COMING ATTRACTIONS

Imaginative new play museum to open first San Antonio location

The San Antonio Play Street will feature the On the Go theme, based on travel.

Photo courtesy of Play Street Museum

A whimsical new space will soon make free-form fun less intimidating for San Antonio's littlest kids. Play Street Museum is opening its first Alamo City location inside the La Arcata Retail Center at 115 N. Loop 1604 E.

Early childhood educator Courtney Muccio and husband Mike Muccio founded the company in Frisco in 2014, basing the concept off their own experiences with children’s museums. Though the interactive, free play environments invigorated her oldest children, the chaotic facilities exhausted her youngest, who had to fight big kids to join in on the fun.

Each Play Street Museum is specifically tailored to the needs of children aged 1 to 8, with age-appropriate “exhibitions” that encourage toddlers to use their imagination. Each venue has a theme such as Town Square, based on the rhythms of city life to Great Outdoors, built around outdoor recreation.

According to the company’s website, San Antonio kids will play in On the Go, a theme that lets children “soar through the world of planes, trains, and automobiles.” Although local renderings have not been released, other locations with the theme feature an airport set with a plane and baggage check in, faux storefronts for hotels and travel agencies, and an ice cream truck.

For parents, each Play Street Museum is laid out with open sightlines, letting them relax while keeping a direct eye on their brood. And the franchises are typically located in suburban areas, making them an easier everyday option than complexes like DoSeum that are located in the city core.

Play Street has not yet revealed the opening date for the Stone Oak location, but parents can sign up for updates online. A recently filed timeline with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation estimated that construction will wrap up in January 2027, though that is not always an accurate bellwether of actual opening dates.

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TV DINNERS

San Antonio's 2M Smokehouse fires up big win on Food Network show

Photo courtesy of Food Network

Grecia and Esaul Ramos compete on 'Pitmasters.'

San Antonio’s 2M Smokehouse isn’t exactly a stranger to acclaim, having been applauded by everyone from Texas Monthly to the Michelin Guide. But the barbecue joint’s newest standing ovation came with a bonus: a $50,000 check.

On August 31, Grecia and Esaul Ramos — the proprietors of the Southeast Side favorite — won the inaugural season of the Food Network’s barbecue competition series, Pitmasters.

“Everyone kept asking, ‘What if you don’t win?’ Well… guess now we’ll never know,” wrote 2M in a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post.

“All jokes aside, we’re incredibly proud and beyond thankful for everyone who supported Team Ramos throughout this entire journey,” continued the post. “Bringing this win home to San Antonio means everything!”

The series puts the competitors through the wringer with a breakneck schedule of challenges ranging from whole-hog cooking to a four-protein showdown. From the get-go, the contestants stepped into the fire. The premier episode gave the pitmaster pairs nine hours to build a family-style platter of two meats and a side that defined their style.

In addition to facing off against some serious national culinary talent, the Ramoses had a hometown rivalry in Boerne’s Al Frugoni, known for his Argentine asado-style cooking and self-named line of seasonings.

Pitmasters also featured some homegrown talent on the judges panel. Burnt Bean Co. co-owner Ernest Servantes was one of the show’s experts along with Andrew Zimmern, competition barbecue great Moe Cason, and Austin-based barbecue personality Jess Pryles.

In the final episode, the Ramoses were challenged to make a five-course live fire meal. The couple decided to showcase their Mexican and Tex-Mex heritage in dishes like grilled oysters with chili butter and chorizo focaccia and smoked conchas served with café de olla. Though a last-minute misstep caused the pair to throw out a batch of nata, 2M ultimately took home the crown.

“To win the whole thing, it would mean we are putting out culture on the map,” said Grecia earlier in the episode. “If I could look back at five-year-old me, that was coming into elementary, that did not know English, [and] had to be in ESL class, I think she’d be proud.”

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Pitmasters is now available to stream on HBO Max.

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