Summer in San Antonio: More than meets the Alamo

July 2, 2006

By Jennifer Litz
Special to LIVE!

Shave off a Friday or Monday from your workweek, and you can afford a vacation minor enough to excuse the tardy you probably incurred July 5. That gives you just long enough to enjoy Texas’ most eclectic metropolitan mecca: San Antonio. If Dallas’ draw is equal parts couture shopping, voyeurism, and hip nightlife - and Houston is Dallas without zoning - then San Antonio is the Bohemian Chicano stepbrother who is always ready for a party.

There’s a lot of unique culture to be experienced in San Antonio. Aside from Texas’ major draw, the Riverwalk, where you can get anything from a potent Margarita to some of the greatest Mexican, seafood, and Continental cuisine in the Southwest, San Antonio also has one of the most eclectic art scenes in Texas. Stay at one of the city’s newest hotels, or crash at the legendary 24-hour Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant in historic Market Square - with free chips, air conditioning, and “room service,” it’s better than the cleanest European hostel.

ART & CULTURE EVENTS

July is a great time to visit San Antonio, with Contemporary Art Month and a blossoming entertainment scene in full swing. Contemporary Art Month is the nation’s only month-long celebration dedicated to showcasing that genre that shocks and scandalizes. Events are going on at the city’s variegated art venues all month long: go to http://camsanantonio.org for a full listing and venue addresses.

Some CAM ’06 highlights include Southtown’s First Friday events on June 7. First Friday, a monthly unveiling of new art shows concentrated in San Antonio’s historic arts district, takes on a whole new vigor during CAM. Highlights of the night include the Porto Party Posse, an event utilizing porto potties as mini galleries in a Southtown bar parking lot; Bunnyphobic, a performance art piece involving gaudy dress and accordion playing, conducted in a simulated snow-globe at the Blue Star art gallery; and a revamped version of the Mexican bingo game La Loteria at El Sol Studios.

Not coming until the next weekend? Enjoy the Southtown Art of Fashion show, with a cocktail reception, hooka lounge, and dance party. For those whose tastes run toward the conservative side, San Antonio Botanical Garden’s “Art in the Garden” will showcase the works of Texas-renowned sculptor Roger Colombik. The last weekend of CAM will go out with a bang courtesy of the Pushcart Derby, where several local artists design their own racecars to “test the laws of science.” Think Little Rascals, but bigger.

Speaking of big, the Institute of Texan Cultures (801 S. Bowie St.) is resurrecting the age-old Bigfoot mystery with an informative presentation on July 8. Wildlife biologist Alton Higgons and John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology club, will explore the historical evidence of the Sasquatch specimen. Bring your best Harry and the Hendersons impersonations.

The following weekend, Show Business! Irving Berlin’s Broadway opens at the McNay Art Museum July 12. Songs like “There’s no Business like Show Business” and “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better),” are bona-fide pieces of Americana whose popularity has trumped their creator’s. But through rare black-and-white magazine prints, nostalgic theatre playbills and aged musical scores, Berlin’s illustrious career will spring to life for museum attendees.

Being only 70 miles from Austin, the “Live Music Capitol of the World,” you’d expect a decent music scene to have trickled down to San Antone. Turns out we can hold our own in the music scene. Annual summertime Cactus Pear Music Festival, founded by SA Symphony Concertmaster Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, covers Baroque Brahms up to modern American composers like Copland. Go to http://www.cpmf.us/ for times and dates.

If you miss that, try to catch country star Terri Hendrix in the Botanical Garden’s Concerts Under the Stars series. These concerts are held at the lush gardens that encompass 33 acres and a variety of gorgeous flower and plant species. The July 20 show itself is free, but don’t forget to put a call in to Central Market ahead of time for your boxed lunch: no outside food or drink is allowed.

If you’re a fan of Boomer-generation entertainment, you can see one of the most well-received tribute bands pay homage to the Beatles during 1964...The Tribute. It covers the pre-Sgt-Pepper era via period instruments, clothing and music. The show debuts in San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre on July 28.

LATIN-FLAVORED NIGHTLIFE

But no entertaining city is worth the money it takes to reach it in airline fuselage or SUV gas without some hip live music haunts.

San Antonio is one of the best places for Latin-flavored nightlife outside of South America, but it has the eclectic social scene of any diverse big city. For starters, the North St. Mary’s Street strip is home to several alternative night clubs that will satisfy any Smiths fan. Most of them feature great beer specials and edgy wall art for sale. Alterna-club Limelight shares clientele with the tattoo parlor next door; its eclectic music acts and friendly crowd facilitate a healthy crowd all week long.

More toward the heart of downtown is Davenport, whose downstairs DJ’s play anything from retro 70’s funk to early 90’s rap. Die-hard dancers favor this industrial-artsy venue. Toward the Majestic Theatre on the same street, you’ll find a couple of luxe lounge bars that strive for a South Beach feel in their mod music and design.

San Antonio has some of the best live Latin music outside of Latin America. Azuca Nuevo Latino restaurant on 713 South Alamo St. is a great starting point for danceable Latin fare (and minty rum mojitos). The bar features live Latin bands on weekends that make packed-in bar-goers move and mingle: Nine-piece Caribbean/salsa-merengue group Tropicante (for “tropics” and “picante,” as in spicy hot) is the regular Friday-night fare.

Slicker Latin pop fans (the youthful “fresas,” or wealthy, well-coiffed heirs from prosperous Mexico) will shell out mucho dinero to get VIP treatment at Planeta BAR-RIO, the posh electronica club with a Latin flair.

But don’t forget that this is still Texas, and for the people proud of that, there is Pat O’Briens (121 Alamo Plaza) and Howl at the Moon (111 W Crockett St.). Pat O’Briens, a huge, multi-floor tourist beacon on the Riverwalk, features many different music styles. The bottom floor often features dueling piano players improvising song lyrics and inviting audience members to do the same. Howl at the Moon is a double-decker piano bar that doubles as a karaoke venue at the arrival of especially inebriated guests.

FOOD

You can’t talk about “Latin” and not mention food if you’re talking about San Antonio. Some of the most renowned Mexican and Latin restaurants in America can be found here.

Aforementioned Azuca Nuevo Latino restaurant has been nominated as one of the Top 50 Hispanic restaurants in the United States by Hispanic Magazine (nevermind that one owner is Swiss; he and his Mexican-born partner have both worked extensively at posh Mexican hotels). But this is not your typical Tex-Mex restaurant, which can be found on practically every street corner in the city. This is a pan-Latin restaurant. The food takes flavor notes from all over Central and South America, with an emphasis on seafood dishes. The Salman Jibaro - perfectly-cooked, crusted with thin plantain strips, and served with cilantro crab butter - elicits mid-chew moans of pleasure. Don’t pass up the staples, like the flavorful pulled pork Cuban sandwiches, or tostones, those garlicky plantain slices of heaven.

For more standard Mexican fare, there’s Aldaco’s, located next to entertainment venue Sunset Station. Owner Blanca Aldaco is a native of Guadalajara, the capitol of premier Tequila-producing Mexican state Jalisco. It would be wise, then, to try a Margarita or two at this venue. Start with La Bonita, a tart, classic Margarita. An emboldening few of these may give you the nerves to try the Avocado Margarita. Half an avocado goes in each glass of this sweet, delightfully textured frozen drink. Try it with the Enchiladas Divorciadas - one verde and one ranchera chicken enchilada “separated by rice and ‘irreconcilable’ borracho beans,” according to the menu. Or try the Chile Relleno Aguacate, whose hue and otherwordly taste match the avocado ‘rita well.

Of course, there are other Mexican restaurants worth mentioning – namely, the famous Mi Tierra, which never closes, always has an overload of blinking lights and Hispanic décor, and relishes serving up pitchers of frosty Margaritas to tourists and locals alike. Mi Tierra’s guayabera-clad waiters can direct you to your Tex-Mex (or real Mex) fancy on the menu. Try the mole if it’s available.

More towards the city’s northeast side is La Fogata, whose picture-lined innards convey its national popularity. Bill Clinton and J-Lo are just two celebrities whose visages sit behind you as you dine on divine nachos, pregnant enchiladas and succulent fish and shrimp ceviche.

There isn’t enough space to devote to the city’s culinary details, but one noteworthy detail includes a hidden treasure here – the plethora of quality sushi restaurants. The modern minimalist design of Sushi Zushi (18720 Stone Oak Pkwy) - all tall bamboo sticks, zen black stones and hanging lights dangling from high ceilings - is a haven for the moneyed mavens from around the area. The food isn’t bad, either. The freshest fish goes into everything from a tender, flavorful mackerel nigiri to the colorful FBI roll. Try the tempura Spider roll, which comes with a spicy mayo on top. Mon’s Thai Bistro (4901 Broadway St.), a smaller but trendy sushi restaurant in the heart of Alamo Heights, serves up tasty sushi and Thai dishes alike. Try any of the curry dishes.

Other places to try before you leave: the new, well-reviewed Belgian restaurant on South Alamo, La Frite; Liberty Bar (328 E Josephine St.), which serves up healthy comfort food – everything from a hearty lentil salad sprinkled with goat cheese, to a fresh heirloom tomato salad, to veal sweetbreads; and anything on the Riverwalk that’s not a chain – especially the uber-luxe seafood dig Pesca or the neuvo-Southwestern cuisine at Zuni Grill. All that walking around the River will justify it.

So now you know that there’s more than enough world-class food, art, and entertainment to pack into a weekend stay in San Antonio. Oh yeah, and there’s the Alamo, too.

Jennifer Litz is the managing editor of Scene in SA Monthly, a general-interest city magazine in San Antonio, Texas. Go to www.scenepublications.com for more information on the publication. Realizing that many living in the Del Rio, Tx area frequent San Antonio, Jennifer thought it was timely to introduce our audience to an "insider's view" of the Alamo City.