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The 2023 rendition of the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide is out, and 26 properties in Texas have made the list — with two in San Antonio.

This is the 65th annual Forbes Travel Guide, which a release describes as the only independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, and spas, worldwide. Bow down to Forbes Travel Guide, bow down.

Ratings are broken into three categories: Five-Star, Four-Star, and Recommended, Five-Star being the best. The list, which comprises 1,956 properties around the world, runs heavy on hotels (1378) and spas (314), with only 259 restaurants. And for the first year, the list also includes ocean cruises.

In Texas, the list included five restaurants, 12 hotels, and seven spas, although come on who cares about spas, it's the restaurants and hotels that are most intriguing, am I right.

In a reprise of 2022, only three properties in Texas earned five stars: Carte Blanche restaurant in Dallas, Post Oak Hotel in Houston (and its spa), and the Ritz-Carlton Dallas hotel.

These are the properties in Texas that made the 2023 list, by category:

Restaurants:

  • Carte Blanche / Dallas: 5-star
  • Fearing's / Dallas: 4-star
  • Garrison / Austin: 4-star
  • The Mansion / Dallas: 4-star
  • French Room / Dallas: Recommended

Hotels:

  • Adolphus / Dallas: Recommended
  • Archer Hotel Austin: 4-star
  • Austin Proper Hotel / Austin: 4-star
  • Commodore Perry Estate Auberge Resorts Collection / Austin: 4-star
  • Fairmont Austin: 4-star
  • Four Seasons Hotel Austin: 4-star
  • Four Seasons Hotel Houston: 4-star
  • Hotel Emma / San Antonio: Recommended
  • The Houstonian Hotel Club & Spa: 4-star
  • The Joule / Dallas: 4-star
  • Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek / Dallas: 4-star
  • The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston: 5-star
  • The Ritz-Carlton Dallas: 5-star
  • Mokara Hotel & Spa / San Antonio: 4-star
  • The St. Regis Houston: 4-star

Spas:

  • Fairmont Spa Austin: 4 star
  • Mokara Spa / San Antonio: 4-star
  • The Ritz Carlton Spa Dallas: 4-star
  • The Spa at Four Seasons Austin: 4-star
  • The Spa at the Joule / Dallas: 4-star
  • The Spa at the Post Oak Hotel Houston: 5-star
  • Trellis Spa Houston: 4-star

The Forbes Travel guide started in 1958 as Mobil Travel Guide, a guidebook for U.S. motorists. They created the original Five-Star rating system for hospitality in the U.S.

To determine the ratings, Forbes Travel Guide's inspectors visit every hotel, restaurant, spa, and cruise ship in person, visiting anonymously as a typical guest. Participants pay a fee to be considered, but no one can buy a rating.

San Antonio scoops up a win in ranking of best ice cream cities

Get The Scoop

Fans of homegrown brands like Lick Honest Ice Creams know that the Austin and San Antonio areas serve up some of the best scoops in the country. So it's no surprise that on a recent list of the best (and worst) ice cream cities in America, Austin lands in the top 10, while San Antonio tops a subset of the survey.

At No. 27, San Antonio ranks in the middle of the best ice cream cities. But it wins the No. 1 slot for Best Shaved Ice, one of six additional categories.

The survey, compiled by real estate brokerage Home Bay, ranks 50 cities using factors such as the number of ice cream shops per capita, the price of a small cup or cone (using Ben & Jerry's as a benchmark), average annual temperature, and Google searches. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Yelp, and Google Trends.

The best
The best cities for ice cream have more shops (an average of 4.9 ice cream shops per 100,000 people), a high interest in ice cream (Google searches), and better prices, with a small cup of Ben & Jerry's averaging $4.47 versus the $4.50 residents pay in the average city.

Here's a surprise: Oklahoma City is America's best ice cream city, thanks to a high number of ice cream shops per capita as well as affordability.

Austin is the only Texas city in the top 10:

  1. Oklahoma City
  2. New Orleans
  3. Las Vegas
  4. San Jose, California
  5. Providence, Rhode Island
  6. Raleigh, North Carolina
  7. Salt Lake City
  8. Austin
  9. Boston
  10. Philadelphia

Way to go, Austin! This is what they say about Austin's ice cream scene:

Austin excels when it comes to appreciation of different ice cream styles. The city ranks third in our ice cream variety metric thanks to frequent searches for ice cream types and flavors. The slogan "Keep Austin Weird" is appropriate with so many locals going bananas: The city ranks first in online search interest for banana ice cream. Visitors can find two different types of banana ice cream — banana cream pie and strawberry banana — at local chain Amy's Ice Creams. Additionally, Austin has the seventh-warmest average temperature in our study, making ice cream especially appreciated as a sweet treat for relief from the heat.

The worst
The bottom 10 cities have fewer ice cream shops, higher costs, and less ice cream interest in the topic, which they judge by the number of Google searches for topics such as "ice cream near me" and "ice cream flavors."

The 10 worst ice cream cities are as follows:

  1. Memphis, Tennessee
  2. Riverside, California
  3. Washington, D.C.
  4. Miami
  5. Houston
  6. Baltimore
  7. Los Angeles
  8. Sacramento, California
  9. Dallas
  10. Jacksonville, Florida

These cities have only 2.2 ice cream shops per 100,000 people. The average city has 3.4 shops per 100,000 people. And Dallas has only 1.4 ice cream shops per 100,000 people.

Ice cream in these worst cities is also more expensive. A small cup of ice cream averages $4.80 in the bottom 10 cities, versus $4.50 for the average city in the study.

Ice cream in Missouri and Alabama is the cheapest: $3.99 for a small Ben & Jerry's cone. Washington, D.C. is the most expensive, at $5.35 for a cone.

TyphoonTexas.com

Texas' 10 best water parks for families, thrill-seekers, and everyone in between

Ride the Wave

By all indications, it's shaping up to be a scorching summer in Texas. The best way to beat the heat is by floating in a brightly colored plastic tube around a fake German castle on a lazy river, or being propelled through a tube chute at 20 miles per hour into a refreshing pool of blue water. Luckily for us, no matter where you are in Texas, you are never too far from a water park. Here are 10 of the state's best.

Schlitterbahn, New Braunfels
The OG of Texas water parks, Schlitterbahn opened along the Comal River in 1979 with four water slides. Today, the park in between Austin and San Antonio offers more than 50 water rides split over two sections of a sprawling 70-acre park. The original section, home to the signature Schlitterbahn Castle, has tube chutes, enclosed twisty slides, seven kid’s pools, and a swim-up pool bar for adults. All the rides on this side are still powered by the natural spring fed water of the Comal River.

The newer Blastenhoff section is where the majority of high-thrills rides are located, including the six-story Master Blaster water coaster. To see the entire park from the comfort of your own tube, hop on The Falls. The whitewater river is 3,600 feet long, making it the world’s longest water park ride.

White Water Bay at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio
Their website says access to White Water Bay is included with the price of admission to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, but we like to think it is the other way around. Bypass those Superman coasters that have you hanging upside down screaming for dear life and head to the Texas-shaped wave pool. The rides here are no joke. The Bahaman Blaster drops riders at an 80-degree angle to reach speeds of up to 40 miles-per-hour where they descend straight down six-stories. The Twister body slide descends into darkness, while the riders on the Tornado begin on by traveling through an enclosed slide before being shot out onto a funnel where they twist and turn on a four-person tube ride to the end.

Kalahari, Round Rock
Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Round Rock is dubbed “America’s largest indoor water park resort.” The African safari-themed water park has 223,000 square feet of water rides, including the Screaming Hyena, which drops thrill-seekers through the water park roof into a 60-foot slide; the Tanzania Twist — known for flinging bodies down a funnel at 40 mph; and the Kenya Korkscrew, where visitors ride on a tandem raft down a spiral tube slide.

Day passes are available, but guests who stay overnight at the 975-room resort can access the park for free.

Great Wolf Lodge, Grapevine
Does it look like rain on the day you plan to go to the water park? Bad weather does not dampen the fun at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. The indoor park caters to guests of all ages with its various pools, slides, and tandem tube rides. For those who do not want to spend all day in the water, the resort also offers dry land attractions, like a ropes course, an arcade, live action games, and story time.

At 80,000-square-feet, this water park is one of the smallest on the list, but it is a great option for families with children who do not want to spend all day in the water.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Arlington
Adrenaline junkies, this is your place. The water park in Arlington has it all: water coasters, pitch-black enclosed water slides, free falls, shotgun tube slides, and zero-gravity funnels. It even has the Mega Wedgie, an 83-foot-tall half-pipe where riders rush up and down its walls at 23 miles per hour.

Those who want a more relaxing experience can spend time at the lazy river, the million-gallon wave pool, or the giant swimming pool.

NRH2O Family Water Park, North Richland Hills
Situated between Dallas and Fort Worth, NRH20 has rides for every level of thrill seeker. Tiny swimmers gravitate toward the Tadpole Swimming Hole or spend most of the day hanging out at the Frogstein's Splashatory, a five-level interactive water playground. Those who want to get their heart rate pumping make a beeline for the Green Extreme, an 81-foot uphill water coaster, and the plummeting 61-foot drop Sidewinder.

This city-owned park also hosts movie nights throughout the summer. It is also one of the cheapest water parks in Texas. Weekday admission for children is less than $20, and like Schlitterbahn, the park allows guests to bring in coolers full of food and nonalcoholic beverages.

Schlitterbahn, Galveston
With 20 less rides than its sister property in New Braunfels, Schlitterbahn Galveston is much more compact of a park. But that doesn't mean it is less fun. The Galveston location has Massive Monster Blaster, which is credited as the world’s tallest water coaster. Riders on the tandem raft twist, turn, and drop down three football fields worth of water coaster fun. The Galveston location also has the world’s tallest and longest mat slides. Riders on the Infinity Racers race head first down an eight-story water slide in hopes to beat their fellow racer.

Typhoon Texas, Katy
This Houston-area water park has more than 30 slides, a lazy river to help visitors get around the park, and a 375,000-gallon pool that makes waves up to three feet tall. But arguably the most popular ride is the Monster Storm, where a six-person raft barrels down an open-air tube before sliding into a gravity-defying Texas-sized boomerang wall.

The park shows off its Texas pride by matching each area with Texas landmarks, rivers, and rocks. Following the fine tradition of the love of live music in Texas, the park also has a stage for live performances by local musicians.

Castaway Cove Water Park, Wichita Falls
At 15-acres, the paradise-themed water park is small compared to the big dogs in Arlington and San Antonio. However, with water slides, a wave pool, lazy river, and sand volleyball courts, it has everything a park needs to keep families entertained for the day. It also has what few wate rparks in the country have — a ride with a 360-degree loop. The Pirate’s Plunge begins with a 37-foot vertical free fall, accelerating the rider up to 40 mph before reaching the loop. This ride is not for the faint of heart.

Wet 'N' Wild Water World, El Paso
Water park enthusiasts in Central Texas need to travel to the opposite end of the state to experience the largest wave pool in Texas. This oasis of freshwater in the middle of the West Texas desert draws all levels of thrill seekers. For smaller adventurers, the net ladders, slides, jungle gyms, and dump buckets of Atlantis Adventures are a huge draw. The park even has a slippery rock climbing wall where climbers race their friends to see who can make it to the top first. A refreshing pool of blue water is there to catch anyone who loses their grip.

Typhoon Texas.

Typhoon Texas
TyphoonTexas.com
Typhoon Texas.
Project Pollo

San Antonio makes showing on list of top 20 vegan cities in U.S.

Vegan News

A new survey of the top 20 cities in the U.S. where it's best to be a vegan has determined which city is the most vegan of all. Spoiler: It's not San Antonio. Boo.

But San Antonio did make the list, coming in at No. 13, boasting 202 restaurants that are vegan or offer vegan options.

The survey by the team at Meal Delivery Experts set out to determine which cities have the most vegan food options. They compiled the 20 most populous cities in the U.S., then used data from TripAdvisor to count how many restaurants or food venues in each city offers at least one vegan option.

New York came in at No. 1, blowing everyone else away with 1464 restaurants or food venues offering vegan options — more than double the number than any other city on the list.

Los Angeles was in second place, with 705 restaurants or food venues offering vegan options. Los Angeles has among the widest variety of cuisines including vegan Korean, Ethiopian, and Thai food.

No. 3 was Chicago, with 489 restaurants or food venues offering vegan options, surprising since Chicago is such a meaty town, although the city is best known for deep-dish pizza, and many Chicago restaurants now offer a vegan alternative.

Among Texas cities, Houston and Austin both make the top 10. Houston comes in at No. 6, with 312 restaurants — snatching the surprise win for top vegan city in Texas away from Austin, which has a bigger reputation for being veg-friendly; Austin is No. 8 on the list with 286 restaurants.

Dallas just noses out San Antonio at No. 12, with 209 vegan- or vegan-friendly establishments.

San Antonio's vegan scene is noteworthy in that it's the birthplace of some serious innovators including Earth Burger, the pioneering fast-food burger chain, and Project Pollo, the vegan chicken chain that recently appeared on Shark Tank.

Fort Worth comes in last place, with 68 restaurants or food venues offering at least one vegan option. Despite what the numbers say, Fort Worth has a buzzy vegan scene with places like Pizza Verde, Zonk Burger, and Mariachi's Dine-In; it's also home to Texas' most famous vegan restaurant, Spiral Diner.

Whether motivated by health, environmental, or ethical reasons, the number of vegans in the US is rapidly increasing, reaching new heights in 2022. One in ten, or 10 percent, of Americans now consider themselves vegan or vegetarian.

The dollars are also there, with the plant-based industry worth over $7 billion in the US in 2022.

The milk substitute market is valued at over $3 billion in 2022.

The meat substitute market is valued over $1 billion in 2022.

The full list, by ranking:

  1. New York - 1464
  2. Los Angeles - 705
  3. Chicago - 489
  4. San Francisco - 467
  5. San Diego - 385
  6. Houston - 312
  7. Seattle - 309
  8. Austin - 286
  9. Denver - 261
  10. Philadelphia - 258
  11. Phoenix - 234
  12. Dallas - 209
  13. San Antonio - 202
  14. Charlotte, NC - 176
  15. Jacksonville, FL - 140
  16. Indianapolis - 140
  17. Columbus, Ohio - 137
  18. San Jose - 80
  19. Oklahoma City - 80
  20. Fort Worth - 68
Image courtesy of Thompson San Antonio

Swanky San Antonio spot checks in as one of the hottest new hotels for 2022

over the moon

San Antonio’s Thompson Hotel - Riverwalk is sizzling. The local hot spot has booked the No. 12 spot on TripAdvisor's new list of the Hottest New Hotels in the U.S. for 2022.

The top 25 list comes from the site's 2022 Travelers' Choice Awards, in which travelers reviewed new hotels they experienced in 2021. Travelers gushed over the Thompson's design, as well as its in-house dining and bar.

Located on the River Walk at 115 Lexington Ave., the Thompson Hotel - Riverwalk is within walking distance of the Tobin Center for Performing Arts and The Alamo. The hotel opened in early 2021 and features the culinary talents of chef Steve McHugh at Landrace, its gorgeous restaurant with River Walk views.

Just ahead of the Thompson Hotel - Riverwalk, Houston's Blossom Hotel earned the No. 8 spot, followed closely by Austin’s Colton House Hotel at No. 9. The Blossom was cited for impeccable and friendly service and comfortable, modern rooms, while Colton House earned rave reviews for its hip design and as a choice staycation destination.

Further down the list, Lubbock’s Cotton Court Hotel comes in at No. 20. Inspired by the city’s downtown vibe, the hotel earned 4.5 stars and marks for its “cozy” and “exceptional” lodging. (Those visiting would be wise to visit the nearby Nicolett restaurant, which recently secured a James Beard Award nomination and a Texas Monthly nod.)

San Antonio climbs onto list of best cities for hiking in the U.S.

sort of great heights

Not that there’s anything wrong with the beautiful River Walk, but sometimes you just have to get your shoes dirty. Texas is home to a surprising amount of great hiking, and a new study of 200 U.S. cities places San Antonio at No. 36 for the best hiking nationwide.

The study from lawn care startup LawnStarter is based on 13 criteria, from “hiking access and quality to trail difficulty to natural hazards index.”

With an overall score of 52.06 out of 100 (which sounds borderline bad until you consider the highest score on the chart is 68.37), San Antonio fares best for supplies access, in which the city ranked No. 5 for the number of outdoor gear stores, followed by safety, 18th out of 200, and hiking access, 24th out of 200.

The San Antonio area's quality of hiking — number of hiking routes and campsites — ranks a middling 64th. Its worst ranking is, of course, climate, at No. 112. The number of sunny days, apparently, couldn’t stand a chance against the number of extremely hot ones.

The top 10 U.S. cities for hiking, according to LawnStarter, are:

1. Portland, Oregon
2. Tucson, Arizona
3. Phoenix, Arizona
4. Colorado Springs, Colorado
5. Oakland, California
6. Salt Lake City, Utah
7. Los Angeles, California
8. Boise, Idaho
9. Las Vegas, Nevada
10. San Diego, California

(The 200 cities were chosen based on population, so those small Vermont and New Hampshire towns built around incredible hiking did not get to play.)

Elsewhere in Texas
The highest-ranked Texas city is El Paso, coming in at No. 18, an obvious choice for beautiful desert treks that probably didn’t break the top 10 because of its low hiking access and climate scores. Austin comes in next, at No. 30, with No. 11 rankings for both hiking access and supplies access.

The other Texas cities in the top 100 are as follows: Garland (No. 43), Frisco (No. 55), Dallas (No. 62), Fort Worth (No. 65), McKinney (No. 75), Laredo (No. 82), Houston (No. 92), and Plano (No. 94). Pasadena ranks the worst statewide — and nearly nationwide — at No. 198.

Hikers in and around Garland should be happy to learn the city ranks No. 1 in average consumer rating for hiking trails. Midland suffers from some of the worst consumer ratings, but it happens to rank No. 1 in lowest natural hazard risk. Perhaps it’s just not as exciting when nature is on your side.

With sister cities San Antonio and Austin ranking among the top 20 percent of U.S. hiking, outdoorsy locals have plenty of reason to get outside and take a hike.

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CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Shiner Beer crafts new barbecue joint at iconic Texas brewery

Lewis and Clark, Sonny and Cher, SpongeBob and Patrick. Duos float in and out of pop culture at hummingbird speed. But few have quite as much staying power as beer and barbecue. So, it’s only natural that one of Texas’ most iconic breweries would want to break out the smoker.

According to a release, Shiner Beer is untapping a new market with the April 1 grand opening of K. Spoetzl BBQ Co. Housed at the newly expanded Spoetzl Brewery, the eatery will welcome carnivores seven days a week.

Pitmaster Tommy Schuette, the former proprietor of the Shiner Barbeque Co., will lead the charge with the state’s holy trinity of smoked meats, including brisket, sausage, and ribs. Other favorites like pulled pork and chicken will be served alongside a meaty assortment of salads, loaded potatoes, and sandwiches.

Of course, no Texas barbecue joint can get away with skimping on the sides. Potato salad and pinto beans are served throughout the week, but weekend guests get a little extra. Diners can also opt for green beans, coleslaw, creamed corn, and giblet rice from Thursday through Saturday.

In celebration of K. Spoetzl BBQ’s debut, samples will be passed out between 10:30 am-6 pm on April 1. QR codes will also be scattered across the grounds giving visitors a chance to win gift cards, shirts, hats, and more. Diners will also be given a free beer token for every $25 spent at the restaurant that day.

In addition, budding influencers can post a picture of Schuette to social media to get a coupon for 10 percent off. (As a rule, pitmasters do not need a yassify filter.)

After the grand opening celebration, K. Spoetzl BBQ will be open daily. Hours are 10 am-4 pm, so plan accordingly.

Texas rises through the ranks of most innovative states, says new report

MOVING ON UP

The Lone Star State has again taken a step up on an annual report that ranks the most and least innovative states in the country — this time cracking the top 15.

Texas ranked No. 15 in personal finance site WalletHub's 2023’s Most and Least Innovative States ranking. It's a steady improvement for the state, which ranked No. 16 in 2022 and No. 17 in 2021.

The report analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia and how each performed across 22 key metrics, including population of STEM professionals, venture capital investment activity, number of technology companies, patents per capita, and more. The data was pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Science Foundation, National Center for Education Statistics, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and other records.

Here's how Texas performed at a glance:

  • No. 18 – for share of STEM professionals
  • No. 16 – for projected STEM job demand by 2030
  • No. 25 – for eighth grade math and science performance
  • No. 21 – for share of science and engineering graduates aged 25 or older
  • No. 13 – for share of technology companies
  • No. 31 – for R&D spending per capita
  • No. 18 – venture capital funding per capita

For the 11th year, Texas won Site Selection Magazine's Governor's Cup, the governor's office announced earlier this year. The award, which Texas has won 19 times since its inception in 1978, recognizes the nation’s top-performing state for job-creating business relocations and expansions.

"Texas truly is America’s economic engine, and we stand apart as a model for the nation. When choosing where to relocate or expand their businesses, more and more innovative industry leaders find themselves at home in our state," Governor Greg Abbott says in a news release about the award.

"I congratulate the exceptional economic development teams at the local, regional, and state level who have worked so diligently to attract and retain these growing businesses and the jobs they create in diverse communities across this great state," he continues.

The most innovative states included the District of Columbia, which ranked at No. 1, followed by Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, and California, respectively. The least innovative state was identified as Mississippi, followed by Louisiana, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Arkansas, respectively.



Source: WalletHub


Access to quality education is a significant contributor to each state's innovation economy, the experts say in the report.

"Investing in education, particularly K-12 but also at the University level, it is no accident that innovative ecosystems develop in states with strong education systems and research universities," says David L. Deeds, professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. "These institutions build strong capable modern workforces that attract capital, and jobs and create innovations. The benefits do not happen overnight, in fact, they take years if not decades, but consider what The UC’s or the University of Texas at Austin have meant for the development of premier innovative ecosystems."

San Antonio reels in big names for South Side poetry festival

FREE VERSE

From Dr. Carmen Tafolla's This River Here to Miss Congeniality, San Antonio has long provided fodder for poets and moviemakers alike. Now, the two art forms are coming together during a spectacular cultural event at the Mission Marquee Plaza.

The City of San Antonio World Heritage Office will once again salute rhythm and rhyme during Viva Poesía: Palabras, Música, y Cultura on April 1, 6-10 pm. The annual bash, made possible in part by the City's Department of Arts and Culture, kicks off National Poetry Month by honoring the artistic influence of local poets.

In honor of the Mission Drive-In's 75th anniversary, this year's theme will be "For Reels! A Poetic Tribute to the Movies." Guests can hear original works from a star-studded lineup, including San Antonio's past Poet Laureates Tafolla, Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson, Jenny Brown, and Dr. Octavio Quintanilla. Local spoken word artists Eddie Vega, Rooster Martinez, Arrie Porter, Isabel Brown, and Ollie McCrary will also perform pieces created especially for the event, celebrating the magic and nostalgia of films.

During the event, Department of Arts and Culture Director, Krystal Jones, will introduce San Antonio's new Poet Laureate, Nephtali De León, to San Antonio's literati. Emceed by Anthony "The Poet" Flores, Viva Poesía will also feature live performances by local comedians, the Wonder Theatre, the San Antonio Philharmonic Brass Ensemble, Como Las Movies, and more.

The family friendly event will also offer engaging activities for the younger set, like make-and-take art activities and interactive workshops led by local artists and poets. Plus, pop-up vendors will serve grub and drinks throughout the evening.

The event is free and open to the public, with free on-site parking. More info about Mission Marquee Plaza and its jam-packed 2023 season can be found online.

"Vast artistry, rich culture, and vibrant traditions make San Antonio a city filled with diverse creativity," said District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran via a release." The entire family is invited to experience the sights, sounds, and festivities of Viva Poesía…."