Green Vegetarian moves Sunday

Green Vegetarian Cuisine opens in its new home at the Pearl Brewery Sunday.

The city’s first 100 percent kosher vegetarian restaurant has moved from 1017 N. Flores St. Its second location is open at 10003 N.W. Military Hwy.

“We are really excited about our new venture at the Pearl,” owner Mike Behrend says. “As you know, I have always had big dreams for Green.”

And that dream has him facing “a much larger space,” he says, where “we will be able to serve hundreds more meals each day.”

Green’s extensive menu includes dishes such as chicken-fried steak made with wheat meat, neatloaf and portabella steak as well as fried pickles, fried mushrooms, nachos, salads, burgers, quesadillas, enchiladas, stir-fries and sandwiches. New at the Pearl will be French press coffee.

According to a press release, “Green strives to be a sustainable restaurant with re-purposed restaurant equipment, the use of biodegradable packaging when possible, recycling, use of fair trade organic coffee, free range eggs and the use of their self-grown vegetables in many of their dishes.”

Green offers breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; and 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday. It is closed Saturday.

Pyles raises a Toast to Texas

Stephan Pyles

Celebrity chef Stephan Pyles will be in town on March 6 for a dinner at Sustenio in the Eilan Hotel, 17101 La Cantera Parkway. The theme is a Toast to Texas and will feature four courses served family style.

The meal will begin with spirits from two local distilleries, Rebecca Creek and Cinco Vodka, while the meal will be paired with Texan wines.

The evening is also an introduction of Sustenio’s new executive chef, Mike Spalla.

The price is $85 a person plus tax and tip. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. For reservations, call (210) 598-2950.

Corner Bakery adds turkey panini

Turkey Monterey Panini with Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

The Corner Bakery Cafe, at 255 E. Basse Road and 18720 Stone Oak Parkway, has added the Turkey Monterey Panini with smoked turkey, fresh spinach and provolone cheese on sourdough bread with a homemade artichoke asiago spread.

Also new is a Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, made with chicken, red and yellow peppers, carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes and orzo pasta simmered in a creamy broth with a hint of lemon.

“We have combined bold flavors in layers of fresh ingredients to craft an unexpected, delicious new panini,” said Chris Pheiffer, San Antonio Corner Bakery Cafe franchise owner. “The Turkey Monterey Panini is perfect for guests who love our panini offerings but want to shake up their routine.”

A soup and half of the panini is available for $7.99.

The Point celebrates 1st birthday

Denise Aquirre owns and operates the Point Park and Eats on Boerne Stage Road with Noel Cisneros.

The Point Park and Eats, 21488 Boerne Stage Road, is celebrating its first birthday March 15-17 with three days of activities and food trucks.

On March 15, Branchline Brewery will pour their brews, Sol Surfers will perform and the food truck lineup includes Skinny Cat, MARS Mobile Kitchen, Say.She.Ate, Pork U and Lagniappe Today.

D.J. J.J. Lopez will be spinning discs on March 16 while the lineup includes Skinny Cat, MARS, Crepe Nation, Texasada, Fat Bellies and Kitchen Fusionz, the latter of which is also celebrating its first year of business.

Jonathan Alexander will perform on March 17 while the lineup features Kitchen Fusionz, Pork U, Skinny Cat, So Frito and Fork It.

Drink specials will also be available throughout the weekend. For more information, visit www.ParkAtThePoint.com.

Three words to remember: Filet and lobster

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, 255 E. Basse Road, is offering an off-the-menu special through April 7.

For $37.95, you can order a filet mignon and North Atlantic lobster tail, a starter and a side dish.

The only catch is that the special is not on the menu. You have to remember to ask for it.

The Hofbrau at the Rim opens

The Quarry Hofbrau at the Rim, 18403 I-10 W., has opened.

Hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Tuesday; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday; and 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday. Call (210) 877-1500.

Coming soon

• The French restaurant Saveurs 209, 209 Broadway, will be open any day now. Call (210) 639-3165 or click here.
• Salaam International Food Market, 3727 Colony Drive, will open a restaurant in the near future at the back of the store, which features Middle Eastern groceries.
• Blanco BBQ is opening at 13259 Blanco Road, which has been the home of several previous restaurants, including Matisse.

If you have restaurant news, email griffin@savorsa.com or walker@savorsa.com.

For several hours at the swank new Éilan Resort Hotel and Spa on Sunday, it was all about Julia Child.

The famed “French chef,” who introduced America to the wonders of butter and lobster and so many fabulous foods, was born 100 years ago on Aug. 15. As she was a member of Les Dames d’ Escoffier International, it was only fitting that the San Antonio chapter of Les Dames would throw her a party.

Lauren Browning (left) and Jenny Mattingsley demonstrate culinary skills at Eilan Sunday.

The party, Simply Celebrating Julia, was also the group’s main fundraising event for 2012.

The more than 250 people who first gathered in rooms adjoining the ballroom at the Éilan were greeted with the bubbly pink Pierre Sparr Cremany D’Alsace Rosé and treats from a series of tasting stations. Members of Les Dames offered demonstrations, from making French bread to the Burgundian delicacy, gougère, and from green olive tapenade to pissaladière, the famous onion tart with olive and anchovies.

After bidding on silent auction items, guests moved to tables set in the ballroom. Two large screens started the celebration in earnest with clips from Child’s famed “The French Chef” television series. While Child was serious about cooking, she also managed to entertain — or the series would possibly have never gotten off the ground.

Sara Moulton talks of her days working with Julia Child.

And she still got laughs from her audience — whether she was wiggling the tailbone of a large goose (plucked for cooking, of course) or grabbing a large power saw to attack a particularly thorny problem. She made it all seem doable, and maybe even fun.

The guests of honor were celebrity chefs Sara Moulton, star of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” on PBS and Stephan Pyles, considered a pioneer of Southwest cuisine. Both chefs had reminiscences about Julia to share.

Moulton, who worked with Julia as an assistant on her show, said that no matter how much Julia learned, she “never stopped learning.”

She also never stopped sharing her love of food with anyone. Believe it or not, “Julia Child was listed in the phone book,” says Moulton, and she took people’s calls, answering their questions about what they were preparing.

She wasn’t a feminist as much as she was a “Julia-ist,” and that meant “she never, ever let anything get in her way,” Moulton said.

Pyles said the chef “loved to drink and eat — and drink.”

Her love of butter was known to one and all, but it may surprise even the heartiest gourmand that Child wanted “butter with her foie gras,” he said.

Damien Watel’s duck roulade with roasted apple and calvados sauce.

The luncheon was prepared by Dames and a series of chefs. Appetizers included gougères from Lauren Browning, Nancy Fitch, Ana Martinez and Rashin Mazaheri, while the Pissaladière were from Rollie Blackwell-Devlin and Naylene Dillingham. Baguettes were from Jenny Mattingsley and Kim Scandrett, while Cynthia Guido and Cathy Tarasovic made the tapenade. Pork Rillettes and were from Hinnerk von Bargen of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio.

The seated portion of the meal included dishes from several of the city’s chefs. It began with a lobster and caviar éclair from Andrew Weissman of the Weissman Restaurant Group, followed by Cabernet-smoked sturgeon salad with poulet egg and black truffle was from David Gilbert, head chef of Sustenio, which is in Éilan. Damian Watel of Bistro Vatel provided the duck roulade with roasted apple and a calvados sauce, while Weissman closed out the meal with Valrhona Chocolate pavé and crème fraîche ice cream.

A skit, live auction, talks and presentation of this year’s Les Dames scholarship winners were also part of the event. Event chairs were Pat Mozersky and Julia Rosenfeld. The co-presidents of the San Antonio chapter of Les Dames are Linda Triesch and Leslie Horne. For more information on Les Dames, visit their website here.

Story and photos by Bonnie Walker and John Griffin.

Stephan Pyles

Want to pick up some grilling tips before the Fourth of July?

Chefs Stephan Pyles and David Gilbert are hosting a summer smoking and grilling class from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday at Sustenio, which is in the Eílan Resort Hotel & Spa, 17103 La Cantera Parkway.

The menu will include:

• Passion Chile Margarita
• Smoked Tomato Gazpacho with Goat Cheese-Horseradish Panna Cotta and Olive Oil Powder
• Grilled Watermelon-Arugula Salad with Soft Shell Crab, Queso Fresca and Tomato-Ginger Jam
• Watermelon Rind Pickles
• Molasses Grilled Quail with Corn Pudding Tamales and Morita Salsita
• Rosemary-Citrus Grilled Peaches with Jamon Serrano Ice Cream

Tickets cost $75 a person. For reservations, call (210) 598-2950.

Join the San Antonio chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International in celebrating the 100^th  birthday of legendary chef, Dame Julia Child.

The San Antonio chapter will throw a party with a Julia-inspired menu and other delights during this fete on Sunday, Aug. 26, from 1-5 p.m. at the Incanto Ballroom, Eilan Resort Hotel & Spa, 17101 La Cantera Parkway.

This is a fundraiser for the Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international group that supports women in culinary careers. Corporate tables and sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact Molly McAdams at 210.389.1375. Following a Champagne reception, here is just sampling of what you’ll enjoy:

• Special guests include acclaimed chefs Sara Moulton and Stephan Pyles.
• Gourmet luncheon prepared by San Antonio’s leading chefs.
• Scholarships will be awarded to culinary students.
• First-rate auction items and surprises you won’t want to miss!

Seating is limited so make your reservation today.
Individual tickets at $150 (link here).

A view of the wine bar at Bliss, which opens Thursday.

Expect some savory new sensations in the near future, as San Antonio’s dining scene greets to two high-profile new restaurants on opposite ends of town.

Stephan Pyles is opening Sustenio on La Cantera Parkway.

On the northwest side, near Fiesta Texas, celebrity chef Stephan Pyles has opened Sustenio at the new Éilan Hotel Resort & Spa. Meanwhile, local favorite Mark Bliss, formerly of Silo, is putting the finishing touches on his new restaurant, Bliss, which is in Southtown.

Mark Bliss

At Sustenio, you can expect to find upscale Texas-style comfort food, ranging from crisp pork belly with vanilla-scented grits to Texas venison lion with yucca-huitlacoche hash.

At Bliss, the emphasis is on the chef’s selection of the finest and freshest ingredients, which he plans to present in simple yet artful layerings that show off the depth of flavors of each. Seasonal changes will apply, but expect dishes such as a lobster roll, duck and

For views of both restaurants, click on the stories below:

• Stephan Pyles Brings His Brand of Southwestern Cuisine to San Antonio
• Bliss Opens Thursday in Southtown

Stephan Pyles

Stephan Pyles is known as one of the progenitors of the Southwestern cuisine movement, which introduced all corners of the nation to a host of beloved dishes, including the cowboy rib-eye and a variation on the caesar salad that includes a welcome kick of chili powder and a jalapeño polenta crouton. Together with Bruce Auden of Biga on the Banks, Dean Fearing and Robert Del Grande, he made sure people came to love a new balance in their food, through the lively addition of heat and other regional ingredients, thereby broadening their palates.

Now, he’s bringing those flavors to San Antonio in Sustenio, a new restaurant that anchors the Éilan Hotel and development off I-10, near Fiesta Texas.

Sustenio isn’t about blazing new culinary trails in a city known for its Tex-Mex and Texas cuisine, Pyles insists.

“I would never say that I was bringing (Tex-Mex) to San Antonio,” he says. “Here you have a wonderfully rich Hispanic culture. I think, at Sustenio, the food I’ll be doing will have some unexpected twists, but it will be food San Antonio is comfortable with.”

That includes a parade of his greatest hits, including tamale tart with Gulf Coast crab and that Southwestern Caesar.

Diners will also get to sample various styles of ceviches from the raw bar that’s part of the restaurant’s big open kitchen.

Passion fruit margaritas at Sustenio

“I like to do ceviche with a lot of different flavors and colors, like a tasting tray of eight different ceviches that looks like a rainbow of color,” he says.

He starts each variation with sashimi-grade seafood. Then he takes a fish, such as Texas flounder, and pairs it with avocado and tomatillo for a soothing green color, while ahi tuna could be paired with chile and golden tomato for a sunburst yellow flecked with red and Ecuadorian rock shrimp are marinated with orange and popcorn.

Each is refreshing and welcome on a hot day, while sitting on the restaurant’s spacious patio or at the community table near the raw bar. Both  overlook the kitchen, with its brick oven, which is used for pizzas. The rest of the menu includes poblano-asiago soup with golden pepper foam, a tamal made with seared foie gras and corn pudding, coriander-cured rack of lamb with Ecuadorian potato cake, bacon-wrapped Devine wild boar loin and Texas beef tenderloin with modern chiles en nogada.

Meanwhile, there’s a colorful bar area where the staff will be creating a vast array of liquid favorites, including several of Pyles’ signature cocktails. One is the Piña Diablo, which mixes three types of rum, fresh pineapple, piloncillo, mint, serrano chile and vanilla; another is a passion fruit margarita with both sugar and a serrano pepper on the rim on the glass.

Pyles, known to many from his PBS series, “New Tastes from Texas,” was born in Big Spring, to the west of Dallas. He made his start in the restaurant business in the 1980s before opening Star Canyon in 1994. The restaurant put him on the nation’s culinary map and earned him accolades from many in the national media.

The wine tower at Sustenio

His focus these days has been on his eponymous restaurant in Dallas as well as Samar by Stephan Pyles. His food has also evolved, incorporating flavors from his global travels into its decidedly Texas base. Many of these dishes are, after all, taken from what he grew up and provide a level of comfort that can’t be beat.

Though he has a host of commitments from his other restaurants and his charity work, Pyles plans on spending every weekend in San Antonio at the beginning, then cutting back to every other weekend. The rest of the time, Sustenio will be under the operation of executive chef David Gilbert, who has been working at Pyles’ side for several years. Local favorite Philippe Placé is general manager.

When Pyles is not working, he’s often found working for charity, such as Share Our Strength and UNICEF, both of which were given generous checks raised at Saturday night’s grand opening. His efforts for these non-profits mean a great deal to him. That includes the annual awarding of the Stephan Pyles Scholarship, a $15,000 gift that is given to a top culinary school student. Mention the effort and his usually easy-going speech suddenly takes on a greater excitement at the thought of the number of chefs in the making he’s been able to help.

One of the big fundraisers benefiting the scholarship fund is a dinner in which the previous year’s winner joins a lineup of elite chefs, including San Antonio’s Jason Dady, to prepare a multi-course dinner. Last year’s winner was a student at the San Antonio campus of the Culinary Institute of America.

A chef at Sustenio makes shrimp ceviche.

In the meantime, Pyles’ attention is on launching Sustenio successfully. It’s been more demanding than creating a gorgeous restaurant, from the private dining room in the glassed-in wine cave to the tower of bottles that dominates one end of the dining area. Living up to the name has meant forging relationships with area farmers, ranchers and other food producers, so that the kitchen offers a high level of sustainable foods, from bison to honey.

The region has a greater wealth of foods to choose from when compared with Dallas, he says, which makes it especially attractive to food lovers, whether they chefs or merely eaters.

“I’m thrilled to be in San Antonio,” he says.

Sustenio at the Éilan Hotel, 17103 La Cantera Parkway is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For reservations, call (210) 598-2950.

Chefs work their food stations at the Sustenio grand opening.

Kim pop rolls coming

The sign at 3830 N. Loop 1604 E. near the intersection of Bulverde Road says Tiger Pop Korean Roll n Go is coming  soon.

But what is it?

What was your favorite treat from 2011? A burger like this from Cullum's Attaboy?

According to a posting, “We are a completely new concept on Korean-inspired food. Our core items are Kim Pop, which are Korean-style rice rolls. Kim Pop rolls have never contained any type of raw proteins like Japanese style sushi, and we have blended them to include many iconic western ingredients. Our menu also includes Korean marinated steak tacos, sandwiches, rice bowls, salads and more! Only the highest quality non-processed ingredients are used, all prepared fresh daily for the fast-paced customer.”

The plan apparently was to have the eatery open over the holiday season, but work is still progressing.

The Luxury progresses

Work is also progressing on the Luxury, Andrew Weissman’s trailer park of mobile eateries. He hadn’t expected it to, because he told his contractors he’d be otherwise engaged with new baby Moishe Andres, but that seems to have spurred more work.

The Luxury, Mark Bliss’ Bliss and Stephan Pyles are among the eagerly awaited new dining venues for 2012.

Palenque Grill opens

Palenque Grill has opened at 389 N. Loop 1604 W. with an array of Mexican favorites. This is not related to Taco Palenque on Loop 410.

Foodie openings

• Boerne Epicure Gourmet Market, 210 S. Main St., Boerne, has opened. It promises “delicious surprises from around the world.” Call: 830-331-9355. www.boerneepicure.com.
• Spec’s Wine Spirits and Finer Foods has opened at 1305 Sidney Baker St., Kerrville. Call: 830-895-8757. www.specsonline.com.

The best of 2011

What were your favorite dining experiences of 2011? Was it a burger from Cullum’s Attaboy with bacon, egg and cheddar piled high on top? A trip to one of the Brazilian steakhouse? Maybe it was a meal on a barge floating down the San Antonio River. Or a favorite meal at the Lodge before its doors close. Or was it a meal you prepared at home? Share with us a few of your favorite food moments of 2011.

If you have restaurant news to share, email griffin@savorsa.com or walker@savorsa.com.

Sugar and Smoke to open in Fredericksburg

Rebecca Rather

The Pastry Queen, Rebecca Rather, is planning a new restaurant. Her original place, Rather Sweet, has been closed for renovations and will reopen in January as Sugar and Smoke.

She will be teaming up with award-winning Wagyu brisket and steak chef Nicole Davenport on the venture.  “Our mission at Sugar & Smoke is to create dishes sourcing fresh, locally grown products that represent the best Texas flavors and styles!” the website says.

Nicole Davenport

Breakfast foods will include quiche, French toast and omelets, while lunch will bring a half-smoked chicken, pork-stuffed loin and pecan-smoked brisket.

The dessert list will include  pocket-sized key lime pies, tuxedo cake, Italian cream cake, hot chocolate cake, red velvet cupcakes, Big Haired Lemon Tarts, Garrison Bourbon apple pies and tiramisú.

Sugar & Smoke will also serve all of your favorite Beer and Wines as well as a selection of grab and go lunches including wraps, chicken salad, chips, and drinks.

The bakery/cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday with a Sunday Brunch each week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information visit www.sugarandsmoke.com.

New items at Auden’s Kitchen

In time for fall: Tomato Chipotle Goat Cheese Soup at Auden's Kitchen.

Auden’s Kitchen, 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., has introduced a new menu for the fall and winter seasons.

Tamarind-glazed quail with an Asian sesame slaw, mussels steamed with a local brew and served with fries, garlicky white bean dip with flat bread, and tomato chipotle goat cheese soup are among the small plates on the menu. Large plates include pan-seared salmon with feta polenta cake, Texas antelope and quail, and a seasonal ravioli.

Happy hour is from 3 to 7 p.m. daily with a new bar/patio menu. Snacks start at $4, while house cocktails are $5 and select wines and beers are $4.

For more information call (210) 494-0070 or click here.

Celebrate a new Texas bourbon

.36 Texas Bourbon Whiskey

Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, 4834 Whirlwind Drive, is celebrating the release of .36 Texas Bourbon Whiskey with a launch party from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, just after Thanksgiving.

The event will featuring food from Lüke, 125 E. Houston St., including cochon du lait jambalaya, house-made sausages, Ranger Creek OPA-fried chicken, traditional Southern sides and bourbon pecan pie.

You can meet the distiller and have your bottle signed.

The cost is $60 a person, plus tax and gratuity. To make your prepaid reservation, call 210-227-LUKE or email jsoloman@chefjohnbesh.com.

Dady, Rather part of Pyles’ Celebrity Chef Dinner

Jason Dady

Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills chef Jason Dady and Rebecca Rather are among the six chefs who’ll be part of the lineup for the 12th annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner & Live Wine Auction, which is set for Dec. 4 at Pyles’ flagship restaurant in Dallas.

The event, presented under the auspices of the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, raises money for the Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship.

Pyles will be cooking as well as Renee Morgan from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin, who was the 2011 scholarship winner, David Garrido of Garrido’s in Austin and Nick Badovinus of Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill in Dallas. this is the second time Dady has participated in the event.

A Champagne reception kicks off the evening at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. Seating is limited and reservations are required. The price is $150 a person (tax and gratuity included). Reservations can be made by calling the Foundation at (512) 327-7555 or by visiting www.winefoodfoundation.org.

According to a press release about the dinner, “The Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship is based upon an “Iron-Chef”-style cook-off each spring. Numerous students apply from across the state, and the top three applicants are selected for the challenge; the students must create a three-course menu utilizing a predetermined list of Texas ingredients.”

County Line class canceled

The County Line, 10101 I-10 W., has canceled its November cooking class. The class, which was set for this Friday, was too close to Thanksgiving for so many of the regulars, pitmaster Garrett Stephens said.

We’ll announce the next class as soon as it is scheduled.

Chef Stephan Pyles talks with guests at a reception for Éilan, the development that will house his new restaurant.

Celebrity chef Stephan Pyles is bringing his “new millennium Southwestern cuisine,” as his website calls it, to San Antonio.

The chef, who, along with Bruce Auden and others, helped popularize the regional cuisine, will open a restaurant later this year at Éilan, the new Tuscan-influenced hotel and living complex that is being built off La Cantera Parkway, north of Loop 1604.

Pyles was in town Tuesday sharing his signature sweet-hot Passion Chile Margarita — made with passion fruit, jalapeño and agave nectar, plus tequila, of course  — with a host of invited guests, including a few who braved the heat to look at the new facility, which will feature a 186,000-square-foot hotel, a series of condominiums, various dining areas, a dance studio run by someone from TV’s “Dancing with the Stars,” shops, office space and more.

Pyles' Passion Chile Margaritas

He says he’s glad to be joining the city’s culinary scene, which he thinks has taken off in the last couple of years. “There’s some really good cooking here,” he said. “There’s a real renaissance going on.” He singled out Auden and chef Jason Dady, the latter of whom offered a team from his various restaurants, from the Lodge Restaurant of Castle hills to Bin 555, to serve a series of ceviches to the guests.

Pyles' pizza oven is in a kitchen that has yet to be built.

Ceviches displaying Pyles’ penchant for bold flavors will be a centerpiece of the eponymous new restaurant. In fact, there will be a ceviche bar with freshly made examples for all to try. Bronzini with fennel and vanilla, sea scallop migas, lobster with avocado and guayaba, a 21-ounce cowboy rib-eye with red chile onion rings, and coriander-cured rack of lamb are among the many items currently on his menu.

The new restaurant will seat about 120 plus more on the patio. That’s a little less than the Dallas flagship, but the kitchen will be the same size. There will also be a private dining area for parties that offers a 21st century take on the chef’s table. Instead of sitting in a kitchen corner, near the chef while he works, the guests will be able to watch all of the kitchen action on closed-circuit TV, which allows them to see the action of preparing a meal up close.

Jace Heady of Bin 555 prepares ceviches.

Pyles said his cooking has evolved over the years to include new ingredients from his global dining adventures. Recent trips to Spain and Peru have brought new flavors into play, as have the spices of the Middle East. He’s headed to South Africa and Mozambique soon, so who knows what lies in store when Stephan Pyles the restaurant opens here at the end of the year.

“As long as the flavors are big and bold,” he said, in keeping with his Southwestern roots.

Though construction is far from complete on the restaurant, the wood burning-style pizza oven has been delivered.

Pyles hasn’t decided who the chef will be, but he did say it will be somebody who has worked for him and knows his style of cooking. We can also expect to see more of him in town on special occasions, much in the same way it has been good to see John Besh drop in on Lüke on the River Walk.

Éilan will offer residential housing as well as a hotel.

Johnny Hernandez is also mentioned as one of the chefs who will be on the Éilan scene with a variation on his La Gloria restaurant.

The first phase of the development is well under way, according to David Leff of Wereldhave USA, a Dutch-based developer that also has projects in San Diego, Dallas, Austin and Washington, D.C.

The main building is a hotel that will feature 165 rooms as well as 10,000 square feet of meeting space. A fitness area and a spa, open to both hotel guests and residents of the complex, will also be included. The developers want to have a market as well, but details will not be announced until someone has signed a lease.

One of the office buildings at Éilan.

Corky Ballas, who partnered with Cloris Leachman on “Dancing with the Stars,” will be opening a dance studio in Éilan.

“We have 539 living units,” Leff said; those include one-bedroom, two-bedroom and studio units, and they will be completed after the hotel. Two office buildings are also under construction.

The entire Éilan project covers 120 acres. In case you’re curious, the project’s name is derived from the French word for “ ‘élan,’ meaning vigor, liveliness and distinctive elegance,” according to the press material.