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Swanky San Antonio restaurant hosts 20s speakeasy with exciting guest chefs

Landrace chef Steve McHugh invites Nicola Blaque, Elizabeth Johnson, and Omar Palomo for a collab that's sure to be the bee's knees.

Landrace/Instagram

Who needs to wait until New Year's Eve to bust out their Great Gatsby best? No one when Landrace is hosting a 20s-centric, speakeasy-themed "Night at the Chef's Table" event this October.

The team at the popular and very stylish Landrace, including executive chef Steve McHugh and executive sous chef Michelle Velez, will be hosting a trio of other renowned local chefs for a one-night only event on October 19th. Courses and cocktails will show off the talents of Jerk Shack's Nicola Blaque, Pharm Table's Elizabeth Johnson, and Landrace sous chef Omar Palomo.

20s attire isn't only welcomed for the password-protected night on the town, but actively encouraged, so everyone should look the part and create an even more immersive atmosphere.

Landrace's Night at the Chef's Table series is the restaurant’s way to raise money for charitable causes while keeping kitchen ideas and tableside experiences fresh. This time, 25 percent of proceeds from ticket sales will go toward benefitting the Animal Defense League.

Last time, the series featured culinary creations from four incredibly skilled local women chefs. The showcase also included woman-owned wine or spirit pairings, and benefitted the empowerment nonprofit Dress for Success.

Now, instead of wine, cocktails will be paired, befitting the month's speakeasy theme. Equally true to the theme, details about the menu are being held tightly under wraps until guests arrive — but with the slate of chefs participating, it's certain to be a guaranteed good time.

While the specific length of the four-course dinner isn't specified on the event page, dinners in this series typically span at least three hours. A guest with a lot of stamina — or a love of long nights — may consider heading upstairs to the 20th floor of the Thompson Hotel, to the celestial-themed rooftop bar and restaurant the Moon's Daughters, where photos are practically mandatory.

However, if you decide to cap your night off after the fourth and final secret course at the Night at the Chef's Table event is served, don't forget to have your valet ticket stamped — each ticket to the event comes with complimentary valet parking.

Tickets ($196.88 with taxes and fees) for Landrace’s “A Night at the Chef’s Table” speakeasy are available at thompsonsanantoniohappenings.com. Dinner on October 19 starts at 6:30 pm.

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NYT loves AUS

Pastry chef from San Antonio makes New York Times Best Bakeries list

Comadre Panadería/Instagram

Comadre Panadería is known for nostalgic Mexican bakes with feminine flair.

The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Austin’s culinary scene. It included Comadre Panadería, an Austin bakery by San Antonio native Mariela Camacho, on its new list of the 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.

Interim food critic Priya Krishna praises pastry chef Camacho’s pastries that include conchas and her signature pink cake. “Despite their saccharine appearances, not one of the desserts is overly cloying, and even the coffee drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries,” she writes.

Comadre Panadería has been widely recognized, including by this publication; Camacho, who is now based in Ausitn, won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards. She also earned a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

Camacho and Comadre as a whole are both invested in using baked goods to make a more equitable world, from the bakery's early days as a fundraiser for disaster relief, to a current insistence on charging enough to support ethical and organic foods, and paying staff enough to keep up with rising costs in Austin.

Although Camacho was born in San Antonio and started her baking career there, she also spent a significant time in Seattle, Washington, where Comadre started as a pop-up. According to Austin Monthly, she then moved back to San Antonio, and then to Austin. But no matter where she is, the Mexican cooking traditions of her ancestors take precedent.

Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panaderia in Austin Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panaderia. Courtesy photo

The Times also recognized Houston's Koffeteria. Krishna hails the bakery for pastry chef-owner Vanarin Kuch’s creative fare that includes dishes such as beef pho kolaches, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and butter mochi.

“Some of Mr. Kuch’s offerings are rooted in his Cambodian American identity — he makes cornbread with the coconutty, scallion-forward flavors of Cambodian street corn — while others are odes to Houston’s multicultural makeup. But most of the fun of Koffeteria is having no idea what Mr. Kuch will do next, and eagerly awaiting his next innovation,” Krishna writes.

Open since 2019, Koffeteria has been riding high this year. It earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Bakery and a CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year.

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Comadre Panadería and Koffeteria are the only Texas establishments to make the Times’ list. Only California and New York City, which each have three representatives, earn more recognition.

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