On Dia de los Muertos, families create ofrendas, or altars, to their deceased loved ones, with items representing four elements: water, wind, earth, and fire. For earth, you place favorite foods. If you live in San Antonio, you will have a long list of favorite foods.
One of the reasons there are so great places to eat in San Antonio is there is a branch of the Culinary Institute of America. San Antonio is one of only two U.S. destinations named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.
Pearl District: Pullman Market
The Pearl District, home to the CIA Texas campus, is where the historic Pearl brewery once stood. Now, the area has restaurants, a food hall and a craft brewery, Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery. The brewery was just awarded a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
Best of all at The Pearl is the new food extravaganza, Pullman Market. The market focuses on local, sustainable ingredients, from organic produce to whole animal butchery. They have a Tortilleria, making authentic tortillas (yes, with lard) throughout the day. But they also have vegan tortilla options, and I sampled one right off the grill.
Locals can do all their ‘regular’ shopping here, and visitors can buy Texas specialties to bring home, from pecans grown in state to heritage grains to jams made with fruit grown nearby. Even the ice cream shop in Pullman Market makes desserts using seasonal ingredients.
The market has several restaurants as well, including a dessert only tasting menu. I could eat here for every meal and be happy. There is a lovely patio with couches where you can hang out, or eat food you’ve taken out from the market.
Food to Keep you Alive – and Happy
Pharm Table was my happy place in San Antonio. The ‘plant-forward’ menu (there is some sustainably sourced meat) embraces the pre-Columbian ancestry of the chef, plus the Ayurveda philosophy of anti-inflammatory food to keep you healthy.
The reasonably priced tasting menu is also intelligently portioned. You don’t leave stuffed to the gills, you leave happy, thrilled with the unique flavors and fully satisfied with the parade of dishes.
The $60 Hispanic Heritage tasting menu started with a spoonful of pickled ginger to aid digestion. Then the magic happened: Beet tostada with fermented tomato, cashew goddess dressing and hemp crema; cured pastrami with pickles, cashew boursin and dosa (I had oyster mushrooms instead of the meat: spectacular); miso roasted radish, with lemon tahini; and Peruvian Tacu Tacu, with aji, rainbow carrot and avocado. The last item was the entree, and there was another vegan choice, or chicken. Each dish was delicious. The menu changes weekly, and you can also order a la carte.
Of course, there was dessert, too: a warm spiced apple crumble with coconut cream and fermented squash syrup. You can have a wine pairing, but the cocktails all sounded fabulous. I enjoyed the rosehip Negroni, with house infused gin.
Pan de muerto: La Panadería
We visited La Panadería, known for its pastries (the tequila almond croissant) and its annual Pan de muerto. This sweet bread takes three days to make, and we met with the owner to put the finishing touches on giant loaves of the bread. We added the ‘bones’ of dough that form spokes on the round bread and brushed the outside with melted butter. The loaves are finished with a coating of sugar, then pink sugar for an extra, colorful touch.
La Panadería also shines on the savory side. My overstuffed sandwich, called a torta, La Vegeteriana, had avocado, swiss cheese, pickles, a salad’s worth of greens, tomatoes, pickled jalapenos and chipotle mustard. A riot of flavors that played well off the crusty bread. There are breakfast sandwiches, elaborate brunch dishes, and vegetarian bowls or 6 kinds with different meat. You can’t go hungry here.
Rosario’s ComidaMex & Bar
You have to eat Mexican food in San Antonio, and Rosario’s offers house made Mexican comfort food. Even the mayo in the Mexican street corn is homemade, and the corn is local. The crispy freshly made chips are perfect for scooping up the con kernels.
Rosario’s has a huge rooftop bar, offering views of downtown and great cocktails. I had a wonderful smoked old fashioned.
The Good Kind
Using good and kind in your name is a bold statement, but this casual restaurant was humble bragging. The food is great. The Good Kind is an all day cafe, with a lovely garden and a focus on local, sustainable food. The comfort food covers the ‘kind’ aspect. I loved my gigantic Market Bowl, with black rice, roasted sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, greens, chickpeas, grilled mushrooms, roasted cauliflower and shavings of carrot and watermelon radish cme with a choice of dressings. I had the carrot ginger and added tofu, which was air fried and resembled protein croutons.
There are sandwiches, flatbreads, meat for those who partake, and a full bar that uses fresh juices in the cocktails (so, healthy!). The James Beard award winning chef makes good use of fresh produce.
Box Street All Day
The brunch place, Box Street All Day, is ideally located for Dia de los Muerto festivities, including the free Muerto Fest. And if you want to go up the Hemisphere, a relic of the 1968 World’s Fair.
We shared homemade doughnuts and then dug into brunch. There are waffles and French toast, if you like a sweet way to start your day, or savory items from egg sandwiches to burritos to chilaques. I had the “Box Street Brekky” – Brussels sprouts hash, eggs, hash potato cakes and an avocado sub for bacon. Plus bread.
For dinner, Box Street has burgers, sandwiches and salads – but you can get any of the brunch items for dinner or any of the dinner items for brunch.
Biga on the Banks
For many visitors to San Antonio, a Go Rio San Antonio River Cruises are a fun way to experience the River Walk. We had a dinner cruise with Biga on the Banks, a James Beard nominated restaurant on the River Walk. We got on the boat and had drinks and appetizers. Campechana, spicy Mexican shrimp and clam cocktail for everyone else; I had salad with local greens.
The coolest part was picking up our entrees; we docked and covered dishes were brought on board for all. Like room service, but on a boat. I had a cauliflower steak.
Four Brothers Restaurant
Four Brothers Restaurant, the in-house restaurant at Omni La Mansión del Rio, has breakfast burritos, avocado toast, omelets, and smoked brisket benedict for breakfast. I had a bowl filled with perfectly ripe fruit, and skyr. They have intriguing lunch and dinner items, like a lion’s mane steak with chimichurri and a salad with grilled peaches and goat cheese. There are churros for dessert.
With all the great food in San Antonio, I was happy to have the great gym at Mokara Hotel & Spa, the sister hotel to Omni, where I stayed in San Antonio. The hotels are right across the river from each other. Both hotels also have pools. And of course, you can run along the River Walk. go early in the morning to avoid crowds and the hot weather.
Note: I was a guest of Visit San Antonio. Opinions and a full belly are all my own.
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