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The lightbox over the front entrance of Savor, the new restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, at the Pearl was the work of Robert Diaz de Leon.
Photo: Mike Sutter /StaffThe lightbox over the front entrance of Savor, the new restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, at the Pearl was the work of Robert Diaz de Leon.
The lightbox over the front entrance of Savor, the new restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, at the Pearl was the work of Robert Diaz de Leon.
The lightbox over the front entrance of Savor, the new restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, at the Pearl was the work of Robert Diaz de Leon.
Think of Savor — the new restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio — as blond wood, brass and light meets blood, sweat and tears.
Carved from the bones of the old Sandbar Fishhouse & Market at the Pearl, Savor will become the new training ground for CIA students when it opens, which could happen as early as next week, said Waldy Malouf, senior director of food and beverage operations for The Culinary Institute of America.
Once it’s up and running, the restaurant will be open for dinner from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. In late January through April, Savor will add a CIA Bakery Cafe pop-up that will serve breakfast, lunch and takeout meals, breads and pastries Monday through Friday.
Savor replaces the Latin American-focused Nao as the CIA’s showcase student restaurant. Nao, located just a few buildings away at the Pearl, closed in December. A restaurant called Victoire is scheduled for the old Nao space, but no details have been made public.
Savor’s modern American menu touches on every aspect of the CIA curriculum, Maldouf said. The main dinner menu will offer three courses at $38 or four courses at $46 — those prices are subject to change — with options to add side dishes or favorites from the bar menu.
A tentative opening menu includes first and second courses like a fingerling potato and soft egg salad, curried potato soup and steak tartare; main courses like Berkshire pork schnitzel, honey-chile roasted chicken and grilled rib-eye steak with chimichurri; and desserts like caramel bread pudding and raspberry-citrus semifreddo.
Early planning for the bar menu includes teriyaki beef sliders, chile-paste chicken wings, steamed mussels and yuca fries.
Savor’s beverage program includes a full bar with a roster of classic cocktails from martinis and old-fashioneds to negronis and Manhattans, along with two local craft beers on tap and more in bottles and cans. The largely American and European wine list is more than 30 bottles long, with 10 by the glass and options for three- and four-course pairings.
Traces of chef Andrew Weissman’s Sandbar, which closed in 2016, have been washed away by the Clayton & Little Architects redesign of the 2,500-square-foot restaurant that seats 62 people, split between the bar, a lounge area and dining room.
A lightbox spans the main room, made of brass and opaque glass by San Antonio craftsman Robert Diaz de Leon that extends to Savor’s front portico. Brass fixtures and blond wood chairs and paneling channel light through the space, illuminating food-themed pen and ink prints and colorful wallpaper by artist Kelti Smith.
Described on the menus as “a classroom laboratory for advanced CIA students,” the restaurant is the last step before graduation, with students working half a semester in the kitchen and half a semester as hosts and servers. “You’re not just going out to dinner,” Malouf said. “You’re part of the education experience.”
Student staffers will be overseen by CIA chef instructor Uyen Pham and service instructors Samantha Fletcher and John Storm.
Mike Sutter is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking
https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/restaurants/article/Exclusive-Your-first-look-at-Savor-the-new-13536284.php 2019-01-16 06:00:00Z
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