Polar Express is the theme of the 37th annual formal benefit hosted by San Antonio Zoo. As one of San Antonio’s premier social events, Zoo Ball is an annual black-tie gala benefiting efforts to secure a future for wildlife. Zoo Ball will be host to more than 800 prominent philanthropic community leaders and will feature a perfectly curated dinner, silent and live auctions featuring one-of-a-kind zoo experiences, and dancing to the music of Finding Friday.
Ashley and Dustin Schuetz with mistress of ceremonies Cynthia Lee
Auctioneer Joey Tomlinson, Linda Tomlinson, Cathy Lopez ad Butch Galm
Billie and Chris Flowers
CEO Tim Morrow, Jennifer Morrow and Shane and Wayne Evans
Hannah Stark, Kelly Russell and Sara Weigmann
James and Tarah Sykes
Since 1956, the San Antonio Zoo Eagle, formerly known as the Brackenridge Eagle, has chugged along the tracks skirting the banks of the San Antonio River as it makes its way through one of San Antonio’s most popular parks.
Jamie McMahon, Cat Daylong and Mike Daylong
Jeff Burns and Hope Roth
Jim and Christine Kohloff with Gail and Rich Gergasko
Lisa Harthan and Axelle Parker
This year’s Zoobilation Ball will be benefiting the purchase of two new upgraded trains. The new trains will allow for the continuation of providing generations of guests with the same nostalgic experience.
Sundra and Eric Stockl
Tara and Jon Allman
Terry and Ron Gray
Tony Parker
Zoo Ball chairs Jayme and William Russell with co-chairs Dani and Cosmo Guido outdid themselves! Congrats!
Greetings Chef! I am so excited to start this interview! Let’s roll!
We have been compadres for six years, and I trust your food to be consistent, well thought out, and delicious. Your impressive champagne and wine list, the freshest fish, flown in from Japan, and the relaxed art vibe never disappoints. The restaurant takes on the warmth of your personality.
HAPPY CRITIC: Tell us about yourself, Chef.
CHEF: I am the Executive Chef at Sukeban, located in the famous Blue Star Arts Complex. I have invested years of my life mastering the art of sushi and finding happiness. Continuing on my path of study and experimentation every day keeps me inspired and able to work 18 hour days. Pairing food with the right wine has been my focus here at Sukeban. Searching out the right people to work with has been a key to my success. Twenty-five years ago, I fell in love with food, and our relationship continues to blossom. I was deported to the United States from Nicaragua at 18 without family or being able to communicate in English. I started working as a dishwasher. By 20, I was apprenticing under Sushi Chef Hilario Resendez at Tokyo Steak House on the northside. Working my way up to Chef de Cuisine at the Argyle and traveling to Tokyo to train with celebrity Chef Takashi Tamura before joining the team as Executive Chef at the Plaza Club. Now, the exectuive chef at Sukeban. Every day is a new day. For the future, I leave everything in Gods hands.
HAPPY CRITIC: What does it take to be a Chef?
CHEF: Love of food and people; dedication; passion; sacrificing family, holy days, everything personal; day after day effort; doing what you were born to do, and you must have control of your kitchen.
HAPPY CRITIC: I know you create with love! Tell us about some favorite dishes.
CHEF: My Signature Dish: Chef Macy’s Salmon Tartare! It is a gorgeous stacked sushi-grade salmon flown in from Japan weekly over a salt n pepper-crusted sushi-rice topped with a quail egg and a shallot caper sauce. An impressive seafood lovers dish is the Chilean Sea Bass floating in Sake butter and miso with a hint of white soy sauce. I remember serving this dish to Maestro Sebastian Lang Lessing of our world-class symphony at the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” event, and he told me: “This is the best Sea Bass I have eaten in America!” I was grateful and amazed by him. HAPPY CRITIC: What do you cook at home?
CHEF: I don’t cook at home. Sukeban is my home. Sukeban is my wife. Sukeban is my life.
HAPPY CRITIC: Where do you like to go when you eat out?
CHEF: It depends on my mood. These days I am craving Thai. Siam Restaurant in Schertz, on the outskirts of San Antonio, is my go-to Thai place. My favorite Indian food restaurant is India Oven. I love that place. For real sushi, I go to Austin, Texas, to Uchi. Chef-owner Tyson Cole is a friend of mine. Seven years ago, for my birthday, he cooked me a 16-course dinner. It was amazing. Yes. He is a great, great chef. In the future, I want to visit James Beard Award-Winning Chef Grant Achatz’s restaurant Alinea in Chicago. Reservations have to be made six months in advance! Happy Critic is going with me.
HAPPY CRITIC: Do you have a favorite cookbook, and do you have plans to write a cookbook?
CHEF:I like the Nobu Cookbook. I also like the Chef’s Companion. It saved lives at The Argyle, a timeless, tiny private club nestled under the beautiful oaks in Alamo Heights. I am writing a cookbook. Introducing my life and my journey, 70 recipes and my CCQ-Consistency, Customer, Quality.
HAPPY CRITIC: What is the one ingredient you must-have?
CHEF: Rice, of course. I tell my kitchen, “Without rice; we are nobody.” Calrose Japanese Rice. It is essential. I have cooked with this special rice for a long time. The Japanese brought it to California by Asian immigrants during the gold rush.
HAPPY CRITIC: How do you get your inspiration?
CHEF: People are my inspiration, along with smells and ingredients. After a long 18 hour day, and oh so tired, I think everyone is happy. I am happy. At the end of the day, this is what I take home. The joy that people left here smiling. I love it here. I don’t want to go to New York; I want to bring New York to San Antonio. I am working on it and a Michelin Star.
HAPPY CRITIC: Tell me about your love of art.
CHEF: I am a sensitive guy. Being separated from my family was difficult. I especially missed my mother. At 18, painting and writing poetry helped me with my sadness. I have to have art in my life. It is in my soul. Because I chose cooking instead of painting 25 years ago, I turned to collecting art and sharing the wall space at Sukeban with local artist Gilbert Duran. The portrait he painted of me is magnificent. It’s hanging at the restaurant. I see the artist’s depiction of me every day. Besides Duran, I have works from Cody Vance, Rodulfo Gaudi, and Teri Diaz de Leon.
HAPPY CRITIC: What food do you want me to taste before I go, and can I have the recipe?
CHEF: “The Spicy Tuna on a Wonton Crisp,” says Chef Macy with a big, happy grin. Yes, you can have the recipe! (posted below!)
HAPPY CRITIC: Thank you, Chef, for such a great afternoon of camaraderie. The Spicy Tuna was divine! As a last note, I have a few more tidbits to share with our readers. I learned that Sukeban means “Girl Boss.” Hence the Japanese murals. I love that you suggest a glass of champagne with every meal and that you serve Dom Perignon and Moet Chandon, and it makes you happy seeing the ladies drinking bubbles with their friends and having fun! I think it’s fantastic that you are once again working with one of the men who trained you, Sushi Chef Hilario Resendez. And what an excellent Sushi Chef he is! This Happy Critic recommends Sukeban Sushi & Champagne Bar! Ask Chef to create a dish. Whatever his mood, I promise you it will be unique and delicious! You’ll want to come back for more and more!
HAPPY CRITIC: How can folks find you?
CHEF: Come to my Restaurant Sukeban located in the Bluestar next to Alamode Gelato Store.
The Khaki & Plaid Gala is one of the largest fundraisers for Hope for the Future. The Khaki & Plaid Gala is the premier event recognizing the importance of Catholic school education in the San Antonio community. This fun event brings together 1,300 guests, all of whom support Catholic school education in San Antonio. Thanks to the generous underwriters, sponsors, silent and live auction donors and event attendees, the Khaki & Plaid Gala helps provide critical funding that is distributed in the form of tuition assistance to families and students in financial distress. Hope for the Future assisted 2040 children with nearly $2 Million in tuition assistance for the 2018-19 school year.
The Mission of Hope for the Future is to Assist Families in Obtaining the Academic and Spiritual Benefits of a Catholic School Education in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
The NBA season has begun and the race is finally wide open. Now that both Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers have majorly different roster pieces then they did a couple of years ago, every team in the NBA now knows the trophy is up for the taking this year in both conferences. In particular, the Western Conference has considerable talent compared to the East. With so many teams building cores around league superstars, the race for the conference is going to be quite a fight. Here are the lists of teams in the West that will be in the playoff mix this season.
Los Angeles Clippers: The reigning Finals MVP is officially a Clipper. Kawhi Lenoard led the Toronto Raptors to their very first title. He put up monstrous numbers in the finals against the injury plagued Golden State Warriors. Not only did the Clippers add a superstar in Leonard, but they also added former Thunder star, Paul Geroge. PG-13 is a multi-dimensional player who can guard multiple positions and score at an elite level. Both of these players will join an already strong core led by 3x Sixth man of the year, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and sophomore sharp shooter, Landry Shamet.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers have paired LeBron James with a mega star in Anthony Davis. The Lakers have plenty of star power with those two alone. Alongside these stars, they retained Kyle Kuzma, Javale McGee, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They most notably added reigning champion Danny Green, Dwight Howard, and Avery Bradley. This team is comprised of a veteran and a young core that they have an abundance of faith in. The battle of LA begins…
Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets have brought back their entire team from last year, plus Jerami Grant from Oklahoma City, Michael Porter Jr., and second round pick Bol Bol. The Nuggets are led by the mystical center in Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets will look to Nikola and Jamal Murray for leadership and scoring in bunches. This team made it to the semi-finals in the playoffs, but were taken down in an incredible game seven by CJ McCollum and the Trailblazers. Look for the Nugget’s brand of team basketball to make noise in the western conference.
Houston Rockets: Two best friends have been reunited for the Rockets. Russell Westbrook and James Harden previously played in Oklahoma City together. Westbrook is a triple double machine who can pass, rebound, and score at a very high level. James Harden was runner up in MVP voting this past year, and he will look to continue his MVP style of play alongside a point God. They surround those two with solid players in Eric Gordon, Clint Capela, and PJ Tucker.
Utah Jazz: The Jazz may have found a new championship caliber core. The Jazz added former Grizzlies star Mike Conley, and former Indiana Pacer, Bojan Bogdanović. These two provide shooting and veteran knowledge which is very valuable in this very young league. The roster still includes rising star, Donovan Mitchell, and a defensive powerhouse in Rudy Gobert. This team’s elite defense could have the potential to get in the way of plenty of teams.
Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers continue to be led by their power duo in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. This team made it to the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors swept the Blazers with ease, which ended their strong playoff run. Their bench was completely reworked, and they have added a new starting center to assist this squad until they regain injured center Jusuf Nurkić. Hassan Whiteside will be a strong acquisition in the middle. They also added bench depth with Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja, Anthony Tolliver, and Pau Gasol.
San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs have this infamous system that gives any player the opportunity to succeed. The Spurs also retained just about their entire roster for this upcoming season. The young core is built around Dejounte Murray, Bryn Forbes, and Derrick White. These three have star potential alongside the two all-stars in LaMarcus Aldridge and Demar DeRozan. With Gregg Popovich at the helm for year 24, the Spurs are once again going to be in the playoff mix per usual.
Dallas Mavericks: Now that Dirk Nowitzki is retired, the Mavericks have moved onto the future with former Knick, Kristaps Porziņġis, and rookie of the year, Luka Dončić. This team knows what championship basketball looks like, and they are hoping they have their two future gems in Porziņġis and Dončić. Coach Rick Carlisle will have the opportunity to build a championship team around these two perennial stars.
Once upon a time… a kind and benevolent San Antonio gentleman named Harry Landa donated his beloved home – a Mediterranean style house with a little over five acres of grounds, located in the heart of Monte Vista. His vision was that the property on the corner of Shook and Bushnell would become a community gathering spot and a place for children to play freely, while his home was to be used as a public library. His gift and vision were to be a living memorial to honor his dear wife, Hannah.
Brad Jones, Emily Jones and Jill Tolbert
Courtney Ogle, Ashley Hixon and event chair Jofy Lutz
Demonte and Jessica Alexander, DeAnne Cuellar-Cintron and Louis Cintron. Leslie Edwards (sitting), Sarah McLornan and Celina Montoya
Dolores and Danny Cuellar
Dr. Claudio and Dr. Margaret Zeballos with Suzie and Mike Bacon, who hosted the VIP pre-party ahead of the event.
Fabiola and Kevin Kasse
Howard and co-chair Jody Lutz, with co-chair Whitney and Bryan Schones
Mike and Kelly Cubeta
Tamara Coyle, Betty Serna, Amy Swaney, Whitney Schones, Sara Bhattacharya and Amy Maverick
Landa Nights raises important funds needed to maintain the beauty of the grounds, which boast lush and native landscaping, walking paths, extensive playground spaces, more than 7,000 plants, a community garden and the unique Valero Pavillion created by renowned local artist Carlos Cortés.
The DoSeum hosted Dr. Devorah Heitner as the keynote speaker and guest at its 10th Annual Outside the Lunchbox Luncheon. Dr. Heitner is the authority that parents turn to for empowering, research-based advice on raising resilient and kind kids in our always-connected, increasingly challenging world. Advocating for mentoring, not (just) monitoring.
Anna Kehde, Rodney Gray and Shandelle Girdley
Benjamin Rode and Sara Pfeifer
Cheryl Greehey with co-chairs Elizabeth Marceau and Katie Loftin
DoSeum CEO Daniel J. Menelly and guest speaker Dr. Devorah Heitner
Clint Dubose and Chris Petty
Emilie Petty, Carla Brozovich and Adrianna Grossman
A noted expert on young people’s relationship with digital media and technology, Dr. Heitner is the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World and founder of Raising Digital Natives, a resource for schools and organizations wishing to cultivate a culture of responsible digital citizenship.
Emily Catalani and Stacy Hoyt
Emily McMurray and Shannon Kingman
Jessica Engelland and Kim Lewis
Jordana Matthews and Joli Berndt
Sheela Allam and Chris Sherman
During the luncheon, Dr. Heitner shared fresh insights about Digital Natives, communication across the generations and what it’s really like to grow up in the digital age. Dr. Heitner addressed common fears and concerns with research-based, realistic approaches, and a developmentally focused, tech-positive mindset. Her talk tackled common issues ranging from repairing digital mistakes and increasing empathy in our digital interactions to understanding changing conceptions of personal privacy and creating a culture of responsible, digital citizenship.
Trefoil 2019 Luncheon benefiting Girls Scouts of Southwest Texas was a sold out success and honored Mary Rose Brown. For over three decades, Mary Rose has worked tirelessly to make our community an even better place to live, work and play through her leadership of countless community initiatives and her role as a senior leader of two publicly traded Fortune 1000 companies.
Barb Quinn and Carrie Gray
Ceo, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas Angie Salinas, honoree Mary Rose Brown and Jane Macon
Chris Crane, Rosemary Kowalski, and Abel Gonzales
David Smith and Bill Greehy
Deborah Marino and Kevin Wolff
Harriet Helmle and Elizabeth Adams
Janet Holliday, Blakely Fernandez and Lily Fernandez
Luis De La Garza and Sylvia Romo
Matthew Furman and Gabrielle Rejane Lynn
Rebecca De La Garza, Jelynne LeBlanc Burley and Allison Greer
Sarah Pfeifer and Doug Cross
Stephanie Finleon Cortez and John T. Montford
Not only will this year’s funds help troops in low-income areas, but funds will also make it possible to establish a Girl Scout troop at Haven for Hope, San Antonio’s homeless transformation campus.
Whether a patient just needs an annual check-up or a serious surgical procedure, whether a San Antonian needs specialized advice from allergists, internists or urologists (among many more), our city provides some of the best medical care in the country.
We asked thousands of Bexar County physicians and hundreds of dentists which of their peers they would refer for inclusion in S.A. Doctors and Dentists: Best of 2020. They were allowed to name as many of their peers as they wanted to for our list. Listings are grouped by practice specialties, and doctors are listed in alphabetical order within their specialities.
Disclaimer: The information presented is not medical advice, nor is our S.A. Doctor and Dentists: Best of 2020 list a physician referral service. We strive to maintain a high degree of accuracy in the information provided. We make no claim, promise or guarantee about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in this directory. S.A. Doctors and Dentists: Best of 2017 is the name of our publication, not a title or moniker conferred upon individual physicians. No representation is made that the quality of services provided by he physicians listed will be greater than that of other licensed physicians and past results do not guarantee future success. S.A. Scene has developed our own selection methodology for this list; we are not affiliated with any federal, state, or regulatory body. Self-designated practice specialities listed in S.A. Doctors and Dentists: Best of 2020 do not imply certification by a Member Medical Specialty Board of the American Board of Medial Specialties, nor that the physician is board-certified to practice a particular specialty.
S.A. Scene Magazine celebrated 20 years as San Antonio’s premier magazine with a HUGE celebration attended by hundreds of guests featured in the magazine and on the cover, advertisers, past and present staff, celebrities, out of towners, freelancers, PR firms, CEO’s, philanthropists, artists, musicians, designers, business owners, lawyers, physicians, and friends and family! Publisher John Ziller spoke to the crowd, introduced current staff and welcomed all who gathered to share their stories, celebrate and sip some bubbly!
It was a fun evening at Paesano’s. A rolling video displayed events, magazine covers, staff, and parties over the past 20 years. Many stayed late for dining and kept the party rolling into the late hours! Several giclees by renowned local artist Gilbert Duran were donated for raffle prizes and everyone received a current copy of the fall issue of S.A. Scene.
Weeks later, guests continued to comment, post pics and selfies and ask when the next celebration will take place! Scene knows how to throw a party; if you missed, enjoy a few pics and make a point to be seen in Scene in 2020!
Karen Evans John Ziller Kaylin Ledford
Advertising Publisher Editor
I like to describe my title as a Mover and a Dresser. My Interest in fashion started at the age of 10 and I always knew Fashion would be the career choice I would decide to do growing up. My passion started with designing clothing and Styling happened by accident by discovering a new passion by creating looks for clients while working Retail. The ability to make a woman feel confident by the selections I chose became an addiction and came easy to me. I like to describe my vision as the Magic Eye and bringing a character into life. So starting the Zeelas brand was no surprise and I wanted to share a little bit of my personal style with others. I have always dreamed of owning my own clothing brand and creating a culture into people lives. To remind woman to be wild and free enough to scream out who they are through style and creativity.
Don’t give people too many things to look at all at once, In other words if you’re wearing a low-cut dress, focus on the cleavage, you don’t also need bare arms and legs. Less is more and can still be sexy. If you have to question if you are too matchy matchy, or wearing too much then you probably are. Be Yourself and most importantly ask yourself if you feel confident, if they answer is YES then that’s all that matters.
Im all for making a statement. My favorite items are a statement earring or an amazing jacket. I love pairing statement pieces to basic simple looks and its amazing what a statement Moto Jacket can do to your whole look. My best advice that has been shared with me is to “JUST GO FOR IT”.Take the risk and accept all failures as stepping stones to the final win. Success does not happen overnight so be patient with your Dreams.
