‘Bliss’ and CIA Pan-Latin Restaurant Opening Soon

By Bonnie Walker
Posted on04 December 2011. Tags: Bliss, Bliss restaurant, CIA San Antonio restaurant, Culnary Institute of America San Antonio, Mark Blis, new San Antonio restaurants, Pan Latin CIA restaurant, Pan Latin restaurant at CIA San Antonio

Two much-anticipated restaurants are set to open in San Antonio in January and in March of next year.

David Kellaway, chef and managing director of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, told us Saturday that they are ready to “push the button”  later this month to start the campus restaurant. That restaurant might be open as early as March, he said.

“The restaurant will be a showcase for the students. We’ll have a robust series of lecturers coming in, then toward the end of the week (the lecturers and students) will be able to present dishes in this sort of culinary Carnegie Hall-like setting,” Kellaway said. Possible names for the new Pan Latin restaurant are being tossed around, with a few good possibles, he said, but no final decision has been made.

Chef Federico Lopez from the Taller Culinary Workshop in Cancun serves up Mexican black beans at the CIA.

One of the CIA’s goals in San Antonio has always been to pursue and promote Latin American cuisines. The San Antonio campus will soon offer its 30-week Latin Cuisines Certificate Program. Visiting instructors as well as on-staff experts will provide the guidance for students wanting thorough grounding in Latin American cultural and culinary traditions, techniques, ingredients and more.

The yearly Latin Flavors, American Kitchens conference here is where professionals who specialize in these varied cuisines come together to share spectacular tastes and culinary information.

Bliss on the way?

If he’s on schedule, Mark Bliss, a popular San Antonio chef opening a new restaurant on South St. Mary’s Street, will be up and running by mid-January. He’d originally set the opening for November. So far, he’s not divulged menu items, but we’ll be pestering him.  Bliss will open at  926 South Presa at the location of an old Magnolia filling station.

Bliss told us earlier this year, “My focus is going to be on American Contemporary cuisine with an emphasis that diners will have the ability to create a multi-course experience based on their appetite and desires. Overall, we’ll have a small seasonal menu that will change frequently.” He left San Antonio early in 2010 to attend to family business.

http://www.visitsanantonio.com/visitors/shop/ten-most-fun-places-to-shop-in-san-antonio/index.aspx

Commemorate your trip to San Antonio by shopping at these unique stores. Each is a one-of-a-All Kinds of Fun Shopping at San Antonio Local Storeskind, locally owned shop unique to the city.

Adelante Boutique
River Walk Museum Reach
Voted “Best Local Boutique” by alternative lifestyle pub SA Current. Fabulous finds at this shop at the Pearl Brewery Complex on the new Museum Reach of the River Walk.
Read more >

Big Grass
North Central
An eco-chic shop stocked with housewares made from solid, sustainable bamboo. The owners travel to Thailand & work with artisan families who produce furniture, clothing, garden products & gifts.
Read more >

Delicious Tamales
Various Locations
Tamales are a local delicacy. Delicious Tamales will ship tamales anywhere & is owned by a local family that still makes everything by hand in the traditional way.
Read more >

Fiesta on Main
Just North of Downtown
A great Mexican marketplace where the locals shop, with great prices. You can pick up a beautifully made tree ornament for just $2.
Read more >

Joe Saglimbeni Fine Wine & Spirits
North Central
The expert staff know wine and aren’t the least bit pretentious. Pick up wines produced locally in the Texas Wine Country. They have a huge inventory of over 4,000 bottles of wine.
Read more >

Papa Jim’s Botanica
South
Things to heal you, from the pedestrian (ointment for sore muscles) to the fantastic (protection from the Evil Eye).
Read more >

Pig Liquors
Southtown
Tequila, beer, spirits, wine &, um, fine art, furniture, clothing, jewelry, local art, more fun finds.
Read more >

Ranch at the Rim Cowboy Duds
North
Need a pair of very fancy cowboy boots? This is where you’ll find them but be prepared. You can pay thousands. You’ll also find western style clothing, art, & home products. It’s free to look.
Read more >

Redbone Guitar Boutique
North Central
The top-notch staff is delightful and worth the trip just to talk with them. Diehard Beatle fans must see the rare collection of Beatles’ artifacts.
Read more >

Southwest School of Art Gallery Shop
River Walk Museum Reach
On the campus of the acclaimed art school, this shop is an intriguing mix of stylish objects that exemplify contemporary design.
Read more >

Mark Bliss to Open ‘Bliss’ in Southtown in November

By Bonnie Walker
Posted on12 July 2011. Tags: Bliss restaurant, Chef Mark Bliss, Mark Bliss, Southtown, top San Antonio chef Bliss
PrintFriendly

Chef Mark Bliss, who opened the original Silo Elevated Cuisine on Austin Highway, has returned to San Antonio and will open a new restaurant at 926 South Presa Street. He hopes to have the restaurant, located in an old Magnolia filling station, by November. Construction began two weeks ago, he said.

Construction begins at the site for Bliss, Mark Bliss’s restaurant in Southtown.

He and his wife, Lisa, announced that the restaurant will be a “small, intimate space with private dining, a chef’s table in the kitchen, with outdoor seating as well as indoor.

“My focus is going to be on American Contemporary cuisine with an emphasis that diners will have the ability to create a multi-course experience based on their appetite and desires. Overall, we’ll have a small seasonal menu that will change frequently. Our goal is to serve a quality product with a well-trained staff in a comfortable, elegant environment,” said Bliss.

Bliss left the restaurant business here at the first of last year to tend to family business. He spent a total of 13 years at Silo, on Austin Highway, with a two-and-a-half year break. Prior to that he worked as chef, with Bruce Auden, at the original location of Biga on Locust Street.

Photograph by Bonnie Walker

http://www.mysanantonio.com/real_estate/article/Spaces-King-William-home-tour-offers-look-into-2276738.php

thebikewaiter.com