Sunday, February 01, 2004

SAN ANTONIO'S MISSIONS

The Alamo is just one of five missions in or near San Antonio. The others are currently consecrated as Catholic churches and are surrounded by parklands under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.

All of these missions -- San Jose, San Juan, Espada, Concepcion and the Alamo -- were built in the 18th century as part of Spain's efforts to colonize the region. They were sited along the San Antonio River, three to four miles apart from each other, for defensive and religious purposes. Each served different tribes of Indians, some of whom had traditionally been at war with each other and had come to the missions, in part, for protection.

The mission Indians learned agricultural and building skills from the Franciscans, but were expected to abandon their language, culture, and religious practices and even to change their names. Accustomed to a nomadic life of hunting and food gathering, many succumbed to disease within the unfamiliar, structured regime of the mission compounds. For this and other reasons, by 1824 the San Antonio missions had been completely secularized, and in some cases, the churches were abandoned for many years.

Today, the worn stones, faded frescoes, elaborately carved portals and massive, wooden doors of the missions on the outskirts of San Antonio hauntingly evoke life on the Texas frontier.

Open daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's days. Free. Visitors' center with a film about the missions and a bookstore at Mission San Jose, 6701 San Jose Drive, San Antonio, TX 78214; 1-210-932-1001; www.nps.gov/saan.

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATIONS

La Mansion del Rio, 112 College St., San Antonio, TX 78205; 1-800-292-7300; www.lamansion.com. Portions of a historic college building have been modified and expanded into a luxurious hotel with comfortable, cheerful rooms decorated with Spanish-Colonial accents. Attentive service. Courtyard view rooms from $119. Suites and riverview rooms, from $329.

Menger, 204 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205; 1-800-345-9285. Across from the Alamo, an antique-filled hotel, the oldest parts built in 1859. The wood-paneled bar contains memorabilia of President Theodore Roosevelt, who came to the Menger to recruit Rough Riders for the Spanish-American War. Guest rooms vary markedly in size, antiquity and amenities. From $195.

Hyatt Regency San Antonio, 123 Losoya St., San Antonio, TX 78205; 1-800-233-1234; www.hyatt.com. A modern hotel poised above the San Antonio River, which runs beneath it and around it. Alamo defender Toribio Losoya was born in 1808 near where the hotel now stands and died a block away when the Alamo fell on March 6, 1836. From $129 (holidays and weekends); from $250 (weekdays).

St. Anthony Wyndham, 300 E. Travis St., San Antonio, TX 78205; Phone: 1-866-850-3069; www.wyndhamstanthony.com. A once-grand hotel that has hosted royalty (Prince Ranier and Princess Grace of Monaco) and political figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Spacious guest rooms, antique-filled lobby. From $89.

RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS

Biga on the Banks, 203 S. St. Mary's St., San Antonio; 1-210-225-0722; www.biga.com. Open for dinner and Sunday brunch. A mod, stylish dining room with outdoor seating on a terrace above the river. "Palate-pushing" entrees such as Texas Hill Country Sika deer accompanied by tamale tart, apricot and duck rillette stuffed quail, Texas squash and juniper braised cabbage from chef Bruce Auden, $19-$33 or three-course, prix-fixe, $29, available before 6:30 p.m. and after 9 p.m.

Fig Tree, 515 Villita St., San Antonio; 1-210-224-1976; www.figtreerestaurant.com. In a cozy house in La Villita, San Antonio's oldest residential enclave. Such dishes as tuna tartare, potato and poblano crepes, roasted quail, lobster vol-au-vent and chateaubriand are presented with a deft and subtle touch by 27-year-old executive chef, Steven Paprocki. Average check, $50/person for appetizer, entree and dessert.

Las Canarias, 112 College St., San Antonio; 1-210-518-1063. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, Sunday brunch. Outside dining along the river or in the cheerful, Spanish colonial-inflected dining room. Executive chef Scott Cohen makes masterful use of seasonal Texas ingredients. Entrees may include grilled chicken breast with sweet pea ragout and wild mushroom truffle dressing or anise-spiced barbecued duck breast on seared vegetables with cranberry sauce and tortillas. Dinner entrees, $19-$38. Five-course dinner menu without wine, $55. Prix-fixe, two-course lunch, $12.

The Guenther House, 205 E. Guenther St., San Antonio; 1-210-227-1061. Restaurant, store and museum in what was once the Guenther family's house next to the flour mill that fueled the family fortune. Restaurant open daily 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Biscuits, waffles, pancakes, sandwiches, salads, soups and pastries plus gourmet hot chocolate are served outside on the terrace, in the wood-paneled dining room or in a delightfully bright tea room with handsome stained glass windows. Under $10.

Los Barrios, 4223 Blanco Road, San Antonio; 1-210-732-6017. Founded in 1979 by Viola Barrios after her husband died in a traffic accident and she had to support her family. First in a garage, then in an old Dairy Queen and now in the convivial, 280-seat restaurant that has grown up around it, long tables of friends and family enjoy Mexican home-style cooking. Chile relleno, chicken in mole, enchiladas, fajitas -- the dishes are common to many Tex-Mex restaurants but are prepared here with special care and finesse. Entrees, under $10.

Mi Tierra, 218 Produce Row, San Antonio; 1-210-225-1262; www.mitierra.com. Open daily, 24 hours a day in El Mercado -- the largest Mexican market in the United States. Huevos rancheros (or Americano), chilaquiles, tacos, enchiladas and other Mexican specialties in an exuberant restaurant decorated with wall murals, Christmas lights, banners, flags, statues and photographs. Founded in 1941 with a $100 loan by Pedro Cortez from Guadalajara, Mexico, and now expanded to three restaurants under Cortez family ownership employing his children, grandchildren, a great-grandson and around 600 others. Troubadours serenade tableside. Mostly under $15. Breakfast, under $10.

Schilo's, 424 E. Commerce St.; 1-210-223-6692. Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Family-style German cooking since 1917. Sandwiches, wursts, corned beef, wienerschnitzel, sauerbraten, and possibly the best root beer in Texas. Under $10.

FOR FURTHER READING

"The Alamo, An Illustrated History," by George Nelson. Aldine Press (1998). $19.95.

"Blood of Noble Men: The Alamo Siege & Battle," by Alan C. Huffines. Eakin Press (1999). $29.95.

Handbook of Texas Online at www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online contains extensive information about Texas history.

A library on the grounds of the Alamo specializes in the period of the Texas Republic, 1836-1846. Open Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sat. by appointment. 1-210-225-1071; www.drtl.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Alamo, 300 Alamo Plaza; 1-210-225-1391; www.thealamo.org. Open daily. Free.

San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau; 1-800-252-6607 or 1-210-207-6700; www.sanantoniovisit.com.

-- Jeff Rovin

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