Food

South Texas Remodeled

Carriqui brings changes to old Liberty Bar space — and to South Texas culinary favorites

BY RON BECHTOL

Fans of the original Liberty Bar were like an eclectic family sired equally by the building with its notoriously sloping floors and its eccentric culinary muse, the late Drew Allen.

Allen’s own muses spanned the spectrum from county-fair quality cakes to Mexican classics such as a rigorously correct chile relleno en nogada. Traces of his inspiration remain on the menu at the relocated restaurant in King William.

Attempts to revive the Liberty’s original space after its departure never really took hold. The ghost, apparently, was gone. Many old-timers viewed with suspicion the prospect of relocating the building, the historic Boehler’s Garden, into the Pearl’s orbit.

The structure, restored to within an inch of a life it never knew, is now part of a mini compound of its own called Carriqui. From a nostalgic and historic point of view, all the architectural spit and polish, handsome as it may be, suggests that some trepidation wasn’t without merit. Best to just get over it.

Ardent birdwatchers may be acquainted with the South Texas native green jay for which the newish restaurant is named. The rest of us not so much.

Avid food lovers may be more interested in investigating the historical basis for Carriqui’s South Texas-centric menu, and they might as well start at the most basic level: its Old School Nachos, a borderland creation that made its way north only to be remodeled beyond recognition — much as the building itself. The plate is nothing more than tortilla chips, refried beans, yellow cheese and pickled jalapeño, each nacho individually assembled into a monkishly spare serving. Try it for old time’s sake.

More innovative, but also less successful, is Carriqui’s tuna tostada. The dish was welcome in its simplicity but drenched in a sauce that spoke more of something soy than the expected citrus and habanero.

Mexican terminology is all over the South Texas map at Carriqui. But oddly the menu turns to French for what is in effect a grilled flank, or flank-adjacent, steak. At $40, it’s called a bavette, a cut close to one customarily found on a less-lofty platter of fajitas. That quibble aside, it’s a beautifully rendered piece of meat, tender, flavorful and nicely mated to accompanying bitter greens.

At the other end of the price spectrum, is the restaurant’s beer-braised barbacoa. Made these days from beef cheeks, the age-old practice of wrapping a beef head in burlap or maguey leaves and burying it in a pit prepared with mesquite coals having long been abandoned, the dish usually lacks the earthy, fatty funk of the original. But even if this rendition is more like baby’s first barbacoa, it’s worth attention — especially since it comes with proper “Spanish” rice and decent refried beans.

The urge to tinker is never far below the surface at Carriqui, however. Barbecued cabrito, served with briskly pickled red onion, is presented on a banana leaf with a full-bodied Texas pecan mole that somehow manages to dominate even usually indomitable goat.

Meanwhile, fish a la plancha — presumably from the Texas Gulf — took an opposite tack. It was perfectly cooked but utterly bland. Maybe the missing crispy garlic might have helped. Its cilantro rice, though, was impeccable. The kitchen can do rice.

All would be forgiven if Carriqui would take it upon itself to do a rip-roaring chili, a dish for which San Antonio was once famous. But barring that, brisket will have to do.

My first experience at Carriqui with this Central Texas staple was as a component of the From the Pit botana platter. Along with the achiote chicken, the brisket failed to justify the apparent investment in the restaurant’s impressive battery of barbecue pits.

But a return visit for lunch-special brisket tacos suggests that the pit wranglers have mastered the operation. The coarsely chopped bits sported a good bark and an appealing, smoky flavor bolstered by no-holdsbarred pico de gallo and tart jalapeño salsa.

Equally assertive, the Carriqui Salad — a mountain of varied lettuces with shaved jicama, radishes, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes — is enthusiastically bathed in a dazzlingly bright dressing and strewn with tangy, dried hibiscus blossoms.

Among the Texas-tinged cocktails, the tequila-mezcal Curandero is a standout, in part because of its use of those same, dried hibiscus flowers. The dessert menu offers a pecan pie that avoids the trap of treacle-y sweetness, and a delicate tres leches cake does for goat’s milk what the barbecued cabrito did for goat meat: makes it disarmingly mild.

Not everything in Texas needs to be bigger than life, apparently.

food

Nina Rangel

CARRIQUI

239 E. Grayson St. | (210) 910-5547 | carriquitx.com Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday

Prices: $22-$88 Best Bets: Carriqui salad, beer-braised barbacoa, barbecued cabrito, brisket tacos, goat milk tres leches, Curandero cocktail The skinny: Housed in the relocated and much-remodeled building that served as Liberty Bar’s original location, Carriqui is named for a bird most of us don’t know and features South Texas cuisine most of us do. Like the building, the cuisine also underwent changes, although with some exceptions. Classics such as brisket are perhaps best left to the traditional practitioners, but in the undeniably handsome setting, plates such as barbacoa and barbecued goat seem sufficiently at home. Salads are excellent, lightened versions of classic desserts work well and cocktails are just good enough.

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High and Dry

Sober spirits are winning a permanent place on San Antonio bar menus

BY BRANDON RODRIGUEZ

The last Thursday in December, a capacity crowd mingled at San Antonio cocktail spot the Modernist. As patrons sipped cucumber martinis, a handful of customers put in orders for nonalcoholic cocktails, which ranged from a dry Manhattan to a take on an Italian classic dubbed the “NOgroni.”

Without batting an eye, the bartender poured from a bottle of Ritual Zero Proof, a popular 1:1 nonalcoholic replacement, showing as much care with the mixing of the mocktails as with the tipples she’d served up moments before.

Maybe the sober patrons were getting a head start on Dry January, an increasingly popular start-ofthe-year reprieve from alcohol. Or maybe they were looking to save their stamina for an upcoming New Year’s Eve bash.

Either way, they’re among what beverage industry experts say are the growing number of Alamo City residents joining a nonalcoholic beverage movement.

Not too long ago, “the one ordering a nonalcoholic cocktail would have earned a side eye from the bartender or a humorous comment,” said Luis Muñoz, who recently became co-owner of the Modernist. “Now we get requests about our nonalcoholic options daily.”

Ashanti Williams, bar manager for the Modernist, added that alcohol-free options are a focused part of the venue’s cocktail program.

“We always encourage people who don’t drink alcohol to allow us to make them something more complex than just a soda water and lime,” she added.

Nationwide, NielsenIQ reported a 315% increase in online nonalcoholic and low-alcoholic beverage dollar sales over the 12-month period ended in October 2021. That compared to a 26% increase in alcoholic beer, wine and spirits sales over the same period.

Indeed, alcohol consumption in high-income countries has been falling since 2002, according to a study published in The International Journal of Drug Policy.

As more people become aware of the detrimental health effects of alcohol, Dry January and the “sober-curious” movement offers an opportunity for people to reconsider their relationship with booze — even if it doesn’t mean cutting out spirits completely.

Expanding clientele

“As people reevaluate their relationship with alcohol, more and more people are choosing to abstain or moderate their alcohol consumption,” said Rogelio Sanchez, co-founder of HASH Vegan Eats, which opened in 2020 as San Antonio’s first and only full-service dry bar.

Although San Antonians’ acceptance of nonalcoholic spirits has picked up in recent years, Sanchez’s business faced a rocky start. In fall 2021, faced with slow sales and $5,000 in bills, HASH launched an online crowdfunding campaign to keep its doors open. Fortunately, customers stepped up, raising the money in just a few days.

Since then, HASH has steadily grown, according to Sanchez. That’s partly because the clientele has expanded beyond its initial target demographic of people who embrace year-round sobriety.

When Sanchez was trying to launch his venture, more than 20 potential investors turned down the concept. Now that it’s on a growth trajectory, Sanchez said he’s the one regularly turning away investors.

As a growing number of San Antonio bars add nonalcoholic options, Sanchez said he welcomes the company. He also hinted that he may launch another dry bar concept in the near future, this one on the St. Mary’s Strip.

Courtesy Photo / HASH

With improvements in the quality and availability of nonalcoholic spirits, local bartenders said they’re eager to incorporate them into their creations. Sometimes the new menu items even become a showcase for San Antonio-made products.

“When Dry January comes around, I get excited,” said Brittney Geissler, bar manager for Park Bar at the Pearl. “Initially, I wanted to build a nonalcoholic menu for myself and what I wanted to see: cocktails that didn’t compromise flavor. By serving more nonalcoholic options, we can highlight local manufacturers like Southern Syrups, not only local breweries or vineyards.”

And in the hands of savvy bartenders, those ingredients can yield nonalcoholic cocktails that feel as satisfying as their boozy counterparts — which is kind of the point. Park Bar’s sober mojito, for example, hits the same sweet-and-sour balance as the full-strength variety while offering a similarly refreshing feel.

Muñoz of the Modernist said he sees the local interest in sober cocktails and other nonalcoholic beverage options as more than a passing fad. To be sure, he thinks the market for sober and sober-curious customers is still underserved, at least for now.

“One-thousand-percent, this is just the beginning of this industry here in San Antonio,” he said.

Smoke BBQ+Skybar will take over the Park North space that once housed drinkeries Miami Bar and PK’s Bar. Expect a grand opening by the end of February, according to the owner of the fast-growing San Antonio chain. 602 NW Loop 410, Suite 144, smokedowntown.com.

San Antonio-owned restaurant Albi’s Vite Italian Kitchen will open a second location, this one near Leon Springs. The team is aiming for a grand opening by the end of this month but hasn’t yet released an address.

Quickly expanding vegan fast-food chain Project Pollo has closed its flagship food trailer at Roadmap Brewing Co., hinting at other changes for the brand going into 2023.

Veteran-owned 28 Songs Brewhouse + Kitchen will start pouring craft beer this spring at the new Main & Market development in Boerne. 110 Market Ave., Suite 101, (210) 683-9916, 28songs. beer.

New nightclub Rio Azùl is pledging to bring Vegas-style party vibes to downtown. The new venture has taken over the space of now-defunct V Lounge, where it will offer a full bar, bottle service, huge LED screens and indoor light shows along with a patio and cabana space overlooking the San Antonio River. 107 E. Martin St., instagram. com/rio_azul_sa_.

The owners of Dashi Sichuan Kitchen + Bar will take over a restored 19th-century home inside downtown’s Hemisfair complex to operate a new concept dubbed Kusch Faire. Details are forthcoming. sichuandashi.com.

After five years of exploring healing herbs, San Antonio chef Edward Villarreal is opening MxiCanna Cafe, a cannabis-infused restaurant near UTSA’s downtown campus. The spot will begin serving CBD- and hemp-infused vittles soon. 527 El Paso St., (210) 888-1310, mxicanna.com.

San Antonio nightspot Elsewhere Garden Bar will add a huge slide to its collection of largerthan-life interactive diversions and art installations. Even though the slide has kiddie appeal, the riverside drinking and dining destination will remain 21 and up after 9 p.m. 103 E. Jones Ave., (210) 446-9303, elsewheretexas.com. San Antonio’s beloved Cowboy Breakfast has been canceled for 2023 due to rising costs of staging the event. However, organizers said they have plans in place to resume the rodeo-tied event in 2024.

Upscale seafood spot Go Fish Market has set an opening date of Thursday, Jan. 12. In addition to a fresh seafood market, the north-of-downtown destination will serve fish tacos, oysters, caviar, sashimi and more. It’s the fourth venture from Houston and Emily Carpenter, who also own Southtown’s Up Scale. 125 W. Grayson St., (210) 542-6631, gofishmkt.com.

OPENINGS

Freetail Brewing Co.’s South San Antonio tap room has opened a kitchen, making it a fullfledged brewpub. Previously, fans of the craft brewer had to travel to its Loop 1604 location for pizzas, sandwiches and snacks. 2000 S. Presa St., (210) 625-6000, freetailbrewing.com.

Black Laboratory Brewing struck up a partnership with newcomers 2-1-DOUGH Pizza Co. to begin serving pizza from the East Side space formerly occupied by Truth Pizzeria. 1602 E. Houston St., #111, (210) 370-3442, blacklaboratorybrewing.com.

Houston-based sports bar McIntyre’s has opened its first San Antonio location. The chain took over shuttered Southtown bar The Patio. 1035 S. Presa St., (210) 957-1385, mcintyresusa.com.

LA-based Dave’s Hot Chicken, a chain specializing in fiery Nashville-style fried chicken, has opened a San Antonio store, the first of eight planned for the area. 9602 State Highway 151, Suite 108, (726) 208-5197, daveshotchicken.com.

Bésame — the new San Antonio food truck park from the owner of El Camino — is now open. An array of food trucks and a full bar are now operating from the site of the former Alamo BBQ building. 509 and 511 E. Grayson St., instagram. com/besame210.

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