The bar at Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen. Photo: Sandra Cruz
Friday nights are meant for eating out, after working hard all week, as well as exploring our community and finding new eating spots, preferably locally owned. This time we ended up in downtown Brownsville to check out Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen, recommended by our neighbor Noelle who happens to be the manager.
Finding the restaurant was easy but finding a parking spot was not. It is hard to tell from the outside, but the interior is huge. The extensive bar area is the first thing you notice when you walk in, that should tell you that it is an important part of Terras. The spacious interior has enough tables for dining in and thankfully it is brightly lit and the background music is not too loud. There was no waiting time because we got there shortly after they opened, so the hostess sat us right away. Nothing says upscale restaurant like having to wait to be seated, then receiving a drink menu and having to use your QR scanner to get the food menu.
For my Friday night drink I ordered the Margarita ($6) even though my choices were decent. We ordered the Calabaza De Temporada ($8) and the American Wagyu Sirloin ($30) along with a Caesar Salad ($8) and a Strawberry Salad ($8). We were hoping for complimentary chips and salsa, or bread and butter, while we waited for the food but there was none so we ended up ordering the chips and salsa ($2). No iced tea either, just aguas frescas and Mexican soda pops. We received the salads first and were pleasantly surprised to see how big they are. Not only are the portions generous, but they are delicious and all the ingredients are fresh. The main dishes were excellent too, and even though the Calabaza De Temporada is just the basic squash, the taste is impressive, my compliments to the chef on such an incredibly tasty dish.
Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen is definitely worth the trip downtown. In a city filled with mostly taquerias and cookie cutter Mexican restaurants, this upscale restaurant offers an extensive drink menu and delectable dishes with flavors not often found in this region. Menu offerings include Coliflor Frita, Betabeles Enchilados, tacos (ribeye, cochinita pibil, porkbelly carnitas), and many more. A big thank you to Samarra, the waitress for the night and Noelle for taking the time to talk to us and answer our questions. The prices may be a little higher than most restaurants, but you get what you pay for. You can be reassured that we will be back soon. Remember: shop local, shop small. Your community will thank you.
In 2014, co-founders Christian Nevarez (Head Chef) and Juan Flores (Bar Manager) met working at a local restaurant. They shared a vision of creating a unique culinary and craft cocktail experience in Brownsville, Texas. They set up shop on Elizabeth St. in Historic Downtown Brownsville. Within a year of opening, Juan, Christian, and their staff brought a unique dining experience to Downtown Brownsville with creations like the Shrimp Molcajete, Pineapple Moscow Mule, Ribeye Mole, and Sangre de Azteca. Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen was established in 2016 under three driving forces: local, unique, and community. (Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen, 2021)
$ – $$$ Terras Urban Mexican Kitchen 1212 E Washington St. Brownsville, TX 78520
LIVE in the Garden: Azul Barrientos & Friends. Photo: San Antonio Botanical Garden
In harmony with the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s exciting new Frida Kahlo Oasis exhibition, celebrate Mexican culture and the icon herself through an exclusive concert series. On select Tuesdays, beginning in July on Frida’s birthday, the Botanical Garden invites you to enjoy an intimate evening featuring live performances on the lawn by San Antonio’s beloved singer/songwriter Azul Barrientos accompanied by fellow musicians, featuring different musical guests each concert. (San Antonio Botanical Garden, 2021)
Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets and there will be a variety of food and beverages available for purchase.
Live in the Garden: Azul Barrientos & Friends Tuesday July 6, August 3, September 7 and October 5 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m. $25 ($22.50 for members)
Buy tickets to all four concerts and receive a 15% discount. Must be purchased before July 6 and cannot be combined with the member discount.
Jenelle Esparza, Continent. Photo: Jenelle Esparza, used with permission.
The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) announced yesterday that it has acquired eight artworks by seven San Antonio-based artists, including Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Jenelle Esparza, Joe Harjo, Jon Lee, Ethel Shipton, Chris Sauter, and Liz Ward. The acquisitions are part of the Museum’s Initiative to Acquire Art by Contemporary San Antonio Artists, which was developed to enhance the Museum’s commitment to support the city’s visual artists by acquiring works for its collection. The artists were chosen with the support of an Advisory Committee comprised of San Antonio-based visual artists, professors, collectors, arts leaders, and Museum staff and Trustees, who have also made recommendations for additional artists whose work could be purchased in the future. The Committee was Co-Chaired by SAMA Trustees Katherine Moore McAllen, PhD, and Dacia Napier, MD. All of the artworks, which include textiles, painting, photography, prints, and sculpture, mark first entries by the artists to SAMA’s collection. The new acquisitions are scheduled to go on view at the Museum in late fall, with more details about the presentation to follow. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2021)
Over the past several years, as part of its vision to diversify its collection and best represent its community, SAMA has placed a particular emphasis on acquiring works by artists from San Antonio as well as from across Texas. Recent acquisition announcements have included works by Texas-based artists Ana Fernandez, Kirk Hayes, Earlie Hudnall Jr., Michael Menchaca, Marcelyn McNeil, Daniel Rios Rodriguez, and Liz Trosper. In 2020, SAMA also presented Texas Women: A New History of Abstract Art, which focused on women artists from across the state that have and continue to contribute to the development of abstract art—a subject that previously had not been explored in depth. Artist Liz Ward, whose acquisition was announced today, was among the artists featured in the exhibition.
More details on each of the artist and artworks below:
Jennifer Ling Datchuk (American, born 1980) Enter the Dragon, 2020 Porcelain, ceramic decals from Jingdezhen, China, wood, gold mirrors 65 × 16 × 5 in. (165.1 × 40.6 × 12.7 cm) San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with The Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen, Dr. Dacia Napier, Edward E. (Sonny) Collins III, and The Sheerin Family, 2021.2
Trained as a ceramicist, Jennifer Ling Datchuk’s practice is grounded in explorations of identity, beauty, and femininity—drawing from her own experience as an Asian American woman. Utilizing found and handmade ceramics and porcelain motifs in her sculptures, installations, performances, and photographs, Datchuk calls attention to both historic and contemporary cultural appropriation, while also blurring the boundaries between craft and fine art. Datchuk was named 2021 Texas State Three-Dimensional Artist by the Texas State Legislature.
Jenelle Esparza (American, born 1985) Continent, 2017 72 × 100 in. (182.9 × 254 cm) Handmade quilt, recycled fabric and clothing, embroidered blocks, batting, cotton blends San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Zoe A. Diaz, 2021.8
Jenelle Esparza’s multidisciplinary practice examines the connections between agriculture, gender, race, and bodily experience. Through photography, textiles, and installations, Esparza uncovers the history of cotton farming in South Texas and its principally Mexican American labor force.
Joe Harjo (Muscogee Creek, born 1973) The Only Certain Way: Faith, 2019 24 Pendleton beach towels, 24 custom memorial flag cases 78 × 104 × 4 in. (198.1 × 264.2 × 10.2 cm) San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with The Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen, Dr. Dacia Napier, Edward E. (Sonny) Collins III, and The Sheerin Family, 2021.3
Joe Harjo is a multidisciplinary artist from the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma. His practice redresses the historic erasure of Native American art, culture, and people. Through photography, sculpture, performance, and installation, Harjo explores Native American identity, debunks stereotypes and myths surrounding Indigenous People, and asserts the vibrant, contemporary presence of Native communities.
Jon Lee (American, born South Korea, 1968) O1701, 2017 and O1702, 2017 Woodcut 17 × 12 in. (43.2 × 30.5 cm), each San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with The Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen, Dr. Dacia Napier, Edward E. (Sonny) Collins III, and The Sheerin Family, 2021.4.1-2
Jon Lee’s woodcuts explore the poetic subtleties of color and line, reinventing traditional printmaking processes and materials. Born in Seoul, he draws on his native Korea’s rich and long history of printmaking, which includes the implementation of moveable type predating Gutenberg’s fifteenth-century printing press. For over ten years, his practice has focused on a traditional Japanese woodcut technique called mokuhanga that he honed during residencies at the Mokuhanga Innovation Lab in Japan, where O1701 and O1702 were printed.
Chris Sauter (American, born 1971) Shape of the Universe, Kandariya Mahadeva, 2013 Cut acrylic mounted photography, Sintra 60 × 30 in. (152.4 × 76.2 cm) San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with The Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen, Dr. Dacia Napier, Edward E. (Sonny) Collins III, and The Sheerin Family, 2021.5
Chris Sauter is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores connections between biology and culture, science and religion, the personal and the universal, and the past and the present. He often deconstructs materials in order to reconstruct them in new ways that challenge viewers’ perceptions.
Ethel Shipton (American, born 1963) The Valley – RGV, 2021 Archival digital prints on Hahnemühle German Etching Matte paper Series of 6 prints, Edition 1/8 24 × 36 in. (61 × 91.4 cm), each San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with The Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen, Dr. Dacia Napier, Edward E. (Sonny) Collins III, and The Sheerin Family, 2021.6.a-f
Ethel Shipton is a conceptual artist, who works across painting, installation, printmaking, photography, and text. She grew up in Laredo, TX, and her experience of a fluid US-Mexico border informs her practice, which focuses in particular on place, space, language, time, and movement. Her focus on signage observed along Texas roadways is an ongoing body of photo-based works on paper that began in 2014.
Liz Ward (American, born 1959) Ghosts of the Old Mississippi: Dismal Swamp/Northern Lights, 2015 Watercolor, gesso, silverpoint, pastel, and collage on paper 71 5/8 × 31 7/8 in. (181.9 × 81 cm) San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with The Brown Foundation Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund and funds provided by Dr. Katherine Moore McAllen, Dr. Dacia Napier, Edward E. (Sonny) Collins III, and The Sheerin Family, 2021.7
Liz Ward’s practice—which includes paintings, drawings, and prints—is informed by natural history and our current environmental crisis. Ghosts of the Old Mississippi, a series of fifteen large-scale drawings, is based on maps of the ancient courses of the Mississippi River and reflects on society’s relationship to the environment.
The San Antonio Museum of Art serves as a forum to explore and connect with art that spans the world’s geographies, artistic periods, genres, and cultures. Its collection contains nearly 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of history. Housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of San Antonio’s River Walk, the San Antonio Museum of Art is committed to promoting the rich cultural heritage and life of the city. The Museum hosts hundreds of events and public programs each year, including concerts, performances, tours, lectures, symposia, and interactive experiences. As an active civic leader, the Museum is dedicated to enriching the cultural life of the city and the region, and to supporting its creative community.
Taco Cabana celebrates Independence Day with all new Sonoran Hot Dogs and special beer bundles. Photo: Taco Cabana, used with permission.
Starting Friday July 2, 2021, celebrate Independence Day all weekend long at Taco Cabana with two all-new Sonoran Hot Dogs while supplies last. TC fans can choose from Ground Beef or Bacon Sonoran Hot Dogs available a la carte for $2.99 at all participating Texas locations. Guests ages 21+ can purchase a hot dog and beer bundle, including a Sonoran hot dog + choice of domestic beer for $4.99 or a Sonoran hot dog + choice of premium beer for $5.49. (Taco Cabana, 2021)
This summer, TC continues to be the home of the $2 margarita. TC fans can enjoy their choice of eight margarita flavors, including Lime, Strawberry, Mango, Strawberry Mango, Mangonada, Blue Curacao, Watermelon, and Dragonfruit all day every day for just $2. The Pickle margarita is available at select Taco Cabanas for $2. Guests have the option to add chamoy at no additional cost. TC guests may also purchase gallon margaritas of Lime, Strawberry, and Mango for $34.99 or Blue Curacao for $36.99.
All menu items, including $2 margaritas and beer bundles, can be ordered online at TacoCabana.com or via the MYTC! App for convenient curbside pick-up. TC drive-throughs are open for food and alcohol purchases and Taco Cabana dining rooms and patios are open for on-site dining as well. Members of the MYTC! Loyalty Program also earn reward points for each alcoholic beverage purchase.
Taco Cabana, a subsidiary of Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGI), was founded in 1978. The brand specializes in fresh Tex-Mex-inspired food including enchiladas, quesadillas, flautas, tacos, house-made flour tortillas and tortilla chips as well a selection of made-from-scratch salsas and sauces. Restaurants feature open-display cooking, a selection of beer and tequila margaritas, patio dining, drive-throughs, curbside pick-up, delivery and catering. As of June 1, 2021, Taco Cabana operates 142 company-owned restaurants in Texas.
Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., owns, operates and franchises Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana® restaurant brands. The brands specialize in the operation of fast casual/quick service restaurants that offer distinct and unique flavors with broad appeal at a compelling value. The brands feature fresh-made cooking, drive-thru service and catering.
SA Examiner 