Enjoying Mexican Food In San Antonio

It is obvious from San Antonio’s ties to Mexico that the city would be filled with amazing Mexican food.  It did not disappoint as I was able to try all sorts of new Mexican dishes that I had never tried (or heard of before). 

On our very first night, we were delayed arriving into San Antonio and it was almost 11:30pm before we sat down to dinner.  We visited one of the most touristy restaurants in the area – the Mi Tierra Café.  It is a humongous restaurant that is open 24 hours.  Surprisingly, even the bakery is open 24 hours.

The restaurant was beautiful and as soon as you stepped in, the décor and music really made you feel like you were in Mexico.

We ordered chicken enchiladas and Menudo, a traditional Mexican beef stomach soup.  However, when it arrived, we wondered why it looked so different from the picture, but didn’t think twice and just started eating it.  It was delicious and exactly what we wanted, but we soon realized that what we were eating was actually the Tortilla soup, not Menudo.  It didn’t matter as the Tortilla soup was exactly what we needed in the end.

Our waitress was amazing and although she recommended the Chicken Enchiladas with Green Tomatillo Sauce, I told her that I wanted to try the Mole Sauce, so she brought out some Tomatillo Sauce for us, on the house.  I had read online that people really liked the Chicken Enchiladas, but for me, they were just okay.  Perhaps it was because the soup was so spectacular, I was expecting more from the Enchiladas.

Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia
Address: 218 Produce Row, San Antonio
Phone: 210-239-9215

 

The next day, we made our way to a popular local restaurant to try one of San Antonio’s signature dishes – the puffy taco.  Pete’s Takohouse was located in what looked to be an industrial area, as there really wasn’t much around.  We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table and although there were only 2 of us, we were seated at a table that could normally fit at least 5 people.

We had failed to try Menudo the day before, so when we saw this on the menu again, we decided we had to try it.  They had a small version and a large version which was only about $1.75 more, so we thought we would order the large.  Aside from the puffy taco, we also ordered a guacamole salad.

The soup arrived first and after one spoonful, we both realized it was not to our liking and immediately wished we hadn’t ordered the large.  Normally, I quite like beef tripe, but in this soup, the tripe didn’t taste clean as there was quite a strong taste to it.  The puffy taco was quite good, but very greasy.  I was surprised that the beef in the taco looked like it wasn’t seasoned, but nonetheless, it was still very tasty.  Lastly, the guacamole salad tasted exactly as it looked.  It was a nice counter to the greasy puffy taco.

Pete’s Takohouse
Address: 502 Brooklyn Ave, San Antonio
Phone: 210-224-2911

 

On our last night in San Antonio, we made our way to Rosario’s which is a popular Tex Mex restaurant.  My friend had eaten there last year and highly recommended their Tortilla soup and beef tongue.  We ordered both, along with a jicama shrimp wrap and fish ceviche. 

The fish ceviche was amazing, and had just the right amount of acidity. 

The second dish to arrive was the soup and compared to Mi Tierra’s, Rosario’s version is more acidic and the queso fresco was in little cubes instead of being shredded (and melted into the soup).

Next came the beef tongue, which was super tender and flavourful. 

The last dish to arrive was actually one of the appetizers, the jicama wraps.  A thin layer of jicama was wrapped around a cabbage slaw and topped with fried shrimp.  It sounded and looked amazing, but in reality, it was a bit bland and in need of some sauce.  I was able to finish the last wrap when I noticed that the shrimp looked to be undercooked.  The waiter offered to bring us a new one, but we were already too full, so he was kind enough to take it off of our bill. 

It was an unfortunate experience but nevertheless, all of the other dishes were great.  One other thing I really enjoyed about Rosario’s is that they had salsa on all of the tables and you could use as much as you wanted.

Rosario’s
Address: 910 S Alamo St, San Antonio
Phone:  210-223-1806