{"id":202790,"date":"2026-03-13T10:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/202790\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:27:13","slug":"san-antonio-seafood-kitchens-heat-up-for-lents-meatless-fridays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/202790\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio seafood kitchens heat up for Lent’s meatless Fridays\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Gunter Hotel<\/a> kitchen, a server emerges with a luscious-looking entr\u00e9e: a vibrant pink fillet of fish swimming in a bed of a delicate French sauce with green vegetables.<\/p>\n

Heads turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pan-seared Alaskan salmon is the most popular dish of the Lenten season at Jots<\/a>, the historic hotel\u2019s signature restaurant. Served with velvety caviar velout\u00e9, a crispy herb crust and shaved garlic Brussels sprouts, the entr\u00e9e sells for $34.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen people see the salmon exiting the kitchen,\u201d says Executive Chef Hayley Unruh, \u201cIt ends up selling itself. Fish Friday is a big deal here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jots\u2019 Pan Seared Alaskan Salmon dish is crusted and served on a bed of shaved garlic brussels sprouts. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Three weeks into the Lenten season, Jots has tailored its menu for customers seeking meatless\u00a0options Saturday through Thursday and fish selections on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jots also has crafted a pre-theater dinner menu \u2014 with two Lenten options \u2014 for patrons attending performances across the street at the Majestic Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a bigger crowd on Fridays,\u201d Unruh said. \u201cPeople come in before the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pre-theater menu on East Houston Street offers three main course options: the Alaskan salmon, Bordeaux braised short ribs and mushroom gnocchi \u2014 pan-seared potato dumplings with thyme and wild mushroom cream.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gnocchi is very rich, very creamy,\u201d Unruh said. \u201cWe do it in-house. Everything is completely homemade. Every time I put a vegetarian option on the menu, I want to make sure it\u2019s not just for vegetarians. It\u2019s something that everyone\u2019s gonna love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

From Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, through Holy Thursday, April 2, many Catholics and Protestants abstain from red meat on Friday in observance of the day Jesus was crucified. They do not, however, abstain from fish.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, Fish Fridays and meatless entrees are surging in popularity across San Antonio as the Lenten season approaches mid-March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dean\u2019s Steak & Seafood <\/a>at the Kimpton Santo<\/a> hotel offers a 10% discount on all seafood dinner main courses. Selections include broiled cold water lobster tail; seared day boat scallops; wild Alaskan halibut; pan roasted baja bass; Ora King salmon and branzino served with heirloom tomatoes, fennel and lemon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe salmon is the most popular,\u201d said Chef Jose Arturo Trevino. \u201cWe\u2019ve also been selling a lot of the Grand Plateau. That\u2019s a tower of two platters with shrimp, oysters, lobster and king crab.\u201d<\/p>\n

For small seafood plates, Dean\u2019s offers crab cakes, Oysters Rockefeller, grilled Madagascar shrimp and a crudo trio: ahi tuna, King salmon and Alaskan halibut served with yuzu kosh\u014d, smoked roe and olive oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have a full raw bar,\u201d Trevino said.<\/p>\n

In the Lone Star District, Dos Sirenos Brewery<\/a> offers a special Lent menu. Chef and owner Jared Cottoni says his popular brewery draws customers ordering meatless and fish options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tuna gyro has been the most popular item so far with the nature boy grilled cheese a close second,\u201d Cottoni said. \u201cThe nature boy is a new item that has gotten such great feedback that I\u2019m considering adding it to our daily offerings the next time I print menus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fish tacos from our dinner menu have also been extra popular the last few weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jots chef Hayley Unruh hails from Southeast Texas and grew up near the Texas-Louisiana border. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

A full house at Jots<\/p>\n

Fish tacos do not appear on the menu at Jots. In addition to Alaskan salmon, Unruh and her staff serve blackened red snapper with corn maque choux, haricot verts and poached gulf shrimp. Lighter seafood options include shrimp cocktail, Gulf Coast oysters and caviar a la mode.<\/p>\n

Unruh, 32, has a history with seafood. A native of unincorporated Fred, Texas (population 859) near Beaumont, Unruh grew up cooking for her younger siblings and cousins. At 12, she was serving linguini and clams. By 14, she was preparing crawfish \u00e9touff\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched my grandmother,\u201d said Unruh, a former sous chef at the SweetFire kitchen at the La Cantera Resort and Spa. \u201cI wanted to learn from her. And then I was creating all these crazy dishes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unruh did not attend culinary school. She went to Texas State University to study therapeutic recreation. In college, she began working as a beverage cart attendant at a New Braunfels country club. With an itch to cook, Unruh volunteered to help the chef. She started with a hamburger and worked her way up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the end of my fifth year there, I was head of banquets at 21 years old,\u201d she said. \u201cI guess the kitchen life chose me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gunter Hotel chose Unruh. After a $57 million renovation<\/a>, the hotel re-opened in October with Unruh helming the Jots kitchen. Jots draws much of its business from diners heading to the Majestic Theater.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Unruh was bracing for a Diana Ross concert crowd and those observing Lent. Chefs and servers, she said, were ready. They had to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Majestic was sold out \u2014 and Jots was expecting a full house.<\/p>\n

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