On Wednesday night we were guests of ‘Visit San Antonio’ at a wonderful dinner at the Culinary Insitute of America San Antonio.

The Culinary Institute is located within the wonderfully restored Pearl Brewery and is an educational training facility for future  chefs.

There is a number of restaurants within the Insitute that act as part of their training program and on the occasion of the dinner we enjoyed the modern setting and superb food at the NAO Restaurant.

The inclement weather put paid to a cocktail cruise along the famed River Walk in downtown San Antonio but it did not dampen the spirits of those attending the dinner.

It was a wondering evening and a very special ‘Thank You’ to Andres  Munoz, Vice-President of Public Relations and Communications and his staff for making us feel so very welcome.

Certainly, it has been the highlight of our visit to San Antonio and the 2013 Valero Texas Open.

And if anyone is looking for a new golf destination I cannot recommend San Antonio high enough with the city blessed with some wonderful golf courses and many of them public including the superb Brackenridge Park Golf Course, and designed by the legendary, A. W. Tillinghast.

Brackenridge is the oldest public golf course in Texas and was also the first ever host to the Texas Open Golf Tournament in 1922.

And this historic golf course has the honor of being the first inductee into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.  (See special feature on Brackenridge in our Golf Courses section).

A selection of photographs from Wednesday’s dinner appear hereunder.

* Click on photographs to enlarge.