The Last Word (229 E. Houston St., #10, 314-1285), has added high-end nibbles to its literary bar concept. The bites will be offered daily, from 4 to 10 p.m. and range from $2.25 for seasoned mixed nuts to $22 for a charcuterie board made using cured meats, cheeses, house-made pickles, a honeycomb, marinated olives and a whole grain mustard. Cocktail lovers can also expect to find mussels escabèche, stuffed squid served in their own ink and sardinillas with sweet piquillo peppers.
Fans of the Tobin Performing Arts Center (115 Auditorium Cir.) will be happy to know the culinary team, led by chef Miguel Ortiz, took home a few awards during the second Alamo National Association for Catering and Events' Tasty Bites Challenge held in early February. Out of the four categories, Ortiz and his staff took home "Tastiest Hors d'oeuvre," "Most Delicious Dessert" and Best Presentation. Good to know for your next Tobin visit.
The juice landscape is getting an "urthy" boost with the opening of two new shops via Urth Juice Bar. Slated for a March 23 opening, both locations will offer entrees such as the strawberry crumble salad, chipotle chicken Panini, feta wrap and other nibbles including gluten-free pastries, granola, parfaits and fruit cups. The new spots will be inside the Stone Ridge Shopping Center off U.S. 281 and Evans, and in King William at 812 S. Presa, on top of the original location at The Yard (5317 McCullough) offering its staple of juices, smoothies and spicy ginger shots to the masses.
Untapped Festival, which pairs chingos of quality craft breweries with music, shared an interesting Facebook post last week. Hinting at a possible SA visit, the festival played coy as to when that could take place. I'm reaching out for more details. Stay tuned.
Tickets for Culinaria Festival Week, which brings dinners, Best of Mexico, The Food Truck Event, The Grand Tasting and Burgers, BBQ & Beer in May (and some new events), went on sale this past Friday morning. Don't sleep on this — most events and dinners tend to sell out weeks in advance.
Finally, yours truly will hop into the world of Reddit for an "Ask Me Anything" session on March 11. Details are still in the works, but make sure to join me to ask how I choose restaurants to cover, what freelancing for the Current entails and other behind-the-scenes tidbits that go into the job of Food and Nightlife Editor.
