San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Hop & Vine holding its last hurrah today
Hop & Vine, the Alamo Ranch gastropub that opened in 2016, is closing today, the restaurant announced on its Facebook page.
“We thank our guests and our amazing staff for their valuable support. It’s been our pleasure to serve quality food, beer and wine to the Alamo Ranch area,” the Facebook post said. It didn’t say why the restaurant was closing.
The post says Hop & Vine will be open for dine-in, curbside and delivery through tonight, with a reservation-only farewell dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. The reservation link is yelp.com/reservations/ hop-and-vine-san-antonio.
Hop & Vine earned praise from the Express-News for its craft beer selection, shrimp and grits, and an eggs Benedict with pork belly, with a review stating, “In an area dominated by national chains, this locally owned gastropub is packing tables with Texas sourcing, clever but restrained dishes and plenty of craft beer.”
Hop & Vine, 5619 W. Loop 1604 N., Suite 109, 210-878-4071, hopandvinesa.com.
Aubrey Plaza has a story she’s been meaning to tell — about the forgotten twin sister of Santa Claus.
The “Parks and Recreation” and “Black Bear” actress has a deal with Viking Children’s Books for “The Legend of the Christmas Witch.”
Viking, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, announced Wednesday Plaza worked on the book with her creative partner Dan Murphy and with illustrator Julia Iredale.
“The Legend of the Christmas Witch,” in which Santa’s sibling Kristtorn seeks a little understanding, is scheduled for Oct. 12.
“This is a story that Dan and I have been working on for some time now and
we can’t wait to introduce a character as fierce, independent, and headstrong as Kristtorn to readers this holiday season,“Plaza said in a statement.
Fiction 1. The Russian
by James Patterson and James O. Born. The 13th book in the Michael Bennett series. An assassin killing a number of women might disrupt the detective’s wedding plans.
2. The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett. The lives of twin sisters who run away from a Southern Black community at age 16 diverge as one returns and the other takes on a different racial identity, but their fates intertwine.
3. The Midnight Library
by Matt Haig. Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived.
4. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
by V.E. Schwab. A Faustian bargain comes with a curse that affects the adventure Addie LaRue has across centuries.
5. Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens. In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.
6. The Push
by Ashley Audrain. A devastating event forces a mother who questions her child’s behavior and her own sanity to confront the truth.
7. The Return
by Nicholas Sparks. A doctor serving in the Navy in Afghanistan goes back to North Carolina where two women change his life.
8. Neighbors
by Danielle Steel. A Hollywood recluse’s perspective changes when she invites her neighbors into her mansion after an earthquake.
9. Ready Player Two
by Ernest Cline. In a sequel to “Ready Player One,” Wade Watts discovers a technological advancement and goes on a new quest.
10. Anxious People
by Fredrik Backman. A failed bank robber holds a group of strangers hostage at an apartment open house.
Nonfiction
1. Just As I Am
by Cicely Tyson with Michelle Burford. The late iconic actress describes how she worked to change perceptions of Black women through her career choices.
2. A Promised Land
by Barack Obama. In the first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama offers personal reflections on his formative years and pivotal moments through his first term.
3. Greenlights
by Matthew McConaughey. The Academy Awardwinning actor shares snippets from the diaries he kept over the past 35 years.
4. Caste
by Isabel Wilkerson. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.
5. Untamed
by Glennon Doyle. The activist and public speaker describes her journey of listening to her inner voice.
6. Let Me Tell You What I Mean
by Joan Didion. A collection of 12 pieces written between 1968 and 2000 that includes observations on the underground press and the act of writing.
7. Extraterrestrial
by Avi Loeb. The Harvard science professor shares his theory that a piece of advanced technology created by a distant alien civilization recently visited our solar system.
8. Becoming
by Michelle Obama. The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husband’s political ascent.
9. The Devil You Know
by Charles M. Blow. The New York Times Op-Ed columnist gives a call to action for Black people to achieve equality on their own terms.
10. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
by George Saunders. A collection of essays examining the functions and importance of works of fiction.