First Look: Carriqui in San Antonio, Texas
Illustration by Valero Doval; Boehler’s: UTSA Special Collections
From Garden & Gun
This week, San Antonio’s popular Pearl neighborhood, known for its historic brewery structures, award-winning hotel, and a Culinary Institute of America campus, is growing its wingspan with the long-awaited opening of the restaurant Carriqui.
Named for the South Texas green jay or carriquí (KHER-ih-key) de montaña, a colorful bird that calls the region home, the restaurant draws inspiration from its flight path, which extends from the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas coast and north to San Antonio. Dishes from the executive chef Jaime Gonzales pull from South Texas foodways, including fresh Gulf ceviche, botana platters (large plates filled with cheese, meat, and more), and barbacoa and brisket cooked on custom Texas pits. Ice-cold margaritas with house-made chile salt and cocktails such as the Sage Brush and the Spanish Rose Gin and Tonic add to the venue’s deeply rooted sense of place.
