COMING ATTRACTIONS

San Antonio's Pearl plots mysterious new restaurant for Cured space

Cured/Facebook

The Pearl is sending San Antonio on another treasure hunt. Global architectural firm Gensler has submitted state regulatory paperwork for a new restaurant inside the former home of Cured, but so far, the details are as mysterious as The Da Vinci Code.

New Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filings give a few clues to the project going into the 4,870-square-foot space. The renovations, planned to wrap up in November, will ring in at $1.5 million. The paperwork calls it Yosemite, although it’s unclear whether that’s the final name.

From there, it’s all speculation. A Pearl representative declined to provide further details, but did say it was part of the development’s broader plans to open seven new restaurants this year. Still, the showpiece property lends itself to more high-revenue concepts, so our guesses lean more toward a sushiya or steakhouse than a casual lunch spot.

The new project comes as the development prepares for its next chapter after some culinary churn. Of the seven promised restaurants, two are in landmark spaces. The Cured space, vacant since January, was used as Pearl Brewery’s administration building, and is one of the most recognizable structures on the site.

And in May, Pearl developer Silver Ventures announced that it had signed a deal with another new chef-partner. Houston’s Bludorn Hospitality Group, the owners of Bludorn and Navy Blue, will make its San Antonio debut with an as-yet unnamed restaurant in the shuttered Carriqui space. As with Yosemite, specifics are being kept under lock and key.

Pearl has shared a little more intel on the upcoming eatery being built out next door to Coopers Row apartments. Although the menu is still under wraps, Silver Ventures has announced that it comes from the team behind Box St. All Day and has a name: LoverBoy House Eats.

That means there are still four more restaurants to come before Pearl’s code is fully cracked. The development says that more info will be unveiled in the months to come.

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HOMETOWN HEAT

San Antonio-area pitmaster headlines new Food Network barbecue show

Photo courtesy of Food Network

Ernest Servantes (in denim jacket) is among the judges of a new Food Network series.

Ernest Servantes already knows what it takes to win $50,000 from Food Network; now the Seguin pitmaster is the one handing it out. The Burnt Bean Co. pitmaster, who won a big check on Chopped Grill Masters in 2012, is one of four judges on Pitmasters, a new series that puts elite barbecue teams through a week of live-fire competition.

The series puts the teams through the wringer with a breakneck schedule of challenges ranging from whole-hog cooking to a four-protein showdown. The premiere episode drops the contestants straight into a "Big Burn" challenge, giving the pitmaster pairs nine hours to build a family-style platter of two meats and a side that defines their style.

But it wouldn’t be a Food Network show without a twist. This time, Servantes and his fellow judges — Andrew Zimmern, competition barbecue great Moe Cason, and Austin-based barbecue personality Jess Pryles — throw the cast a 60-minute "Flash Burn" curveball that asks them to create the perfect barbecue bite.San Antonio talent won’t just be behind the judges' table. Three teams will feature well-known names in the local smoked meat scene.

Grecia and Esaul Ramos, the proprietors of San Antonio’s 2M Smokehouse, might have an advantage. After all, the duo is not only married; they work together in the kitchen every day. But they’ll face stiff competition from two other locals with their own live-fire superpowers.

Boerne’s Al Frugoni, paired with Louisville, Kentucky influencer Jeremy Yoder, is known for his Argentine asado-style cooking and self-named line of seasonings sold at Walmart and H-E-B. Also representing Boerne will be Ruben Santana, paired with Palmira Barbecue pitmaster Hector Garate from Charleston, South Carolina.

That Santana is listed as a hometown pitmaster may raise a few eyebrows. He’s best known as the founder of Brooklyn’s Bark Barbecue, a project that has gained him national recognition for fusing Dominican and Texas styles. We’ll have to wait to see if he is firing something new in Texas.

Pitmasters premieres July 13 on Food Network. Episodes will air on Mondays and be available to stream on HBO Max the following day.

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