What I Ate: Outstanding in the Field at Peeler Farms
To quote Clueless, ” She could be a farmer in those clothes.” I don’t own a single pair of boots (I know, right?!), but I somehow found myself at Peeler Farms for the second time in a week and third time this year (read about their humane chicken-raising practices here), this time for SA’s first…
15 Songs to Put on Your Halloween Playlist
It doesn’t matter if you’re “too old” to trick ‘r’ treat or if you plan to get sugar high at a lingerie party, Halloween is the time to get your groove on. And what better way to celebrate than to have a spooktacular soundtrack to your all hallows eve hijinks. Even though the Monster Mash…
5 Things You Have to do This Week
Tuesday 10/21 Igudesman and Joo Courtesy Igudesman & Joo market themselves as a cross between West Side Story and The Simpsons, but to my ears, classical music’s Weird Al Yankovic more directly hits the mark. What if Mozart had arranged “I Will Survive?” Or if you turned “La Cucaracha” into a sonata? Sure it takes…
SA Food Pics: 10 ways to indulge in SA
What’s your idea of indulgence? Is it creamy pasta from Il Sogno Osteria (200 E Grayson), a bacon cheeseburger from Mark’s Outing (1624 E Commerce), or a killer cocktail from Park Social (218 E Olmos)? Luckily for SA locals, there’s no shortage of restaurants and bars that’ll help you find your favorite way to indulge.…
Ghost Hunting with Alamo City Ghost Tours
The folks at Alamo City Ghost Tours have been leading treks through downtown San Antonio for 10 years now. This weekend, I joined them in their tour past all of the city’s spookiest sites. Before our adventure began, the group of ghost-hunting tourists (and a few locals mixed in for good measure) met with our…
Female City Employees Allege Pay Discrimination
(via) A third female city employee has joined a lawsuit filed against the City of San Antonio for allegedly violating the federal Equal Pay Act. Brenda Werts, a former employee of the city Capital Improvement Management Services department, joins two other female city employees in their lawsuit against the City claiming violation of the federal Equal…
Tobin Center Gets Funding to Assist Inaugural Productions
Courtesy of the Tobin Center of the Performing Arts The Tobin Center for Performing Arts received $175,000 Wednesday from Bexar County to buttress the newly opened facility’s inaugural productions. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Commissioner Paul Elizondo presented the checks, which will benefit the San Antonio Symphony, Ballet San Antonio and OPERA San…
Shot of the Week: Liquefied Ghost
Don’t let the milky façade trick you; this ghastly treat is for adults only. A specter-like image of solid white, the Liquefied Ghost will satisfy your sweet tooth while leaving costume-clad revelers wondering what sort of creepy concoction you’re consuming. Vanilla vodka, cream and just a splash of soda conjure up memories of milkshakes, with…
After Supreme Court Decision, Abortion Access Still In Limbo
The Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily block parts of Texas’ sweeping abortion law means some clinics that have closed in recent weeks can legally reopen. But, still, the back and forth that has taken place in the courts over the last few weeks has created a sense of confusion for women seeking abortions and permanently impacted access.…
7 Shows To See This Weekend
Super Soul Shakedown (Friday, October 17) In 2007, DJs Scuba Gooding, Donnie Dee and JJ Lopez combined their turntable talents to provide more outlets for soul and funk in SA. Inspired by the city’s rich history in soul (see the Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul reissue of SA artists), the trio visualized a party series celebrating…
Mixtli Team To Add Mezcalería Mixtli at the Yard
(Via) To quote Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys II, “Shit just got real”: The owners of Mixtli have finally announced their next venture, Mezcaleria Mixtli at 5315 McCullough. San Anto’s first mezcaleria will carry 40 mezcales to start along with Mexican and San Antonio craft beers, Mexican wines and other Mexican spirits including sotol, charanda…
John Hagee Opens His Mouth and Says Something Stupid (Again)
(via) Leave it to good ol’ John Hagee to say something completely bat shit insane about the events of the day to propagate his ultra-religious views. According to Right Wing Watch, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News, the Cornerstone pastor claims the confirmed cases of ebola in the United States are the result of a…
New Italian Pop-up Coming to The Monterey
(Via David Rangel) The Monty (1127 S St. Mary’s) is back in the pop-up game (wait, did they ever stop?). This time with an Italian cuisine fix via Barbaro chef Mark Martinez, 26, who will head Little Fox on Sundays and Mondays from 6 to 10 p.m. starting Sunday, October 19. Here’s some of what…
Honor the Dearly Departed with an Altar at Muertos Fest
Courtesy of Muertos Fest Muertos Fest is coming up fast, and the deadline to enter the altar contest is already upon us. [Disclosure: The Current is a sponsor of this year’s Muertos Fest.] The Día de los Muertos celebration will take place at La Villita on Saturday, November 1. Community members are encouraged to team…
City Approves Deal To Protect Bracken Bat Cave
Courtesy Bat Conservation International San Antonio City Council members voted unanimously Thursday to approve a public-private deal to purchase the Bracken Bat Cave, preventing development. The 1,521-acre tract of land known as Crescent Hills is directly south of the Bracken Bat Cave—home to an estimated 15 to 20 million Mexican free-tail bats—and sits right…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 10/16 – Sun 10/19 Dracula Photo by Alexander Devora Ballet San Antonio reprises its original adaptation of “the most blood-curdling novel of the paralyzed century.” With a “haunting” score by Philip Feeney and choreography by artistic director Gabriel Zertuche, Dracula conjures terror from Transylvania to London with Sarah Pautz as levelheaded Mina Murray, Yanaylet…
Haunted Attractions to Check Out this October
Haunted Houses Nothing screams Halloween quite like a good ol’ haunted house. This year, forget your creepy neighbors and supporting their sad excuses for homemade haunts (Trash bag-lined garages? No, thank you). Check out San Antonio’s local haunted attractions instead. Sure, you have to pay, but that means live-action ghouls are getting money to scare…
4 Halloween Shows to Class Up Your October
(via) With all the gory tackiness abound during October it’s easy to lose sight of your sense of civility. Faced with pumpkin spice, slasher films, and smelly rubber skeletons at every turn, not to mention the “sexy” reimaginings of every beloved cartoon character you can think of, you may find yourself wondering this month,…
Monarchs Heading South Through Hill Country
This photo is from the nonprofit Monarch Watch’s Facebook page. The photo was taken by Jim Lovett. Monarch butterflies arrived in the Hill Country this weekend. The butterflies are migrating to Mexico to escape the cold barren north (joking about the barren part). Monika Maeckle, who runs a blog about the monarchs, posted about her…
Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte Release New Ads
The race for Texas lieutenant governor went full-0n negative today as the campaigns for Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte attacked each other in a pair of newly released television ads. Republican candidate Dan Patrick made it a point to repeatedly use the dirtiest word in conservative politics to describe his Democratic rival—that word being “liberal.” In…
First Course: Wine tastings, markets and more
Alamo City Provisions Dinner The Hangar Tavern (14532 Brook Hollow) is hosting their monthly wine tasting Thursday, October 16 from 7-9 P.M. and it’s honestly a deal you can’t beat. For only $10 you get 10 wine samples, light snack, and a raffle ticket to win some cool stuff. A professional sommelier will be there…
11 Family-friendly Halloween Activities
(via) This October, don’t let your kids drive you batty. Instead, take them to a Halloween event in SA (check websites below for dates and times), fill them full of candy, and let them run wild in a marathon or at a festival until they are sweet, sleeping angels. You can even “lose” them in…
Texas Ranked In Top Ten For Student Loan Debt
Wikimedia Commons Everything is bigger in Texas, especially when it comes to student debt. WalletHub recently conducted a study to see which states possess the most student loan debt. Unsurprisingly, Texas ranked ninth, besting (if you can call it that) 41 other states. The Lone Star State may not be the ideal place for graduates…
Farm Dinner, Wine Events and Culinaria Picks Up Speed
File photo Fasten up, foodies. This Flavor File’s action-packed with all the booze and wine. For starters, California’s table-to-farm roving restaurant without walls concept, Outstanding in the Field, is headed to Floresville’s Peeler Farms this Friday, October 17. This marks the first time the dinner will be held in the San Antonio area and who…
4 Ways to Get Your Drink/Grub on This Week
File photo Thursday, October 16: Are you ready to have an awesome party, with awesome beer and awesome live screen-printing? Tucker’s Kozy Korner hosts Awesome SA’s second anniversary with dance-worthy jams via DJ Techneek, Alamo Beer Company pint glasses with purchase of Alamo on draft and all the awesomeness your little heart can handle. Learn…
Kevin Nealon on Jan Hooks, His New Web Series and Class Clowns
Courtesy In comedian Kevin Nealon’s new web series for AOL Laugh Lessons, the Saturday Night Live alum invites some of his Hollywood friends, including Adam Sandler, Dana Carvey and Chelsea Handler, to see if it is possible to teach kids the art of comedy or if being funny is a gift bestowed to babies once…
A Primer on Freetail’s Downtown Brewery
Scott Metzger is almost too zen as we talk on the phone about the impending opening of Freetail’s Brewery and Tasting Room on South Presa this November. The economics professor turned brewery owner talked about what he’s doing to control his nerves, how he’s expanding his team, what the brewery means for San Antonio and…
Sisters Deliver Mexican Eats at Cocina Heritage
There’s something quaint about Cocina Heritage. Located inside the Heimann Building at Cattleman Square, the breakfast and lunch joint is owned by sisters Lupita Rivero and Silvia Alcaraz, who hail from Guanajuato, Mexico, and if you’re jonesin’ for comida casera, Cocina Heritage is the place to go. The restaurant, which began and still operates as…
A Small Slice of San Anto’s Spooky Haunts
San Antonio is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and its history stretches long before the people behind the American or Texas Revolutions were even born. And when you have that kind of change in a relatively short period of time (what’s 400 years, really?), you’re bound to have unexplainable paranormal activity.…
A Look Back at SA’s Homebrew History
Homebrewing is a foundational American virtue. Not just Sam Adams smiling back from the bottle that bears his name—virtually all the signatories of the Declaration Of Independence crafted their own ales between bouts of nation-founding. After a healthy century or so, bolstered by European immigrants, and only occasionally tripped up by hatchet-toting teetotalers, the long…
Get Up, Stand Up: ‘Pride’ is a great feel-good movie
Feel-good films are awful. Just terrible. They manipulate. They pander. They use treacly strings or scruffy children (or determined animals) or put-upon losers rising above the muck in an effort to make audiences cry. And worse, they’re often blatant about it, as if you can hear the producers, directors and screenwriters off camera, saying, “You…
A Joyride Inside St. Arnold’s Santomobile
You might have seen it zipping around town, probably near your favorite watering hole. You might even have snapped a photo of it while out on the road, or waved to the driver as you cruised I-10. But only a handful of beer lovers can say they’ve had the chance to get behind the wheel…
Beyond the Canvas Brings Superheroes and Villains to Life
Hosted by Anthony “The Poet” Flores, San Antonio’s annual Beyond The Canvas (BTC) body painting competition returns October 18 with a heroic twist. Beyond The Canvas 7 will bring top artists in the body painting scene together under the theme of “Superheroes and Villains,” boldly portraying your favorite characters like you’ve never seen before. Not…
Fill Up Your Growlers at These Joints
The options are plentiful when it comes to replenishing your growler with your go-to beer or an adventurous brew you’ve been dying to try. Head to the joints below and stock up your fridge. Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas Multiple locations A growler might run you a cool $25, but you’ll be free to refill it during…
Anna Gangai Conjures Judy Garland in ‘End of the Rainbow’
The purest specimen of utopian yearning in the Great American Songbook, “Over the Rainbow” could be a song of innocence or a song of experience. For innocence, check out The Wizard of Oz, currently on the main stage of The Playhouse, where young Dorothy longs to escape dreary Kansas. But for experience (and an utterly…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): New York City’s Diamond District is home to over 2,000 businesses that buy and sell jewelry. Throughout the years, many people have lost bits of treasure here. Valuable bits of gold and gems have fallen off broken necklaces, earrings, watches, and other accessories. Now an enterprising man named Raffi Stepnanian is…
Bracken Bat Cave Would Save More Than Bats
Update: October 16, 2014, 5:09 p.m. The San Antonio City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve the $20.5 million public-private deal to purchase the land surrounding the Bracken Bat Cave. The original story follows below. A deal to purchase more than 1,500 acres of land near the famed Bracken Bat Cave could benefit an endangered…
An Abbreviated, Inebriated Beer Festival Taste Test
Real Ale Coffee Porter 5.6 percent ABV From Blanco, Texas, Real Ale’s limited edition seasonal Coffee Porter is dark, earthy and is blended perfectly with fair-trade coffee beans from Houston-based Katz Coffee. While some coffee-infused beers can be overwhelming, Real Ale’s hits the nail on the head with a beautifully colored and aromatic porter that…
Feasting at Folc
It’s been just over a year that we met chef Luis Colon. As a former member of the Texas Cooks’ Co-Op, Colon, a Johnson and Wales-Miami alum has a résumé that includes time as sous chef for Bella on the River and Biga on the Banks, as well as stages at Chicago’s Publican and Alinea.…
Chicano Batman Protests Vanilla Festival Circuit
Recognized in LA as the Chicano Bruce Wayne of the city’s psych scene, Chicano Batman frontman Bardo Martinez is all about attention to detail. Whether describing his band’s latest ambitious LP Cycles of Existential Rhyme or sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of South American music, the UCLA graduate speaks with straight-up sabiduría that belies his 30…
Island of Misfit Noise: SKN KVR and Castle Numbskull
Castle Numbskull’s ceiling fans spin on overtime as Jacob of SKN KVR (pronounced skin carver) sets up the assorted junk, contact mics and distortion pedals that make up his noise set. Caught in a maze of cables, the setup looks like a bin from a mechanical yard sale, a forgotten mix of broken things. But…
Savage Love: Polyproblema
Four years ago, I met a man on a “married but looking” website. We exchanged fantasies, which included wanting to have threesomes and a D/s relationship. He was 19 years my senior. I was 42 at the time. For three years, we met twice a week for drinks or sex. The sex was amazing. We…
Cityscrapes: Another bridge to nowhere?
“Welcome to the Brewery” reads the sign on Lamar Street, just below the Hays Street Bridge. This area, currently under development by the Alamo Brewing Company, has been the subject of real dispute—now hopefully resolved. But the battle, over the sale of City-owned land adjacent to the Hays Street Bridge, was based on a real…
Statewide Showdowns
With less than a month until the November 4 general election, we thought we’d take a break from the local mayoral race and round up the latest on the two important statewide races: Texas governor and lieutenant governor. Major-party gubernatorial candidates Wendy Davis, a Democrat from Fort Worth, and Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, have…
After a Winning First Half, ‘Fury’ Loses to Cliché
It’s curious that Brad Pitt stars in Fury in the wake of Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino’s irreverent bullet to the head of the WWII action-drama form. After playing the charismatic Nazi-killer Aldo Raine in the ’09 revisionist Tarantino joint, it’s hard to reimagine Pitt in a WWII flick after Basterds, let alone a straight-ahead fiction…
Symphony Performs Score to Synchronized ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’
For one weekend only, the nerd-gasmic Star Wars versus Star Trek debate will reach a Trekkie verdict, as determined by the San Antonio Symphony. Returning to their former home at the Majestic Theatre, the symphony will perform the score “live to picture” to Star Trek Into Darkness, the 2013 feature directed by J.J. Abrams. Into…
Lawyers Look to Supreme Court in Abortion Case
Update: October 15, 2014, 12:00 a.m. On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated an injunction ordered by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in late August that blocked the enforcement of the ambulatory surgical center requirement of the Texas abortion law, as well as the admitting privileges requirement as it applies to a clinic in…
What I Ate: Cool weather calls for pho
I’m relishing the few “cold fronts” we’ve been gifted with this week a bit too much with bowls of pho. The week also included stops at Freetail’s new brewery, along with review visits to Folc. Follow me on Instagram for more treats: @JessElizarraras. Loading Pho Sure for lunch. #whatiate View on Instagram Loading Sweet breads.…
Fund Helps Release Three Families at Detention Center
Jonathan Ryan of RAICES and Sister Patricia Connolly of Daughters of Charity deliver the bonds to the U.S. Deparment of Homeland Security Monday morning in San Antonio. Thanks to community donations collected online over the last few weeks, three migrant mothers and their children detained at the Karnes County Residential Center will be released on…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Tuesday 10/14 Beerfest Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Park North and Alamo Street Eat Bar are hosting two separate screenings of the cult comedy Beerfest in advance of the San Antonio Beer Festival this weekend. Attendees can also pick up discounted tickets to this weekend’s festival. Free, 7:30pm Tuesday, Alamo Street Eat Bar, 609 S Alamo, Alamo…
Third Big Bob’s Burger Location on the Way
(Via) Burger geeks: Big Bob’s Burgers is heading to suburbia. Bob Riddle, who owns two locations off Hildebrand and Santa Rosa, confirmed the third Big Bob’s Burgers (not to be confused with FOX’s Bob’s Burgers) via Facebook. The location will sit near the intersection of 1604 and Lockhill Selma at 4553 N 1604 W, inside…
Say Hello to the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area
The Chinati Mountains ( Via Texas Mountain Trail) Last week, Marfa Public Radio announced the creation of the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area, a new park deep in the bend of West Texas’ Presidio County. Named after the Chinati Mountain Range (Chinati derives from the Apache word ch’íná’itíh, meaning mountain pass), the new park features 39,000…
Lonely Horse Debuts Video for “And the Number 3”
Via Facebook This week, Lonely Horse debuted the video for “And the Number 3,” the combustible first single from the SA duo’s forthcoming album My Desert Son. In the tune, guitarist Nick Long and drummer Travis Hild milk a powerful and simple riff before shredding out into the ether. In the video, Long and Hild mime out…
School Closure: Austin Academy Supporters To Meet Thursday
Austin Academy advocates will meet Thursday. The school is slated for closure. Kevin Femmel Parents and supporters who want to keep Austin Academy open beyond this year will meet Thursday and have invited San Antonio Independent School District Sylvester Perez and board members to attend. Austin Academy, which is one of the district’s 13 charter…
Students Concerned About Removal of Majors at Alamo Colleges
Palo Alto College students hold signs referencing Alamo Colleges District Chancellor Bruce Leslie at a protest against the removal of majors from their degrees. Students are speaking out against a decision made by Alamo Colleges administrators to remove specific majors from degrees and transcripts, voicing concerns about not being properly included or notified of the…
