Quantcast
Photo by Hayffield L on Unsplash

Even dogs deserve a little pampering. Dogtopia, an innovative doggy daycare and spa in San Antonio, is growing their reach with the grand opening of a new Alamo Ranch location, with a fourth new location planned for Alamo Heights later this month.

The award-winning facility has gained so much love from the local community thanks to its thoughtful design approach and programming. All aspects of Dogtopia centers around providing the utmost care for your furry best friends. Dogs are separated by size and temperament into one of three playrooms to ensure the best daycare experience without causing any stress.

In addition to their daycare, Dogtopia also has boarding and grooming services for your companions. They have a firm belief that all dogs can benefit from doggy daycare, because it increases their socialization skills and lessens any repressed anxiety.

Every dog goes through an intake process consisting of a meet-and-greet session to view the dog’s paperwork, behavioral history, and their health. Thorough assessments are also made to distinguish any physical sensitivities a dog could have. The intake process is necessary for the safety of all dogs under Dogtopia’s care.

Dogtopia’s team members, dubbed “Canine Coaches,” are more than just playroom attendants. Every coach is required to complete a curriculum program designed by a registered canine behaviorist, all with the goal of the animals receiving the proper care and attention they need. The curriculum has been approved by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). That’s not all of their training; team members also complete canine behaviorist-designed training on body language, behavior, and health.

Dogtopia’s new Alamo Ranch location is now open at 11726 Alamo Ranch Parkway. Other locations in San Antonio include one in Stoke Oak and one on De Zavala Road. A fourth location in Alamo Heights is expected to open later in March.

More information about Dogtopia’s services can be found on dogtopia.com.

Courtesy of Arenas Marisqueria and Lounge

Upscale Latin-inspired seafood restaurant splashes into San Antonio's Stone Oak area

Magical Marisqueria

The Vazquez family, known for concepts like Sabor and Cocina Mexicana, is bringing a new upscale seafood restaurant to the Stone Oak area in San Antonio.

Located at the corner of Hardy Oak and Stone Oak, Arenas Marisqueria and Lounge will open its doors to the public in November. Bringing over 30 years of restaurant industry experience to the concept, the family's long-time friend and business associate Isaac Soto and family of the well-known Moonlight Ballroom event space are partnering with the Vazquez family on this new venture, according to a release.

"All of the recipes are family recipes," says co-owner, Luis Vazquez, in the release. "They're our take on classic Latin dishes. We want to evoke the sense of being at a classier resort-style restaurant in Cancun or Cabo, but ultimately, we want to be authentic to ourselves and create our own favorite restaurant ... a place we would like to go to enjoy a cocktail and some good food, and we hope San Antonio feels the same way!"

Featuring delectable, scratch-made dishes, highlights of the menu will include mojarra chicharron and camarones mojo de ajo, designed by executive chef Luis Vazquez Sr., whose signature soup, Levanta Muertos, will start every meal.

"We've been wanting to do a seafood restaurant for a really long time. We love seafood, and my dad makes a great ceviche. Everything, honestly, is so delicious. The shrimp enchiladas are my brother-in-law's favorite," says Vasquez Sr., in a statement. "Our goal is to differentiate ourselves from the other Latin seafood restaurants in San Antonio. We're not reinventing the wheel, but the goal is to be more subtle, more refined."

And lest thirsty San Antonians fear, the cocktails will also flow from the restaurant's craft cocktail bar.

"Our cocktail menu will be one of the big centerpieces of Arenas. Some of our cocktails are pretty unique," says Vasquez.

Arenas Marisqueria and Lounge will be located at 19903 Stone Oak Parkway, Suite 202.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

James Beard award nominee Nicola Blaque set to open 3rd restaurant concept in Hemisfair Park

Hungry at Hemisfair

Chef Nicola Blaque has a new restaurant concept in the works at Hemisfair Park.

The City of San Antonio Historic and Design Review Commission officially approved Blaque's concept for her third restaurant, Port Royal, to be housed in the historic Schultze House in Hemisfair Park.

While Port Royal will feature similar menu items from Blaque's original restaurant, the Jerk Shack, the Hemisfair spot will also feature a full bar and cocktail program, the first of its kind for Blaque's restaurants.

For anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of eating at the Jerk Shack, Blaque's signature culinary style is artisanal Jamaican cuisine, with menu options like Blaque's signature jerk chicken, fried plantains, jerk egg rolls, and more.

Guests at Blaque's new restaurant concept will also be able to order 'steakhouse-menu like items,' per an official press release from Hemisfair. Port Royal will also have the distinction of being one of the first public tenants on what is the now-driveable E. Nueva St.

So we know what you're thinking — when does Port Royal open anyway? Can we expect cocktails and food at Port Royal this summer?

Bit of bad news fellow foodies — Port Royal is slated for a summer opening, but not until summer 2024.

However, anything new from the James Beard Award nominated chef (most recently she made it to the James Beard Award semifinals for 2023) is always worth the wait, so just hang tight for now and we'll keep you posted on details of Port Royal's grand opening.

Blaque, who is also a military veteran, had this to say about Port Royal in an official statement — "The response to The Jerk Shack has been amazing, which has allowed us to expand across the city...Our fans and customers have been extremely supportive of our growth so we’re looking forward to bringing The Jerk Shack to Hemisfair."

Port Royal will join other new tenants at Hemisfair's Civic Park, including Künstler Tap Haus, Bombay Bicycle Club and Kusch Faire.

Construction on Port Royal is slated to begin in fall 2023.

American Airlines adds summer travel perks including Wi-Fi enhancements, meals, and movies

Airline Food News

Fort Worth-based American Airlines has made some additions to its in-flight lineup for summer 2023, including new meals and foodie snacks, Wi-Fi updates, and new movie options to stream. That includes a special selection of films celebrating Pride Month in June.

Food first!

Food
The new food options include chef-curated menu options in premium cabins and choices for the indulgent or health-conscious traveler in the main cabin.

Plant-based: Customers flying on transcontinental American Flagship service flights have a new premium entrée and it's plant-based, woo-hoo: The new Plant-Based Bulgogi Noodle Bowl entrée comes with yakisoba noodles, stir-fry vegetables, and plant-based beef crumbles — offering a new meal option that is both nourishing and delicious.

Avli on the Park: Customers flying in premium cabins to Europe from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport this summer can enjoy dishes from Avli on the Park, a Greek restaurant in Chicago and a Michelin 2023 honoree. Options include a Greek Beef Orzo Stew and a Kagiana Egg Scramble for breakfast. These items from Avli on the Park are available on six nonstop flights to Europe: Athens, Barcelona, Dublin, London, Paris, and Rome.

Wi-Fi updates
Wi-Fi enhancements for the summer months include:

Complimentary Wi-Fi for T-Mobile customers: By July, 100 percent of American's Wi-Fi-equipped regional and narrowbody aircrafts will offer T-Mobile In-Flight Connection On Us, allowing eligible T-Mobile customers to enjoy complimentary connectivity with streaming on domestic flights.

Summer streaming: Travelers to international destinations should be able to enjoy faster Wi-Fi speeds and a more reliable service for all their connectivity needs thanks to increased bandwidth planned for American's widebody aircraft, offering 100 percent mainline aircraft with video streaming capabilities.

Entertainment
New film and viewing options include:

Monthly exclusives: New movies will be offered monthly which customers can watch exclusively inflight such as the new AppleTV+ movie Ghosted.

Pride Month: American is offering an entertainment channel featuring top LGBTQ+ talent; customers can choose from a list of movies and series.

American Black Film Festival channel: This summer, American is bringing new content to the American Black Film Festival channel, elevating the unique voices and power stories of the Black community to offer a deeper understanding of the Black experience.

"Our customers are the inspiration behind everything we do, and American is committed to consistently deliver a world-class experience for them,” said Kim Cisek, Vice President of Customer Experience. “We know customers want a convenient travel experience throughout their journey on American and to arrive at their destination satisfied and ready to explore — a focus we keep in mind when refreshing and creating new experiences for them to enjoy on the ground and in the skies."

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is ridiculous and fun at the same time

Movie Review

The Transformers series has been one marked by near universal derision by the critics and (mostly) massive box office, highlighting the divide between those who watch movies for a living and those who just go for fun. Given that history, it seemed unlikely that the latest film, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, would unite the two factions.

Like the last film, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts is a prequel to the Transformers films directed by Michael Bay from 2007-2017 (Bay remains as a producer). Set in 1994, it features a way-too-complicated story involving something called the Transwarp device prized by three separate groups of Transformers: The Autobots led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen); the Maximals, animal-esque bots led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman); and the Terrorbots, led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage). One guess as to which of those groups is the evil one.

Mirage (Pete Davidson) in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Mirage (Pete Davidson) in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is a former soldier in Manhattan who can’t find a job and tries his best to take care of his sickly brother, Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez). Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) works at a museum on Ellis Island, where she encounters an artifact with unusual markings. Through a series of unlikely but still fun events, both of them are dragged into the conflict between the Transformers, with nothing less than the fate of the universe at stake.

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and written by a team of five writers, the film is as ridiculous as any of the previous iterations, and yet somehow it becomes the most entertaining entry yet. Some of this has to do with the human characters, who are given engaging scenes outside of the ones with Transformers, allowing them to be relatable instead of just pawns in the robot battles.

The trifecta of Transformer groups turn out to be actually interesting, rather than an excuse to fill the screen with CGI nonsense. The Autobots, as usual, are the main heroes, and with Bumblebee using movie quotes to talk and Mirage (Pete Davidson) lobbing wisecracks constantly, they’re rarely unentertaining. Having the animal-like Maximals on board gives a new dimension, and the seemingly unstoppable Scourge makes for an intimidating villain.

That’s not to say, of course, that the film doesn’t devolve into chaos on multiple occasions. Several of the battles, including the final sequence, seem designed to be almost incomprehensible. But Caple and the visual effects team appear to have understood that clarity makes for a better moviegoing experience, and so even as bedlam reigns, there’s a level of focus to the film that other films in the series have not had.

Even though his character isn’t fully fleshed out, Ramos brings a kind of streetwise energy to the role that makes him stand out. Fishback is not given as much to do, but she’s still highly enjoyable. Cullen, who’s been voicing Optimus Prime since the 1980s, is still a commanding presence, allowing Davidson, Michelle Yeoh, Perlman, and more to bring their own unique flair to their characters.

It may be a low bar to jump, but Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the best film so far in the series, cracking the code of pairing humans with robots for a (semi)intelligible story. A late movie teaser will have fans geeking out over the future, but it’s best to enjoy this film for being as good as it is.

---

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens in theaters on June 9.