93027 Mon Jan 30 15:54:09 -0800 2006 17 5 Texas 0 510764 I've been researching the archives for our this weekend trip to SA - and I'm coming up short on breakfast ideas. Can anyone help? We're looking for Mexican Breakfast, preferably not touristy, if possible. We're staying out by the airport and have a car. As a ref: we've been to SA once (driving through) and had dinner @ Henry's Puffy Tacos and v.early am breakfast @ Mi Tierra. Also, I'm looking at TexMex dinner ideas and have found the following - should I thin the list or consider others? Again, driving is fine, dinky is great. Karam's Blanco Cafe El Mirador La Fogata Los Antonjitos Los Barrios Thanks in advance! Mon Jan 30 15:54:09 -0800 2006 0 MsAC 1 510769 Blanco Cafe for some of the best "locals" breakfast in town. Most of the folks there are neighborhood Mexican families, so that tells you how "authentic" the food is. Make sure you go to the "original" location on Blanco Road, I believe around 1700 N. Blanco Road or so. Karam's would be a great dinner choice for SA Tex-Mex especially if the weather is favorable for dining outside as they have a HUGE patio area with water fountain. The do a LOT of large parties and wedding dinners there. Both of these places are fun and casual and have much better (and cheaper) food than Mi Tierra. Mon Jan 30 18:02:55 -0800 2006 510764 0 Steve in Austin 2 510784 Thanks! Any other breakfast haunts I can't miss? I've got two morning meals. :-) Tue Jan 31 13:39:54 -0800 2006 510769 0 MsAC 3 510791 I'd suggest both Panchito's on McCullough and Los Barrios on Blanco Road. They're consistently good and very popular with local Mexican-American families. There is a really good panadería (Mexican bakery) at the corner of Blanco and Fresno, right next to a convenience store. They've been in business for decades and serve breakfast tacos on down-home flour tortillas, just like your abuela used to make. They also do a good job with the usual Mexican pastries. On Fredericksburg Road, almost at the corner of Babcock, is a donut and taco take-out shop that always struck me as Texas-kitschy. . . until I tried their breakfast tacos. They were really good. This is just one person's opinion, but I think Blanco Cafe went downhill about three or four years ago and now is not worth a special trip. I'd still eat there for lunch if I found myself nearby and really hungry. As for Karam's, it's a San Antonio tradition. Sometimes that means a place is just living off their reputation. Sometimes no. I haven't eaten there since 2003 because they only have two dishes that I like enough to make a special trip (one's the cabrito; the other is one of their appetizers, but I can't remember which one without looking at their menu). I highly recommend El Mirador. Their caldos, corn tortillas, and dinner specials are amazing, but their standard Tex-Mex (which is on the lunch menu) is only so-so. As for La Fogata, I've had some just-average meals there, which have led me to believe that it's over-hyped. However, I remember having a pretty good basic Tex-Mex dinner (tacos al carbon) there in November. Happy eating. Tue Jan 31 16:35:02 -0800 2006 510784 0 MPH 4 510824 I'm curious as to your comparison of the cabrito served at El Mirador and Karam's. I've had it as El Mirador and it was pretty good, but never tried it at Karam's. Wed Feb 01 19:26:11 -0800 2006 510791 0 Steve in Austin 5 510872 We second the Panchito's recommendation. The breakfast tacos are great, the corn tortillas are delicious, and even their guacamole is somehow better than other places. Sat Feb 04 11:22:13 -0800 2006 510824 0 Jaimie 6 512243 I should be shot for putting this in public - but the best breakfast in town is Cristan's on Hildebrand and IH10. It's all neighborhood families for customers - a really tiny place with family cooks and dad at the cash register. Both corn and flour tortillas are homemade. One of the nurses I work with was pining for her grandmother's tortillas in Del Rio - so I went to pick up breakfast tacos from here - the owner's wife assured me she wold not be disappointed - and she wasn't . I order either the Migas a la Mejicana plate or the Chorizo y Huevos a la Mejicana plate . It's always packed - and oh yes - it is a little hoe in the wall - nothing fancy - just Mexican soul food Just one more note - there are other Cristan's in town - all related - but this is the one with the handmade tortillas Wed May 10 17:34:43 -0700 2006 510872 0 DiverseDiva 6 512244 I should be shot for putting this in public - but the best breakfast in town is Cristan's on Hildebrand and IH10. It's all neighborhood families for customers - a really tiny place with family cooks and dad at the cash register. Both corn and flour tortillas are homemade. One of the nurses I work with was pining for her grandmother's tortillas in Del Rio - so I went to pick up breakfast tacos from here - the owner's wife assured me she wold not be disappointed - and she wasn't . I order either the Migas a la Mejicana plate or the Chorizo y Huevos a la Mejicana plate . It's always packed - and oh yes - it is a little hoe in the wall - nothing fancy - just Mexican soul food Just one more note - there are other Cristan's in town - all related - but this is the one with the handmade tortillas Wed May 10 17:43:34 -0700 2006 510872 0 DiverseDiva 5 510885 Steve, I was out of town over the weekend, but I wanted to respond in case you're still reading this thread. I've never tried the cabrito at El Mirador, but at Karam's the cabrito is outstanding because it's moist, tender, flavorful (from the marinade), and it's from a good cut of kid goat. Sometimes cabrito can be very greasy; another common problem is that it's too dry. Good variations of carbrito often employ some sort of steam roasting rather than straight charcoal or even gas grilling. This mimics old-time Mexican pit cooking, when families would slaughter their own goat and cook it, wrapped in agave, avocado, or banana leaves, over hot rocks in a deep, lined pit in the yard. I always thought this would be fun to try, but it's so much work that it would have to be for a really big crowd. The cooking method is similar to the steam-cooking in a New England clambake. If you try the cabrito at Karam's, I hope you'll post your own comparison of it and the one at El Mirador. MPH Mon Feb 06 12:44:42 -0800 2006 510824 0 MPH 3 510803 My breakfast choice would be Blanco Cafe also. You can get "breakfast tacos" at about a hundred places in town, but BC gives you a choice of a number of Mexican and "regular" breakfast choices in a nice family setting. NO tourists around this place! I would also agree with Steve about Karams. Karams has been a San Antonio institution for over 50 years and restaurants don't survive that long anywhere "living off a reputation". Karams serves the best cheese enchiladas in San Antonio and that is saying quite a bit because San Antonio is known for great enchiladas. Their food has remained absolutely consistent since at least 1960, since that was the first time I ate there. I also believe its not being very fair to comment negatively on a place that one has not visited in 3 years and only likes 2 things on the menu. Maybe this person simply does not enjoy San Antonio style Mexican food. Los Barrios is the fraud in this conversation. They have only been around since 1970 or so, but because of a lot of HYPE on Food Network and the owner plastering her face everywhere, somehow folks thought this place was great. Its not, its very average at best and their "famous" enchiladas are not very good at all. Mi Tierra's enchiladas are better than those. Wed Feb 01 11:43:25 -0800 2006 510784 0 Jay Santos 4 510805 I've been meaning to ask about this. I have always (25+ years)loved the Blanco Cafe down on Blanco Road, a couple of blocks closer to downtown than Chris Madrid's. I have always been under the impression that that was THE Blanco Cafe. Did it move, or what? What is the Blanco Cafe on St. Mary's? And I hear there's now a Blanco Cafe out on the northside? Please clarify this for me, as I will be passing through SA at the end of the month and want to know if my old favorite is still in its old location. Thanks. Wed Feb 01 11:51:49 -0800 2006 510803 0 Zorra 5 510823 The "Original" Blanco Cafe is the one you know, on Blanco Rd. just south of Chris Madrid's. It is still there and still very good. Forget about the others. Wed Feb 01 19:22:47 -0800 2006 510805 0 Steve in Austin 4 510821 Since I am "this person" that Jay is referring to, I thought I'd reply. (This is the second time he's disagreed with me just this week!) The assumption that I do not enjoy San-Antonio-style Mexican food is based on the fact that I disagree about the quality of Blanco Cafe and Karam's. That is an incorrect conclusion. My family goes back three generations in San Antonio; like them, I was raised on San-Antonio-style Tex Mex; thus, my relatives and I have been eating Tex Mex in San Antonio for decades--and long before any Food Network stories (which I never watch, by the way) aired. I don't judge a place by its cheese enchiladas, so that may be the source of some difference of opinion. After years of eating at Blanco Cafe, my family and I realized that it wasn't as good as it used to be. One or two of us really like Karam's; most of us think it's just okay. Granted, of course, "just okay" in San Antonio is still much better than what you'd find in many other cities, including cities right here in Texas. I've eaten at Karam's enough times to decide that there are only two items on the menu that are among the best in town. You can take that as you will. Los Barrios continually pleases most of the picky members of my family. Their cabrito is very good, as are their various Tex-Mex breakfast dishes. I don't think most of the Mexican-Americans who I always see dining there make up the Food Network demographic, but I could be wrong. I find that a lot of restaurants have a reputation for excellence that is based more on nostalgia than current quality. But, that's another debate. I hope everyone’s restaurant suggestions give MsAC some other choices for Mexican breakfast, which were specifically asked about. I know a couple of really good places deep on the south side of town, too, if anyone’s interested. I hope this is helpful. Wed Feb 01 19:07:18 -0800 2006 510803 0 MPH 5 510837 Thank you - I would totally take recs for the "deep south side of town" if you care to share them. We travel in large part to eat, and I have no problem driving to find a good breakfast. We're from LA, so we do get good Mexican Breakfast here, but I suspect that the SA/TexMex variety is a little different and worth exploring. Thu Feb 02 18:23:55 -0800 2006 510821 0 MSAC 6 510886 MsAC, I know what you mean. I travel to eat, too. The best bet on the south side is Mendez Cafe at 201 Bartholomew Ave (phone 210-923-6603), south of Highway 90 and north of SW Military Drive. The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch and takes cash only. It's also dirt cheap. Despite being off the tourists' radars, the place will be packed for lunch with folks from nearby Kelly Air Force Base. I recommend waiting in line for the best homemade Tex-Mex in town, including delicious refried beans (fried in lard, not like heart-healthy vegetarian ones) and flour tortillas made by hand by tireless ladies who really know how it's done. The only disappointing meal I ever had there was a lunch special of Mexican-style steak. The steak was tough and the sauce couldn't make up for it. I should have known better. Most classic lunch dishes and all their Tex-Mex breakfasts, however, are wonderful. Enjoy your visit! MPH Mon Feb 06 13:12:13 -0800 2006 510837 0 MPH 3 510828 On a whole different scene if you're looking for something unique to San Antonio you might try the Guenther House on South Alamo. The restaurant is in the manor house of the family who started a flour mill(name escapes me at this time) in old San Antonio. The food is pretty good (I'm not a militant hound but I enjoyed every dish I tried) but the ambience and seeing the manor house is certainly worth a visit. Although it is alittle different scene than the usual breakfast taco places. Image: http://www.guentherhouse.com/ Wed Feb 01 22:40:33 -0800 2006 510784 0 OETEX 1 510811 Thanks all - Looks like Karam's is Saturday dinner, Blancos is Sunday breakfast... and we're going on a hunt for breakfast tacos somewhere. I'll report back. :-) Wed Feb 01 15:12:57 -0800 2006 510764 0 MsAC 1 510858 El Milagrito on St. Mary's Street south of Trinity Fri Feb 03 16:50:28 -0800 2006 510764 0 K Daddy