Welcome to the San Antonio Current’s 2019 City Guide
Consider this publication your San Antonio playlist. Or, if you’re older, maybe not so digitally inclined, your San Antonio mixtape. If you’ve ever compiled a playlist or mixtape to share with friends, you know part of the fun is pairing up familiar, crowd-pleasing tunes with deeper cuts that may be a little more obscure but…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: San Antonio’s Hometown Heroes
Since way before San Antonio was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, it had a proud history, peopled with interesting, important, idiosyncratic and ultimately impactful characters. The two lists below, while not exhaustive by any means, are meant to give an idea of the sheer diversity and scope of famous San Antonians and…
Greatest Hits: San Antonio Restaurants As Seen On TV
With so many esteemed chefs and award-winning restaurants in the Alamo City, residents understandably take pride when foodies from outside take note. And that’s been happening more and more lately, especially with the proliferation of cuisine-focused TV programs. Food Network personality Guy Fieri, the Mayor of Flavortown, has visited San Antonio time and time again…
Flicks Filmed in San Antonio (And Six Degrees of Jesse Borrego)
According to the Internet Movie Database, there are nearly 1,000 films and TV shows shot at least partly in San Antonio over the last 119 years. From a big-picture perspective, that’s a tiny drop in the bucket. That doesn’t mean, however, that the Alamo City doesn’t celebrate the projects it’s had the opportunity to host…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: San Antonio Landmarks
A city as old as San Antonio has hundreds of historic places of interest, but some have risen above the status of being just another building with a plaque to become true recognizable landmarks that capture the spirit of the city, then and now. While downtown San Antonio certainly has its share of important landmarks,…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Where to Score Late-Nite Grub in San Antonio
Few things (other than not imbibing) offer better anti-hangover insurance than a greasy, carb-laden feast at 2 a.m. And whether you crave tacos, wings or gravy-laden chicken-fried steak at that time, San Antonio can deliver. But there’s more good news here. The Alamo City also serves up plenty other variations on the late-night nosh —…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Happy Hours in San Antonio
You shouldn’t have to choose between cocktails or snacks in San Antonio — get you a happy hour that does both. We’ve put together a list of places so you can explore your city with some of the best specials around. Asian Fusion Greatest Hit: Singh’s Stop by this popular Vietnamese brick-and-mortar for crispy and…
Greatest Hits: San Antonio Restaurants That Have Stood the Test of Time
San Antonio’s restaurants can be measured in many ways, from the number of awards they’ve won to the role they’ve played in putting the city on the culinary map. But, given our city’s propensity for nostalgia, plenty of residents also take note of how long restaurants have been a part of the local food scene.…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: San Antonio Activists Making A Difference
San Antonio has a long history of social activism, from Emma Tenayuca and her work to organize the city’s pecan shellers in the ’30s to Willie Velásquez’s later fights to increase voter registration education and awareness among Mexican-Americans. The tradition continues today through the work of groups including the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, the…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Where to Score Adult Beverages in San Antonio
San Antonio’s made great strides from its past as a light beer-and-margaritas town. Whether you prefer tilting back cocktails, wine or craft beer, the city’s got you covered. Craft Cocktails Greatest Hit: SoHo Wine & Martini Bar Visit with SoHo’s knowledgeable bartenders to select your martini order, or simply order from the menu — either…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: San Antonio Artists to Watch
When it comes to exposure for its music scene, San Antonio has often lived in Austin’s shadow. But individual artists have certainly broken out to find bigger audiences. Here are a few making a noise that’s been heard well outside of Loop 1604. Lil Booty Call Lil Booty Call has a baby trap vibe. In…
Greatest Hits: San Antonio Chefs
Indigenous culinary traditions have defined our area for centuries, long before San Antonio’s 1718 founding. Those indigenous culinary roots are still alive — they can be found in community and restaurant gardens, local dishes and ingredients — but the chefs that are most closely identified with the city have just begun to highlight that history,…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Music Venues in San Antonio
San Antonio is a city that boasts a robust and impressively diverse music scene, in terms of both local stuff and touring shows. Helping to foster this scene, and to literally host it night after night, local venues, from the state-of-the-art to the run-of-the-mill, are key to the character and continuance of live music in…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Parks On & Off the Beaten Path in San Antonio
The hustle and bustle of downtown San Antonio can overshadow one of the city’s best qualities — its abundance of green spaces. The city has preserved thousands of acres of natural areas in parks, with a multitude of amenities for visitors of both the two- and four-legged varieties. Confluence Park and Mission Reach Built as…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Booze-Free After-Hours Fun in San Antonio
The Alamo City likes to get its drink on, but going out for a good time need not revolve around getting tipsy. Whether you live a sober lifestyle or just don’t feel like powering through a workday hangover, here are some things to do to have fun during late-night rendezvous without setting foot inside a…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Retail Therapy in San Antonio
San Antonio may not be the shopping destination of everyone’s dreams, but what it may lack in metropolitan cachet it easily makes up for with something far more important: authenticity. Whether you’re in the market for a truly unusual gift or simply need the distraction of some quality browsing, our list of usual suspects and…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Museums & Galleries in San Antonio
Austin may have us beat as the alleged Live Music Capital of the World, but San Antonio wins in the realm of contemporary art — and with flying colors. Evidenced not just by our solid spread of museums but snazzy galleries, artist-run spaces and the monthly First Friday and Second Saturday art crawls, the Alamo…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Nonprofit Groups in San Antonio
Whether helping families put food on the table during the government shutdown or aiding refugees who arrive in our community with little more than the clothes they wear, we’ve recently seen the tireless work San Antonio-area nonprofits do for our community. Beyond providing aid to those in need, these agencies also raise awareness of important…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Sweets & Snacks in San Antonio
There are a few places every San Antonio native (or recent transplant) should know when it comes to grabbing a quick snack — whether it’s a sweet and flaky French pastry or a fresh and flavorful fruit cup. Classic Breads & Pastries Greatest Hit: Bakery Lorraine You can count on Bakery Lorraine, and pastry chefs…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Essential San Antonio Albums From The Last 10 Years
There’s been so much great recorded music out of San Antonio that it would be damn near impossible to compile an essential albums list going back decades. So, instead, we’re sticking to a single decade. Here’s a sampling of the best local recordings of the past 10 years. Sunny and The Sunliners — Mr. Brown…
Deep Cuts: Food Entrepreneurs in San Antonio
James Vives, Brushfire Farms A family recipe and the chile pequin plants of South Texas inspired James Vives to start making spicy-sweet jams, but his time in Break Fast & Launch, a culinary business accelerator, made him realize that he could reinvent the way people thought about jam. “The chile pequin is the end all…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Power Brokers in San Antonio
City council members come and go. CEOs of major corporations occasionally dip their toes into broader community affairs but mostly stay busy keeping shareholders happy. Institutional leaders are powerful advocates for specific causes but rarely engage in log rolling or wielding the broad power needed to consistently make things happen. So, with all of those…
Greatest Hits: San Antonio Makers & Designers
Anthony Ryan Auld Texas-based fashion designer and Project Runway All Stars season two winner Anthony Ryan Auld shares his creative vision with San Antonio at Couleur + Blindé (4704 Broadway) — his Alamo Heights shop stocked with affordably priced womenswear (most of which he designs himself), curated accessories and vegan soaps and soy candles in…
Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts: Theater Companies in San Antonio
Believe it or not, San Antonio boasts an incredibly robust live theater community. Yes, even in the age of streaming! Local theater companies put on everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber hits to wacky original musicals starring frogs, so whether your tastes skew toward canonized classics or experimental performances, there’s something here for you to love.…
Deep Cuts: Elevated Movie Viewing in San Antonio
The endless sequels and lazy blockbusters parading through local movie theaters often don’t seem worth premium admission when you know you can catch them on Netflix in a few months, especially when you have to deal with crowds, overpriced snacks and mysteriously sticky armrests. But all that hassle may well be behind you — not…
Deep Cuts: Food Justice Leaders in San Antonio
In the era of 24/7 news coverage, it’s easier than ever to feel increasingly helpless and burned out by political updates and coverage. But your food choices — how you shop, what you eat — is one political act that allows you to reclaim that power. San Antonio’s food deserts — areas that lack accessible…
