Forty years and going strong
Chef Bruce Auden, a native of London, has been a San Antonio culinary mainstay since 1985. Long before the Culinary Institute of America opened its San Antonio location in 2006, Auden was nominated multiple times for the Best Chef in the Southwest by the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
Few chefs have the staying power that Auden does. He is coming up on his fortieth anniversary here in San Antonio, and if you and your loved ones haven’t treated yourself to a feast at Biga, it’s time.
Three-course menu
To celebrate our August birthdays, my husband and I enjoyed a $45 three-course menu that just so happened to be offered during Culinaria’s Restaurant Weeks. Just so you know, Chef Auden’s menu changes daily. This way, the freshest ingredients are selected.
We started our meal with a bread basket filled with cornbread, pain au levain and focaccia. We later added a side of pommes frites (French fries). Our dining neighbors were responsible for the fries. They ordered some for their table, and they looked too good not to follow suit.
Pace yourself!
My husband chose Romaine hearts, red pepper Caesar dressing, croutons and parmesan tuile for his first course, while I opted for Smokey Texas Corn chowder with bacon, croutons, crema and chives. We both were happy with our choices.
For our second course, my husband selected Baked American Red Snapper served on top of pearled couscous, nopalito salad, corn, cabbage and prickly pear sauce. I chose North Sea Salmon served with Hatch chile street elote (corn), black beans, rice and red chimichurri sauce. We tasted a bit of each other’s food, and we agreed that the salmon was better. The snapper was tasty, but the salmon was sublime.
For our final course, dessert, we both selected Sticky Toffee Pudding with English custard. My husband, who can sleep after a jolt of caffeine, also ordered an espresso. Both of us were about to pop, but we kept eating. Not a single bite was left. We decided that the toffee alone was worth the price of admission. Heavenly.
San Antonio, an International Culinary Destination
San Antonio was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017, one of only two cities in the United States with this distinction. (Tuscon is the other.) San Antonio has become an international culinary destination known for its mouth-watering fare, and it’s chefs like Bruce Auden whom we have to thank.
Biga on the Banks, located at 203 South St. Mary’s on the San Antonio River in the shadow of the Tower Life Building, is open daily beginning at 5 p.m. Reservations are a good idea.
Denise Barkis Richter, Ph.D., has been blogging about San Antonio since June of 2010. Follow her at facebook.com/SanAntonioTourist so that you’ll never miss a post. Her love affair with the Alamo City began at Hemisfair in 1968. She moved to San Antonio in 1979 as an 18-year-old college student, and San Antonio has been her home ever since. Denise completed certification to become a professional tour guide in 2019. Please contact her at sanantoniotourist at gmail dot com if you’d like for her to curate a fabulous San Antonio experience for you!