San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
New spot to serve American food with a sprinkle of Europe
The Triumph motorcycle recently parked outside 4212 McCullough Ave. was as much a symbol of what’s happening inside the Olmos Park building as a means of getting there.
The bike belongs to chef Justin Ward, who says his plan to open the new Glass and Plate Restaurant at the former home of Hearthstone Bakery Cafe this month came from a desire to push ahead.
“It’s time to start moving forward, to start living again,” said the former assistant professor at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio. “Doing a restaurant was something we’ve always wanted to do, and Olmos Park is a great area. Everything just fit.”
And so in about the next week, permits allowing, Olmos Park will get a new destination for brunch, lunch and dinner when Ward opens Glass and Plate with his wife, Cristina Ward, a native Romanian who’s worked at a variety of European restaurants.
Justin Ward describes Glass and Plate as “American food with a little European influence.” He’ll be the executive chef, leading a crew that includes graduates and current students of The Culinary Institute of America.
At dinner, appetizers will include Argentinian pink shrimp and cornmeal-crusted Bandera quail, rolling into entrees such as linguine aglio e olio with littleneck clams, an al pastorstyle pork shoulder steak, braised beef short rib and spatchcocked Cornish hen.
Lunch will include Cristina Ward’s lasagna, plus meal-size salads, sandwiches, and entrees such as chile con carne and Italian sausage with slow-cooked cabbage. The brunch menu will include cheddar biscuits,
French omelets, steak and eggs, and an eggs Benedict-style dish featuring Creole salmon cakes.
The bar will feature wines from around the world, along with beer and specialty cocktails, including sangria, frozen margaritas and a mango bellini.
The restaurant space is big, with room for 14 at the bar, 30 outside and 80 in the main dining room.
Glass and Plate Restaurant,
4212 McCullough Ave., 210-8647500, Facebook: @glassand platesa. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and
In San Antonio, leftover tortillas are a part of life. And I was feeling that fact more than ever recently.
I recently conducted a fairly exhaustive survey of tortillerías on the West Side to find the best tortillas in that part of town, and I wound up with more than 300, both corn and flour, taking up precious space in my kitchen. And believe you me, I’m not about to let those suckers go to waste.
But how does one best store such a surplus?
In the refrigerator, both types of tortillas will last about a month. The real enemy here is air, not time. Many tortillas come in plastic bags, which help keep them from drying out. If you’re buying them by the pound wrapped in paper like I did at several tortillerías, you’ll need to transfer them to a resealable bag. Be sure to press as much air out of the bag as possible before placing them in the fridge.
As for freezing, you have a few options, and they’re the same with corn and flour tortillas.
To freeze them for individual use, place a piece of parchment paper between each tortilla to prevent them from sticking together. If you plan on using them all at once later, separate them into stacks of no more than a dozen each. Wrap those stacks in plastic wrap, then place them inside a resealable bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Once frozen, they should remain good for six months or more.
Thawing is where it gets tricky. As tempting as it is to toss a bag of frozen tortillas on the counter, resist — that can result in excessive condensation, making the tortillas sticky. It takes a little more time, but you’ll get better results if you let them thaw in the refrigerator, so plan ahead.
When it comes to reheating those refrigerated or properly thawed tortillas, you have a couple options.
If you’re only heating a few, either corn or flour, flop them on a hot, ungreased skillet, griddle or comal for about 30 seconds per side until they’re nice and toasty. If the tortillas have been lingering in the fridge for a while and have started to dry out, brushing them with a few drops of water before heating will help bring them back to life.
If you’re feeding a crowd, I defer to Mexican food authority Rick Bayless’ method for corn tortillas.
His technique uses a kitchen towel and a steamer. Just wrap the tortillas — he says no more than a dozen at a time — in the towel. Set up the steamer basket over a pot containing about a half inch of water. Place the towel-swaddled tortillas in the basket, pop the lid on top and fire up the burner to high.
When you start to see steam puffing out, set a timer for one minute. When that goes off, turn off the heat and let the tortillas continue to steam under the lid for 10 more minutes. After that, they’re ready to serve.
Flour tortillas take a different approach, as all that steam can make them a little gummy. To get the best results with flour, first wrap them in a damp kitchen towel. Place that bundle in a casserole or other ovenproof container and cover it with a lid or piece of foil. Slide that assembly into a 250-degree oven for 20 minutes, and you’re good to taco.