Supper, the main restaurant at San Antonio’s Hotel Emma, is still a work in progress

The kitchen at Hotel Emma’s Supper has long been dependable but rarely exciting.

Understandably, last October’s announcement that the two-Michelin Key-rated. hotel had hired Geronimo Lopez, formerly of nearby fusion hotspot Botika, to helm its food operations sparked hope change might be in the works.

Supper touted a “seasonally driven” and “mindfully sourced” approach under the new leadership, bolstered by a farm-to-table ethic in which “every dish celebrated the best of our state’s bounty.” Lopez himself has expressed interest in returning to classics and “old-school cooking.”

The twain can certainly meet, but the proof is in the pudding — or perhaps the plate of truffled risotto.

Though there was an effort by a French enterprise years ago to make the Hill Country into a truffle-producing paradise, I don’t know of any current cultivation. Supper’s truffled risotto served during Culinaria’s Restaurant Weeks did boast “wild local mushrooms,” and there’s at least one source in Elmendorf for exotic and wild-foraged varieties. The risotto came with a sliced duck breast, and yes, ducks can be found live in San Antonio.

But those sourcing details don’t matter to most diners. The prime question for most is: Does it taste good? In this case, the answer is yes.

The same goes for the single-bone pork chop on Supper’s Culinaria menu. There are dedicated hog farmers within spittin’ distance of San Antonio, and I hope the pork came from one of them. Served with an apple-and-pear “succotash,” the chop stopped just short of succulence, but the regular menu offers a double-bone chop, and I suspect that’s a more rewarding cut.

I returned on another night to the plumb regular menu for signs of evolution. Eschewing steaks, I settled on two dishes of French origin. The Market Soup is said to utilize “local ingredients and seasonal produce” — a farm-to-table motherlode. That evening’s soup was billed as “cassoulet.”

Classic cassoulet is a hearty, seasonal dish from Southwestern France. One that takes time and effort to prepare. Pork, sausage, white beans and a confit of duck or goose among the major ingredients. Once assembled, it’s baked until a dark crust develops. The dish’s texture may vary, but soup it’s not. Supper’s soupy rendition did feature white beans, chewy lardons and sausage, and it substituted lamb — maybe Texan? — for the poultry.

Was it good? Mostly. But classic cassoulet? No.

A ballotine was one of the first fancy French dishes I learned to make from an early Julia Child cookbook. The recipe starts with the deboning of a small turkey or large chicken. The cook is then require to spread on a stuffing, sew up the carcass, tie it with twine and roast it. Usually served sliced and still hot, it can also be chilled. Either way, it’s a showstopper.

Supper offers a petite chicken ballotine but apparently debones only a leg or a leg and thigh. The restaurant’s version also omits the obligatory stuffing.

Again, was it a good dish regardless of expectations or sourcing? Sure, though hardly exciting. And barely a ballotine.

I was told there’s a new pastry chef at Supper, and apparently he’s finding it easier to experiment than the kitchen as a whole. Supper’s take on a classic crème brulée added a shortbread-like disc, a berry compote and a pillowy quenelle. It all sounds excessive but eats just right.

The bar at Supper has been inventive all along, and the Earl is a good example. Built on Earl Grey infused gin, it layers on bergamot liqueur, crème de cacao and more for a subtle but beautifully balanced drink. Using Austin-based bourbon, the mellow, barrel-aged Manhattan is about as Texan as a Manhattanite can get.

There’s also a new wine guy at Supper. Many local winos will recognize Scott Ota from High Street and other venues. His mandate, he explained, is centered on the mindful and ethical sourcing of wines from around the globe. He reckons it will take two years to complete his makeover of the restaurant’s wine program. Let’s hope a couple Texas wines sneak in.

As admirable as Supper’s goal of mixing Texas-sourced ingredients with classic dishes sounds, it’s a necessary but not sufficient part of the equation, as a physics professor once said. Perhaps the entire team pulling together can solve that equation in favor of fun. And in less than two years.

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This article appears in Feb 5-18, 2025.