What is Black Garlic?

By Susie LaFredo

As a foodie who loves to try new flavors, I was very intrigued the first time I heard the words 'black garlic' uttered, so I thought I would share with you what I have learned!

Black garlic is garlic that has been fermented.

Once the garlic has turned black, the flavor is entirely different. Many people describe the new flavor to be like molasses.

Others say that it has a distinct umami flavor and adds a nutty flavor if the dish you’re making lacks depth. Behind the umami, there is a mild sweetness that can be used in sauces and to add complexity to meat dishes.

Simply said, black garlic is delicious!

Black Garlic can be tough to find and expensive especially when purchased from specialty stores or over the internet.

But! Kudos to another win for our great city - local Chef Stephen Paprocki has perfected the fermenting process, uses locally sourced produce and has it available at your local H.E.B.!

As a nice side note, Black Garlic has some great health benefits.

Garza about her visit to Mr. Juicy!

People Reached - 261,004

#2

Echavarria about his visit to The Wagon Wheel!

People Reached - 253,860

Post was shared - 383 times!

By Braunda Smith

Hey y’all! When Alan asked me to write something for Dishin’ With SA Gold, I was beyond flattered. While writing isn’t my greatest talent, I took a crack at it. I asked Alan what he wanted me to write about, and he said that I could write about whatever I wanted. So, here’s my story for y’all!

First of all, let me introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me.

Cooper's Ice House

My name is Braunda Smith, and I am the chef/owner of Lucy Cooper’s Ice House. I am a wife to my husband, Jesse, who is my business partner and I’m a mom of six wonderful kiddos. My life is completely busy, crazy, and full of hi-jinx and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, focus Braunda, what are you going to write about?

Well, let’s start with Lucy Cooper’s Ice House. Lucy’s is a bar that happens to serve some pretty good food! When my husband and I were deciding to make something of our own after working in the service industry for so long, we knew that we wanted to be a bar. We also knew that we wanted our place to have a very feminine forward feel to it, as most bars are extremely male driven. It had to be something that was different and unique that no one was doing in our industry. We wanted COLD BEER, GOOD TIMES & BAR EATS! We also made the decision to be completely 21 and up. So many places have blurred the lines of what’s a bar and that blur was something we wanted to steer away from. I jokingly say that I have 6 kids and I come to work to escape the sound of kids.

In all honesty, we are entering a time where people are very vocal with where they spend their discretionary dollar. Social media has given a platform and a voice to people who would never be as vocal or opinionated as they are through the safety of social media. It’s just a common factor of our media-driven society, and we’ve had our fair share of it. That being said, the controversy of allowing kids in bars and restaurants is a hot button issue these days. While, yes, there are plenty of people who love taking their children everywhere they go, there are just as many people who don’t feel that way. Plenty of people want to go out and escape the problems that we face having children in public; children who aren’t on their best behavior, crying babies, couples wanting to enjoy a date night, single people who don’t want to hear or see a bunch of kids running around, the empty nesters enjoying the kid free season of life. Like it or leave it, but thems the facts Jack! Enter our idea of Lucy Cooper’s, sort of like the Chuck E Cheese slogan where a kid can be a kid. Lucy Cooper’s is where an adult can be an adult.

Now let’s talk about the food, my favorite part about what I do. I really wanted a full menu, literally something for everyone who comes into my establishment to enjoy. Wings, Burgers, Pizza and so much more. It’s like dinner and a show with our Boodreaux’s Clothesline Bacon and Tin Can Nachos. The nachos are just a nostalgic style nacho. The smells and tastes remind me of my days as a kid at the ballpark or the skating rink where I spent the majority of my childhood back in Georgia. I think that those smells and tastes resonate with people. They bring back unconscious memories of happy times.

And, because I am a southern girl in the land of the best queso in the world, I knew better to try to compete with that. I just did what worked for that bar setting. I did kick it up a notch with flavor and presentation but it’s still a memory food, not an award-winning San Antonio queso. That being said, it is a damn good nacho and y’all don’t sleep on trying it out!

Contest Alert from Alan, founder of San Antonio Restaurants and co-editor of this magazine. Send a private message on messenger to either Alan Williams or Susie LaFredo, Administrators of San Antonio Restaurants and let us know where you found this secret contest. Look for all of the details on a contest post in the featured section, at the top of the page, of the San Antonio Restaurants Group. We will randomly select one winner from all those that entered to win a $50 gift card to Lucy Cooper’s Ice House. Good luck!

Alongside interesting shareables and the variety of foods, all of the wing sauces on our menu are made in house. I have this thing where I take soda pop and turn it into sauces. It was always a challenge that I loved and now I have a stage to perform this little miracle of mine on. So far on the menu we have a Big Red, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Orange Crush style sauce for y’all to try. Our Coca-Cola sauce takes on a sweet BBQ flavor that really knocks out the average BBQ. The Big Red sauce is my take on adding a San Antonio classic drink and making a mild, sweet heat that is sure to wow your taste buds. The Dr. Pepper Hot BBQ gives you a heated, smokey chipotle tang that truly compliments the Dr. Pepper taste. Lastly, but certainly not least, Orange Crush is an orange soda glaze with a combination of complimenting spices and a rush of sweet flavor.

I highly enjoyed taking the time to sit and write this for y’all. I hope to continue my passion of cooking and bringing new flavors to the people of San Antonio. I also hope that, if you haven’t already been, reading this encourages you to check us out at Lucy’s and that you support all small businesses in San Antonio. Be on the lookout for me to announce my latest creations, you never know what I will do next!

There are two locations of Lucy Cooper’s Ice House, 16080 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio and 1515 Kuehler Ave., New Braunfels, Texas. Both restaurants are San Antonio Restaurants Gold Approved.

Join us as we explore the back story to some of the best chefs and restaurants in South Texas!

The More You Know, The Better It Tastes is on all of your favorite streaming platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, IHeart and more!

Chef Claudio’s POMODORO SAUCE In Contrada Vineyard & Kitchen

The Pomodoro sauce is a basic Tomato sauce made with simple ingredients which can be used for many cooking projects. Pomodoro is unique. It is flavorful by itself, but can be used as a foundation to compose several pastas, meats and vegetable dishes. Such as: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, Penne alla Vodka, Fettuccine alla Boscaiola etc…

½ cup Olive oil

8 – 10 Whole garlic cloves, peeled

1 small White onion, finely diced

2 28oz cans Good quality crushed tomatoes in juice

½ cup Tomato paste

One Chicken bouillon cube

1 pint Water

½ cup packed Fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

To taste Salt and white pepper

1.Heat oil in a sauce pot add the garlic. Cook the garlic until dark brown and almost black. Carefully discard the garlic but not the oil.

2.Add the onions to oil, stir until translucent.

3.Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste to the onion mix and garlic flavored oil, stir well to blend. Add the chicken buillon.

4.Add the water, adding more if the sauce appears too thick. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the sauce obtain the right thickness and texture.

5.Add the fresh basil and season with the salt and white pepper.

Pairs well with:

Sangiovese, Valpolicella, Montepulciano, Tempranillo