The
River Walk is jam packed with places to eat. You will never go hungry
in San Antonio where there's something for everyone. In a city defined
by its huge Mexican population, it's hard to deny this is the true
home of Tex-Mex fare.
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San Antonio is a great culinary city - whether you want to do
barbeque, steak or haute cuisine, they have it all. But more than
anything, San Antonio is home to Tex-Mex.
"Tex-Mex grew from the Mexican food and the Mexican people, and
it grew to the taste to this society, of America. For example the
enchilada, the enchilada has the queso fresco, and now it's got
the aged cheddar cheese, which is more to the taste of the people
here," said George Cortez/Owner, Mi Tierra.
Mi Tierra is a San Antonio institution. The family-run restaurant
not only provides a feast for the stomach, but for the eyes too.
The huge, 65-year-old establishment is open 24 hours a day!
"We lost our key. We never close," said Cortez.
Strings of thousands of holiday lights hang from the ceiling all
year-round creating an instant party atmosphere. Late-night crowds
are made up of locals who know that the restaurant never closes.
The menu reflects the standard San Antonio Tex-Mex fare: cheese,
tortillas, beans and lots of it.
The restaurant also has a true Mexican bakery with a huge selection
of pan dulce.
The festive atmosphere continues with the wandering musicians
ready to play a tune right at your table. There are vivid 3D murals
on the walls, depicting early Tejano life with famous Mexicans and
loyal employees. That's right -- along side Emiliano Zapata and
Pancho Villa are employees who have 20 years or more of service
at Mi Tierra.
"I think it's the spirit of the given, the fact that the roots
are so cultural, and that it's beyond selling a taco, it's really
embracing the culture of San Antonio," said Cortez.
Texas leads the nation in number of beef cattle, which usually
exceed 14 million head, so it rivals Chicago as far as steak goes.
There are dozens of steakhouses, but If your looking for something
a little more local and fun, you have to come to the Little Red
Barn.
Looking more like a big red barn than a little red barn, this
place has been a Texas tradition since 1963. This steak joint seats
800. Here, cowgirl waitresses greet diners at the door with salads
and seat them at picnic bench tables immediately.
"There's a lot of ambiance. The moment you walk in there's a lot
of action going on. Everybody's dressed up in Western gear. The
hostess immediately greets you and she finds out how many are in
your party, so you have another hostess in western gear and she
greets you with salads because we seat about 800 people we can move
a lot of people through here so there's a quick turnaround," said
Sandra Gonzalez/Owner, Little Red Barn.
The Little Red Barn prides itself on serving good steaks at a
good price. And because of this they serve more than 1,000 steaks
each day.
"We have choice beef and it is large steaks. Our largest steak,
the t-bone steak, is 20 oz and it's $15.95. So I know compared to
a lot of prices that's really reasonable. So you can bring your
family here and really be able to afford it," said Gonzalez.
Now our last stop on our food tour is Jerry's Hot Dogs. We were
getting a little homesick for a Chicago Dog and Jerry serves up
the original!
"He's really friendly I mean I walked in here and this is where
I was told to come and a really friendly atmosphere, it's got the
Chicago style atmosphere," said John Stone/Former Chicagoan, Hayley
Johnson/Customer. "They just taste better than normal hotdogs. It's
completely different than the ones in the package. There's a little
bit of something extra in them."
Jerry Cahue is from Brighton Park in Chicago and has been running
his hot dog stand for almost two years.
"The first thing we realized when we arrived in San Antonio was
that there were no good hot dogs, no Italian beef, no polishes,
and no pizza, so I wanted to bring a taste from home to San Antonio
and introduce it to the San Antonians," said Jerry Cahue, owner.
In this four-stool spot, they serve locals and other former Chicagoans.
Plus all of Jerry's ingredients are shipped straight from Chicago.
Nothing beats a good Chicago dog.
Little Red Barn
1836 South Hackberry
San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 532-4235
