. — Ron Bechtol

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Alchemy’s Eggs in Purgatory

Perhaps it is because, as a millennial, I have been called “babied” and “spoiled” by every chinbeard-rubbing adult I have ever encountered, but I have always felt a certain sense of kinship with

eggs that have been coddled. It makes sense, then, that I often find myself at Alchemy Kombucha and Culture on the weekends, face deep in a platter of their Eggs in Purgatory ($10).

Though the dish is only available on their brunch menu, the pampered eggs are worth the special visit. The entrée, a vegetarian offering amidst a sea of other vegetable-centric dishes, comes in a shallow convex bowl, bearing two tremulous eggs swathed in an aromatic tomato sauce with brittle crostini on the side. Though the delicate white orbs are cooked with finesse to perfection, and the crostini adds the perfect crack to combat the liquidity of the dish, what makes the Eggs in Purgatory really sing is the curried tomato sauce.

Sous chef Marcos Rafael Jorge begins by sweating onions and julienned carrots, before then adding tomatoes that were house-canned the season before. Once the base reduces, the chef adds curry powder, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon to the mix, taking the stew in a distinctly South Indian direction. Two eggs are added, the dish saddles into the oven until yolks are barely set, and then the platter arrives at your table.

The most distinct notes are curry and cinnamon, whose dusky sweetness

plays with the brown sugar to give the dish the amber notes of maple syrup.

Combined with the acidity of the tomatoes though, and then pinched with the sharply purple notes of Thai basil, the sweetness plays nice, a soft undercurrent that smells like a spice cabinet. Scooped onto a snapped-off end of toasted bread, the result is warm, sweet, deep, and earthy, and it’s exactly what you need on a cool morning at Alchemy. 1123 N. Flores St., (210) 3201168. — Mark Stenberg

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B&D Ice House’s Frito Pie

Imagine being in Southtown on the first Friday of the month hopping around from place to place looking for a table to sit at, a bar stool to inhabit, a place to just grab a bite to eat and a drink before strolling the streets of the city. Well next time you find yourself in this limbo, you should head on over to B&D Ice House and try one of the best Frito pies out there.

The chopped brisket Frito pie is a great spin on a classic comfort food.

Typically topped with chili, the dive joint serves the corn chip topped with a sacurrent.com • W I N T E R

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COURTESY OF LIBERTY BAR

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LIBERTY BAR'S POT ROAST SANDWICH

juicy and excellently smoked chopped brisket, a healthy dose of cheese, sour cream green onions and tomatoes. The combination is out of this world. The brisket is smoked in house, chopped into chunks, and then mixed with the B&D barbecue sauce, (but you can always add more). The brisket doused in the sauce mimics the chili, but the large cuts of smoked meat and the slightly spicy, slightly sweet sauce, make this dish so much better than its traditional counterpart.

Located on the corner of south Alamo and Cedar, B&D Ice House has been a staple of the Southtown area for 50 years. It closed its doors (or gate) in 2010, only to reopen four years later under the management of the Dady Restaurant group and Friendly Spot owner, Steve Newman. The new management kept the same idea alive, while adding barbecue to the lineup.

If you come early enough in the day, you can watch the brisket patiently cooking in the smoker on the Cedar St. side of the establishment. Hitting

the spot up early is for the best, since once the meat is sold out, the order window is down for the night. Beer and wine are served in the bar 'til close. 1004 S. Alamo St., (210) 2259801. — Erin Winch

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Green’s Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

As one of the first budget-friendly establishments in the Pearl, Green Vegetarian Cuisine quickly became a popular joint to hit up while visiting the historic brewery. The restaurant offers a vegetarian alternative to the dishes that are typically seen on menus in the area. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good steak as much as the next carnivorous foodie, so what exactly is it that keeps me going to Green time and time again? The cupcakes.

Green makes a variety of all vegan desserts which are to die for. Most go for the ‘cream’-filled cupcake, but my

favorite by far is the mint chocolate.

On my most recent trip to Green, the cupcake was made ‘spooky’ with a Oreo tombstone (did you know they were vegan?!) with the letter RIP in white icing. Typically the cupcake comes with a chocolate drizzle, but I can’t say I could complain about the extra garnish.

The cupcake itself is a chocolate base made vegan-friendly by substituting the eggs that would typically act as a binding agent for applesauce. The replacement leaves you with a light, airy cupcake that fits perfectly with the mint cream that tops the base. The frosting is what makes the cupcake, the mint flavor is perfectly balanced, just a hint of it while not over-doing the taste or over-powering the chocolate bottom. In addition to the applesauce/ egg switch, the eatery makes a frosting out of soy milk, versus the usually dairy based recipe; they naturally add the mint flavoring and then top the cupcake with a little chocolate drizzle (also vegan).

Now if you ask me, the only way to eat this cake is by taking the bottom half, smashing on top of the icing, and making a cupcake sandwich — but to each their own. No matter how you enjoy yours at $3 bucks a piece, Green’s cupcakes are worth trying. 200 E. Grayson St., Suite 120, (210) 3205865; and 10003 NW Military, Suite 2115, (210) 223-1249. — EW

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Liberty Bar’s Pot Roast Sandwich

The first time we had the pleasure of experiencing Liberty Bar’s pot roast sandwich was back in the early '90s at their iconic first location on Josephine Street in “The-House-That-Leans”. It was possibly the first dish we ever tasted from their kitchen, and it was love at first bite. The sandwich was as delicious as the restaurant was kitschy.

Juicy pot roast accompanied by a spicy, yet smooth spread of coarse-ground mustard blended with their house-made mayo on your choice of their daily baked bread (we still can’t decide which of the white, sourdough and wheat is our favorite) was, and still is, heavenly. The sides of tangy mini gherkins and fresh, simple potato salad pair sublimely with this sandwich. No lettuce or any other sacurrent.com • W I N T E R

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SOUTH ALAMODE PANINI & GELATO COMPANY’S PISTACHIO GELATO

dressings, vegetable or otherwise, are present, nor required, and its perfection is in its simplicity.

Although the restaurant moved to Southtown in recent years (still a mild bone of contention that we attempt to quell on a regular basis), and the mustard-mayo mix seems to have morphed ever-so-slightly over the years — it’s heavier on the mustard, lighter on the garlic now than it used to be — the essence that we blissfully experienced in that first piquant bite is still very present and the dish remains my favorite and most nostalgic option on their menu. 1111 S. Alamo St., (210) 2271187. — Charlie Smith

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South Alamode Panini & Gelato Company’s Pistachio Gelato

I don’t really like ice cream (cue gasping, heart-clutching). There’s something about it that’s too cold, too hard, too tooth-achingly sweet.

As it turns out, co-owner of South Alamode Panini & Gelato Company Josh Biffle isn’t a big fan of ice cream either.

This aversion to said creamy creation meant he’d never had gelato until he

studied abroad in Italy.

Now, gelato is a huge part of Biffle’s life. He and his wife, Diletta Gallorini, co-own South Alamode Panini & Gelato Company in Southtown and are truly passionate about what they do, and it shows; every single gelato flavor at South Alamode is marvelous.

The pistachio gelato, however, is a standout. Savory and sweet, rich and creamy, it’s unlike any other cold treat in San Antonio. The other gelato flavors are also out-of-this-world good, but the pistachio has a loyal fanbase, myself included. It’s no wonder that the pistachio gelato is a staple flavor at South Alamode — it was one of the first flavors of gelato Biffle tried in Italy.

What makes South Alamode’s pistachio gelato so outstanding is, of course, the ingredients and how the gelato is made. Biffle wouldn’t disclose their top-secret recipe, but he did inform me that every batch of pistachio gelato is made with pistachios imported from Bronte, Sicily. These Italian-grown pistachios are then ground and toasted in-house and made into fresh pistachio paste.

Stop by South Alamode’s brick and mortar location at the Blue Star Arts Complex and Josh and Diletta will show you the pistachios before they

are made into gelato. They’re happy to talk about how their gelato is made and give out samples of their ever-changing flavors, all of which are made fresh daily. Even if the pistachio isn’t for you, try their other flavors or mix and match.

While you’re there, grab a cappuccino and enjoy the local art on the walls.

Savor an authentic taste of Italy here in San Antonio. 1420 S. Alamo St., (210) 788-8000. — Alexis Barnhart

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Kungfu Noodle’s Hand-made Noodles with Lamb

A lot of the time, as dozens of blind taste tests have revealed, people are unable to distinguish between “good” and “bad” food. Whether it’s snob gourmands unwittingly enjoying a fast food burger or French wine connoisseurs accidentally praising Napa Valley, history has proved the tongue to be highly dupable.

Luckily for Kungfu Noodle, handmade pasta has always been impervious to that deception: You will never, ever mistake fresh noodles for dried ones.

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KUNG FU NOODLE’S HAND-MADE NOODLES WITH LAMB

The Most Appreciated lunch from the land of tequila + mariachi

foods. Fresh pasta is doughy, supple, and fragrantly yeasty, whereas its dried counterpart borrows flavor from ingredients (buckwheat, flour, etc.) and toppings, but rarely has much of its own.

At the small eatery on Bandera Road, where the sounds of dough being slapped and pulled are often audible from the spartan dining room, the magic of handmade pasta is apparent. The menu offers four different broth and meat options if you’re looking for noodles, but lamb is the move. The broth is brick red, tinctured with kaleidoscopic dots of yellow oil. Alongside blanched baby bok choy, the gamey meat comes cubed in bites the size of dice, playfully reminiscent of brisket in its chew. Coiled at the bottom of the bowl, invisible until you ply for them, are the beautiful, flat beige noodles.

Though they sometimes mass together, do not be deterred: Get your face down next to the bowl and slurp the fresh pasta as quickly as you comfortably can. Every second the noodles sit in the broth they deteriorate, saturating and falling apart as their starch dissipates. As you slurp, breathe the aroma, luxuriate in the steam, and feel as tears begin to well up in your eyes.

The broth is spicy, though tempered, and the contrasts of form between the bouncy nuggets of lamb, wilt and crunch (depending on where you’re biting) of the bok choy, and the waxy give of the pasta will make every bite a textural collage. If you find yourself able to lift your head from the baptismal sauna, do so only for Kungfu’s resplendent dumplings.

For anything less than the 20 purses of pork and biting chive, keep your head down. 6733 Bandera Road, (210) 451-5586. — MS

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Chela’s Chicken Cilantro Taco

When an awesome food truck bites the brick-andmortar bullet, it’s always an awesome day for its fans, and this is definitely the case with Chela’s. The newest addition to what started as a food trailer catering to the UTSA crowd began operating in Alamo Heights last fall

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out of a small but functional space on Broadway.

When you walk in, you may notice all of the tables are covered in pennies, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll notice the walls are lined with photos of amazing-looking taco options. The photos are pretty key for anyone who doesn’t speak Spanish fluently, and it can lead to some pretty interesting taco findings for the curious diner. There’s also a condiment bar stocked up to the gills with various salsas and pickled vegetables or escabeche, if you need to add to the already well dressed selection.

Sure, you can try an array of delicious combinations at Chela’s, but the chicken cilantro seems to be one they’re most proud of, and with good reason. The well portioned taco is served on a thick flour tortilla with a mixture of shredded chicken that’s stewed in a cilantro-sour cream sauce along with fresh cilantro, and because of its creaminess, calls for no cheese.

With the texture somewhat similar to a chicken salad, this taco is great on its own — but for those who enjoy something spicy, adding some jalapeños and pickled onions really takes it over the top. 5231 Broadway, Suite 117, (210) 218-5466. — Karah Carmack

*

M a d e -F r o m -S c r at c M e x ic a h n & Ch in e s e c a n d ie s , pa l e ta s , mango n a das , & mor e!

Come o u r s t by or t o d ay e , !

1435 Frio City Rd, Sa, TX 78226 • (210) 299-4744 • arcoirisicecream.com

Rise Up Beverages’ Chocolate Acai Bowl

This spring, the Broadway corridor was gifted with a new way to stay cool, but more importantly stay full. Rise Up Beverages, opened by John Farnel, shares the same lot as Mila Coffee Co. and Outland Provisions, except instead of great coffee or fine leather goods, Farnel is dishing up healthful, fruit-filled bowls out of his refurbished Airstream trailer.

An almost immediate hit with the Insta-ratti for their colorful and gram-worthy plating, Rise Up Beverages is adding açai and pitaya to the everyday vernacular of Downtown San Antonians. The rest of the menu includes smoothies, cold-pressed juices, vegan matcha smoothies and coffee smoothies (available after 3 p.m. once Mila is off-premise) for the grab-and-go set.

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a world class experience Culinaria offers “hands-on” exploration into the culinary and wine-making arts for adults with adventuresome spirits, discerning tastes and especially those who appreciate the camaraderie of sharing and consuming new, and often exotic, flavors.

We proudly display chefs from this great city and bring in distinguished chefs from around the globe.

To help ensure a great week long series of events, we highlight global as well as Texas winemakers and spirit producers.

The mission of Culinaria is to promote San Antonio as a premiere destination for wine and food while fostering community growth and enrichment.

Culinaria is a non-profit organization supporting local students in culinary arts and food related aid organizations.

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bowls were part of a lifestyle change. He ditched the late nights, the partying and the smoking for yoga and fruit-laden smoothies. Now, after a lengthy restoration on the trailer and with recipes from his sister’s açai bowl shop in Midland, Farnel is spreading the gospel of this fruit-packed bowls one customer at a time.

Though the pitaya bowls are certainly eye-catching with their bright fuchsia hues, the standout of the bunch has been the popular chocolate açai bowl.

Made to order inside the trailer, the bowl includes frozen açai berry puree, almond milk, almond butter, cacao, strawberries, agave and blueberries and is topped with granola, blueberries, strawberries, chia seeds, cacao nibs, coconut shreds and Happy Hemp seeds packed with omega 3s and 6s. At $8.50 for 16 ounces, it’s not entirely cheap but buying all of the ingredients (let alone sourcing açai from just a handful of stores in town) can easily set you back $50-$70.

The result is creamy (Farnel throws no ice into his Vitamix) and not as sweet as it could be considering all of the fruit it holds. It’s enough to hold you over for breakfast or a quick lunch or as a post-gym workout, and it’s definitely one of the dishes we love. 2202 Broadway, (210) 268-8009. — Jessica Elizarraras

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Hot Joy’s Twice-fried Crab Fat Wings

Two years ago — before Bon Appétit said Hot Joy was the seventh best restaurant in the country, before Andrew Knowlton compared the restaurant to culinary trendsetters like Danny Bowien and Mission Chinese Food, and before The New York Times devoted a frontpage story to Quealy Watson — there was just a man and his putrid bowl of wings.

The dish that put San Antonio on the culinary map in a way that it had not yet been before, Hot Joy’s crab fat caramel wings, are, if nothing else, divisive.

The chicken, which now goes for $12.99 every

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night except for Wing Wednesday, reeks to high heaven. Once you look at the ingredients, it’s clear why. The base flavor comes from reducing fish sauce into a caramel. As fish sauce comes from fermenting anchovies and salt, the scent is naturally pungent, and that’s before boiling it down. Once the salty, funky liquid has been concentrated to a viscosity somewhere between melted asphalt and molasses, sugar and crab paste are then added. The wings, which are doubly fried in a vodka-laced batter, get tossed in a mixing bowl filled with enough of the lava-like sludge to look like the La Brea tar pit, after which they are topped with peanuts and cilantro and sent to your table.

Though they smell like salty, resinous rotten eggs, make no mistake — they are remarkable. The double dip in hot oil makes the crunch of the skin shatter like peanut brittle, and the white marble meat below is milky white and dripping wet. The outer coating is sweet, but mutedly so, and in such a way that the deep, baritone funk of the fish caramel is balanced by the tiny shrill of sugar. The sauce is mercilessly sticky and the meat is piping hot, giving you both a reason and an excuse to suck the treacly sap from your fingertips. As you eat, the sauce will pool and congeal at the bottom of the bowl, and if you take them home, the wings will set like wet cement in their viscous plaster.

In their smell, appearance, and presentation, they are unlike any chicken you have ever tasted, but it is their taste you will remember. Deeply rich, crunchy, musty, and complex, you will either never want to see them again, or you will need them the next day. 1014 S. Alamo St., (210) 368-9324. — MS

*

The Pig Pen’s Brisket Nachos

It seems that when receiving visitors from out of town, there are always two things that they want try during their stay. One is Tex-Mex, while the other is Texasstyle Barbecue. The Pig Pen turns into a one-stop

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shop by combining both of these tasty cuisines within their brisket nachos.

What makes these nachos so great? My bet is the time spent making the brisket that the Smoke Shack has been smoking in since 2010. Covered in a special spice rub and smoked over hickory wood for a whole 12 hours, the brisket gives other barbecue joints in Texas a run for their money. Take that brisket, throw it on some seasoned chips and then top it with a housemade queso, fresh guacamole and pico de gallo, and you have one of the best ‘cue dishes in San Antonio.

If you want to kick your nachos up a notch, top them with the sauce that is made by the Smoke Shack/The Pig Pen and a smattering of jalapeños. The sauce adds a hint of sweetness, while the jalapeños compliment the cheese-dowsed chips. While you’re trying to conquer the huge plate of nachos, you can sip on an ice cold beer or Bloody Mary (complete with a brisket snack!).

The Smoke Shack, The Pig Pen’s big bro restaurant, first began as a food truck parked at the corner of 410 Access Road and Nacogdoches, has evolved over the past six years. Owners Chris and Kate Conger opened a brick and mortar off of Broadway in 2014, and The Pig Pen, complete with liquor license, a year later.

With the tender smoked brisket from Smoke Shack, combined with the classic nacho toppings of queso, killer guacamole and pico, the brisket nachos are a can’t-miss dish at the neighborhood bar. 106 Pershing Ave., (210) 267-9136. — EW

*

El Machito’s Cecina Asada de Yecapixtla

It should be no surprise that Johnny Hernandez, the chef behind El Machito, The Fruteria, and La Gloria, a man so recognized for his mastery of Mexican cuisine that the Obamas invited him to cook for Cinco De Mayo this year, has declared that cecina asada de Yecapixtla is one of his most treasured recipes.

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The designation makes sense, as it tends to be that the more talented a chef becomes, the more they esteem subtlety. Their effort goes into paring down recipes, removing nonessential items until they are left with nothing but the naked soul of the dish. After all, making a handful of ingredients sing takes more talent than coaxing a tune out of a choir.

In the case of Hernandez, his great achievement is not in creating a new dish, but in reintroducing a classic. Hernandez’ recipe, which borrows from the traditional method popularized in the city of Yecapixtla, requires meticulously slicing a round of beef back and forth, thinly, from top to bottom, until you are left with a long, unbroken sheet of meat; as Andrew Zimmern discovered, this is difficult. Salt is then applied and the beef rests in the sun for an hour.

The method, which borrows from a tradition more than 200 years old, utilizes the salt to first draw liquid out of the meat, then slowly work its way — via the water — back into the meat, where it then begins destabilizing the deep muscle tissue, resulting in a tender final product. After the salt has done its work, Hernandez splashes the ribbon with olive oil and lets it cook, though indirectly, over a mesquite flame. The result is unglamorous, similar looking to a cutlet in its flat, thin shape, but with a remarkably delicate chew.

What makes the beef memorable is that succulence usually requires thickness; as the phrase goes, you “bite into” something. What the cecina asada de Yecapixtla accomplishes, though, is to produce that same tenderness, that same satisfying, carnal toothsomeness you get in bloody steak and roasted chicken, but in a thin, brown, unassuming slice of meat.

Served alongside nopalitos, guacamole, salsa, house-made corn tortillas, and two sides of your choosing, the tacos are a masterclass in harmony: cold and hot, crunchy and tender, fresh and aged.

Never though, as is the case with so many tacos, does the taste of the meat get overpowered. The salty, smoky, buttery bite of the cecina reminds you in every bite that it is the reason you came. 7300 Jones Maltsberger Road, (210) 314-3971. — MS

COURTESY OF EL MACHITO'S

EL MACHITO’S CECINA ASADA DE YECAPIXTLA

DELIVERY AVAILABLE

MONDAY- THURSDAY: 5:30AM-9PM | FRIDAY: 5:30AM-10PM SATURDAY: 5:30AM-11PM | SUNDAY: 7AM-3PM

521 E Woodlawn Ave. • 210.737.8646

breakfast

sandwich e s a r e b a c k ! mon-sat: 6am - 12 noon | sun: 7am - 12 noon | 15909 san pedro ave. | 210-499-0100

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MAÍZ • Written by RON BECHTOL

Photography by JAIME MONZON

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Discovering the joys of corn inside Downstairs at The Esquire Tavern

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he unprepared imbiber doesn’t know exactly what to expect as he or she descends from grotty (tarting-up in the form of a new hotel, among other improvements, is anticipated) Commerce Street to grotto-y Downstairs beneath the Esquire Tavern. The bar is speakeasy dark, the tone relatively hushed — except for that one guy whose voice carries. There’s always one of those. You’re offered a spiral-bound book, and it looks daunting — as it kind of is. Then you notice a folded insert. In contrast to the slick pages and reverential enumerating of esoteric product of the main menu, this one is handsized, comparatively rough. It is — cue a brief blast of mariachis — The Corn Menu, a paean to millenia of maíz in the Americas.

The menu is the brainchild of Esquire’s Houston Eaves and Myles Worrell on the drinks side; artist and social-political provocateur Cruz Ortiz is responsible for the design through Snake Hawk Press, his “creative factory.” Save the main menu for another time, and start leafing through this one. “Leaf” gives the impression of being an appropriate term as the pages have a corn-husk cast and feel, and the graphics suggest the leaflet look of early20th century Mexican political propaganda — far different from Ortiz’s barrio-inspired works and other commissions such as the Spursthemed takeout box for Papa John’s Pizza.

Turns out that Posada and propaganda are not far off the mark. Neither was the “leaf” impression. A conversation with Eaves revealed that they had put much of the Downstairs package together early on, but “hadn’t focused on the creative part of the cocktail menu. It occurred to me,” he says, "that we do a lot of work with San Antonio’s arts community, and it’s always a [welcome] challenge. Chris [Hill, the owner] said, ‘Shoot, who do you want?’ I had always enjoyed Cruz’s authentic voice …”

So Ortiz, Eaves and Worrell got together, had some beers. “[Cruz] was super-excited about the revolutionary Mexican art of Posada and others, I had just spent six months working mezcal in Oaxaca where I met a lot of crazy people … corn came up, and we went with it,” Eaves said. In every way, as it happens.

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The folds of the menu are like opening a tamal, he points out; the menu leaves made from pulped hoja de maíz and corn stalk were inspired by the agave-fiber labels used by Vago, the mezcaleria he worked with in Oaxaca — and the handmade paper was actually created by the same artist. It can even be said to have a village designation: San Agustin Etla.

(The Centro de Artes San Agustin, a renovated textile factory north of Oaxaca City now serving as an arts center and paper-making workshop, looks worth a visit.)

Aztec legend allegedly pays homage to the gods of drunkenness, known as Centzon Totochtin, or 400 rabbits. “Drunk as 400 rabbits” is said to have been a popular term, though how anyone knows this is hard to imagine. In any case, the first drink on the stack of riveted-in sheets is titled 400 Rabbits, and it’s a two-fister consisting of a shot of elote-infused mezcal paired with another of lechita de maíz. Not having tasted the mezcal before infusion, it’s hard to say that the corn has much of an impact — maybe on the finish. The “lechita,” though, is emphatic in its fresh corn and onion tastes, and the two make for a bracing, mellow-sharp pairing.

Many of the drinks on the following sheets make political or cultural statements. Or both. All tell a story.

The Fuck Monsanto uses non-GMO bourbon with fresh corn syrup and Mexican Coke bitters, and it also works as a creative riff on the Old Fashioned. Batman of Mexico pits

high-proof, “bat-friendly” tequila (most agave is bat-friendly in that bats are prime pollinators) against corn, chile and lime to good, proof-y effect. Corn appears again both inside and on the outside of Big Corn Island, a tiki-like drink served in a tall glass wrapped in dry hojas de maíz. A small orchid is involved.

The political stance here has to do with the way sugar cane workers are treated in Nicaragua — hence the nonNicaraguan rums. Two Jamaicans are used instead with corn milk, bottled tepache (fermented pineapple) and a hint of Campari. As much as I’m not a fan of drinks that require straws, the Big Corn Island turns out to be a worthy addition to the tropical-drinks canon. Suck it right up. Wear the orchid home.

There are several other drinks to go before getting to the bottom of the stack: Seeds of Life with pozole rojo, corn vodka and burnt tortilla salt (“Think bloody mary,” said my server); Conquistador with Texas blue corn whiskey (gotta be Balcones), both dry and sweet sherries and lemon; Tejuino del Norte (tejuino is a beverage usually made from fermented corn masa) with piloncillo, sotol, pineapple and lime; and Sin Maíz no Hay País, a corn milk punch serving four to six. I didn’t try them all because, well, I’m only one rabbit.

But I couldn’t resist a cocktail called Land Race, a martini-like concoction with purple corn gin and vermouth infused with huitlacoche, the dark and brooding corn fungus. (Land Race has to do with

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indigenous plants or animals that have survived and adapted through the ages without any intervention — which is to say screwing with — by man.) The corn gave the gin a pretty, violet hue that glowed seductively in the light of the table’s lantern. But that’s where it ended for me. Maybe the drink doesn’t want to be a martini, and I had the impression that, unlike with the other cocktails, the creators simply stopped too early on this one, leaving the mushroomy huitlacoche to dominate without anything to counter it. Maybe chile, agave syrup, salt … Just me, of course.

There isn’t a snacks menu tailored specifically to the Maíz Manifesto (my term, not theirs), though chef Brooke’s groaning board of cheese, charcuterie, olives and candied nuts, all but the cheese produced in-house, will frankly go with anything. Her head cheese is especially appealing. And yes, I doubt that fried maguey worms or chile-coated grasshoppers are likely to attract a huge following — though I’m willing to help skew the odds. But I do see a place for playing with the popcorn (of course, there had to be popcorn) that comes with all drinks.

Maybe the huitlacoche goes here — along with some worm or grasshopper salt with dried chile. Nobody will know unless somebody tells them.

“Please join our curious exploration of this unique and indigenous grain,” entreats the menu. One of my favorite categories of pre-Columbian art involves small-scale clay figures excavated from sites on the island of Jaina off the Yucatecan coast near Campeche. Maíz gods feature prominently. Pay them your respects.

A LOOK AT THE CORN MENU (ABOVE), WITH THE FUCK MONSANTO (TOP LEFT), LAND RACE (BOTTOM LEFT) AND BIG CORN ISLAND.

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COURETSY OF COPA WINE BAR

★★★

COPA WINE BAR

3 S TA R S

WINE BARS SA’s evolving thirst for vino and where to imbibe

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he history of wine bars in San Antonio, historically thought of as a beer town, has not been pretty — just ask Cecil Flentge. Along with his wife Pam, Flentge opened The Tasting Room at Embassy Oaks in the fall of ’98 and closed it three years later. During its brief tenure, The Tasting Room was one of those obligatory Saturday stops for a group of budding wine aficionados.

“I spent 10 months looking for the perfect space, signed an agreement in August, but by the time we were ready to open, the best of the season had passed,” Flentge says. Ticking off the things he did next to gin up interest, he says, “I started wine flights, worked in cooking classes with wine pairings, wine classes with food pairings … I initially had a corkcovered binder with 425 wines and pictures of wine regions around the world …and I would still get calls from people asking what they needed to know or do to ‘get in’.”

Flentge blames some of this on Hollywood’s portrayal of the snooty sommelier — and some on himself. “I started out with a cause [wine education] and wasted too much time on that.” And then came 9/11 and people began staying at home in droves, he says.

Flentge wasn’t the first to challenge SA’s long neck preference. That distinction goes to Niles Wine Bar on upper Broadway, a much-missed cottage and backyard that opened [a year earlier], in 1998,

by RON BECHTOL

and additionally featured beer and music. The first serious wine bar (here defined as a place that may serve some food but emphasizes wine and sometimes specialty suds) to buck the odds and survive was Copa Wine Bar in Stone Oak. Affable owners Jeff and Angie Bridges had previously operated a retail wine shop nearby, selling it to open Copa in 2005. From the beginning, wines were available to take out or to consume on the spot, and, maybe we were finally ready for it, Copa quickly became a social hub.

Early on, it seemed that there was a bias toward Spanish wines, and that was fine. Many of us remembered them as cheap and rustic from postcollege days, and Copa was showing us that they could be sophisticated. To go with these and other wines by the glass or bottle, there was a selection of tapas, another category, now knee-jerk, advanced by the Bridges. Think hummus with a chipotle jolt and thoughtful cheese and charcuterie plates.

That original wine list is now eight pages not counting Texas beers but including 20 tasting flights of four 2-ounce pours ranging from “Sweet Tooth” (Copa is not afraid to admit that many folks like sweet wines), to “What the Heck is a … A sampling of some obscure but delicious white wines.” New world producers often seem to be preferred to their old world counterparts, but in every case the wines are simply and effectively described — in one case

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“ballsy,” and in another “fresh, fruity, silky, fun.”

You’ll have to go straight to the shelf or the bottle to find wine descriptors at Nectar Wine Bar and Ale House.

The menu that Rob and Rachel Stevens have put together reserves its adjectives for the varied cheese selection; along with Bordeaux, cheeses are a Stevens obsession.

Passing through several cities and as many careers (hospitality, early childhood ed., chemical engineering…), the couple found themselves in SA, decided they wanted to stay, but needed a way to make it happen. If, they reasoned, they felt the need of a place to go sit at a table with a good but unfussy bottle of wine, they couldn’t be the only ones, and so the search for a place began up and down Broadway.

“Nobody would call us back,” said Rob at an earlier interview. But they finally found a space in the Calcasieu Building, did most of the work themselves, and opened nearly a year and a half ago. Returning on a recent Friday night, the place was filling up fast, and despite what some might consider a challenging location, these were locals. What was bringing them? Maybe it’s the fact that the Stevenses have unfussy down pat, an attitude that includes servers in T-shirts and snug black jeans and the total lack of winespeak.

Rachel says that the number of wines to take home or consume there has increased by 30 since they opened, and the weekly BTG list is now larger by about 30 percent. “I change the tasting list every Monday,” says Rob, keeping only the Bianchi Moscato. “It’s too sweet for me, but new wine drinkers like it, and once they have tried it a few times, I nudge them toward other whites and reds, and they never go back.” One way to explore that somewhat quirky list is to take advantage of the bargain that is the “Any 3 for $15” flight.

Just don’t ask for the moscato, please.

The latest venture to test the wine waters in San Antonio is High Street at the Pearl. It’s a handsome space featuring some clever architectural features such as the impressive, counter-balanced window wall that opens to the courtyard alongside Cured. The owners are two young, well-spoken

gents, one of whom, Mark Stoltz, is an insurance guy with a serious wine jones; the other, Scott Ota, is a wine pro with enough cred, including 2013’s Best New Sommelier in Texas award, to impress anyone in any city.

The menu opens with a bar snacks page that’s wellselected but limited: olives, nuts, cheeses, tinned Portuguese seafoods (very cool packaging; check out the website at josegourmet.com). Page two is by-the-glass and flights — not impressive in quantity terms (as a sometimes-solo imbiber, I always hope for a big BTG selection). But, the list changes frequently, and the selections have been universally exciting, stopping just short of, oh hell, thrilling. Especially if I consider the list of ciders that includes a beautifully barnyard-y offering from Normandy.

The by-the-bottle menu is priced to take out or consume there, and it’s by no means encyclopedic. “I have 160 offerings,” said Ota during my two-minute tour of the tiny, glassed in cellar — organized, he also mentioned, "like a Rubik’s Cube.” It’s hard to see how the list can expand much due to onsite constraints, though Ota does anticipate adding more sherries as one example. And if some of us might like to see a few more Spanish reds, say, we can just agitate to take a few away from France.

And in any case, from all appearances, the partners aren’t interested in being all things to all consumers. Though to a man and woman, the servers have been extremely knowledgeable, there’s not a hint of the didactic, of the imperious sommelier stereotype mentioned by Flentge. “I look for passion when hiring,” says Ota. “I could care less about experience. I want them to learn something every day and serve with humility. We have to make wine as approachable as possible to spread the gospel,” he says, betraying just a hint of messianic purpose.

For the record, there is nevertheless a lot of experience behind that bar but hardly a whiff of ego. Maybe this is what the wine-susceptible public has needed all along. That and a great bottle of Terre Nere 2015 Etna Bianco.

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all is almost over and winter is upon us.

Many breweries have been hard at work preparing inventive and comforting winter brews to keep us warm during the slightly colder Texas winter. Many of these winter concoctions are richer tasting and with bolder flavor, others are seasonals brewed only this time of year.

To ring in the winter months, here are a few offerings that are sure to tickle your holiday fancy:

Holiday IPA Alamo Beer Co.

COURTESY

For years, Alamo Beer had been brewing their signature Alamo Golden Ale at Real Ale Brewing up in Blanco, Texas. That is until owner Eugene Simor opened his own place in March of 2015, at which point the portfolio of beers expanded.

This included seasonal brews such as their Holiday IPA. Holiday IPA is an American IPA that puts forth a citrus, piney character from the West Coast hops used, which balance beautifully with the sweet malt character derived from Golden Promise, Aromatic and Crystal Malts. Available around San Antonio for about $9 a six-pack.

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LIBATIONS

BRE WS The holidays just got hoppier

COURTESY

Celebration Ale Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Based in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada is considered one of the founding fathers of craft beer. Sierra Nevada opened in 1980 launching their flagship brew dubbed simply Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which quickly launched them into the record books. Building upon this love of American hops, Sierra Nevada first brewed Celebration Ale in 1981 using only fresh whole hops. Celebration is one of the earliest American IPAs, is very hop forward and features Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops. Available at retailers around town for about $10 a six-pack.

Christmas Ale Anchor Brewing

COURTESY

The now famous San Francisco brewery began in 1896 and is best known for its Anchor Steam Beer, a style born in the warmer temperatures of California in the late 1800s. The name Steam Beer is copyrighted

by Anchor and can only be used by them. The brewery saw a decline for decades in the 1900s until entrepreneur Fritz Maytag bought and revitalized the Anchor in 1965.

First released 42 years ago, Anchor’s Christmas is a true treat every year.

This winter ale is unique in that each year the recipe is different — 2016’s batch features roasted caramel, spice, chocolate and nuts. Available at retailers around town in various sizes and prices.

La Muerta | Freetail Brewing Co. When Freetail opened their Loop 1604 brewpub in late 2008, only Blue Star Brewing remained in San Antonio. Clearly filling a gap, Freetail kickstarted a new beer boom in San Antonio and, in 2014, launched their 20-barrel production facility on South Presa St. with citywide distribution. La Muerta is Freetail’s highly touted Imperial Stout that boasts rich smoke, roast and chocolate flavors with a hop character more noticeable than other imperial stouts. La Muerta is brewed each year in honor of Dia De Los Muertos. Available as a limited release, including draft, at select retailers around town for about $15 for a 22-ounce bottle. sacurrent.com • W I N T E R

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DRINK/GRUB ON THIS SPRING

DREW PATTERSON

city, from newly opened restaurants to San Antonio staples.

With tier one restaurant entrées ranging from $15-$35 and tier two ranging from $10-$25, you can taste some of the best dishes of San Antonio while your bank account recuperates from your holiday expenses. Reservations are not required, but expect tables to go fast. Multiple locations, January 16-21, culinariasa.org.

Asian Festival It’s the Year of the Rooster and the Institute of Texan Cultures’ Asian Festival invites guests to come out and experience Asian culture.

Enjoy music, traditional Asian dances, fashion, crafts and Asian-American food from 15 different vendors. From Japanese cuisine to Laotian cuisine, pad Thai to chicken tikka masala, we are sure your taste buds will thank you. $8-$10, 10am-5pm, February 4, texancultures.com.

FEB

DEC

La Gran Tamalada The Cortez Family hosts its

second annual tamalada as it enters its eighth year at The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. The free event keeps the tradition of hand-making tamales with the family alive and well. Free, December 10, 11am-1pm, 1301 Guadalupe St., guadalupeculturalarts.org.

JAN

San Antonio Cocktail Conference Do you

ever wish you knew how to make badass cocktails?

Or maybe you just want to sip on them. Either way, the San Antonio Cocktail Conference is right up your alley.

With classes, tastings, seminars and, of course, parties, the annual Conference has it all. The 2017 schedule is still being mapped out, but plan to learn and sip your way through everything cocktail. It all starts on January 11 with 100 percent of the profits benefiting Houston Street Charities. Prices vary, January 11-15, sanantoniococktailconference.com

Culinaria’s Spring Restaurant Week This is your opportunity to dine at some of the top restaurants in the

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Flavor: The Event Come out to the San Antonio Museum of Art to celebrate the city’s growing culinary community. Enjoy delicious food from some of the top restaurants and chefs in San Antonio as well as live music, craft beer, wine and cocktails. This event will have you basking in culinary heaven. Prices vary, 7pm, March 23, sacurrent.com.

Mar

Culinaria 5K Wine and Beer Run If there is one run you are going to participate in, this is the one. When the destination features wine, beer and food, you will want to make it to the finish line. Taking place at the beautiful Shops at La Cantera, this event will have all of the sights and tastes for a great day, albeit maybe a little sweaty. $35-$45, 8am, March 18, culinariasa.org.

San Antonio Beer Festival Beer lovers, rejoice! With over 300 brews, from porters and stouts to ciders and pale ales, the Beer Festival takes over Lockwood and Dignowity Parks on October 15. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy live music while sipping on a cold beer. Sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday. October 15, tickets on sale now at sanantoniobeerfestival.com.

KODY MELTON

ETC.

Fiesta San Antonio Nothing brings people together like a big-ass party. Now in its 126th year, Fiesta celebrates San Antonio arts and culture. There is an event for everyone, whether you want to grab a few (maybe more than a few) beers at Night Out in Old San Antonio, watch the Battle of the Flowers parade with the family or enjoy some live music and oysters at St. Mary’s Oyster Bake. Get ready San Antonio, festivities begin April 20. Prices vary, multiple locations, check fiesta-sa.org for a full schedule of events.

Culinaria Festival Week his four-day foodie experience features multiple events around the city that you won’t want to miss.

From burgers and fries to haute cuisine, Festival week offers it all. It’s the perfect opportunity to gather up all your friends and enjoy some seriously good food. Prices vary, multiple locations, events TBA, culinariasa.org.

MAy

1864 Nacogdoches • 210.560.1992 • heelingsole.com

y d e m o C Live A Week augh Your L

7 Nights

Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown Al pastor tacos as far as the eye can see. No, it’s not a dream.

The Twisted Taco Throwdown makes it a reality.

With SA’s best taco trucks out to prove that they make the best al pastor taco, guests can’t really go wrong. Grab a cold beer and use that taco emojii to your heart’s desire. Tentatively set for May 13.

Texas Salsa Festival Chunky or well-pureed? Green or red? You decide during the first-ever Texas Salsa Festival. Details TBA, May 27, Hemisfair Park.

United We Brunch Tiny pancakes, all the waffles you can eat, MIMOSAS? The third annual United We Brunch heads to the Witte Museum with more breakfast fare.

Micheladas and bloody marys all around! Prices vary, June 3, Witte Museum.

JUN

Ass Off!

618 NW Loop 410, Near Airport 210.541.8805 LOLSanAntonio.com

National and Local Comedian s

849 E. Commerce @ Rivercenter Mall 210.229.1420 RiverCenterComedyClub.com

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ADVERTISERS INDEX 281

FAR WEST SIDE

FAR NORTH CENTRAL

FAR NORTHEAST

1604

NORTHWEST

FAR NORTHEAST

NORTH CENTRAL

10

NORTHWEST

35

16

INNER WEST SIDE

281

NORTHEAST

FAR WEST SIDE

CENTRAL

410

10 35

INNER WEST SIDE

87

FAR EAST NORTHEAST

1604

EAST SIDE

SOUTH SAN ANTONIO

10

10 FAR NORTHEAST 87

90

90

FAR WEST SIDE

35

DOWNTOWN

1604

EAST SIDE

ALAMO HEIGHTS + TERRELL HILLS

410

35 37

NORTHWEST

SOUTH SIDE

87 INNER WEST SIDE

CENTRAL

EAST EASTFAR SIDE

DOWNTOWN

410

FAR WEST SIDE

FAR EAST

FAR NORTH CENTRAL

NORTHEAST

NORTH CENTRAL

SOUTH SIDE

SOUTH SAN ANONTIO

INNER WEST SIDE

CENTRAL

EAST SIDE

DOWNTOWN

ALAMO HEIGHTS/ TERRELL HILLS

FAR NORTHEAST

MICHELLE LORENTZEN

SOUTH SIDE

35

NORTHWEST

37

1604

Downtown

Alamo Street Eat Bar 609 S. Alamo St., (210) 227-2469 Food Trucks, Bar Feast 1024 S. Alamo St., (210) 354-1024 American Friendly Spot 943 S. Alamo St., (210) 224-2337 American, Bar GS 1221 1221 Broadway, Suite 116, (210) 251-3184 Bar Kimura 152 E. Pecan St., Suite 102, (210) 444-0702 Asian

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Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia 218 Produce Row, (210) 225-1262 Mexican Paramour 102 9th St., (210) 340-9880 Bar The Rampant Lion Burgers and Beer 100 N. Santa Rosa St., Suite 140, (210) 994-7880 American RO-HO Pork & Bread 623 Urban Loop, (210) 800-3487 Mexican

Stella Public House 1414 S. Alamo St., (210) 277-7047 Italian

Central Market 4821 Broadway, (210) 368-8600 Grocery

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

Cheesy Jane’s 4200 Broadway, (210) 826-0800 American

ALAMO HEIGHTS/ TERRELL HILLS The Barbecue Station Restaurant and Catering 1610 NE Loop 410, (210) 824-9191 Barbecue Carmelita’s Mexican Restaurant 2218 Broadway, (210) 224-5540 Mexican

The Pigpen 106 Pershing Ave., (210) 267-9136 Bar Piranha Killer Sushi 260 E. Basse Road, Suite 101, (210) 822-1088 Asian Tacoart 290 E. Basse Road, Suite 105, (210) 332-5149, Mexican

LIZ WARBURTON

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NORTH CENTRAL

Tong’s Thai 1146 Austin Hwy., (210) 829-7345 Asian The Witte Museum 3801 Broadway, (210) 357-1900 Venue

CENTRAL 5 Points Local 1017 N. Flores St., (210) 267-2652 Special Diets Armadillos 1423 McCullough Ave., (210) 226-7556 American ▲ Botika 303 Pearl Pkwy., Suite 111, (210) 670-7684 Asian Chris Madrid’s 1900 Blanco Road, (210) 735-3552 American The Cove 606 W. Cypress St., (210) 227-2683 American The Granary ‘Cue & Brew 602 Avenue A, (210) 228-0124 Barbecue Hawx Burger Bar & Electro Lounge 2603 Vance Jackson Road, (210) 320-4299 American

Jazz, TX 312 Pearl Pkwy., Building 6 Suite 6001, (210) 332-9386 American Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club 618 NW Loop 410, Suite 312, (210) 541-8805 Venue Lily’s Cookies 2716 McCullough Ave., (210) 832-0886 Desserts Lulu’s Bakery and Cafe 918 N. Main Ave., (210) 224-5001 American Luther’s Cafe 1503 N. Main Ave., (210) 223-7727 American Ming’s Thing 5249 McCullough Ave., (210) 570-6318 Asian El Milagrito Cafe 521 E. Woodlawn Ave., (210) 737-8646 Mexican Shuck Shack 520 E. Grayson St., (210) 236-7422 Seafood Summermoon Coffee Bar 3233 N. St. Mary’s St. Suite 102, (210) 320-1773 Coffee

SOUTH SAN ANTONIO

Bagel Factory 15909 San Pedro Ave., Suite 115, (210) 499-0100 Bakery

Arco Iris 1435 Frio City Road, (210) 299-4744 Desserts

Chicago Bagel 10918 Wurzbach Road, Suite 132, (210) 691-2245 American

Bolner’s Meat Company 2900 S. Flores St., (210) 533-5112 Barbecue, Butcher Luna Rosa Puerto Rican Grill y Tapas 2603 SE Military Drive, Suite 106, (210) 314-3111 Puerto Rican

Cover 3 1806 TX-1604 Loop, (210) 479-9700 American Planet Sub 11255 Huebner Road, Suite 109 (210) 455-2905 American

South Town Burger Co. 3023 S. Presa St., (210) 994-5403 American

Saeb Thai & Noodles 226 W. Bitters Road, Suite 124, (210) 290-9670 Asian Tre Enoteca 555 W. Bitters Road, (210) 496-0555 Italian

FAR NORTH CENTRAL BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Multiple locations, bjsrestaurants.com American Eskimo Hut 18866 Stone Oak Pkwy., Suite 105, (210) 595-3932 Alcohol Scuzzi’s Italian Grill 4305 N. Loop 1604 W., (210) 493-8884 Italian Tiago’s Cabo Grille Multiple locations, tiagoscabogrille.com Mexican

NORTHWEST Bar Louie Multiple locations, barlouie.com American Highlander Bar & Grill 5562 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 340-4577 Bar Sangria on the Burg 5115 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 744-1448 Global Suck It Hookah and Bubble Tea 7220 Louis Pasteur Drive, Suite 125, (210) 560-2113 Asian

NORTHEAST Big Texas Ice House 16620 U.S. 281 N., (210) 572-9307 Bar Koch Ranches Gourmet Country Store 2114 Mannix Drive, (210) 858-9795 Grocery

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CULTURE

tickets

JAIME MONZON

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L O C A L C U LT U R E T I C K E T S . C O M

TICKETS TO THE BEST LOCAL EVENTS AT LOCALCULTURETICKETS.COM

Sub Zero Ice Cream 13433 San Pedro Ave., (210) 362-1002 Desserts Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling 4834 Whirlwind Drive, (210) 775-2099 Bar

EAST SIDE

THE NUTCRACKER

▲ Alamo Beer Brewery 202 Lamar St., (210) 872-5589 Brewery, Bar

LILA COCKRELL THEATRE

MISCELLANEOUS

DEC 16 • 7:30PM | DEC 17 • 2PM & 7:30 | DEC 18 • 7:30P

AGS Granite agsgranitecountertops. com Boozers SA boozerssa.com CycloSocial cyclosocial.com, (210) 819-4747 Dr. Ralph A. DeFronzo, MD 701 S. Zarzamora St., (210) 358-7000 Grande Communications mygrande.com FUZZLAND PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS:

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Greystar Apartments greystar.com Guinness guinness.com Heeling Sole Barefoot Massage heelingsole.com

Independence Brewing Co. independencebrewing.com McNay Art Museum mcnayart.org Mission Restaurant Supply missionrs.com Revolver Brewing revolverbrewing.com Rockin Monkey Design & Print House rockinmonkey.com SAGE San Antonio sagesanantonio.org South Texas Spice Co. 2106 Castroville Road, (210) 598-6374 Sysco sysco.com Tito’s Handmade Vodka titosvodka.com

FAR WEST SIDE Tiu Steppi’s Osteria Multiple locations, tiusteppis.com Italian Two Step Restaurant and Cantina 9840 TX-1604 Loop, (210) 688-2686 American

FAR WEST SIDE Cinco/Seersucker gin 8501 Cover Road (210) 648-1500

Seersucker.Ad.indd 1

12/2/16 5:48 AM