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4 San Antonio culinary pioneers win $21K from the Texas Food & Wine Alliance

CULINARY INNOVATION

Courtesy Texas Food & Wine Alliance

Texas’ skyrocketing culinary scene is about to get a huge boost. The Texas Food & Wine Alliance’s grant program has awarded $107,500 to 19 culinary innovators around the state. This marks the Alliance’s 11th year providing funding to support culinary projects contributing to local communities.

The award winners were announced in a ceremony at Austin's Holdsworth Center on January 21. A private panel of distinguished culinary experts chose the winners out of 40 grant applications this year. Nine winners hail from Austin, three from Dallas-Fort Worth, three from Houston, and four from San Antonio. The awards range from $1,500 to $10,000, with a special $25,000 grant investment from Austin favorite Tito’s Handmade Vodka in honor of the company’s 25th anniversary. Grant funding will support chefs, farms, and culinary education groups, among others.

Out of the four San Antonio area winners, Talking Tree Farm received the most from the grant program, $6,250 to purchase shipping containers for storage and to buy a solar-powered cold room for their harvests. John Marshall High School’s culinary arts program will use their $5,000 grant to establish a morning café. Agricultural project Habitable Spaces and pasture-raised chicken farm Cielito Lindo Farm also won $5,000 each to purchase equipment or build infrastructure to further their endeavors in the culinary space.

Austin-area winners received the most funding from the grant program, totalling $53,750, while San Antonio winners received $21,250 in total. Dallas/Fort Worth winners were awarded $19,750, and the three Houston recipients won $12,750. All of the 2022 winners reflect just how diverse the state's trailblazing culinary scene continues to expand.

“All of this year’s funded projects will further enrich the state through innovation and giveback,” said Erika White, executive director of the Alliance. “We’re extremely grateful to each of the Texas communities, our sponsors and their support in allowing us to reward these mold-breaking projects.”

In Austin, organic farm Trosi Farms was awarded the most funding ($10,000), which will help construct a germination shed for more stable plant start production. Locavore pioneer Boggy Creek Farm won $7,500 in grants to provide ADA-compliant accessibility to their new climate-controlled Tomato House, while Texas’ first organic feed mill, Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill & Farm, received $6,250 to help purchase a building to be used as a store for the local community.

The six other Austin area grant recipients, each winning $5,000, include Vista Farms at Vista Brewing, Jamaican family business Tierra Todun ATX, coffee roasters Rising Tide Roast Collaborative, culinary educator Chef Pascal Simon from Bake Austin, East Austin food truck Community Vegan, and Latinx pastry project Comadre Panaderia (who also just earned a James Beard nomination). All winners will be able to use their grants to improve efficiency and expand their businesses, or in Chef Pascal's case, further research and development for her upcoming cookbook for Gen-Z young adults.

After starting the program in Austin, grant co-chair and TFWA past president Cathy Cochran-Lewis says it was the Alliance’s dream to expand the grant statewide.

“We’re so humbled and thrilled to now not only support worthwhile projects across Texas but also to give more than a half million dollars in funding over the last decade to help dreams come true,” she says. “This is a tribute to the culinary talent and the community mindset we are lucky to have in our state.”

The winners in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas include:

For this year's Honorable Mention, the Alliance chose San Antonio eatery Tacos Cucuy, who will soon open a brick-and-mortar space with an expanded menu. Tacos Cucuy are currently looking for support to develop a Tex-Mex charcuterie program called La Cura Carnes Especiales.

More information about the 2022 grants and its recipients can be found on texasfoodandwinealliance.org.

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San Antonio museum saddles up for new photo exhibit honoring the West's modern cowboys

Campfire Tales

A major San Antonio is saddling up for an intimate look at the modern American cowboy lifestyle through the lens of acclaimed photographer Anouk Masson Krantz.

Her new exhibition, "American Cowboys," opens September 29 at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, showcasing stunning black-and-white images that reveal the enduring culture of the ranching families and rodeo communities.

The exhibition promises a behind-the-scenes look at the less-urban world surrounding San Antonio and other Texas locales. Featuring over 100 stunning photographs, Krantz's lens provides a contemporary homage to cowboy culture across the frontier.

Raised in France but now based in New York City, Krantz has traveled across America to photograph the daily lives and enduring culture of today's cowboys and cowgirls. Her subjects are ranchers, tight-knit rodeo crowds, and the virtues of the Western lifestyle that remain remarkably unchanged for more than 150 years.

Her being raised outside of America is important for connecting mythology — what she learned in France as tropes — to reality. Many San Antonians have become used to knowing ranchers and equestrians, but the French photographer's images provide an inspiring and fresh outside view into the enduring pioneering spirit of the West..

"Krantz's intimate portraits and stunning panoramas showcase the life of today's cowboys and ranchers — and vividly prove that what she'd heard of, and we all think of as the Western life, is alive and thriving," says Briscoe president and CEO Liz Jackson.

Selected images on Krantz’s website feature a cowboy on horseback tipping his hat in a timeless, polite gesture, framed surprisingly through a car window as if glimpsed across eras. Another photo depicts women seated around a vintage car, chatting with one another. Juxtaposing classic cowboy iconography with candid moments of connection, the photos reveal the photographer's fascination with both pervasive myths and ephemeral glimpses of Western American life.

"Although long admired for their strength, relentless work ethic and humble values, the American Cowboy is more than a myth.” Jackson remarks.

Guests can anticipate hearing unique insights directly from the acclaimed French photographer herself during an exclusive tour, as she shares details about capturing the authentic daily lives of humble, yet virtuous cowboys and their families. Visitors can also keep exploring the Briscoe's Western offerings, which have long been a defining part of the museum's curatorial style.

"The exhibition pairs well with our permanent collection where visitors can see both historical and contemporary art, tools of the cowboy trade, and artifacts of the West," says Jackson.

Krantz's critically acclaimed photography offers an inspiring and fresh view into the enduring pioneering spirit of the West. Fans will also have the opportunity to take home a signed copy of Krantz's latest art book Ranchland: Wagonhound, which won the 2023 Western Heritage Award.

"American Cowboys" will be on display at the Briscoe Western Art Museum from September 29, 2023, to January 22, 2024. Tickets ($14, plus discounts for children, seniors, military, and students) to the Briscoe are available at briscoemuseum.org.

Shot from American Cowboys at the Briscoe Western Art Museum

Photo courtesy of the Briscoe Western Art Museum

Anouk Masson Krantz lends her images from touring the American West at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, starting September 29.

H-E-B soars to No. 2 in Forbes' prestigious list of best employers in Texas

everything is truly better

San Antonio continues to prove it hosts the best of the best employers in Texas as the statewide grocery chain H-E-B moves into the coveted No. 2 spot on Forbes' 2023 list of "America’s Best Employers By State."

The highly anticipated list, published August 22, is a collaboration between Forbes and Statista to survey the satisfaction levels of tens of thousands of workers employed by national companies.

In addition to being based in San Antonio, H-E-B operates more than 300 stores in Texas and employs 154,000 people. Its mammoth presence throughout the state — coupled with a great work environment and advancement opportunities — is what propels it to the top year after year. The ranking is a seven-place improvement from its No. 9 rank in 2022.

It gives back to the community, too. Earlier this year, H-E-B and its Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust collaborated to support San Antonio Zoo's "Generation Zoo" master plan with a combined total of $3 million in donations. The partnership solidifies H-E-B's commitment to San Antonio families and the city's public education sector.

"As longtime supporters of San Antonio Zoo, H-E-B is excited to be a part of this transformative effort," said Winell Herron, Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity, and Environmental Affairs in a press release. "We’re proud our gift will support the zoo’s vision to expand conservation and education opportunities while creating beautiful spaces that will continue to welcome families for generations to come."

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio also received high praise, coming in at No. 26 overall. The only employer that scored higher than H-E-B was Nasa, in Houston.

Although Forbes explains that the national list isn't the same as their best large employers list, it's meant to serve as an in-depth analysis of companies that are "closer-to-home options for every American worker."

Forbes and Statista determined their rankings by surveying 70,000 Americans working at employers in the U.S. with at least 500 employees each. The final list features 1,392 highly recommended employers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 270 employers ranked highly in multiple states.

Here are the 30 best large employers in Texas, as determined by Forbes and Statista:

San Antonio:

  • No. 2 – H-E-B (based in San Antonio; more than 300 stores in Texas)
  • No. 26 – University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Houston area:

  • No. 1 – NASA (based in Washington, D.C.; Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake)
  • No. 4 – Houston Community College
  • No. 5 – Houston Methodist
  • No. 6 – Texas Children's Hospital
  • No. 18 – National Oilwell Varco
  • No. 19 – Bechtel (based in Reston, Virginia; major corporate hub in Houston)

Dallas-Fort Worth:

  • No. 6 – Texas Oncology, based in Dallas
  • No. 9 – Fidelity Investments (based in Boston; major corporate hub in Westlake)
  • No. 14 – Capital One (based in Richmond, Virginia; major corporate hub in Plano)
  • No. 17 – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas
  • No. 22 – Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas
  • No. 24 – Texas Health Resources, based in Arlington
  • No. 25 – General Motors (based in Detroit, Michigan; major assembly hub in Arlington)
  • No. 27 – City of Plano
  • No. 28 – Toyota North America, based in Plano

Austin:

  • No. 3 – Google (based in Mountain View, California; major corporate hub in Austin)
  • No. 13 – Apple (based in Cupertino, California; major corporate hub in Austin)

Throughout Texas:

  • No. 8 – Salesforce (based in San Francisco, California; offices in Austin and Dallas)
  • No. 10 – IKEA (based in Sweden; five stores in Texas)
  • No. 11 – Costco (based in Issaquah, Washington; 38 stores in Texas)
  • No. 15 – Cardinal Health (based in Dublin, Ohio; 23 locations in Texas)
  • No. 16 – Microsoft (based in Redmond, Washington; offices in Austin, Dallas, Friendswood, Frisco, Houston, San Antonio, and The Woodlands)
  • No. 20 – Leidos (based in Reston, Virginia; locations in San Antonio, Houston, and Webster)
  • No. 21 – Cisco Systems (based in San Jose, California; offices in Austin, Dallas, Irving, Richardson, Houston, Laredo, and San Antonio)
  • No. 23 – IBM (based in Armonk, New York; offices in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Frisco)
  • No. 29 – Nike (based in Beaverton, Oregon; 26 locations in Texas)
  • No. 30 – Charles Schwab (based in San Francisco, California; 25 locations in Texas)

San Antonio neighbor booms as 4th fastest-growing U.S. college town, plus more top stories

Hot Headlines

Editor's note: It’s that time again — time to check in with our top stories. From college towns to good reasons to play hooky, here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. San Antonio neighbor booms as 4th fastest-growing U.S. college town, report says. San Marcos' population in 2000 was 36,120; in 2023 the population has nearly doubled to 70,372.

2. Curtains open on San Antonio music school's charming new community space. Sage Music recently finished construction on a beautiful building in Midtown, inserting modern practice spaces and a concert stage.

3. San Antonio International Airport relaxes into rating as the 5th least stressful U.S. airport. Factors that helped determine SAT's rank include the percentage of delayed flights and cancelled flights as of 2022.

4. San Antonio golf course scores title from Texas Monthly as one of the state's best. What sets this course apart, according to editor in chief Dan Goodgame, is its rich history and the challenges it provides for avid golfers.

5. Comedian Adam Sandler chooses San Antonio as only Texas stop on new tour. He played Austin, Houston, and Dallas last February as part of his "Adam Sandler Live" stand-up tour, but they're not getting his new tour.

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