2016 Halloween Candelabra Dinner @ Gourmet Central by Chef Cel

Brownsville Estacion went into the kitchen and out to the table with Chef Cel Galindo at Gourmet Central in downtown Brownsville at 515 W. 4th & W Elizabeth St for a full-course Halloween Candelabra Dinner!  

 Olive bugs being brought to life.

 The kitchen staff applying wings to these "things"

 Sandy Stillman and Chef Cel add drops of blood to the green-eyed concoction

 There are never too many cooks in the kitchen at Gourmet Central

 Count Dracula loaned a few chairs and decorations for the party.  He has centuries of experience presenting formalized dining events and enjoys having guests over for dinner in his gothic fortress in Transylvania, Romania.

 Butter dish with spreader for the Salem Witch Freshly Baked Bread

 Salem witch decoration

Bar specialties included Black Martinis, Tequila Vampire Serum, Blood Shoot Lemonade and Mummy Eyeball drinks

A smoking concoction sure to put the most sober person under a spell.  Did you know the word "alcohol" comes from the Arabic word 'al-kuhl' which mean body eating spirit?  Neither did I -- I just Googled that but there are other theories as to why we call alcohol or liquor "spirits."

 Mini Love Bat Cheese Balls with edible eyes

Crepping Crawling Mounster "Caviar Mousse"

"Jalapeno Mummy"

 Frankenstain Eyeball Soup made from cream of poblano

 Halloween candy never tasted this good and the fun was in each bite.

 Transylvanian Tenderloin with Hallucinogenic Mushroon Sauce & Deep Sea Lobster Mollusk joined by Black Forest Asparagus, Ghostly Mashed Potatoes and carrots.

 Several decorated Tombstone Grand Marnier Blitzes!!  Mine is on top with a shot of Voodoo Coffee

 Francisco "Pancho" Galvan under the influence of Voodoo Coffee

 Ben Neece warming up his guitar for music and songs with Alexander Stillman

The presentation dinner was a delight of the senses and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Thanks again to Cel Galindo and kitchen staff and servers at Gourmet Central located on West Elizabeth and 4th St in downtown Brownsville, Texas.  In addition to the restaurant, Cel offers "Fine Catering for Any Event" and can be contacted in any number of ways listed below.  

(956) 543-5408

(956) 554-7502             Gourmet Central

(956) 312-8596             515 W. 4th St Brownsville, Texas 78520

(956) 592-7750             gourmetcentral8@gmail.com

1928 ~ First Steel: Building the Gateway Bridge (Part 2)

Photos and captions from Brownsville Herald archives and photos from archives in Austin, Texas compiled by Jose Cazares

July 31, 1928-The oldest institution on the Lower border, the Brownsville-Matamoros ferry, which has operated continuously for almost 100 years will make its last trip across the Rio Grande at 6 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, July 31. The old has given way to the new. Since the opening of the new bridge the business of the ferry has dwindled to the point where it no longer justified operation of the boats.

 " Build a bridge where a bridge belongs," was the slogan of the Gateway bridge company.

The bridge was erected by the Gateway Bridge Company of which R.B. Creager of Brownsville is president, cost approximately $550,000. The construction work was done by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company of Seattle, Washington. The span of the huge structure was 367 feet, the width was 40 feet, between 4,000 and 5,000 yards of concrete was used in the construction of piers, approaches, driveways, walks and railings. Over 400 tons of steel were placed during construction, which started in December 1927 and then followed a race to erect the steel before the annual spring rise of the Rio Grande, two shifts of workmen were employed constantly, throughout the daylight hours and often far into the night, the rattle of automatic riveters and the chugging of the concrete mixer could be heard, by the middle of May 1928, the huge steel structure began to take form, the concrete roadway was 21 feet in width, bordered on each side by concrete walks 8 feet in width.  All steel work was painted with aluminum metal paint, gleaming like silver in the bright Valley sunshine and forming a beautiful contrast to the gray concrete railings and walks. The American terminal was on Fourteenth street and the Mexican terminal at Santa Cruz  The formal opening of the bridge was on July 4, 1928.

May 29, 1928-Paint Bridge: Painters have been busy several days applying a coating of Aluminum paint over the priming coat of red on the new International bridge-Approximately one sixth of the structure has been covered.

January 6, 1929-BRIDGE LIGHT: The newly installed neon light sign for the Gateway Bridge was lighted for the first time last night. This sign has been placed across Elizabeth street at its intersection with Fourteenth street, and is easily visable from the other end of Elizabeth street in West Brownsville. The sign contains the words "Gateway Bridge," and below in smaller letters, "Mexico," these words are lighted in red and entirely surrounded by a blue line which ends in an arrow head pointing to the bridge.

Here's what the sign on the Mexican side looked like.

Some additional photos from Brownsville Historical Association archival resources 

1927 ~ First Steel: Building the Gateway Bridge (Part 1)

Here's a rare clump of lone-gone history very few get to see and fewer remember actually seeing. Not a history - but historical first photos of the former Gateway International Bridge.

Part one compiled by Jose Cazares & Javier Garcia

This is Gateway Bridge built in 1927-28.  We'll be looking at a series of photos of it's early construction in 1927.

 Map showing bridge site where 'tongue' of Matamoros licks Brownsville

Looking from Mexican side of Rio with a few labels to make identifying landmarks of the time easier.

"First Steel" may refer to the girders of the truss bridge they were building.  A girder is a large support beam and main horizontal support of the bridge system of bracing parts.

A pile driver is used to hammer pier to bridge construction process from Brownsville, Texas to the Matamoros, Tamaulipas side.

 

Construction from the Mexican side.

 A cofferdam is a watertight enclosure pumped dry to permit construction work below the waterline.

We will see more long-shots and close ups of the bridge's truss system being constructed.

More photos of the bridge under construction coming soon.  Sorry - we're not experts and did not take time to write a history of this.