Yes, we have no sushi
Customers have been known to drive right past Niki’s Tokyo Inn on Hildebrand to the Asian Tokyo Mart that sits in the parking lot behind the restaurant. But the fading shingles and nondescript paint job conceal a delicious time-warp dining experience. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Get your Elvis Roll somewhere else – Niki’s Tokyo…
Forcing the issues
Kathy Kennedy and Dan Graney, co-chairs of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Stonewall Dems support Kerry, with reservations The cars in the parking lot had more political stickers than rainbows. When I entered the restaurant, I explained to a waiter that I was there for the ‘Stonewall Democrats’ meeting.…
From pasta to figs
Chef Mary Martini unravels the mystery of making ravioli and stuffed pasta in the class, “Hands-On Stuffed Pasta.” Learn how to mix, roll and stuff fresh pasta dough with succulent fillings. Menu includes roasted tomato & goat cheese cannelloni, summer cheese tortellini pasta salad, and wild mushroom-stuffed ravioli with walnut pesto. July 24, 10 am-12:30pm.…
The medicine show
In a visit to SA, trade ministers celebrate 10 years of NAFTA When U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, Mexican Secretary of Economy Fernando Canales, and Canadian Minister of International Trade James Scott Peterson walked into the Jefferson Manor Room at the St. Anthony Hotel last week, it was clear that these three men are not…
Ladies first
Valerie Vargas, director of Mariachi Las Alteñas, leads the all-female mariachi group during a performance at Taqueria Mexico on the city’s Southwest Side. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) The members of the all-female Mariachi Las Alteñas are doing it for themselves One by one, the 10 members of the mariachi ensemble return to the low-rising…
Sound and the Fury
Jesse Dayton a week on the scene Heart failure Local goth-pop quintet Hearts Fail celebrated the release of its debut full-length CD, The Empty Promise, on Saturday, July 17 before an ardently devoted Sin 13 crowd. The band – best described as Joy Division meets the Thompson Twins, with some Richard Butler vocal affectations,…
Search for clarity
John Mayer: a pop songwriter with a fondness for jamming John Mayer splits the difference between his fans’ various agendas Three months ago, Rolling Stone devoted an issue to what it deemed to be rock’s 50 greatest immortals, with testimonials written by other musicians who admired them. The Jimi Henrix piece was written by…
Tamales y Más
After dropping a trio of successful underground Mex-tapes, Houston’s Chingo Bling returns with The Tamale Kingpin, his “official” debut. Although a departure from his formula of jacking mainstream beats in the name of humor, the album has been well received by fans and currently rests at No. 98 on Billboard’s nationwide rap chart. With…
Twilight of the spirits
A scholar bears witness to the destruction of the Apache religion The current Handbook of Texas Online lists famed Apache warrior and medicine man Geronimo, alongside such dignitaries as Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as one of Fort Sam Houston’s more “prominent visitors.” Indeed, for a few wet weeks in October of 1886,…
Terri bomb
Texas Terri Early last year, former Runaways singer Cherie Currie joined garage-rock hellraiser Texas Terri in the studio for a duet version of Thin Lizzy’s “The Rocker.” Before the session was done, Currie told Terri that she reminded her of Currie’s old bandmate Joan Jett. From Texas Terri’s perspective, praise doesn’t come much higher…
Word on the street
News and notes from the San Antonio Literary scene Writing and Memory Gemini Ink’s Seventh Annual Summer Literary Festival continues with their series of readings and classes organized around the theme, “Writing and Memory: The World by Heart.” The remaining half-day sessions include a review of Studs Terkel’s work and the art of oral history…
Nerds on the high prairie
Is it a screen test from the original Starsky & Hutch television series? No, it’s Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), an outsider artist-of-life who doesn’t even know what the word “cool” means. ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ is a delightfully deadpan debut The joys of Jared Hess’ debut film, Napoleon Dynamite, are intense and personal. It’s one of…
Special screenings
Au hasard Balthazar Dir. and writ. Robert Bresson; feat. Anne Wiazemsky, Françoise LeFarge, Philippe Asselin, Nathalie Joyaut, Walter Green, Jean-Claude Guilbert, Pierre Klossowski, François Sullerot, Marie-Claire Fremont (NR) Robert Bresson’s transcendent 1966 meditation on suffering and sainthood, Au hasard Balthazar, subtly parallels and contrasts the experiences of a mistreated donkey and the young woman who…
Killin’ and grillin’
Get your zombie fix at the George Romero Roadshow of the Living Dead San Antonio cinema fans champing at the bit for a shot at their very own Alamo Drafthouse may have to wait a little while longer (the most optimistic target dates for the new theater’s opening have already passed), but this weekend…
New reviews
Peter Kon Dut, one of the 4,000 “Lost Boys of Sudan” who were brought to the United States in 2001, was just four when he lost his parents to ethnic violence. As a young adult, he is struggling to build a new life in America. Lost Boys of Sudan Dir. Megan Mylan and John…
All Ears
All Ears By John DeFore Piano in the Background, and saxes and trumpets everywhere else Just got the new Piano in the Background, one of three Duke Ellington reissues due next Tuesday from Columbia/Legacy, and haven’t stopped dancing in my chair since I put it on. As Duke has a little solo time on…
Armchair Cinephile
Free-range DVD viewing If you’re a fan of international cinema, chances are you know about region-coding. It’s how DVD producers manipulate the value of their wares by planting special codes in discs, making, say, most discs sold in Bangkok useless in American DVD players. As a result, it’s not enough for an industrious British…
Recent Reviews
Recent Reviews America’s Heart and Soul, Anchorman, The Clearing, Control Room, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Mother, The Saddest Music In The World, Spider-Man 2, The Story of the Weeping Camel, The Terminal, Two Brothers, and all the rest… America’s Heart and Soul Dir. Louis Schwartzberg (PG) By virtue of timing alone, America’s Heart and Soul, a…
The wrong side of the tracks
U.S. Representative Charlie Gonzalez spoke to concerned residents at Saturday’s town hall meeting. (Photo by Laura McKenzie) At a contentious meeting, residents, officials revisit the latest train derailment It has been nearly three weeks since the derailment of a Union Pacific train that killed three people and injured dozens more, but along the stretch…
Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Daniel Steele accompanied his grandfather, Bill Rohm, to one of the piers at Calaveras Lake last week. Between himself, his grandfather, and cousins Aaron and Adrian Treviño, they caught a nice string of pan fish, including tilapia and bull brim, or bluegill. The fishing party planned to donate the fish to a family that…
