San Antonio Missions need a restoration fix

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though there is National Park status for the San Antonio Missions, and they are of the 14 U.S. sites on the tentative list for possible World Heritage distinction, the money to restore them and preserve them is not enough—yet. So far $4 million dollars has been raised with another $11.5 million to go.

The missions were established almost 300 years ago, as Catherine mentioned in her post on them in our series of the World Heritage tentative list. In U.S. history–(not counting places like the Hopewell Culture sites or Anasazi ruins like Mesa Verde) that’s ancient. One thing I enjoyed about these missions when I visited them is the chance to learn more about the Spanish and Catholic influence on the development of the U.S. When one grows up in the midwest or the east coast of the United States, these are details that can be overlooked. Places like Mt. Vernon and Boston Harbor get more press.

The fund raising effort for the missions is being done by Las Misiones. The organization has the right idea about caring for those things that are important. Although World Heritage status would be terrific, not having it yet is not the worse thing. The missions included in the fund raising effort are: Mission Conception, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan and Mission Espada.

SXSW travel: The best tacos in Austin

by Justin Glow on

Hordes of geeks, film snobs, and indie rock gods are migrating south to this year’s SXSW festival in search of one simple thing — the holy grail of TexMex culinary delight: the beloved taco.

Ex-Gadlinger and Weblogs, Inc. wonder boy Jonathon Morgan (he runs GreenDaily and StyleDash now) has called Austin home for the past few years, so I asked him to share the love and tell everyone where he goes for some warm taco goodness. Here are his top picks:

Guero’s
Jonathon says: “Average Tex-Mex, but absurdly popular hangout.”
Yelp rating: 3/5. Favorite review: “Seven words: Tamales covered in queso and Luke Wilson.”
Distance from the action: 1.3 miles. Get directions.

Chuy’s
Jonathon says: “It’s a local chain, but the food is good.”
Yelp rating: 3.5/5. Favorite review: “If you love their ‘big as your face’ burritos but can not finish, order the mini burrito off the kids menu. They don’t care how old you are and it still come with rice and is plenty.”
Distance from the action: 1.8 miles. Get directions.

Juan in a Million
Jonathon says: “5 min drive east of downtown, with best name for taco place EVER.”
Yelp rating: 4/5. Favorite review: “You have not truly lived until Juan gives you a handshake. He winds back like a pitcher and SMACK, hits your hand perfect every time. If the Olympics hosted a handshake event, Juan would be a perennial gold medalist. Plus, he always refers to you as ‘my friend.'”
Distance from the action: 1.9 miles. Get directions.

Maria’s (Taco Xpress)
Jonathon says: “Great tacos, always packed, with a great big statue of Maria atop the entrance.”
Yelp rating: 4/5. Favorite review: “Maria grew a following because of her cheap and generous tacos and her great service. The place was borderline scary but so ‘keep Austin weird’ that it made Leslie look like George Clooney. (Nice pecs George, but no contest.)”
Distance from the action: 3.2 miles. Get directions.

Polvo’s
Jonathon says: “A favorite amongst the hipster set. Good Tex-Mex with cool outdoor seating.”
Yelp raiting: 3.5/5. Favorite review: “Whoa! My gut hates me! The food is delectable and I just keep eating! It’s like the sensors in my stomach yelling at my brain controlling the fork-to-mouth motion are not working.”
Distance from the action: 1.9 miles. Get directions.

Is your favorite not listed? Let us know in the comments!

WHS Tentative List: Place to Love — San Antonio Franciscan Missions, Texas

by Catherine Bodry on

For the Gadling series “World Heritage Site new “Tentative List”: Places to Love” we are covering the 14 sites that have been submitted for possible inclusion as an official World Heritage Site in the United States. The sites will not be posted in order of importance or in the order they appear on the list.

Name of site: San Antonio Franciscan Missions

Location: San Antonio, Texas

Reason for importance (in a nutshell): According to the National Park Service website, the five Franciscan missions, which are spread around San Antonio, “are a remarkable concentration of surviving structures that superbly represent the Spanish colonial influence in this part of the New World. The religious, economic and technological systems of the missionaries created settled communities that became the basis of the region’s ethnically diverse society.” The most well-known of the five, the Alamo, was established in 1718 as a way station between missions.

Catherine’s take: We have so few structures in the US that are truly old. And while 350 years may be positively newborn to a European, that time frame marks a lot of history for the New World.

Racking up Mullet-Miles

by Brett Atkinson on

Love it or hate it, the erstwhile Mullet is the kind of haircut that’s hard to ignore, and now a mad Scotsman – unfortunately sans le Mullet – is making his way around the world to visit every place on the globe that’s got the word “mullet” as a place name.

He’s currently in New Zealand, visiting such out of the way places as Mullet Point and Mullet Creek. So far he’s racked up 12 Mullet-sites and is on track for a spectacular total of 29.

Truth be told, most of the Mullet-sites in New Zealand are probably named after the fish.

The haircut that time and taste forgot is unfortunately still pretty big down here, although nothing in comparison to the tonsorial tragedies you’re likely to uncover in Eastern Europe or in the southern states of the US.

Click here (if you’re brave enough) for shocking photographic evidence.

And click here to visit the website of Simon Varwell, mullet hunter extraordinaire.

Thanks to Mr Jaded on Flickr for the London Mullet

Going over the edge in Dallas

by Jerry Guo on

If you find yourself in Dallas next year, be sure to check out Hotel Elan, a five-star boutique hotel to be completed next year. At the moment, it’s a regular old bank. But what’s so special about the building is it’s the only structure in the world with a hanging pool, draping eight feet over the edge of the skyscraper. It’s on the 10th floor.

Several people pointed out that it looks like a scene from the computer game, “The Sims.” That’s a humorous interpretation, especially since in that game, you can remove the ladders from the virtual swimming pool, and as a result, your avatar will eventually drown. Ouch.