BY DAVID MOORE
It’s my first column for 78209 Magazine, and in the magazine’s honor, you can have a champagne toast on me … just keep reading.
I have always thought of Alberico’s, located on McCullough in Olmos Park, as a place to enjoy nice wines and great food, but it just got even better.
I say this because they have an exciting new chef by the name of Edward Villarreal who has transformed the menu in a big way. The new chef’s creative history includes Biga on the Banks as well as the Boiler House at The Pearl. He believes in a fresh approach to everything he does. Not only are all the breads fresh, he even makes his own raisins.
My family and I chose to go there for brunch last week and sampled an amazing dish of lox and bagels presented with handmade bagel chips. The chef told me the approach for these dishes is not to fill you up immediately so you are able to try other tasteful plates on the menu here. That is why he serves slices of a bagel instead of a whole bagel with this dish.
It’s time to check out the brunch, and the good news is that the wine prices are still half to two-thirds less than most other restaurants in the city. If you go, tell them I sent you, and you will receive a free glass of champagne! (Just tell me thank you later.)
Speaking of wine with dinner, I was visiting with a friend of mine the other day. He informed me of 
something I never knew. Did you know that you can bring your own bottle of wine to J. Alexander’s in the Quarry to have with dinner? They not only welcome it there, they charge you nothing to open it.
Perhaps you have noticed a new company, Natural Grocers, with a location on N.W. Military just past Wurzbach Parkway. Well, the second location will open soon on North New Braunfels next to Kuper Realty. As I am writing this, they have not announced an exact opening date, but you can familiarize yourself with the company online.
That’s The Scoop, and remember, you heard it here. See you in November!
