One of San Antonio’s hottest new restaurants just got cooler. Fastenyour seat belt and prepare your taste buds for take off with GrandHyatt San Antonio’s newest culinary treat, the Flight Menu. The AchioteRiver Café’s talented Chef Jesse McDannell has put together four flightmenus designed to offer customers the opportunity to sample a selectionof some of the best foods, wines and spirits from the Pan Latinoregions of the world.
The four new Flight Menus are filled with foods and libations chosenfor their compatibility, flavors and uniqueness. Guaranteed to titillatethe palate, the featured selections provide customers with a hint ofwhat makes the Pan Latino regions great.
“Wine and cheese are two undeniables in the culinary world,” saysChef McDannell. “We have an opportunity to implement the bold flavorof Latin America with the artisanal concepts of local farmers and theend result is something you will find truly amazing.”
One of the highlights of the new menus is the Cheese and Wine PairingFlights. The three different flights feature goat, sheep and cow’s milkcheeses that can be sampled alone or paired with one of the six recommendedwine flights. To further enhance the experience, each cheeseflight is served with Marcona almonds, Quince paste, guava preservesand a French baguette. The flight is interactive, with guests receiving atasting sheet detailing character descriptions of the wines and cheeses,as well as a pen for jotting down notes on favorite selections. The winesare available by the bottle or glass and the cheeses can be purchased “togo”for those who want to take the indulgent experience home.
While the wine and cheese flight is an extraordinary tasting experience,the other three flights are equally impressive. They include:
• Tequila Flight: Two flights, each consisting of three tequilas fromdifferent vintages as well as top of the line brands.
• Rum Flight: Two flights, each consisting of three different rums withsmooth, rich flavors.
• Dessert Flight: For those with a sweet tooth, this flight delivers witha trio of Acihote River Café’s signature desserts including the sweet andspicy taste of the Ancho Chili Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Flight menus range in price from $9 to $30 and are available from 5until 10 p.m. nightly in the Achiote River Café.New Nightly Paella Menu
But don’t stop at the flights, Chef McDannell has also created a newnightly Paella menu that puts a fresh spin on a Spanish Classic.
Once considered a “poor man’s” food, Paella originally consisted ofwhatever the Spanish villagers could kill or catch. Rabbit, snail andseafood were commonly thrown together with rice in the “La Paella,” a flatshallow pan from which the dish takes its name, and cooked over an openfire. Chef McDannell has taken this basic concept of Paella and added hisown unique flair.
In addition to the classic Valencia Paella with sausage, clams, shrimp,chicken and mussels served with saffron flavored rice, McDannell willbe serving interesting Paella variations. Wild Game Paella featuring therich tastes of duck and rabbit, Thai Curry Paella with Coconut Jasminerice and Shrimp and Chicken Paella with Vermicelli are just a few ofthe culinary delights that can be found in McDannell’s Paella pan. ButMcDannell doesn’t stop there. A fan of Charcuterie, or the art of forcedmeats, this talented chef has been creating his own sausages for thePaella including a recent succulent Duck and Bing Cherry combination,with plans for Chorizo in the near future.“It’s a lost art,” he said.
Achiote River Café features different Paella nightly. It is served for one($20) or for two ($35).
