Comfort food, Tex-Mex style
Release Date: 2002-06-06 When somebody at the office said his pal proclaimed Panchito’s Downtown the best Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio, our curiosity was piqued. That’s a pretty bold assertion — like saying you make the finest clam chowder in New England. We had to investigate. Certainly, the eatery is superlative in some respects. The…
Music : A few words from Taco Land
An ode to Ram’s place “Taco Land” From Bucky Fellini, The Dead Milkmen (Enigma) There’s a place In San Anton’ Where I can go And not feel alone! Taco Land It’s a panacea Taco Land They’re always glad to see ya You’ll understand When you go on Down to Taco Land When I feel My…
Music : From pussy, with love
A bit more on Ram at Taco Land – Hey, this ain’t the Alamodome In 1997, my band booked a show at Taco Land for our friends from North Carolina, Jennyanykind. A week before the show, I got a call from some Philadelphia band that wanted on the bill. I gave in and everyone was…
CD REVIEWS
Crooked Mile March Boxcar Satan (CD, Dogfingers Recordings) As a long-time Tom Waits devotee, I can still remember the shock I received the first time I heard Captain Beefheart and realized that my favorite genius wasn’t quite as original as I’d thought. It is easy to imagine a teenaged Boxcar Satan fan, starting his own…
THE BIG F
Whether willingly or unwittingly, Americans have begun to sacrifice many of the rights they took for granted prior to September 11. Privacy. Due process. Dissent. Yet the annual Amnesty International Report released in May suggests the greatest casualty of September 11 and the Bush Administration’s subsequent war on terrorism may be credibility. As a moral…
QUOTED
Robert Ssebunnya, Uganda’s health minister, on how to ensure young people who promise to remain virgins do so. To curb the spread of AIDS, the Ugandan government is rewarding those who stay chaste into their 20s by giving them a few head of cattle for the men or a refrigerator or a stove for the…
Music : The river’s edge
Misfits, miscreants, and music in the Land of the Taco San Antonio’s infamous rock ‘n’ roll mecca, Taco Land, is rapidly approaching an impressive 40-year watermark — just long enough for most of us to take it for granted. Thankfully, the venue and its 70-plus-year-old owner/operator Ram Ayala are still going strong. For generations of…
THE WIZARDS OF OUZO
Ethnicity in American movies tends to come in four flavors: black, Italian, Jewish, and Latino. What makes My Big Fat Greek Wedding stand out from the rest is that it is sautéed in retsina. Most of its characters are defined entirely by the fact th at they are first- and second-generation Greek Americans. Yet the…
New Reviews
Undercover Brother “Race relations made funky” Dir. Malcolm D. Lee; writ. John Ridley (based on his Internet comic series) and Michael McCullers; feat. Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Dave Chappelle, Neil Patrick Harris, and Aunjanue Ellis (PG-13) Hooked on the funk that his father raised him with, Undercover Brother (Griffin) fights against everything un-funky…
Music : Ram-ese Cliff Notes
The language behind the Taco Land phenomena Ram Ayala is the progenitor of a most peculiar and highly contagious personal language. It does take a few weeks to pick up Ram-ese (or Ramism, if you prefer). As with most languages, the best way to learn is by total immersion. Just spend a few nights parked…
Video & DVD
Bob le Flambeur DVD, Criterion Collection / Home Vision Why does everybody think that the French hate Americans, when they’ve done such a gorgeous job of imitating us in the past? Take Jean-Pierre Melville, for instance (who even took the name of one of our authors — with the birth name Grumbach, who would blame…
SPECIAL SCREENS
Manon of the Spring “Highbrow sequel” Dir. and writ. Claude Berri; feat. Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart, Hippolyte Girardot (PG) Regular patrons of Texas Public Radio’s film series may have caught the French film Jean de Florette a few months back. Now the group delivers the rest of the story, with a sequel that…
Still Playing
About a Boy “Charming oasis in the blockbuster desert” Dir. Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz; writ. Nick Hornby (novel), Peter Hedges, Weitz & Weitz; feat. Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz (PG-13) Blade II “Goes for the jugular” Dir. Guillermo del Toro; writ. David S. Goyer; feat. Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor…
MORE GOAT CHEESE, PLEASE
By John Brewer Oscar Trejo remembers a taste from his hometown of Mexico City: soft, tangy cheese countered by the smokey sweetness of melted sugar and cream. The cook-by-training brought the recipe to Liberty Bar when it opened in 1985, but didn’t perfect the appetizer for another few years. Now as head chef, Trejo commands…
Music : More tales from Taco Land
Memoirs of just another pussy – Sanford Allen recalls his first trip to a place called Taco Land Almost 15 years ago, some friends dragged me to a place called Taco Land. I mildly protested, having heard vague warnings of shootings and stabbings, but I soon found myself stumbling out of the car and toward…
