Raise your hand if you love tequila? Now use the other hand to get tickets to Culinaria’s first Experience Agave, a weekend-long celebration of Mexico’s signature spirit with all events taking place at Mana House (1160 E Commerce). Essence of Mexico (Friday, October 24 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.) kicks off the weekend with drinks and discussion by the Tequila Interchange Project, a program that advocates for the preservation of sustainable, traditional and quality practices for tequila, mescal and other agave distilled hooch. The night continues with Agave Late Night at participating bars (Blue Box, Esquire Tavern, Hot Joy, NAO, TBA and The Brooklynite), which will prepare tequila-based drinks for you to enjoy. Saturday’s seminar, Maestros of Mexico (1:30-3:30 p.m.), will showcase the challenges of the tequila industry (we’re looking at you, big distributors), as told by leading experts in the field, including Patrick E. McGovern of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Colima, Mexico. The day ends with a slightly redundant Pachanga Party from 6-9 p.m. with more agave and food pairings. For more info and ticket prices, visit culinariasa.org.
If you’re feeling tabbouleh over tequila, visit the Lebanese Food Festival put on by the San Antonio Lebanese Community of St. George Maronite Catholic Church (6070 Babcock) from Friday, October 24 through Sunday, October 26. Festival admission is $3 for adults, and $1 for children under 12.
Add some science to your cooking repertoire with help from Christopher Kimball, chef and host of America’s Test Kitchen on PBS. Kimball and his roving kitchen will hit The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, October 28 at 8 p.m., and tickets run from $26.50 to $80. Kimball will discuss behind-the-scenes secrets of the show, run through two science experiments, a live “sniff” test and showcase some of the worst mishaps in the show’s history.
Tacos y Tequila (1915 Broadway, (210) 314-8226) opened its doors this past Monday, with a collection of, well, tacos and tequila. The restaurant, managed by chef Rene Guerrero (of Liberty Bar, Madhatters and Friendly Spot fame), and crafted by Urbanist Design (also responsible for Arcade and Cured), features snacks and appetizers, Good Karma guac (a portion of the proceeds benefit the Artist Foundation of San Antonio) and a line of seared Ahi tuna, BBQ pulled pork, grilled chicken and steak, available in skewers, street tacos, wraps or burritos.
