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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.

Courtesy photo

New Peruvian restaurant will bring ceviche and pisco to the masses in San Antonio

New Peruvian hot spot

San Antonio fans of Peruvian cuisine will have a new reason to head to Southtown on February 24, when Leche de Tigre opens its doors to the public.

Offering authentic Peruvian ceviche, pisco, and eclectic music, the eatery takes its name (meaning “tiger’s milk”) from the milky liquid concentrate left over from the preparation of ceviche. The liquid concentrate is infused with colors and flavors of lime juice, hot peppers, salt, onion, to give it even more of a bite.

Brothers Emil, Axel, and Alec Oliva and their cousin Sebastian Montante are the brains behind Leche de Tigre. The concept comes from their shared desire to embrace and reflect their blended Peruvian heritage and Mexican roots.

Born in Laredo, Texas, to a Peruvian father and a Mexican mother, the Oliva siblings moved to Peru when Emil was 11 years old. They spent about eight years living and traveling there, and getting to know the local cuisine. The Olivas hope that Leche de Tigre will become a sort of hub for San Antonio’s Peruvian community.

"We want to be a little embassy for Peru here in San Antonio where they can gather, where they can get a little bit of back home,” Emil Oliva said, also noting the positive response they’ve already had from the Peruvian community since launching the restaurant’s Instagram a few months ahead of the opening.

Their food truck was originally destined for a new local food hall, but Montante’s real estate colleague found out about an available commercial property near the Southtown Flats off East Cevallos Street. From there, the group changed course and decided to develop a brick-and-mortar restaurant with Emil Oliva as chef, Axel Oliva as general manager, Alec Oliva managing the bar, and Montante handling administrative duties.

"San Antonio knows Mexican ceviche. I think what's going to stand out for us is that … Peruvian ceviche is a combination of the simplest ingredients,” Emil Oliva said. "But, if you take the freshest ingredients possible, you're able to make something really amazing."

Leche de Tigre’s small menu will feature 15 items, with eight on the ceviche bar. Aside from Peruvian sashimi plates and ceviche, they will serve traditional Peruvian dishes, such as lomo saltado, a Peruvian stir fry with a Chinese fusion along with Peruvian tapas.

The restaurant will also have a pisco bar featuring Peru's national brandy, a grape-distilled spirit whose origins date back to the 16th century. Many people enjoy pisco as an appetizer, and the beverage has long been believed to be both a hangover cure and an aphrodisiac.

"We'll specialize in Pisco, the first in the city. What we really want to do is highlight Pisco in a very exotic, mixology-forward way,” Emil Oliva said, noting how the restaurant will mix Peruvian and Mexican drink experiences.

"The restaurant is a representation of who we are as brothers and what we like," he adds. "From the music to the food to the bar, it's going to be something new for San Antonio."

Leche de Tigre

Courtesy photo

Peruvian tapas, ceviche and other traditional dishes are in the spotlight at Leche de Tigre.

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Official Texas Fashion Week sashays into San Antonio with top emerging designers

BURSTING AT THE SEAMS

Few among us have the clout to sidle up to Anna Wintour on Loewe’s front row, but one doesn’t need the ear of the legendary editor-in-chief to gain fashion inspiration. As Paris Fashion Week winds down in October, the locally hosted Texas Fashion Week is just kicking off.

The annual affair — the official fashion week of the state’s emerging fashion industry — strutted into San Antonio on October 1 and will inspire through October 7 with a full slate of runway shows, educational programs, and glamorous celebrations. A collaboration between the state nonprofit Texas Fashion Industry Initiative and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the event aims to give promising designers a chance to showcase their ideas.

KLRN’s TV studios at 501 Broadway will be the epicenter of four days of presentations highlighting inspiring new collections. The shows kicked off with a college night featuring Lillian Jenae Designs, Brøc, and Aubrey Frey Apparel, labels created by Texas university students.

“Texas Fashion Week aims to provide a platform for emerging designers to showcase their innovative designs, including students,” said Texas Fashion Industry Initiative Vice President Saige Thomas in a release. “Fashion students deserve a chance to stage their work as well, without the standard financial limitations holding them back.”

In addition to soaking in wardrobe inspiration, local fashionistas can enjoy fashion and beauty panels, a high school sustainability competition, exhibitions, and networking opportunities. An educational program on October 2 covers topics such as branding and drag.

The jam-packed days lead up to the Texas Fashion Industry Awards at the Tobin Center on October 6. A curated brunch at Kiki’s Coffee on October 7 gives gala guests one last chance to congratulate the winners.

The full schedule of events can be found at texasfashionindustry.org. A limited number of all-access and single-day passes are still available.

Comedian Chris Tucker returns to road after a decade with a stop in San Antonio

Comedy Comeback News

Comedian Chris Tucker will make San Antonio's Majestic Theatre one of the stops on his first major tour in North America since 2011, performing at the venue on Thursday, November 2.

The 33-city" Legend" Tour 2023 will kick off in Charleston, South Carolina on September 8, continuing through January 12.

This new date in San Antonio was added due to high demand, as well as a second date in Houston (November 4-5). Tucker will also perform in Irving on November 1.

"I started my career doing stand-up in comedy clubs and it's stand-up comedy that prepared me for all of my movie roles," said Tucker in a statement. "I'm looking forward to getting back to my roots. I love performing live, there's nothing like the energy of a live crowd and making people laugh."

Tucker’s career began in the early 1990s when he became a favorite on Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Comedy Jam. He is best known for his role in the Rush Hour action-comedy film franchise, as well as Friday and The Fifth Element.

He's been in only a few films since the Rush Hour series ended, but recently had a prominent role opposite Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Viola Davis in Air.

Tickets will be available on Tuesday, October 3, at 10 am on Ticketmaster.

THE LEGEND TOUR DATES (*new show):

  • Fri Sep 08 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center
  • Sun Sep 10 – Norfolk, VA – Chrysler Hall
  • Wed Sep 20 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace
  • Fri Sep 22 – Memphis, TN – The Orpheum Theatre Memphis
  • Sun Sep 24 – Durham, NC – DPAC
  • Sat Sep 30 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre-Oakland
  • Tue Oct 03 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
  • Wed Oct 04 – Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theater
  • Thu Oct 05 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
  • Sat Oct 07 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Pantages Theatre
  • Tue Oct 10 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre Columbus
  • Wed Oct 11 – Cincinnati, OH – Aronoff Center
  • Thu Oct 12 – Cleveland, OH – State Theatre at Playhouse Square
  • Wed Oct 18 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
  • Thu Oct 19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Benedum Center
  • Sun Oct 22 – Baltimore, MD – Hippodrome at France-Merrick Performing Arts
  • Thu Oct 26 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
  • Wed Nov 01 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
  • Thur Nov 02 — San Antonio, TX — Majestic Theatre*
  • Sat Nov 04 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
  • Sat Nov 05 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center*
  • Tue Nov 07 – Oklahoma City, OK – Criterion Theater
  • Wed Nov 08 – Kansas City, MO – Music Hall Kansas City
  • Tue Nov 14 – Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts - Moran Theater
  • Wed Nov 15 – Orlando, FL – Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
  • Fri Nov 17 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
  • Sat Nov 18 — New York, NY — Beacon Theatre*
  • Wed Nov 29 – Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre
  • Sat Dec 02 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
  • Mon Dec 04 – St. Louis, MO – Stifel Theatre
  • Thu Dec 07 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
  • Tue Jan 09 – Toronto, ON – Meridian Hall
  • Fri Jan 12 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre

Hopdoddy mooves toward regenerative meats, nixing plant-based substitutes

86 the Beyond Patties

Hearty Central Texas-based chain Hopdoddy Burger Bar has unveiled a new lineup of regenerative burgers that are supposed to be better for the planet and the consumer.

The term ‘regenerative burger’ could cause a few head-scratches: Some may think of lab-grown or 3D-printed meat, while others think of plant-based alternatives but it’s neither. It is grass-fed meat, sourced a bit differently. "Regenerative farming" is a term used to describe farming and grazing practices that claim to restore and rebuild degraded soil, resulting in better-quality air and water.

Hopdoddy’s vice president of culinary Matt Schweitzer explained that it all began with with a sense of obligation to do better as a brand for the consumers and the ecosystem.

“We felt like we could really take a stand and look to move our entire supply chain in a regenerative fashion, so we could really be proud of the work we’ve done and we could hopefully leave the animals, the farmers, the ranchers, the native grasslands, and our planet a better place than before we started,” says Schweitzer.

The new menu items include the "Roosevelt Burger" with grass-fed regenerative bison; the "Nashville Hot Sandwich" with regenerative raised chicken; the "Regenerative Royale," which is a play on a classic double quarter-pounder with cheese; the "Mother Nature" with grass-fed regenerative beef; and the "Buffalo Bill" also uses regenerative bison, but appears not to be grass-fed.

The five burgers are available at all Hopdoddy locations nationwide. The beef and bison are sourced from Texas-based regenerative company Force of Nature, while the chicken is from Cooks Venture.

With this launch, Hopdoddy removes all plant-based meat substitutes from its menu, significantly reducing the options for vegans and vegetarians. The company felt the ingredients and ethos of the alternative meats — describing some such as Beyond Meats as "falsely advertised" regarding nutrition in a press release — no longer aligned with its values and mission. However, the house-made veggie patty remains on the signature "El Bandito" burger.

Schweitzer says the regenerative burgers have received positive feedback, as people are excited to know where their food comes from, how it gets to their table, and what type of impact it causes. Regarding the future of regenerative meat, he says there is no doubt it could become mainstream soon.

“I think the flavor profile, the eating experience, the story, the mission, the purpose, really speaks for itself," says Schweitzer. "So, I really think it’s a matter of time until 'regenerative' is talked about in the same way that 'organic,' or 'sustainable,' or those type of buzzwords are talked about."

To further show its commitment to regenerative agriculture, Hopdoddy is also one of the sponsors of Common Ground, a documentary about the pioneers of the regenerative movement, premiering October 4 in Austin. The "uplifting" film, according to a release, features well-known actors Laura Dern, Rosario Dawson, Jason Momoa, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, and Donald Glover, emphasizing that this motley crew does share one thing in common: a strong belief in regenerative agriculture.

For more information about the new regenerative burgers, visit hopdoddy.com.