5 More Ways to Enjoy Eggnog This Season
Turns out eggnog is more than just a holiday cocktail. Here are a few noggy recipes to try: 1. Sweet, sweet truffles Via Shugary Sweets Eggnog truffles via Shugary Sweets 2. Changing a classic Via White Lights on Wednesday Eggnog Thumbprint cookies via White Lights on Wednesdays 3. Holiday pancakes Via Recipe Girl Eggnog…
Trinity University Sends Pet Rock to College Applicant
Photo courtesy of bennythriv, Redditor Meet Trinity University’s most adorable new mascot: LeeRoy, the pet rock. The school sent this personalized gift to Reddit user bennytheriv. Why? As bennytheriv explains, making pet rocks was the topic of his application essay to the school. The school admissions committee was charmed, and they painted this personalized pet…
The Current Is Under New Ownership
Yep, we’re still here I know, all y’all were on pins and needles for the past few months, after former parent company Times-Shamrock announced it would be selling off all its alt weekly properties. Now you can rest easy, we’re giving you the gift of peace of mind for the holidays: The Current announced…
10 Free Things Happening This Week, Dec. 23-29
1) A COSAS Christmas Monday Dec. 23 12:30 p.m. Debuting new works by COSAS favorite Raymundo Gonzalez, this special Christmas-themed collection viewing will feature wall-to-wall paintings and sculptures that capture the spirit of the holidays. Additionally, the rest of the gallery will be open for guests to explore a recently-acquired shipment of works from Mexico.…
3 Writers Pick their Desert Island Beer, Cocktail and Wine
BEER We’ve all run a dozen or more desert island scenarios through our minds. What book would we want to take with us? Which celebrity would we want to make out with? What snacks could we not live without? Some of us have even debated what beer we’d want to have if we were stranded…
Jade Esteban Estrada Bar Hops the New and Improved Main Strip
It isn’t surprising that with the political successes gained in 2013 for LGBT equality comes a little self-respect that shows on the outside. Just take a look at the pubs and clubs on (and near) North Main–commonly known as “the Strip”–and marvel at the area’s wicked facelift. With its only true competitors being the in-a-class-of-its-own…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Edmund Kean (1789-1833) was one of the most famous British actors of his time. But a contemporary, the poet Samuel Coleridge, was frustrated by Kean’s inconsistency, regarding him as a great artist who on occasion lapsed into histrionics. “To see him act,” said Coleridge, “is like reading Shakespeare by flashes of…
SA’s Own ‘Grudge Match’: Wolff v. Adkisson
In an unexpected shakeup for a long-time incumbent, Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson threw his hat into the 2014 Bexar County Judge race in hopes of unseating the current judge, Nelson Wolff. In the final hours of the state primary filing deadline, Adkisson bid to defeat the fellow Democrat, pitting two old friends against…
Scorsese Outdoes Himself with ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Only Martin Scorsese could’ve followed the magical Hugo with The Wolf of Wall Street. In his new movie, Scorsese channels Jake LaMotta and Metal Machine Music-era Lou Reed, becoming a loud, raging bull not at all concerned with attention spans or other trivial things. He goes all out, and takes Leonardo DiCaprio with him to…
Beyond Sports Bars: Three spots to watch the Valero Alamo Bowl
I’m not much for sports: I’ve been known to confuse a field goal for an end zone; and up until a few years ago, I was fairly certain the blue and yellow down markers were actually on the field. Yet every once in a while as social engagements will have it, I have to muster…
Continuing the Chris Sauter Pilgrimage at Blue Star and Fl!ght
The second and third stops on Chris Sauter’s multi-locational pilgrimage take place at Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum and at Fl!ght Gallery at 1906 South Flores. “Doubt,” meanwhile, lives until February 2 at Southwest School of Art (see “Dark Matters: Chris Sauter explains it all (not),” December 11). “Faith and Reason,” the apparition at Blue…
Various Artists: ‘South By Midwest Vol.1 (For Habitat for Humanity)’
Vast in scope and rich in rewards, South By Midwest Vol. 1 (SXMW1) is a benefit compilation from Florida-based Holy Hell Records, the proceeds of which will go to Habitat for Humanity. Aside from being for a good cause, the album is also a pretty damn good listen. Featuring acts from all across the South…
EuroFlash: Speisen’s Menu Visits Several Continental Countries
Just inside the entry at Speisen sits a gleaming, grand piano; on a Monday evening, its keys were moving to a ghostly hand, as tinkly tunes such as “Strangers in the Night” emanated from the lacquered confines. Carlos and Dianko Barajas, whose popular Guajillo’s pays homage to their Mexican father’s side of the family, have…
Savage Love: The clit’s the thing
DEAR READERS: Sophia Wallace, the NYC-based conceptual artist behind the amazing Cliteracy project, was a guest on my podcast recently. (To hear our conversation, go to savagelovecast.com and look up episode 371.) During our chat, Wallace told me that a column I wrote years ago about the importance of the clit had a big impact…
The Year in Drunk: 8 hazy recollections of 2013
The sloppiest celebrations of alcohol in 2013. 8) “Drunk Last Night” – Eli Young Band Normally, when you want to talk about alcohol in pop culture, you go straight to the country charts. But this year, they were all too busy getting stoned to write a proper drinking anthem. Seriously, if you want to burn…
Flavor File: Attaboy to own Tucker’s, Hot Joy cameo, NAO’s new late-night menu
There’s a certain buzz in the air turning an otherwise sleepy December into a food- and hooch-filled affair. Let’s start off with a change of pace for Tucker’s Kozy Corner (1338 E Houston, (210) 320-2192), which will be owned by Chris Cullum, of Cullum’s Attaboy, as of January 1, 2014. Cullum expects to make tweaks…
Downtown Bar Crawl: The not-for-tourists
The lights dangle down from the branches of the towering cypress trees, their reflections bouncing along the tops of the small ripples left in the wake of the river taxis slowly moving by. The River Walk still seems the same as it’s always been. The same types of tourists amble along the stone walkways, lost…
Wonder Wall: Blane De St. Croix at Blue Star
The truth is, building a wall along miles and miles of a remote political border has never proven to be an effective barrier to human will. The 72-mile-long wall Roman Emperor Hadrian had built across northern England beginning in 122 A.D. may have provided some control over immigration, smuggling and customs, but scholars question how…
Big Hops Growler Station's growing SA beer empire
By now, word of Big Hops Growler Station has filled the ears and mouths of many in San Antonio. After opening just 10 months ago, owners Rob and Kylie Martindale quickly realized they had struck gold—not the black gold so often revered in Texas, but the liquid variety consumed by the pint all over the…
Big Freedia Everywhere (Including San Antonio)
It’s been a huge year for Big Freedia, and she’ll start wrapping it up here on December 28. The verified Queen of Bounce continued her quest to introduce the entire world to the beat-driven, rapid-fire hip-hop style she’s been dedicated to for most of her professional life. While Freedia, born Freddie Ross in New Orleans,…
3 Ways to Get Your Grub/Drink On This Week
Friday, December 27: Make your New Year’s Eve a little more Mex as Central Market cooking instructor Manuel Esquivel demonstrates how to prepare traditional recipes including menudo de rez, frijoles a la charra, Mom’s Mexican rice, butternut squash tamales with chipotle chicken and San Antonio bunuelos. $40, 6:30-8:30pm, 4821 Broadway, (210) 368-8617, centralmarket.com. Saturday, December…
Merry Christmas Law is Gift that Keeps on Giving, Comedy-wise
It’s that time of year again. Hanging stockings, decking the halls, caroling and, if you’re a Texas right-wing conservative, spending the hours needlessly fighting a religious war that doesn’t exist. Thanks to legislation authored by state Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston) during the 2013 session, conservative groups are in a media blitz promoting the new “Merry…
Day in the Life: Saint Arnold’s “Beer Cowgirl,” Nicole George
Since 1994, the Saint Arnold Brewing Company has produced year-round, seasonal and single-batch craft beer. Available today in four states (Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Colorado), the company is headquartered in Houston but has an army of brand representatives stationed across their footprint: four in Houston, two in DFW, one in Austin, one in Colorado, one…
Scotch or Mescal: Cual es mas macho?
Distilled more than 5,000 miles away from each other, Mexico’s mescal (or mezcal) and Scotland’s scotch have more in common than it seems. The spirits can be merciless on untrained taste buds, are both steeped in tradition and can vary greatly based on the region of origin or the family recipe being used. Another similarity…
Mala Rodriguez: ‘Bruja’
It’s here, finally. Bruja (Spanish for “witch” or “sorceress”) is the fifth studio album from the Spanish-language world’s top female rapper, and her most consistently strong collection since Lujo Ibérico, her 2000 debut (some would prefer 2010’s enjoyable Dirty Bailarina, but not me). In Bruja (2013 Latin Grammy winner for Best Urban Album), La Mala…
Zac Brown Band: ‘The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1’
Grohl has reached the level of rock superstardom where he can do absolutely whatever he wants. He’s certainly testing that status by teaming up with country rock bros Zac Brown Band on their lovingly titled four-track EP The Grohl Sessions. Odd though it may seem on paper, the pairing actually works wonderfully in practice, with…
Humanely Perverse: Alejandro Augustine Padilla at Bihl Haus
Considering that the great juxtapositions of our day all happen on the internet first—Youtube videos that pit Jack Nicholson’s Joker against Heath Ledger’s, or those sonic mash-ups that fuse pop singers who already sound the same—you may assume that outside of the digital realm, the best exquisite corpse we’ve got is to switch channels fast…
H.O.V.A. in S.A.: A Storify on Jay-Z at the AT&T Center
We collected the tweets and Instagrams from fans at Friday night’s conference to give you an impression of the Magna Carta Tour in San Antonio. [View the story “H.O.V.A. in S.A.!” on Storify]
Justin Timberlake And Jimmy Fallon Wrap the SNL Christmas Package: 3 Special Snips
I am no die-hard fan of Saturday Night Live, but I am a die-hard fan of Justin Timberlake on SNL — ever since “Dick in a Box.” So, I made a point to watch last night’s “Saturday Night Live Christmas Special,” perfectly packaged with JT and host Jimmy Fallon. These three scenes had me splitting and…
5 Alternative Xmas Videos For Everyone
In tribute to Hyperbubble’s amazing new holiday song and video (below), we compiled five Christmas song music videos that don’t inspire peppermint-flavored puking or instant sugar-plum snoozes due to all the saccharine, overused tropes that typically litter the genre. We’re pretty sure we’ve got a video on this list you can handle, even if you…
Barbara Wolfe Benefit Sunday at Big Bob’s Burgers
Steve Silbas and Barbara Wolfe The December 9 passing of former Casbeers and San Anto Café & Concerts Barbara Wolfe, was deeply felt in our music community. She died of cancer at age 53. Tomorrow, December 22 at 3 p.m., a benefit will be held at the new Big Bob’s Burger location. Look for the…
Aziz Ansari Will Bring His Swagger to SA in 2014
“AAAAAHHH! Huge.” is how I began the email to the editorial staff forwarding them the info that comedian Aziz Ansari will be performing at the Majestic on Monday, February 3. The venue has lately provided comedy-starved SA with some life support in the likes of A-listers like Kathy Griffin and Ron White, and this…
Top 5 Bonehead Quotes of 2013: Texas Reproductive Rights Edition
It was a dismal year for women’s health in Texas— the state legislature passed a sweeping package of some of the most restrictive reproductive health laws in the country, including a ban on abortion at 20 weeks, regulations on abortion medication and rules that creates hurdles for abortion physicians and clinics. While an ongoing court…
Q&A: Oscar Isaac Molds an Isle-of-Man for the Coens’ “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Kiko Martinez is the editor of Cinesnob, and he snagged the interview with Oscar Isaac who performs the title character in Inside Llewyn Davis. Oscar Isaac performs the title character in the latest Coens film. Seventeenth century English poet John Donne might never have written his poem “No Man is an Island” (“Every man is a piece of…
Shot of the Week: Christmas Cheer
Christmas Cheer shot This little number will help get you through those last few days of holiday shopping. I was a bit grossed out when I first stumbled across the Christmas Cheer. The recipe calls for equal parts eggnog and peppermint schnapps which seemed a little too bold to combine… But I was pleasantly surprised.…
Top 5 Down the Hatch Cocktail Recipes of 2013
Our house bartender shared plenty of great cocktail recipes this year. Whether they was seasonal favorites or local takes on classic cocktails, Jacob Coltrane Burris shared the boozy gospel along with tips on how to make these concoctions at home. Here are our top five picks for 2013: 1. The Horse’s Neck From May 22,…
6 Sangrias for National Sangria Day
National sangria day is Friday, December 20 for some unknown reason. The highs will be in the mild 70’s on Friday, so who are we to deny this celebration? Here are a few classic, and fall-inspired sangrias to make for the occasion. 1. Too-Easy Sangria Via Inspired by Charm Sangria Tinto via Inspired by Charm…
Live and Local Review: Carly Garza at J&O’s Cantina
Carly Garza (photo by Karen Garanzuay) ’Tis the season, apparently, for homecoming shows. In consecutive days this week, expect the returns of boy wonder Marcus Rubio tonight at Tortillería La Popular, drummer Chuck Kerr and his Bad Breaks project at 502 on Friday, and California transplants Youngblood Hawke at the Scottish Rite Temple…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 12/19 Marcus Rubio, Todd Lerew, Justin Boyd Fans of all things free (free jazz, free folk, free improv), the entity known as heavy Denim specializes in types of music that “don’t fit in either a noisy club or a large concert hall.” By presenting “exploratory” genres in intimate, unexpected spaces—which have previously included Fl!ght…
Two Bros. BBQ Hosts SA Cocktail Conference Warm-Up
A sample of the porchetta you can expect to find during BBQ & Bourbon. (Courtesy) I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that the San Antonio Cocktail Conference is but a month away. Even as a third year attendee, I can’t say I’m ready for what’s in store. On Tuesday night, chef…
NAO Hosts Late Nite Wiley Experience
Wiley (center) is heading the late-night weekend menu at NAO. (Courtesy) Weekends just got a little more delicious. NAO (312 Pearl Pkwy, (210) 554-6484) launched a Late Nite Jeff Wiley Experience in mid-December. We profiled Wiley just a couple weeks ago as a rising chef to watch. The late night menu features Wiley-fied bar snacks…
Maverick Fest 2 Announces First List of Performers: Black Angels, Psychedelic Furs, Piñata Protest confirmed
Is Maverick Music Festival becoming the top annual music festival in San Antonio? Last year’s debut, which was headlined by Grammy-nominated Gary Clark Jr. and featured Toadies and Girl in a Coma, and the first names confirmed to take part of the second edition, suggest so: The Psychedelic Furs, Phantogram, Twin Shadow, SZA, Roky Erickson,…
Tucker’s Kozy Korner is Getting a New Owner
Cullum’s taking over at Tucker’s Kozy Korner. (Courtesy) Tucker’s Kozy Corner (1338 E Houston, (210) 320-2192), which will be owned by Chris Cullum, of Cullum’s Attaboy, as of January 1, 2014. Cullum expects to make tweaks to the drink lineup as he hopes to create a vision of “classic 1940s cocktails with a Southern twist”…
Top 10 Current Covers of 2013
Do you judge an issue by its cover? Weeklies across the country have a tradition of cover designs that are graphic, cheeky, provocative and super creative. Arts Director Eli Miller strives for cover designs with a clear concept, visual hierarchy, and attention to detail. She despises clutter and rushed type selection. She shuns the idea…
H-E-B’s Main Ave. Plans Passed Council, Now Citizens Want Oversight
In a unanimous vote, City Council approved plans to go ahead with the construction of an H-E-B grocery store downtown during a meeting on December 5. The move also allows the partial closure of South Main Avenue, between César Chávez and Arsenal Street, to make way for the locally based grocer’s expanded headquarters. (District 8’s…
‘Anchorman 2’ is the Best Movie of the Year
In much the same way that The Onion is often, in tone if not in content, the most reliable news source in America, Anchorman 2 is perhaps the most important movie of 2013. He said what? Look, understandably, movies like 12 Years a Slave, Gravity and Fruitvale Station aspire to a higher and much more…
9 Last-Minute Foodie Gifts
Has Christmas crept up on you? If the thought of visiting a mall makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and, by some dark accident, Amazon doesn’t have what you need (or you’re boycotting similarly dark overlord Jeff Bezos), never fear: 2013 is the year of the last-minute foodie gifts! To…
Pickles, Paleo, Plants: Hot cookbooks for cold winter nights
Maybe I’m old-fashioned. Maybe, while I will Instagram, tweet and Facebook most of my meals, I don’t want to trust an iPad with decades-old recipes. While folks go out and buy kitchen mounts and disposable iPad chef sleeves for their tablets, I’ll stick with crusty, sticky, page-filled cookbooks. Some things have to remain sacred. Cookbooks…
Garrett T. Capps: One man, two years, three very different music projects
“Yeah, I’m all over the place,” says Garrett T. Capps, but I’m not sure which one is talking. Is it the rocker who came out of nowhere with the explosive Radical Sabbatical in 2012? The country/folk singer from another era that surprised again in 2013? The one-man orchestra who plays guitar with his hands and…
Real or Fake? Breastaurant Names
With dumb names as obvious as Hooters and Bikinis, you might think creating the perfect breastaurant brand was as easy as slapping a trademark on some nickname for female anatomy and calling it a day. But a lot more that goes into it than that. Simultaneously, the name must tell you what’s really on offer…
Gary Sweeney Interviews Jesse Amado
San Antonio native Jesse Amado has entertained and perplexed the local art scene for 25 years. My first exposure to his work was with his tour de force inaugural exhibit at Artpace in 1995. The downstairs gallery installation contained two enamel panels lined with soap, a long galvanized sink filled with water and floating bars…
David O. Russell takes it up a notch on ‘American Hustle’
On his way to the upper echelon of modern directing, the dexterous David O. Russell has shown mastery of multiple genres; the delightfully bold American Hustle is simultaneously a heist flick, a relationship comedy, a period piece, a social satire and, in a weird way, a noir. All of this chaos somehow works, because it’s…
4 Ways to Get Your Drink/Grub On This Week
Saturday, December 21: Ditch the arena grub as the Spurs take on the OKC Thunder for pre- or post-game small plates at Max’s Wine Dive. The restaurant offers a 20 percent discount on its appetizers with proof of Spurs ticket. 3-11pm, 340 E Basse, Ste 101, (210) 444-9547, maxswinedive.com. Saturday, December 21: Ranger Creek turns…
Flavor File: New spots for downtown/Pearl coffee lovers, Minnie’s secret whiskey bar
Sometimes I wonder how much sleep chef Andrew Weissman gets on a nightly basis. The can’t-stop-won’t-stop owner of Minnie’s/The Luxury/Il Sogno/Sandbar is taking back the reigns at Sip (160 E Houston, (210) 222-0149) on January 1 to give it a serious facelift. Weissman expects to close Sip for two or three weeks to gut the…
Red Dawn: Why SA is the GOP’s Best Bet for the Future
Before I moved to San Antonio, the little I gleaned of her citizens’ politics inked an indelible blue portrait in my mind. At the time, I was covering protests of an immigrant detention center located north of Austin and the largest, most passionate contingent of protestors drove up frequently from SA. Upon moving here, some…
5 DIY Holiday Wreath Ideas
On a recent Saturday, reuse specialist Mary Elizabeth Cantú opened the doors to her nonprofit Spare Parts to share a versatile DIY holiday wreath recipe in keeping with her mantra: “Trash is the failure of the imagination.” 1. It might cause San Antonio native Joan Crawford to turn in her grave, but wire hangers form…
Down the Hatch: Spiking holiday cheer
I have to make assumptions about you, gentle reader. I have to assume that you will, at some point, be sick and feverish, or lonely and cold, or happy and in good company, maybe all these things at once. Maybe you will find yourself standing in a room full of people you’d rather not be…
Savage Love: Change Agent
I’ve talked to my girlfriends, my mom and his mom, but I need some unbiased advice. I’m a 28-year-old woman in a relationship for 3.5 years with a wonderful man, also 28. I hit the jackpot: He is loving, sweet, kind, driven, active, handsome, generous, etc. We’re very committed to each other and planning our…
Bombasta Celebrates 10 Album-less Years
It’s hard to keep a band together, especially if it’s a nine-piece combo. Without an album, the task is next to impossible. Unless, of course, the name of your band is Bombasta. “Yeah, I probably misunderstood something,” the “barrio big band” leader Roberto Livar confessed, in reference to the Spanish-sounding, but actually meaningless, name of…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Life is best organized as a series of daring ventures from a secure base,” wrote psychologist John Bowlby. Some of you Aries enjoy the “daring venture” part of that formula, but neglect the “secure base” aspect. That’s why your daring ventures may on occasion go awry. If you are that type…
We Take 3 “Breastaurants” Seriously (Really)
It’s Marketing 101: Sex sells. What was once accepted (and is now expected) from the automobile and fashion industries has slinked into the dining scene by way of the drinking scene. America has birthed modern democracy, the atomic bomb and now, as trademarked by Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill founder Doug Guller, the Breastaurant! Yep,…
Op-Ed: How to keep recovery in your holidays
During the holidays, we are overwhelmed with time considerations, family traditions and the realization that almost everyone around us is just as stressed as we are. Additionally, we are surrounded by the societal expectations of “parties galore.” Office parties, family parties and New Year parties … many, if not all, full of alcohol. Even people…
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ is a Great Study of a Flawed Character
Somewhere in the first act of Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest in the Coen brothers’ long list of instant classics, our perennially broke and homeless folk (anti)hero—a wonderful Oscar Isaac, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for this role—gets some unexpected news several years too late. The way he reacts should finally debunk the myth…
A Round-Up of Breastaurant™ Standbys
Flying Saucer To be sure, this is a beer emporium. But the tiny tartan skirts worn by the “beer goddesses” tell another story. While the lineup of more than 200 beers keeps evolving, the menu has surprising hits in the way of a soft pretzel and a tasty Turkey Meltdown sandwich with smoked turkey, avocado,…
Video Recap: Maidana Destroys Broner at the Alamodome
Maidana connecting one of many overhand rights. (photo by ESPN) On Saturday night, Argentina’s Marcos “El Chino” Maidana pulverized previously undefeated champion Adrien Broner and took his AMB welterweight crown by unanimous decision in front of a vociferous crowd of 11,312 at the Alamodome. In case you missed the fight, here’s the highlights, including the…
OPEN and closed? Future of CoSA’s pop-up experiment uncertain
Katie Pell’s furniture shop and art gallery is one of the pop-ups filling empty storefronts on Houston Street. Photo by Ben Judson. Ben Judson wrote a regular column on urban planning and public spaces for the now-defunct Plaza de Armas. A frequent theme was a better use of downtown’s vacant buildings, so we asked him…
