Sangria on the Burg’s new pop-ups
There’s a fresh face behind the stove every Monday at Sangria on the Burg.
Once a week, Sangria chef and owner Ceasar Zepeda steps aside to allow up-and-coming cooks an opportunity to take over his kitchen on a day the restaurant would otherwise be closed. The kitchen takeovers have occurred sporadically since the beginning of the year, with Zepeda recently settling on a regular rotation of participants.
The first Monday of every month will find Caleb Lott and his pop-up outfit Chi Chi Birds Hot Chicken serving a menu built around fiery Nashville-style fried chicken. Lott was the first visiting cook to crash Sangria’s kitchen, debuting there in January.
Second Mondays belongs to chef Leo Davila’s Catch the Wave , which serves innovative tacos with fillings such as char siu pork belly or smoked corn-in-acup on tortillas infused with cannabidiol (CBD). Keenen Hendricks and his pop-up Smackerel anchors third Mondays, serving over-the-top fried chicken sandwiches.
For Zepeda, opening his doors means creating an opportunity for emerging entrepreneurs to test their restaurant concepts in a busy dining room setting. Zepeda keeps enough of the night’s sales to cover his costs, with the visiting cook earning the rest.
The events, he said, have been well received by regular Sangria customers and hospitality industry professional alike.
Zepeda will be in the kitchen Aug. 28 for the kickoff to a monthly competition to see who can make the better Chinese steamed buns called bao. Zepeda partnered with chef and restaurant consultant Teddy Liang for the competition.
First off will be Zepeda facing off against chef Julio Sanchez, each preparing five different bao, which diners will vote on. The winner will advance to face Liang Sept. 23.
Mark your calendars now: Chi Chi Birds Hot Chicken will be at Sangria Sept. 2 (Labor Day), Catch the Wave Sept. 9 and Smackerel Sept. 16. Most of Sangria’s Monday night events are held from 5 to 9 p.m. and reservations are recommended. jalapeño, are the star of the show.
In a roundup of restaurants that offer pollos asados, ExpressNews food critic Mike Sutter named it the second-best in the city, edged out only by the iconic Pollos Asados Los Norteños restaurant on Rigsby Avenue for top billing.
Al Carbon opened its first location in May 2018 at 547 Culebra Road under the name Pollos Asados Don Carbon, but owner Alfredo Garza changed its name after a similarly named El Paso restaurant threatened legal action. we’re excited to add another place where the community can come together to dine, drink and enjoy each other’s company,” Snider said in a media release.
Those unique touches include a ceiling-mounted ice maker at the bar that feeds a mountain of crushed ice where bottles are chilled and fresh ingredients used in the cocktails are displayed. A carbon dioxide-fueled blast chiller is used to instantly freeze glasses.
The newcomer’s kitchen is helmed by Krause’s executive chef Jeremy Acuna, who’s serving a tidy menu of pizzas cooked in a hybrid gas- and wood-burning oven and shareable small plates made with produce from the nearby New Braunfels Farmers Market.
The menu is expected to change regularly depending on seasonal availability of that market produce.
Advanced Sommelier and wine educator Jason Banks leads the bar, which features a curated selection of wines and craft cocktails. The classic pre-prohibition canon and modern bar techniques will both inform the cocktail list, which includes several barrel-aged offerings.
188 South is currently operating with limited hours and will make its full debut Aug. 31. The