5 Things You Have to Do This Week
Mon 5/19 – Tue 5/20 “Future” The award-winning SOLI Chamber Ensemble is one of 10 local groups set to take up residence at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts when it opens next fall. The esteemed quartet’s 20th anniversary season has followed a concept-driven trajectory, with last October’s “Past” reviving audience favorites, January’s “Present”…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Literature: Christine Warren’s Honky Tonk Debutante 5 – 7 p.m., Tues, May 20 Southern author Christine Warren will sign copies and read from her new book, Honky Tonk Debutante. A collection of memoir-style anecdotes, Honky Tonk Debutante is the story of Warren’s passion for the genre. This love letter of sorts features stories of the biggest names in honkey…
Crushing Expectations, ‘Godzilla’ is a Literal “Blockbuster”
Godzilla, the newest movie to get a reboot “Let nature take its course” has a whole new meaning when nature includes three ginormous, prehistoric monsters wrestling in the middle of San Francisco, California. Godzilla, the newest movie to get a reboot, has a flare for dramatic storytelling when all I wanted was more massive monster…
Jon Favreau’s ‘Chef’ Opens Friday, May 23 in SA
Jon Favreau is at his finest when he’s running the show from conception to screen time. He’s an everyman, kind of schlubby, still has game, and yes, he’s terribly funny. So it would stand to reason that Chef, his latest flick since directing 2011’s Cowboys & Aliens, is a tasty original story (and those are…
9 Chefs Who Stole Our Appetites and Our Hearts
With the release of Jon Favreau’s newest flick, Chef we’ve compiled a list of top memorable fictional chefs in television and film: 1. Bob Belcher- In this animated comedy, Bob Belcher (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) must deal with daily hijinks such as teaching his daughter Tina how to drive, challenging his nemesis Jimmy Pesto for the…
Zombie Spurs: Bleacher Report’s ‘Game of Thrones,’ NBA Edition
This weekend, San Francisco sports site the Bleacher Report posted a stellar spoof of Game of Thrones, plugging NBA players into the setting and medieval vibe of the HBO fantasy series. From a forlorn Kevin Love lecturing Stephen Curry on the gift of the playoffs to the Miami Heat subbing for the wicked House of…
Candidate’s Strip Club Check-In Leads To Hacking Accusations
Image via AllstarsTx.com Carlton Soules, conservative candidate for Bexar County Judge, would like to clarify that he is no fan of three dollar specials on steak and fries. The former district 10 councilman found himself involved in the tiniest of scandals after a check-in to Allstars Gentlemen’s Sports Club appeared on his Facebook profile, prompting…
Early Voting For Primary Runoff Election Begins–Here Are a Few Reminders
via Creative Commons Images After the March primary election results were tallied and totaled, a handful of candidates still face their challengers before they can officially represent their party come November. These candidates didn’t garner more than 50 percent of the vote to secure victory and will go head-to-head with their closest opponent during the…
‘Mad Men’ Recap: Everyone Crafts a Version of “The Strategy”
Peggy does it her way in “The Strategy” In the sixth episode, of the first leg, of its final season; Mad Men is full of strategizing and teeming with teasers for possible end-of-storyline scenarios. As tempting as it consistently is to preordain Mad Men as a show that is essentially about Don Draper, episodes like…
What I Ate: Culinaria edition
Ooof. Talk about a food week. Had the pleasure of going on a work review and enjoying Culinaria’s Festival Week in the same breath. My jeans feel tight and I’m swearing off pork for a hot minute. What was the best bite of the week for you? I’m torn between several snacks (which will be…
Sunday Night Sound Bite: Tensnake featuring Nile Rodgers: “Love Sublime”
Associated with the imprints Virgin, Astralwerks and Defected, German DJ/producer/True Romance label founder Tensnake (born Marco Niemerski in Hamburg in 1975) has been on our radar since the release of his 2010 single “Coma Cat.” Tensnake: Coma Cat from The Music Network on Vimeo. Among the gems on his 2014 debut LP Glow—which effortlessly bounces…
Mayor Castro Tapped To Head HUD
(Courtesy photo) Mayor Julián Castro may be the next secretary of housing and urban development (HUD), according to a report in today’s New York Times. While the White House could not comment, President Obama is expected to tap the Alamo City mayor, based on Democrats “informed about the plans.” If asked, Castro would vacate his third-term…
Local Sci-Fi Artist Puts His Spin on the Lotería
John Picacio, two-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, knows lotería. As a child, he played the game with his mother and grandmother. The card images fascinated him as much then as they do now. So much so, he is sharing the game at science fiction conventions around the nation, and designing…
How It’s Made: The brunch cover
Considering the amount of positive feedback we’ve received on this week’s cover, we thought we’d let you in on how the cover was made. On my end as food and nightlife editor, my sparse instructions for Art Director extraordinaire Eli Miller was one word: “Delicious.” I think we can agree Eli totally delivered. The cover…
Interview with Veteran War Correspondent Mike Boettcher on ‘The Hornet’s Nest’
War correspondent Mike Boettcher in ‘The Hornet’s Nest’ (Courtesy) Award-winning veteran war correspondent Mike Boettcher has seen a lot during his more than 30 years working as a journalist. From being kidnapped by terrorists in El Salvador in 1985 to surviving an attack by a suicide bomber in Baghdad in the mid-Aughts, Boettcher has found…
Update Your Bicycle Lingo on National Ride Your Bike to Work Day
A flashback to one of our bicycle-friendly 2008 covers In a post yesterday on Alec Baldwin’s recent ticket for riding the wrong way down NYC’s 5th avenue, NPR laid down some pertinent lingo for commuters. Since it’s National Ride Your Bike to Work Day today, we figured we’d share the good word. Door zone: The space right…
Bonehead Quote of the Week: U.S. Senate Candidate Kesha Rogers On President Obama
As candidates gear up for the upcoming runoff election, there’s bound to be a few verbal slip-ups under the pressure of campaigning. But for U.S. Senate candidate Kesha Rogers, her perceived verbal blunders are anything but unintentional. Screen shot via Kesha Rogers for U.S. Senate Rogers, running in the Democratic primary runoff against well-financed Dallas…
Shot of the Week: The Long Shot
For when things get too hoppy. (Dustin Dooling) Sometimes you belly up to the bar and crave the shot that pushes you over the edge. Other times you want to tip the scales and give yourself some liquid courage. For me, most frequently, I need a break from the hoppy flavors that seems to transcend…
Tasty Trucks: A recap of last night’s Food Truck Event
Duk Truck tacos, Yao pork belly steam buns and calamari fried rice and The Lemonade Co. lemonade. Some of San Antonio’s best mobile food trucks came together at H-E-B Alon Market (8503 NW Military Hwy) as a part of Culinaria’s Festival Week. The event brought in delicious Asian bites, tapas, pizza, tasty cupcakes, hearty BBQ, and…
We Need to Talk about Those Spurs Veladoras
Update: 5:04 p.m. Friday, May 16 2014: We’ve been informed that Leighelena has stopped selling these Vela Reina candles as a gesture of support for SA’s local arts community. Happy Friday to everyone who followed and shared this story! Update: 4:15 p.m. Friday, May 16 2014: Palacios has since updated his original story on the veladoras for TPR,…
City Council Approves Rezoning Mission Trails Mobile Home Park
Nearly 60 residents of a South Side mobile home park filled City Council chambers Thursday to protest a zoning change that would allow developers to uproot them and replace their community with a high-priced luxury apartment building. Despite their emotional pleas over the course of roughly four hours, Council approved the plan in a 6-4…
5 Shows You Need To See This Weekend
PBLC PBLC Their first official release since the drowsy, booger-sugar days of 2012’s I Just Wanna Do Some Coke and Fall Asleep, PBLC return on May 13 with the six track Seagrave EP. Where the first effort was as self-contradicting and all over the place as the title suggests, trading off between pastiche takes on ‘60s surf and…
First Course: Southerleigh at Pearl, a Fourth of July sausage party and upcoming dinners
First Course Fodder brings in exciting food news to you in tiny, digestible bits. Mediterranean from Sustenio (Courtesy) The Pearl is getting a new brewery this fall with new restaurant Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery. The new dine and drink spot is set to open in the historic Pearl brewhouse in the fall with coastal…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Art: “Summer Solstice” 5:30-8:30 p.m., through August 13 Recently named Best Gallery in Louisiana by American Art Awards, New Orleans-based Octavia Gallery showcases modern masters alongside emerging and established artists from around the world, with an emphasis on Cuba. Set to open this month, the gallery’s Houston outpost will focus on forging relationships with Texas artists…
Adorable Twin Giraffes Celebrate First Birthday
Nakato and Wasswa, the only living set of twin giraffes in the United States. (Courtesy) Nakato and Wasswa, the only living set of twin giraffes in the United States, celebrated their first birthday at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch on May 10. Born to resident giraffes Carol and Marshall, Nakato and Wasswa make 20 giraffes that…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 5/15 Texas Toku Taisen Hentai Kamen Timed with the release of British director Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot, Texas Toku Taisen celebrates tokusatsu—a live-action Japanese film genre fueled by special effects. Organized by Mecha Gorilla with Alamo City Comic Con, the inaugural fest features 2013’s Hentai Kamen (about a “forbidden superhero” who wears panties on…
Kickstarter Film Project Features Local Juvenile Justice Advocate
Charity Lee. Courtesy of Lee/Ben Easter A new Kickstrater campaign is asking donors to help finance a documentary featuring the harrowing story of Charity Lee, a Texas mother who faced the aftermath of the tragic murder of her young daughter by her teenage son, and the subject of the Current’s June 12, 2013 cover story.…
5 Recipes for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
A cookie so classic and delicious surely deserves it’s own day to celebrate its warm, chocolatey deliciousness. Here are five recipes to get this celebration going. A classic and four variations should be enough to fulfill this required celebration. 1. The Classic This one has a secret ingredient via Averie Cooks Recipe via Averie Cooks…
32 Ways to Brunch Around Town
Barbaro serves skillet pancakes, savory and sweet. Anne Marie’s Carriage House Bistro 555 Funston, (210) 826-5800 The San Antonio Botanical Garden might be the most picturesque background for brunch. Anne Marie’s runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and includes veggie-filled garden scrambles, loaded French toast and a Bistro Benedict of a muffin topped with…
Fantastic Spurs Fan Art Worth Cheering For
During the NBA Playoffs, the spotlight shines brightest on Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. In turn, this attention has stirred the internet to bring to the surface some inspired, anime-style fan art by illustrator Tateno Ayako. It’s funny how spot-on and a little bit askew these drawings look. Duncan always seems to have…
First LGBT NDO Complaint Filed, Questions Over Process Arise
Eight months following the passage of the long-debated LGBT non-discrimination ordinance, the city has received its first complaint, according to an affidavit obtained by Texas Public Radio. The NDO debate at City Hall. Photo by Mary Tuma. Matthew Hileman, a transgender man and former contract employee with AT&T, alleges he overheard fellow employees expressing their…
Marcus Rubio Returns to Texas
Marcus Rubio (Courtesy) Well, Austin, Texas. But expect more SA shows once the experimentalist with a sweet tooth for pop gets settled in. In the mean time, Rubio’s put out a pair of widely different works in the past few months: um and I Don’t Think I See a Difference. On um, Rubio concentrates his…
PBLC Hones in With New EP ‘Seagrave’
PBLC Their first official release since the drowsy, booger-sugar days of 2012’s I Just Wanna Do Some Coke and Fall Asleep, PBLC return on May 13 with the six track Seagrave EP. Where the first effort was as self-contradicting and all over the place as the title suggests, trading off between pastiche takes on ‘60s…
7 Tips for Surviving Culinaria’s Festival Week
Chef Jeff White of Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden during last year’s Burgers, BBQ & Beer. (Courtesy) You bought your tickets, you’re feeling jazzed about eating all the things and drinking all kinds of vinos. You’re patting yourself on the back for helping students through supporting the organization that focuses on culinary scholarships.…
Culinary Calendar: 4 Ways to do Culinaria
Culinaria: San Antonio Wine and Food Festival Friday, May 16: Tequila sips and flavor bites are what you’ll find at Best of Mexico along with specialty cocktails, a silent auction and live entertainment. Stop by the Shops at La Cantera for ceviches, sopes and more. $50 advance, $65 at the door, 7-10pm, 15900 La Cantera…
BBQ Plate Fundraiser at Bakery Lorraine
Lori Cochran (left) with daughter Jessica Perez (right). (Courtesy) The folks at Bakery Lorraine (511 E Grayson) are teaming up with a few local businesses for a good cause on Sunday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jessica Perez, a baker with Bakery Lorraine which we previously wrote about in our Sweet Heartbreak…
Early Bird Beverages: SA early risers share their morning brews
Morning Edition host Crystal Chavez starts her day with hot green tea. “Rosella Coffee Co. Scores with Simple Eats, Serious Brews” Owner Charles Gonzalez starts his mornings at Rosella early, arriving at 6 a.m. to open the shop. A cappuccino gets him goin’, and while sometimes he’ll make some yummy Rosella oatmeal, he’s wont to…
Third Root Release: ‘Revolutionary Theme Music’
Third Root’s second LP ‘Revolutionary Theme Music’ On June 19, street savvy, socially conscious hip-hop gets a nod from SA when MexStep, Easy Lee and DJ Chicken George drop Revolutionary Theme Music, their second LP as Third Root. And from what they’ve teased from their hand so far, Third Root are holding on to…
‘The Hornet’s Nest’ Doc May Not Sting Enough for Civilians
The Hornet’s Nest documents two years Mike Boettcher spent embedded in Afghanistan with two Army units. (Courtesy) As a journalist, one of the riskiest things you can do is embed with an active, deployed military unit. Apart from the all-consuming risk of death or injury on a 24-hour basis, there’s also the risk to objectivity.…
The Bloody Mary Bible: SA’s finest mix masters spill their bloody secrets
“I’m the only asshole out there who shakes his Bloody Marys,” claims Arcade’s Christopher Ware. Ware may be anatomically accurate (we’re not saying), but alas: the New York Times’s Rosie Shapp has a recipe that also calls for agitation. Shapp, however, doesn’t pre-make a mix that’s allowed to mature a tad, a step that gives…
Rosella Coffee Co. scores with simple eats, serious brews
When Charles Gonzalez and his family moved back to San Antonio from Minneapolis seven years ago, he and his wife began to think about starting up something of their own. “When we found this space, located across from The Luxury and just down the street from lots of apartments, we thought we could do more…
Cityscrapes: Tesla, Sriracha and salvation from afar
The Sriracha plant is coming! The Tesla battery plant is coming! Boeing is coming! It seems that almost every week brings a grand newspaper headline about the new business, the new firm and all the new jobs potentially coming to San Antonio. Sometimes, as with Toyota’s Tundra pickup plant, they actually do appear and succeed.…
Easy victory in COSA’s District 9 But Runoffs for Alamo Colleges Trustee Positions
Joe Krier sailed into a relatively easy victory on Saturday, May 10, for a permanent seat he once told Council he wasn’t interested in. Krier was appointed by San Antonio’s City Council last November to fill the vacant District 9 council seat left when former council member Elisa Chan decided to run for State Senate…
Artist on Artist: Gary Sweeney Interviews Marilyn Lanfear
Marilyn Lanfear is a local art treasure. For more than 50 years she’s been making bold and beautiful artwork that both documents family history and holds up a mirror to our past. Even though she grew up in Corpus Christi with a family that wasn’t interested in art, “I always knew I wanted to be an…
Les Misérables: Don’t pity the two old fools of ‘Le Week-End’
“Why doesn’t anybody want my company?” asks Nick (Jim Broadbent) of his wife, Meg (Lindsay Duncan), in Le Week-End. The question, for that moment, goes unanswered, but here’s the reason, Nick: You’re a whiny, wimpy jerk. You’re one of the least appealing characters to appear on screen in years. There are reasons Nick is a…
Jimmy Eat World and Stagnant Pools Rep Pop-punk Past and Present
Nostalgia tours carry a weird and highly profitable influence in the music industry, with yesterday’s artists cashing in on today’s touring circuit. Lord knows San Antonio suffers enough aging, B-list rocker excursions, catching these sore-armed acts on the wrong side of their career arc. Still, it’s a natural buck for musicians and a natural draw…
SAWS Impact Fee Debated At Council Amid Proposed CEO Salary Raise
The San Antonio Water System is asking new homebuyers and developers to shoulder a 116 percent “impact fee” increase, a one-time charge that covers the cost of new development to water and wastewater systems. According to SAWS, the cost prevents existing ratepayers from subsidizing new customers and ensures growth “pays for itself.” The debate over…
Tommy Lee Jones’ ‘The Homesman’ Heads to Cannes with Local Assistance
On May 18, Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman will premiere at Cannes International Film Festival, where it is in contention for the prestigious Palme d’Or prize, the festival’s top award. Though the competition is fierce (films by legends like Jean-Luc Godard and Mike Leigh are also in the mix) Jones has some precedent. The last…
Flavor File: Liberty Bar stays and Paula Deen heads to SA
The iconic, but not historically designated, Boehler House, home of the former Liberty Bar and currently Minnie’s Tavern (328 E Josephine, (210) 220-1850), will not be relocated to the Pearl. The Historic and Design Review Commission denied the application to dissect and relocate the building last Wednesday, citing its historic relevance to the area. The…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When the path ahead divides in two, Aries, I am hoping you can work some magic that will allow you to take both ways at once. If you do master this riddle, if you can creatively figure out how to split yourself without doing any harm, I have a strong suspicion…
‘Private Lives’: Scintillating piffle courtesy of Noël Coward
The opening of Noël Coward’s three-act Private Lives is a comic tour de force of conjugal symmetries. On adjoining terraces of a swank hotel in Deauville, two English couples each begin their honeymoon. It is the second marriage for Elyot, and his bubbly young bride Sybil cannot help but brood over her predecessor. But the…
Wake & Bake: Barbaro, Cured and Taps y Tapas share morning faves
For me, rolling out of bed on Sunday is a struggle—the sheets are nice and cool, I may or may not be recovering from the previous night’s debauchery and it’s the one day when I’m not entirely obliged to work (usually). The only thing that will get me up and at ’em faster than you…
In ‘Now Hiring’ Local Filmmaker Brings Superhero Story Home
When it comes to making movies, it’s all personal for San Antonio-based filmmaker Mark Cantu. In his new indie superhero action/comedy Now Hiring, a feature film expanded from a short project he made in 2009, Cantu wanted to create a superhero universe built around his own experiences as a husband and father. In Now Hiring,…
Savage Love: Hookup Shook Up
I’m a 21-year-old straight male, and I’m mildly autistic. This means that I have difficulty picking up on social cues. I’ve learned to manage my disability in most areas of my life, but I’ve recently become concerned about how it pertains to hooking up. My approach to hooking up is how I imagine most other…
Day-drinking at Cobalt Club
For some, enjoying a bourbon and Coke is relegated to happy hour once the sun is set and the workday is done, and not a minute sooner. But what about the nocturnal set, the scrub-clad hospital nurses, techs and other medical personnel who slave away through the wee morning hours only to find just about…
Jason Moran Taps Toes with the Fats Waller Dance Party
A key feature in Texas-born pianist Jason Moran’s work is presenting jazz in surprisingly different contexts. The 2010 MacArthur grant recipient exhibited a five-day-long performance art piece with his opera-singing wife, Alicia Hall Moran, at New York’s Whitney Museum; improvised with his Bandwagon trio of bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits and a group…
Turntable Tuesday: Girls’ ‘Broken Dreams Club’
Though we spend most of our time in the music section writing about new material, Turntable Tuesday allows us to look back, and look closely at some captivating albums in our catalog. This week’s column addresses Broken Dreams Club, the second take from San Fransisco’s Girls. “Who wants something real when you could have nothing,” Christopher…
8 Can’t Miss SA Beer Week Events
San Antonio Beer Week is upon us and with all the beer flowing around town, there are a few events that must be attended and there are some beers that must be gulped. (Courtesy) Tuesday, May 13 Local beer writer, Jeremy Banas and Eugene Simor of Alamo Beer are celebrating the golden age of homebrewing…
Booze News: Uber and SA Beer Week, cocktails at Blue Box and RiverTini Pour-off
Booze News slings up the latest gulp downs around town every Tuesday. Grub and cocktails at Blue Box (Courtesy) Dor?ol Distilling went gold with their own brandy Kinsman Apricot Rakia. Texas’ first brandy scored 90 points, ranked ‘exceptional’ and was awarded a gold medal by the Beverage Tasting Institute, which reviews spirits, wines and beers.…
