The Pearl of San Antonio

Now bustling with the activity of 18 restaurants and cafes, 14 retailers and a twice-weekly farmer’s market, the Pearl in San Antonio was, until recently, a brewery abandoned since 2001.

On a recent visit, we started with charcuterie and fried quail legs at Cured, housed in the 1904 administration building, followed by Peruvian-Asian cuisine at Botika, which opened last summer. After a tour of the gorgeous lobby and two-story library of Hotel Emma, housed in the former brewhouse, we ended the evening relaxing to the strains of tuxedo-wearing big band musicians at the nightclub Jazz, TX.

– Jan Schroder, @GirlontheGoJan