Chilaquiles + Giant Boots = Awesome

Before I explain why I officially adore San Antonio, let me provide some context:

I have, more than once, had Mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a single day. My family once owned a Mexican restaurant. I eat turkey enchiladas on Thanksgiving.

In other words, I am a Mexican food snob. And the Mexican food in San Antonio is, well, wow.

Over the course of one-and-a-half days, I joyously consumed savory breakfast tacos, fabulously authentic chilaquiles at Mi Tierra Cafe in the country’s largest Mexican market, and fish tacos and beef molcajetes, a dish served in a steaming-hot mortar and pestle tool, at La Gloria.

I reached my version of food nirvana and (sorry, San Francisco!) kinda didn’t want to leave.

Of course, there are a lot of other fabulous things about this Texas charmer. It houses some of the coolest unique event spaces I’ve ever seen, including a converted horse stable, the former home of a flour-mill tycoon and a restored train station with a restaurant serving surprisingly delicious avocado margaritas. Its non-Mexican food options, including succulent braised duck at Biga on the Banks, are also delish. It’s home to two of the most venerable tourist attractions in the country—the Riverwalk and the Alamo. And on top of all this, it has the world’s largest cowboy boots.

Yet despite all these wonderful assets, I anticipate I will look back most fondly on the city’s divine Mexican food. For someone like me, that alone is enough to warrant a prompt return visit…or better yet, a permanent move.

—Nikki Gloudeman

Image: Tableside guacamole, courtesy of visitsanantonio.com, photo by Berne Broudy/SACVB

For more on San Antonio, make sure to read our May story on the destination!