SAN ANTONIO │ City and Metro Restaurant Thread

[kingkirbythe....]

Suck It gets an 'elevated' touch at St. Paul Square with new restaurant, cocktail bar

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/re...t-17018622.php

Suck It, a tongue-in-cheek name that's been part of San Antonio since 2010, is now adding a St. Paul Square spot. Owner Vinh Hoang recently opened Suck It Mixology and is preparing an Asian kitchen to open next door in the growing food and drink neighborhood.

The bar celebrated a grand opening on Thursday, March 17. Hoang is planning to host his first restaurant guests in early April. Hoang says nearly two years of preparation have gone on behind the scenes. He says the restaurant was planned before the pandemic, but plumbing issues arose. While the city worked to fix the issue, he also acquired the next door bar space. Before becoming Suck It Mixology, the space housed Ringside Sports Bar.

[forward looking]

Mum's the word.

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

Suck It gets an 'elevated' touch at St. Paul Square with new restaurant, cocktail bar

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/re...t-17018622.php

Suck It, a tongue-in-cheek name that's been part of San Antonio since 2010, is now adding a St. Paul Square spot. Owner Vinh Hoang recently opened Suck It Mixology and is preparing an Asian kitchen to open next door in the growing food and drink neighborhood.

The bar celebrated a grand opening on Thursday, March 17. Hoang is planning to host his first restaurant guests in early April. Hoang says nearly two years of preparation have gone on behind the scenes. He says the restaurant was planned before the pandemic, but plumbing issues arose. While the city worked to fix the issue, he also acquired the next door bar space. Before becoming Suck It Mixology, the space housed Ringside Sports Bar.

[kingkirbythe....]

Longtime San Antonio dining mainstay W.D. Deli has been sold

The Broadway lunch spot's founders searched for two years for the right successors.

https://www.sacurrent.com/food-drink...-sold-28497397

After a two-year search for the right caretakers, the founders of near-downtown lunchtime favorite W.D. Deli have sold the business to local couple Steve Clemens and Kelly Balubiak.

In June of 2020, longtime owners Wayne Beers and Michael Bobo put both the Broadway dining mainstay and its distinctive building — a converted two-story home — up for sale, citing the desire to spend more time at their Puerto Vallarta, Mexico condo. Can anyone blame them?

“You know, we ran this place for 32 years, and it’s just time. Time to do something different,” former owner Beers told the Current via phone. “The deli’s at a place where it needed someone who could take it to the next level, but we had to take the time to find someone who wouldn't come in and completely steamroll everything we created.”

[kingkirbythe....]

New 'community-based bar' Chiflada’s will open on San Antonio's West Side this fall

The bar’s cheeky moniker generally means "spoiled" or "bratty."

https://www.sacurrent.com/food-drink...-fall-28502094

A trio of San Antonio are working to open Chiflada’s, a new Westside drinkery that embodies the Alamo City’s sass and flair, MySA reports.

Mother-daughter duo Natasha and Veronica Riffle — along with partner Melanie Martinez — aim to open the “little Westside gem” at 1804 West Martin St. in October. Neighboring popular hangout Jaime's Place, Chiflada's will focus on SA-centric tastes, sounds and aesthetics, they told the news site.

The bar’s cheeky moniker, which generally means "spoiled" or "bratty," is an inside joke-turned-business model, Natasha Riffle told MySA.

[forward looking]

Female nouns end with an :A: and nouns which end with an "O"
denote a male- almost like an adjective at the end of the word.
Thus the word, Chiflado would be a bratty male.
Chiflada would be a bratty female.

It might also even be taken to mean, a flirtatious female.[QUOTE=kingkirbythe....;9579237]New 'community-based bar' Chiflada’s will open on San Antonio's West Side this fall

The bar’s cheeky moniker generally means "spoiled" or "bratty."

[kingkirbythe....]

All aboard San Antonio's iconic boat-shaped restaurant, Dry Dock Oyster Bar

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...t-17028306.php

If someone blindfolded me, spun me around and restored my vision while sitting me down at San Antonio's Dry Dock Oyster Bar, I'd probably believe them if they claimed they were surprising me with a boat trip. Or at least — with the mounted marlin, retro bar seating, suspected Jimmy Buffet fans and crackly yacht rock flowing through the overhead speakers — I could almost be convinced (in my initial disorientation) that I was aboard a retired ship (turned novelty restaurant) docked some place bordering the Gulf of Mexico. I am not a gullible person. This is a testament to the 40-year-old Fredericksburg Road institution's commitment to the maritime experience.

[kingkirbythe....]

Acclaimed Texas chef Ryan Hildebrand opening Hildee's Dine Inn north of San Antonio

Hildebrand hopes the restaurant will become a centerpiece through its “seasonal and soulful” eats.

https://www.sacurrent.com/food-drink...tonio-28533334

Ryan Hildebrand, the acclaimed chef behind now-shuttered progressive American Houston mainstay Triniti, is launching a new concept in the Hill Country burg of Wimberley.

The sleepy ranch town has emerged as a travel destination thanks to its growing number of dining and shopping options. Hildebrand hopes his Hildee’s Dine-Inn, set to open Thursday, will become a centerpiece by offering “seasonal and soulful” eats made with locally sourced ingredients.

“I became a chef because food brings people together,” Hildebrand said a statement. “We built Hildee’s from the ground up, but I wanted it to feel like it had been part of the landscape of this community for years. I’m looking forward to people gathering here around a table and enjoying our food and cocktails.”

According to a release, a core menu of signature items will be available year-round, while seasonal ingredients from local purveyors will determine specials. Opening night menu selections include roasted broccolini and beets, spring vegetable ratatouille and a BSLT: a bacon, hot smoked salmon, lettuce and tomato sando.

Behind the bar, the tap wall will highlight local breweries, and the cocktail menu will offer updated takes on classics such as a mezcal margarita with house-smoked salt on the rim.

The restaurant will include an indoor bar and dining room along with an outdoor patio, which boasts smokers and a live-fire table. The outdoor area also features a playscape with a rock wall, swings, ladders and slide.

Hildee’s is located at 14111 Winters Mill Parkway, about an hour north of downtown San Antonio. The establishment will be open 3-10 p.m. Mondays as well as 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

[kingkirbythe....]

Shaq brings Big Chicken franchise to San Antonio, 50 Texas locations

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...P-CP-Spotlight

A big development deal is bringing Big Chicken, the fast home-cooked chicken franchise from NBA Hall of Famer turned entrepreneur Shaquille O'Neal, to San Antonio. The expansion is due to a new development deal through franchise group Big Chicken Texas, which will bring 50 locations to Texas, including San Antonio, according to a news release.

"Big Chicken is exactly the kind of brand that succeeds in Texas: pioneering and bold, yet rooted in delicious tradition," said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, in the release. “Welcome back home to Texas, Shaq.”

[kingkirbythe....]

Fat Tuesday returns to its former spot near the San Antonio River Walk after 17 years

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...-Editors-Picks

After 17 years, Fat Tuesday is returning to its former spot on West Crockett. The global daiquiri company had a presence in San Antonio in the 1990s before closing in 2005. Fat Tuesday reentered the San Antonio scene in December 2021 with a location at The Shops at Rivercenter, followed by a store on Bandera Road in February. Now it's going back to where it all began.

The company confirms one of three upcoming locations will be housed in its former location at 111 West Crockett. Tatiana Araujo, a spokeswoman for the company, tells MySA the two other Fat Tuesdays will be in the San Antonio area. All three planned locations are expected to open later this year.

[kingkirbythe....]

Mila Coffee, brewery joining new market inside Cavender Cadillac buildings in downtown San Antonio

https://saheron.com/mila-coffee-brew...nder-cadillac/

A new food-and-beverage market called Make Ready, inside two former Cavender Cadillac dealership buildings off Broadway, is due to open this winter with a dozen tenants.

A brewery will occupy one of two buildings behind The Soto office building, 711 Broadway, and will be run by Pouring With Heart, a national bar company with 16 individually-named bars in Los Angeles, five in Austin, two in San Diego and one in Denver.

[kingkirbythe....]

Casa Rio: San Antonio's oldest continually operating restaurant in SA since 1946

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...P-CP-Spotlight

In the early 1950's during the Cavalier's River Parade, Bill Lyons was around twelve years old. His grandfather, Alfred Beyer, had recently opened Casa Rio, one of the first restaurant's to open on the River Walk, and one that's still in operation today. It was a venture that wouldn't have materialized if Beyer hadn't gone completely broke three times operating a failing downtown appliance store.

During the parade that took place when Lyons was in the throes of adolescence, Beyer had his young grandson dress up as a clown and paddle around the restaurant during the Fiesta festivities.

"Things weren't as regimented back in the day," 83-year-old Lyons shares, laughing at the absurdity and low-security of the bygone era.

[kingkirbythe....]

Korean corndog pop-up and night market will take over San Antonio's Three Star Bar
The event aims to put the crispy fried snack in the spotlight.

https://www.sacurrent.com/food-drink...r-bar-28641801

Korean corn dogs are having a moment in San Antonio. And why wouldn't they? What's not to like about hot dogs or mozzarella cheese that gets battered, covered in a crunchy topping such as panko and deep fried?

Now, a Monday, April 18 pop-up will further showcase the cult fave. Korean hot dog outfit Sijang will take over the kitchen at Pearl-area drinkery Three Star Bar, serving up snacks at a night market featuring local vendors.

“Korean corn dogs are typically a market food, and as much fun as we’ve had running them stand-alone, serving them in a marketplace setting has always been our vision for Sijang,” pop-up co-founder Brian Reese told the Current. “We thought we’d invite all of our creative and hard working friends to come have a place to showcase their talents and products ... and I feel like the most important thing was to make sure that we could create a space for our talented and industrious friends to succeed.”

Reese and co-founder Eddie Barrera will sling a small selection of Korean corn dogs from 7 p.m. to sellout. They'll offer both meat-and-cheese corndogs and a cheese-only option for vegetarians. Some market vendors will also offer pastries and desserts.

Three Star Bar, located at 521 E. Grayson St., will serve its regular cocktail menu for the evening.

[kingkirbythe....]

Puro Taco to fuel your next night out on the St. Mary's Strip

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...-Editors-Picks

Those who frequent the St. Mary's Strip might have noticed a new black coat of paint covering the formerly anchovy enveloped, cheese-whiz orange structure that once housed Pizza Party. Once a by-the-slice eatery, the restaurant is now interred in the Empty Stomach Group restaurant graveyard.

Puro Taco, the building's newest tenant, is the latest concept from Mario Reina, a veteran North St. Mary's food-trucker that you might recognize if you've ever stumbled up to his old post, Taquitos MB El Sazon Norteño.

[kingkirbythe....]

New Tech Port Arena will feature Southwest Side's first food hall

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...MySA-HP-Editor

San Antonio anxiously awaits the debut of Tech Port Center + Arena, the upcoming multi-use entertainment venue opening in the decommissioned Kelly Air Force Base on the Southwest Side. Tech Port has announced an inaugural lineup of musicians including nostalgic favorites, as well as rappers like Kevin Gates, who will play in the state-of-the-art $70 million venue. The arena revealed on Thursday, April 14 that Tech Port will appease to more senses with a new food hall coming to the Southwest Side with the opening of the arena.

The dedicated food hall, called Tech Port Provisions will feature six local food and drink vendors ready to serve the community throughout the week, regardless if an event is being hosted. The new food destination will debut on May 2 in conjunction with The Smashing Pumpkins concert.

The tenants include: Kuriya and La Tienda de Birria, both run by Eastside favorite Cherrity Bar; The Pantry by beloved Earl Abel's; an extension of The Big Bib BBQ; Capo's Pizzeria; and Brevity Coffee. The food hall will also be home to Tech Pour, a fast-craft bar. Tech Pour will serve beer, wine, spirits, themed cocktails like the 1979, named in honor of The Smashing Pumpkins and the band's 1996 song.

[kingkirbythe....]

Downtown San Antonio’s Broadway Delicatessen restaurant serves East Coast sandwiches with pastrami, Italian beef and marble rye in the mix

https://www.expressnews.com/food/art...i-17107358.php

Rating: Solid neighborhood option

In a previous life, the home of Broadway Delicatessen was a jewelry store, in case you couldn’t tell from the black marble casements around the windows and the blue neon Gildemeister’s marquee hanging in the dining room.

The downtown building at 122 Broadway sells a different kind of gem these days: deli sandwiches inspired by owner Arnold Mendoza’s travels through the upper East Coast in his 20s, hitting the classic delis of New York and the surrounding region.

Like the shop he runs now, the San Antonio native’s lived a few past lives of his own, working as a FEMA contractor and running the late Bunz, Burgerz & More in Southtown and the Groove Lounge bar just east of downtown.

[kingkirbythe....]

San Antonio reels in fish-shaped Japanese treats at just-opened Hanamaru Cafe

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/ar...-Editors-Picks

You might start seeing fish-shaped snacks swim onto your social media timelines now that Hanamaru is open. The Japanese snack shop specializes in taiyaki, a waffle-like bread formed into the shape of a tai fish and stuffed with sweet or savory fillings. Hanamaru celebrated a grand opening on Sunday, April 24.

Hanamaru serves six sweet ($2.85) and six savory ($3.10 or $3.60) options. Customers can choose from cheddar cheese, mozzarella, ham and cheddar cheese, ham and mozzarella, turkey and cheddar cheese, and turkey and mozzarella. Jalapeno can be added for 15 cents. If you want a more traditional experience, there's red bean, ube, custard, Nutella, Oreo, and chocolate chip.

[kingkirbythe....]

New historic marker near the Alamo honors Church’s Chicken's San Antonio roots

https://www.expressnews.com/news/loc...r-17133568.php

The plaque honors George W. Church Sr., the man who started the Texas chicken empire

Church died in 1956, and the first restaurant is long gone. But 70 years after he opened the San Antonio-born company, family members, the chicken franchise, and city officials have banded together to keep his legacy alive through a historic marker.

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H-E-B’s Central Market launches a ‘meatless butcher’

https://www.expressnews.com/business...d-17131865.php

There is no chicken in the chicken wings in the display case. They’re made from tofu, seitan, vegan chicken stock and garlic. There’s no beef in the brisket, either. No lamb in the kabobs. No pork in the chorizo or pepperoni.

H-E-B’s Central Market is one of the first grocery chains in the U.S., if not the first, to feature what it calls a “meatless butcher.” For now, the concept is limited to one of the chain’s 10 upscale stores, in south Austin. It debuted Friday.

In most respects it looks exactly like any other butcher counter: Burgers, briskets and tenders are neatly arranged in a glass case with several hair-netted employees at work behind it. But the new department distinguishes itself in that none of its offerings contain meat.

Central Market is responding to increasing demand for plant-based foods — seen in the popularity of products such as the Impossible Burger — and seeking to maintain its reputation as “a destination for things that you can’t find elsewhere, and especially things that we make,” said Phil Myers, the chain’s director of food service.




I cook all the meals for my family. Before I did, they ate SOOOO much meat. I switched over to plant-based meatless without telling them, and they didn't notice.

[kingkirbythe....]

Vegan San Antonio bakery Cake Thieves now open in Hackberry Market on the near East Side

https://www.expressnews.com/food/res...n-17130542.php

In October 2018, the new Hackberry Market at the intersection of East Houston and Hackberry streets had six tenants lined up, five of them food and beverage related. The only one that had not opened since then was vegan bakery and cafe Cake Thieves Bakery & Eatery.

That changed on Tuesday when the bakery opened its doors for the first time, joining Truth Pizzeria, Black Laboratory Brewing, The Farmers Butcher, The Magpie restaurant and a Credit Human branch.

Clearly, San Antonio was excited for the opening, and Cake Thieves sold out of all its inventory on the debut day.

“It’s been a long process, but the only way I can describe getting to finally open is gratefulness,” said co-owner Sam Martinez. Martinez works the front of house, and fellow co-owner Kia Geronimo is the executive pastry chef.

[kingkirbythe....]

Westside San Antonio bar wants its lakeside deck back, it just might get it.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/busines...P-CP-Spotlight

The Lighthouse Lounge, a popular bar near Woodlawn Lake, just cleared the first hurdle to getting its deck back.

The planning commission approved Lighthouse Lounge owner Renee Zamora's request to change the zoning on Wednesday, April 27 from neighborhood commercial to community commercial. The zoning change will open up commercial designations that would allow Zamora to rebuild the deck facing Woodlawn Lake and the downtown San Antonio skyline.

The zoning change would also expand outside sound amplification measures, allowing Zamora to bring back his outside speaker so bar patrons on the deck can hear performers and music inside the bar. Zamora could also add a cover charge to help pay for the live performances.