“Head Shot” is the second book in the Marko Zorn Series by Otho Eskin. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Otho Eskin is a lawyer and former member of the U.S. Foreign Service. He is a playwright whose work has appeared in New York, Washington, D.C. and Europe, and is active in the Washington theater scene. He published his first thriller, “The Reflecting Pool,” to great reviews and book club interest in 2020. It was selected as an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller and Suspense. “The Reflecting Pool” follows Marko Zorn- a Washington D.C. homicide detective who has a strong ethical compass but refuses to play by the rules. The sequel, “Head Shot,” also featuring Marko Zorn will be released on December 7, 2021. It features the most elusive assassin in the world against D.C. Homicide Detective Marko Zorn. (Otho Eskin, 2021)
“Head Shot” – Old loves die hard in Otho Eskin’s second Marko Zorn novel, “Head Shot” (Oceanview Publishing). D.C. homicide detective Marko Zorn is leading the investigation of the onstage murder of an actress he once loved when he is assigned to protect Nina Voychek, the visiting prime minister of Montenegro. Zorn discovers a surprising additional target while he is shielding Voychek from her political enemies—himself. As he foils attempts on his life, he pulls out all stops and deploys his nefarious resources to hunt whoever is targeting him and prevent an international tragedy on American soil.
It is a pulse-pounding race to find his attacker as Zorn and his tentative young partner, Lucy Tanaka, contend with decoded messages, Supermax prisoner interviews, mafia lawyers and an ancient Black Mountain curse. And as they navigate D.C. and confront growing danger, they must solve the deadliest puzzle of all—are they facing multiple hired guns with diverging agendas, or just the world’s most lethal and elusive contract killer?
‘The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts’ by Mary Wellesley. Photo: amazon
A new month means new books on the horizon. These are some notable new releases for the month of October in my favorite categories: Fiction, Young Adult, History & Biography, Mystery & Thriller, Science fiction, Fantasy, and Historical fiction. My pick for this month is “The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts” by Mary Wellesley because I would love to read more about Medieval Manuscripts. (amazon, Goodreads, 2021)
Fiction “The Book of Magic” by Alice Hoffman Releasedate: October 12, 2021 Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters. The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.
A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love.
Young Adult “Kingdom of the Cursed” by Kerri Maniscalco Release date: October 5, 2021 From #1 New York Times bestselling author of “Stalking Jack the Ripper,” Kerri Maniscalco, comes the sizzling, sweepingly romantic sequel to “Kingdom of the Wicked.” One sister. Two sinful princes. Infinite deception with a side of revenge. Welcome to Hell.
After selling her soul to become Queen of the Wicked, Emilia travels to the Seven Circles with the enigmatic Prince of Wrath, where she is introduced to a seductive world of vice. She vows to do whatever it takes to avenge her beloved sister, Vittoria even if that means accepting the hand of the Prince of Pride, the king of demons. The first rule in the court of the Wicked? Trust no one. With back-stabbing princes, luxurious palaces, mysterious party invitations, and conflicting clues about who really killed her twin, Emilia finds herself more alone than ever before. Can she even trust Wrath, her one-time ally in the mortal world, or is he keeping dangerous secrets about his true nature?
History and Biography “The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts” by Mary Wellesley Release date: October 12, 2021 A breathtaking journey into the hidden history of medieval manuscripts, from the Lindisfarne Gospels to the ornate Psalter of Henry VIII. Medieval manuscripts can tell us much about power and art, knowledge and beauty. Many have survived because of an author’s status. Part of the reason we have so much of Chaucer’s writings, for example, is because he was a London-based government official first and a poet second. Other works by the less influential have narrowly avoided ruin, like the book of illiterate Margery Kempe, found in a country house closet, the cover nibbled on by mice. Scholar Mary Wellesley recounts the amazing origins of these remarkable manuscripts, surfacing the important roles played by women and ordinary people—the grinders, binders, and scribes—in their creation and survival.
Mystery and Thriller “These Silent Woods” by Kimi Cunningham Grant Release date: October 26, 2021 A father and daughter living in the remote Appalachian mountains must reckon with the ghosts of their past. No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that is exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he has a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she is starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he is still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.
The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper’s old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake does not show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding or finally face the sins of his past.
Science Fiction “Perhaps the Stars” by Ada Palmer Release date: October 19, 2021 The final instalment in Ada Palmer’s award-winning, critically acclaimed Terra Ignota series. The long years of near-utopia have end abruptly. Peace and order are now figments of the past. Corruption, deception, and insurgency hum within the once steadfast leadership of the Hives, nations without fixed location.
The heartbreaking truth is that for decades, even centuries, the leaders of the great Hives bought the world’s stability with a trickle of secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction could ever dominate. So that the balance held. The Hives’ facade of solidity is the only hope they have for maintaining a semblance of order, for preventing the public from succumbing to the savagery and bloodlust of wars past. But as the great secret becomes more and more widely known, that facade is slipping away. Just days earlier, the world was a pinnacle of human civilization. Hives and hiveless, Utopians and sensayers, emperors and the downtrodden, warriors and saints scramble to prepare for the seemingly inevitable war.
Fantasy “The Lighthouse Witches” by C.J. Cooke Release date: October 5, 2021 Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found–but she is still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller. When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a 100-year-old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island, it is an opportunity to start over with her three daughters–Luna, Sapphire, and Clover. When two of her daughters go missing, she is frantic. She learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse was once a prison for women accused of witchcraft. The locals warn her about wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. Liv is told wildlings are dangerous and must be killed.
Twenty-two years later, Luna has been searching for her missing sisters and mother. When she receives a call about her youngest sister, Clover, she is initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers–except she is still seven years old, the age she was when she vanished. Luna is worried Clover is a wildling. Luna has few memories of her time on the island, but she will have to return to find the truth of what happened to her family. But she does not realize just how much the truth will change her.
Historical fiction “Small Pleasures” by Clare Chambers Release date: October 5, 2021 In the best tradition of Tessa Hadley, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Ann Patchett—an astonishing, keenly observed period piece about an ordinary British woman in the 1950s whose dutiful life takes a sudden turn into a pitched battle between propriety and unexpected passion.
1957: Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper in the southeast suburbs of London. Clever but with limited career opportunities and on the brink of forty, Jean lives a dreary existence that includes caring for her demanding widowed mother, who rarely leaves the house. It is a small life with little joy and no likelihood of escape.
That all changes when a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. Jean seizes onto the bizarre story and sets out to discover whether Gretchen is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely intertwined with that of the Tilburys, including Gretchen’s gentle and thoughtful husband Howard, who mostly believes his wife, and their quirky and charming daughter Margaret, who becomes a sort of surrogate child for Jean. Gretchen, too, becomes a much-needed friend in an otherwise empty social life. Jean cannot bring herself to discard what seems like her one chance at happiness, even as the story that she is researching starts to send dark ripples across all their lives with unimaginable consequences.
Old Blood announces first leg of ‘Acid Doom Over America’ tour. Photo: Metal Assault Records
This fall, Old Blood will pour Acid Doom over America. The psychedelic doom troupe have announced the first leg of their highly anticipated tour: “Acid Doom Over America” presented by Metal Assault Records. With dates across the West Coast and Pacific Northwest, Old Blood will kick things off on October 22 in Palmdale CA at Transplants Brewing and conclude part on November 5 in Oceanside CA at Pourhouse. (Old Blood, 2021)
Even before their self-titled debut album hit the internet, Old Blood was recognized as being “different” among the growing waves of doom / stoner rock bands. Old Blood showed a push into unique territory within the genre with the addition of crystal clear vocals, keyboards, an emphasis on heady grooves and an extensive live stage show beyond the wall of amplifiers. Elements of early ‘70s rock and psychedelia woven into the down-tempo, swing-beat fabric of fuzz laden desert rock come together in what the band refers to as “Acid Doom.”
While out on part 1 of the Acid Doom Over America Tour, Old Blood will share the stage with three labelmates: Through The Oculus and Solar Haze in Palmdale, and Sea Sleeper in Portland. The three other shows in the Pacific Northwest will also feature spectacular blackened doom act Ghorot from Boise, Idaho. This will be the first Old Blood tour since the 2020 release of their sophomore LP, Acid Doom. Hailed as one of the top albums of 2020 by High Times, Doomed & Stoned and the like; Old Blood will finally get to perform their popular new album, plus selections from their 2016 self-titled debut and more. Acid Doom is out now on Metal Assault Records. Pick up your copy through Old Blood’s bandcamp page.
Here is what Old Blood has to say about the upcoming tour: “There is Blood on the Horizon. For too long the World has waited to experience Old Blood and now is your chance to finally experience real Acid Doom from the pioneers of the genre themselves. We can’t wait to bring the full show onto the road and into your town!”
For the well-acquainted and the uninitiated alike, the band’s live show is a special treat, and once you witness the band live, your life shall never be the same again.
Old Blood is: C. Gunner – guitar Octopus – Bass Lynx – Vocals Diesel – Drums Stone – keyboards
“There are nine tracks on this record that provide mysterious, unrelenting, genre-defying heavy music. Part doom metal, part acid rock, part occult-obsessed psychedelic – this is music that is sensual, ritualistic, cathartic and thundering, heavy as any heavy metal band out there. With anthropomorphic, think Jefferson Airplane covering Black Sabbath while high on DMT.” – High Times (December 2020, Page 35, Top Albums Of The Year article)
Acid Doom Over America – Part I: Fall 2021 10.22 Palmdale CA @ Transplants Brewing 10.23 Santa Cruz CA @ Blue Lagoon 10.24 Eugene OR @ Old Nicks Pub 10.25 Portland OR @ Twilight 10.26 Olympia WA @ Cryptatropa 10.27 Seattle WA @ Substation 10.28 Boise ID @ The Olympic 10.29 Salt Lake City UT @ Aces High Saloon 11.2 Albuquerque NM @ Launchpad 11.4 Phoenix AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 11.5 Oceanside CA @ Pourhouse
The television adaptation of ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ is now available on Hulu. Photo: amazon
Celeste Ng graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan. Her debut novel, “Everything I Never Told You” was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the ALA’s Alex Award. “Little Fires Everywhere,” Ng’s second novel, was a New York Times bestseller, winner of the Ohioana Book Award, and named a best book of the year by over twenty-five publications. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and she was the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “Little Fires Everywhere” was adapted into a television series and consists of eight episodes. It is available now on Hulu and features Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. (amazon, 2021)
“Little Fires Everywhere” – a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned; from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single parent—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
The Pink Conchas will be available for the month of October and $1 from each Pink Concha sold will benefit the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation. Photo: La Panadería, used with permission.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, La Panadería is introducing a limited-time Pink Concha for the month of October. The Pink Concha will be available at all three locations from October 1 – 31, 2021 for $3.50, and $1.00 from each Pink Concha sold will go directly to the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation. Owners José and David Càceres created the initiative to honor their late mother. (La Panadería, 2021)
“This is a cause very near and dear to our hearts. Our mother is the one who instilled a love of baking within us, so what better way to honor her legacy than by donating proceeds from our Pink Concha to the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation?” – Jose Cáceres, co-founder of La Panadería.
The Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit (501c3) advocacy organization made up almost entirely of breast cancer survivors. Their mission is to end breast cancer by assisting patients, informing health professionals and policymakers, and expanding knowledge through education and community outreach. Donations help ABCF provide free screening mammograms, education and support services to women & men in need.
To purchase Pink Conchas, visit any of La Panadería’s three locations or order online.
Hoping to share their Mexican heritage with citizens in the U.S., José and David Cáceres opened La Panadería in San Antonio, Texas in 2014. The bakery, which specializes in handmade bread, pan dulce and pastries inspired by Mexico’s Golden Era, or Epoca de Oro, draws influence from French, Italian and American bread making techniques. La Panadería’s unique approach to breadmaking includes a minimum 48-hour fermentation process that results in artisan bread and pastries unlike any other. La Panadería has three locations in San Antonio, Texas.
Nathan Evans Fox’s new album Wasted Love will be out October 8, 2021. Photo: google
An accomplished songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Nathan Evans Fox began playing violin at age four and has since picked up the guitar, piano, and a bit of other instruments. Growing up on family land in Glen Alpine, NC, he was surrounded by hymn books, country, bluegrass, folk, and family. Originally trained as a hospital chaplain, Fox is no stranger to grief. His music makes something out of what remains, both wrestling with country’s messy legacy and embracing its effective power to ignite a rush of joy, nostalgia, or solidarity. His songs are full of the people, things, and moments he loves, from the old Mercedes Benz down the street and slow dancing in dive bars to memories of his grandmother and his enduring love of good trucks. Listeners can feel the humidity of a hot summer night, the low-key longing for home coming through the twang of the slide guitar and the understated gang vocals. Nathan Evans Fox debuts cosmopolitan country sound with his new album Wasted Love, due out Friday October 8, 2021. (Nathan Evans Fox, 2021)
“You start with your accent, you start with your twang, but your accent is also the place where you start to appreciate the rest of the world,” says Western North Carolina-raised songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Evans Fox. “Country music is my accent but it’s also the way that I communicate my love for the world.” On October 8, Fox is releasing his fourth full-length album, Wasted Love, a collection of tunes that decidedly marks his shift from writing folk songs to his own, “chaotic hillbilly” brand of country music—or in Fox’s words, “from plunk to spunk.” Nimbly shifting affective gears from simmering anger and contemplative reflection to wry wit and unexpected sass, Fox’s songs are simultaneously playful and insightful. Fox’s lyrics evoke the post-storm sizzle of an Appalachian landscape and the Biblical imagery that saturated his childhood. Much of his music is a kind of reckoning with his cultural and religious inheritance: “Don’t know where I’m going / just know where I’m from,” Fox sings in “Carolina Boy,” which was recently released via Mother Church Pew as the first single from Wasted Love. “This song spells out the complicated relationship I have to my hometown,” he says about the lusciously recorded, vice and hardship-filled “Carolina Boy.” “No matter how much I love the hills of North Carolina, leaving my hometown meant making better decisions instead of falling into well-worn pitfalls.” Fans can hear “Carolina Boy” now at this link and pre-order or pre-save Wasted Love ahead of its October release right here.
Below the surface, a thread winds throughout Wasted Love, capturing the specific ways love gets spent without expectation of return—as an unconditional overflow, as uncounted minutes with the one you love, or, watching his mother care for his grandmother near the end of her life, as “the generosity of caretaking love and the ways it refuses to keep score.” Just a few months after moving to Nashville, Fox was grieving the loss of his grandmother when he and his wife’s home got hit by a tornado, and shortly after he had to cancel shows and collaborations as the pandemic spread. Writing the album amid all this loss and uncertainty, he wanted to write songs that would provide respite. In this sense, Fox’s music is all about work: blue-collar work, care work, reflective work. “We need music to do work for us that we’re too tired to do ourselves. Our feelings are spent and our ability to do work is exhausted and we just need somebody to put some good feeling back in our body.”
Wasted Love Track list: 1. One Of These Days 2. Mercedes Benz 3. Lordhamercy 4. Carolina Boy 5. Good Trucks 6. When They Take The House 7. These Four Walls 8. Damn Hard 9. Some Things Are Coming Back Again 10. What’s Intended 11. Put Money Down 12. Wasted Love
Catch Nathan Evans Fox On Tour: October 8 – Nashville, TN – The 5 Spot October 23 – Ingram, TX – Fritzers Saloon October 24 – Dripping Springs, TX – Dreamland October 29 – Harlingen, TX – Melodia Cafe
Stefano’s Brooklyn Pizza in Harlingen. Photo: Sandra Cruz
Last Friday we took a trip into Harlingen to run an errand and it was so close to dinner time that we decided to stick around and find a new restaurant to try out. The easiest choice was an Italian restaurant and since our neighbor had suggested Stefano’s Brooklyn Pizza, this is where we ended up.
Being unfamiliar with Harlingen, it took us a few minutes to find the place and since it was during the afternoon rush hour, traffic was a bit of a problem but not a dealbreaker. From the outside it looks like a big restaurant and posted on the front door was a sign asking guests to be patient because they are having staffing issues. I was worried we were going to have slow service but once we went in and noticed that there were not too many customers there, we decided to stay.
As first timers, we took longer than usual to place an order but ended up ordering the Eggplant parmigiana for myself (fresh eggplant, onions, marinara sauce, and melted mozzarella cheese) and the Brisket sandwich for my meat-eating husband – (slow cooked chopped brisket with BBQ sauce, red onion, and pickles served with seasoned French fries). For drinks, we each had a glass of Moscato. Our server was friendly and helpful, the service was fast, and the food tasted fresh and homemade. The portions were generous and I ended up eating just one half of my sandwich and taking the other home for the next day.
During our visit, the atmosphere was quiet and there were plenty of seating options considering we are still social distancing in restaurants. By the time we left, though, the place was starting to get crowded. Overall the prices are reasonable but the alcohol sales tax was a surprise. It turns out the restaurant charges an “alcohol-tax,” in our case it was $0.66 total. We eat out regularly and have adult drinks on occasion, but this was our first time at a restaurant that charges an alcohol tax. It is not a big problem, but some advance notice would have been nice. With all the traveling we have done and eating out in elegant big city restaurants for years, this is the first time we have come across this. Is this just in Harlingen? If there is a next time, we will just have that glass of wine at home.
Established in 2012, Stefano’s Brooklyn Pizza has been serving the Rio Grande Valley with Brooklyn style Pizzas and more. We are home of the 30″ inch Pizza and we invite you to come and try our Italian cuisine. Our location includes a wide variety of Italian dishes, steaks and an outdoor patio bar. Our caring and committed staff will ensure you have a fantastic experience with us. (Stefano’s Brooklyn Pizza, 2021)
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Price range: $ – $$$
Business hours: Dining room open from 3p.m. to 10p.m. daily Take-out and delivery hours: Sunday – Wednesday 11a.m. to 9p.m. Thursday – Saturday 11a.m. to 9p.m.
Stefano’s Brooklyn Pizza 4201 W US-83 Business Harlingen, TX 78552 (956) 425-6281
Oktoberfest celebrations include live music, beer and pretzel specials, a Halloween costume, and more. Photo: Krause’s Café & Biergarten, used with permission.
Krause’s Cafe & Biergarten is excited to announce various performances and events happening this fall. This coming season, Krause’s will host a Halloween costume contest, provide beer and pretzel specials, and various Oktoberfest celebrations every Wednesday that include a yodeling contest, Bavarian hat dances, keg tappings, and more. Krause’s is also having multiple live bands perform each week in a variety of genres. Check online for a full list of upcoming events. (Krause’s Café & Biergarten, 2021)
Oktoberfest Celebrations: Every Wednesday – October 6, 13, 20, and 27 Every Wednesday at Krause’s, bring out your best German/Bavarian attire for a full night of celebrating. Activities you can expect on Wednesdays include keg tappings, Yodel contests, Bavarian hat dances, Lederhosen & Dirndl costume contests, Bratwurst eating contests, selfie scavenger hunts, Schuhplatter contests, and more.
Monday Madness: October 4, October 18, and October 25 Enjoy music from Dance & Joy Oktoberfest DJ on October 25 and Soul Rebel Oktoberfest DJ on October 18. Try your chances at Beer Bingo on October 4.
Columbus Day, Monday, October 11 Spend your holiday chilling to live music with Geoff Hill & Tony Taylor from 1:30p.m. – 4:30p.m. and Max & The Waysiders from 6p.m. – 9p.m.
Reggae Nights: Once a month, October 24 Get your dancing shoes on, because Reggae nights will be once a month. The next reggae night will be October 24 and the band’s events will be updated directly on Krause’s website.
Walk A Mile In Her Shoes: October 3 Krause’s is hosting the Comal County Crisis Center fundraiser to raise awareness of domestic violence and help fund the counseling programs. The event will be held from 12p.m. to 7p.m., with all proceeds going towards the Crisis Center.
Half Price Tuesdays: All Day Every Tuesday Guests are invited to enjoy half priced liters of German beer and half priced pretzels every Tuesday.
Halloween Costume Party: October 31 Celebrate Halloween for free at Krause’s for a chance to win the costume contest. There will be live music by the Alli Mattice Band, spooky drink specials, and a costume contest for both you and your canine companion. You can enter the contest with the Hostess upon arrival and the contest will begin promptly at 7:15p.m.
Live Music: 6+ Days A Week Enjoy complimentary shows throughout the week at Krause’s. The lineup is subject to change and the select shows are ticketed, so check out Krause’s Café to stay up to date on all shows. Performances this coming week include:
Waller Creek Vipers (September 30) – playing from 6:30p.m. – 9:30p.m., their music is energetic and geared for dancers with a 20s-50s jazz style. Chris Cuevas Project (October 1) – playing from 7p.m. – 10p.m., they are an original music band, blending blues, funk, soul, Latin, and jazz genres. Tex Porter Band (October 2) – playing from 2p.m. – 5p.m., their music style ranges from Country, Honky-Tonk, Red Dirt, Classic Rock, and deep and rich originals.
Krause’s Café & Biergarten is a New Braunfels historic restaurant opened in 1938 and successfully ran until 1995. Today, Krause’s Café honors the previous traditions of the restaurant with the addition of a ‘Biergarten,’ live music, and more. The menu reflects New Braunfels’ German heritage as well as South Texas flavors. Over 100 beers are available on tap with local, regional, and international options. The restaurant also features cocktails and wines on tap.
Krause’s Café & Biergarten 148 S. Castell Ave. New Braunfels, TX 78130 (830) 625-2807
Celebrate National Taco Day at Taco Cabana with $1 tacos. Photo: Taco Cabana, used with permission.
On Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, Taco Cabana invites guests to celebrate National Taco Day with special offers available all day long at all Texas locations. Guests can enjoy their choice of Taco Cabana’s classic bean and cheese, shredded chicken, or ground beef tacos for only $1 with no limit. (Taco Cabana, 2021)
Guests 21 years of age or older can choose from a selection of $2 frozen margaritas to add to the offer. $1 tacos are available through curbside pick-up, drive-thru, in restaurant, and via mobile order through the MyTC! App.
Taco Cabana, a subsidiary of YTC Enterprises, LLC, was founded in 1978. The brand specializes in Tex-Mex-inspired food including enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, flautas, burritos, tacos, flour tortillas and a selection of made-from-scratch salsas and sauces. Restaurants feature open-display cooking, a selection of beer and tequila margaritas, patio dining, drive-thru windows, curbside pick-up, and delivery. As of August 1, 2021, Taco Cabana operates 142 company-owned restaurants in Texas.
Grant funding is open for culinary innovation and community giveback projects. Photo: google
The San Antonio Food & Wine Alliance (SAFWA) recently announced that $17,000 in grants will be awarded this year to support culinary innovation and community giveback projects in South Texas. In its ninth year, the unique grant program has provided $441,500 in funding to Texas chefs, artisan producers, culinary nonprofits, and businesses with innovative projects that support the community. (San Antonio Food & Wine Alliance, 2021)
Grant applications will be accepted beginning Friday, October 1, through Sunday, October 24, 2021 via online submission. Grant winners will be announced and awarded at a ceremony at Fairmont Austin on December 13 and honored at a local celebration in January.
With the success of the nonprofit’s start in Austin, the organization expanded statewide last year to form the Texas Food & Wine Alliance and for the first time, will award an additional $57,000 in grants total in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
Eligible applicants for the Alliance’s one-of-a-kind grant program include farmers, artisan producers, chefs, wine/beer/spirits makers, culinary nonprofits, businesses, and professionals whose projects and initiatives show innovation and impact to the community.
To assist prospective applicants in the grant process, there will be a virtual statewide information session via Zoom at 1p.m., Tuesday, October 12. For registration and information, email Texas Food and Wine Alliance.
San Antonio Food & Wine Alliance, one of South Texas’ most impactful culinary nonprofits, is dedicated to fostering education, awareness, and innovation in the South Texas food and wine community. The Alliance’s grant program is the first in the nation to provide funding to support culinary innovation that also gives back to the local community.
Despite the challenges Covid-19 brought to nonprofits, Austin Food & Wine Alliance (AFWA) announced a statewide expansion in 2020, allowing it to replicate its innovative grant funding program in Texas’ major cities with a goal to help the stricken culinary communities across the state due to the pandemic. The newly formed Texas Food & Wine Alliance serves as the umbrella organization overseeing AFWA, SAFWA, the Dallas Food & Wine Alliance, and the Houston Food & Wine Alliance.
“We’re so thrilled to be able to continue with our grant program despite the setbacks inflicted by the pandemic. It’s only through amazing partnerships such as with the great support of HEB, and the generous and supportive culture in San Antonio and South Texas that we’ve been able to raise the funds to award grants this year. These funds will continue to go back into the community through unique and innovative projects.” – Cathy Cochran-Lewis, Grant Chair and Alliance President
Since 2012, Alliance grants have funded innovative local projects such as the state’s first organic apple orchard (Argus Cidery), the first USDA-inspected salumi producer in Texas (Salt & Time Butcher Shop & Salumeria), the state’s first locally grown and malted barley to support craft beer production (Blacklands Malt), a unique volunteer program teaching farming skills to diverse populations and culinary students (New Farm Institute at Green Gate Farms), Austin’s first and only community-supported bakeshop (Miche Bread) and a Texas farm producing stress-free, free-range meat while helping wounded veterans (Snodgrass Farms).
“Being able to support and enable the dreams of so many in our community is truly a heartfelt mission for our organization. We are privileged to do this work and are inspired by the many chefs, artisan producers, bartenders, wine- and spirit-makers who have contributed to this remarkable culinary landscape for South Texas. It’s been a challenging year for our nonprofit and we’re extremely grateful to our sponsors and partners that have supported us in our mission.” – Gina Burchenal, TFWA Interim Executive Director
Each year, the TFWA board of directors determines the amount of grant funding based on the organization’s fundraising efforts from key signature events, community partnerships, and beneficiary events. The TFWA Grant Judging Committee in each city, composed of a private panel of prominent culinary professionals and community members, will award the 2021 grants based on the grant criteria, application information, and goals of each applicant. Deadline for applications is Sunday, October 24 and all applicants will be notified by Tuesday, November 23, 2021.
This year’s San Antonio grant total is boosted by three specifically funded grants: · H-E-B Grant for $5,000, open to San Antonio area chefs, farmers, artisan producers, food-focused nonprofits, and educational groups that prioritize education, diversity, equity, and inclusion. · Tito’s Handmade Vodka Entrepreneur Grant for $5,000 awarded to an entrepreneur who has pursued his/her business dream despite setbacks, showing that success often comes from failures, as exemplified by founder Tito Beveridge in the pursuit of his Texas-made vodka · The Truffle Masters Grant for Community Heroes for $2,000 awarded to a chef who has overcome diversity and challenges to bring support to others during a time of crisis to help their community
Additional grant funding of $5,000 will be awarded to more generalized grant projects with special consideration given to initiatives supporting diversity and inclusion within the San Antonio community.
The Alliance continues to win tremendous community support from presenting sponsor H-E-B and key supporters ABC Bank, American Lamb Board, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Austin Monthly, Buffalo Trace, Canopy by Hilton, Con ‘Olio Oils & Vinegars, Fairmont Austin, Fever Tree, Giant Noise, Lifeworks, Pabst Brewing, Patrón Tequila, Premiere Events, Republic National Distributing Company, Siete Family Foods, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Sysco, Texas Beef Council, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Twang, Unifresh, and William Grant & Sons.
Under the Texas Food & Wine Alliance umbrella, the San Antonio Food & Wine Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering awareness, support, and innovation in the South Texas culinary community through grants, educational programming, and events. Guided by an all-volunteer board of directors and committees made up of culinary- and community-minded professionals, the Alliance is committed to promoting Texas food, wine, spirits, and craft brews and to increase appreciation of Texas’ culinary impact.
SA Examiner 