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County Line on the Riverwalk for BBQ

Jacala's, oldest family owned Mexican restaurant in San Antonio. Kind of a far drive to get to but totally worth it. Great margaritas too.

No No not County Line on the Riverwalk. I thought it was terrible.

Would you guys say County Line is indicative of Texas style barbecue? It will be my first Texas BBQ experience.

And yes, thank you everyone for realizing we probably won't have the opportunity to veer to far from the river walk!

Any must-do activities besides see the Alamo?

Thanks for all of your help!

Mi Tierra's is classic and should be on everyones list. Regarding BBQ - County Line is too commercialized now - it's good, but there are way too many BBQ joints which are better. Quick recommendation is Rudy's BBQ. Not sure exactly where it is in San Antonio, but they got started there.

Sorry, but I have to disagree on Rudy's. It's a chain with locations in the San Antonio / Austin area - fun atmosphere (antique gas station decor, cute food presentation, etc) but the barbecue is boring - no real hickory smoke flavor in any of the meats, ribs are mediocre, etc.

I'm not saying I never go to Rudy's, cause God knows there's nothing better than a trip there after a long day of floating the river with a beer in hand, but surely there's got to be a better bbq joint in San Antonio than Rudy's.

If you want the best bbq hands down in the area, I'd almost say it's worth a drive to The Salt Lick (~an hour-ish?) in Driftwood TX, just outside of Austin. I think there would be very few people who would disagree that Salt Lick has the best bbq.

I used to live in San Antonio - County Line is not TX Bar-b-que. They don't even smoke their own meat at the downtown location. I do not remember truly amazing bar-b-que in San Antonio, except for my dad's... Black's in Lockhart, TX was pretty good if I remember. Rudy's would do in a pinch, I guess, but its not that great. Tom's Ribs is a chain - I would pass on that. Stick to the Mexican food. Mi Tierra is good and I also highly recommend Jacala - long time Tex-Mex family-owned restaurant - good food, good prices.

Hillary, I cast my vote with Mi Tierra's, which is neither barbecue nor upscale. You *must* have a margarita in the mariachi bar (which is not the main dining room, it's directly across from the bakery counter). Very atmospheric.

Mi Tierra's is in Market Square, which is a nice place to walk around and check out some shops. Fairly touristy, as most of downtown San Antonio is, but you can find some nice handcrafted Mexican goods (as well cheap ones made in China).

Sorry I can't help you with barbecue. People get so passionate about finding the best barbecue, and really those places are not in town (in San Antonio nor in Austin), but require making a small pilgrimage. However, in light of the fact that not everyone is able or willing to devote half a day to eating beef, I think County Line might be a good choice for you. It is fairly commercial now, but it's not bad. Texas barbecue, fwiw, has to include some smoked brisket and sausage; County Line has both. If you are carless and staying downtown, then it's probably the way to go.

I created an account here just to say that no trip to San Antonio is complete without a trip to Taco Taco Cafe. I was introduced to this place by my friend who goes to school in SA, and now I'm addicted. If I had the time I would make the 1.5 hour drive from Austin (where I live) just to eat a taco from TTC.

There is usually a line out the door, but don't let that discourage you because the line moves fast and it is completely worth the wait. Also, they were featured in Bon Appetit for having the best taco in America...who could argue with that? I recommend the Taco Norteno.

Here's the website: Taco Taco Cafe

I grew up in San Antonio. Yay! Definitely go to Mi Tierra's, it is an institution. Paisano's is very good Italian food. I eat there whenever I go back.
There is an excellent little French restaurant in Olmos Park (my sister often sees Tommy Lee Jones there at lunch) they have a great chef and superb wine list.
Oops, I almost didn't tell you the name, Bistro Vatel.
@itsdeluxe~I'm going to have to try Taco Taco Cafe!
@Chew On That~If itsdeluxe is driving from Austin, which is also a taco mecca, it's worth a visit.
Have a great trip and say Hi to my mom for me!

Biga's on the Banks
Biga's chef and owner Bruce J. Auden has been nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award, The restaurant was also named by Gourmet Magazines as one of America's Best Restaurants.

For BBQ, go to Luling City Meat Market-it's not too far.
And a visit to the historic Liberty Bar is a must-it's a short cab ride from downtown :
http://www.liberty-bar.com/index.html

The Salt Lick is excellent and worth the drive. It hosts a large pit and is exactly as you'd imagine a large BBQ joint to be. The surrounding countryside is beautiful and nearby is a Hindu temple complex with peacocks wandering the grounds which you are free to visit. BYOB, I think. Mapquest it and go! Visit cute nearby towns Gruen and New Braunfels too. Austin is close, and Hill Country is home to many wineries.

The tableside guacamole at Boudro's is a must. If you end up at County Line, stick to the brisket and sausage - the beef ribs I had at the Riverwalk location were more fat than meat.

You have to go to the Riverwalk! You just don't have to eat there. Get a drink at Durty Nellie's. Touristy but, YOU"RE A TOURIST! I forgot about Little Red Barn, my favorite place as a kid.
And a big YES on Liberty Bar.
Fill us in on your trip when you get back! Tell us what you did.

oh, and The Guenther House in the King William district (historic district South of downtown I think). There are lots of Germans and Czechs in central Texas (one of the reasons the barbecue is so good) and their contributions to baked goods are not to be missed.

food at Guenther House is not the best, but the baked goods in the morning are phenomenal, and I hear the breakfasts are pretty fine. and they have a flour museum.

great biscuits and by far, I swear, the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had. they run out of most things almost every day so don't go late.

If Boudro's is too crowded, go to Zinc - they're owned by the same people.

For Mexican, I'd suggest La Fogata, Paloma Blanca, and La Fonda on Main.

The Sandbar is awesome. It's a tiny seafood restaurant right next to Le Reve, same owner.

I second Taco Taco Cafe. Afterwards, you can stop at the Olmos Bharmacy for a Guiness milkshake and some fried pickles.

I spent a day eating tacos in San Antonio and had a lot of fun. I'd highly recommend Rosario's, as well as the street vendors in the mercado area for puffy tacos. You can read more about both and all the other spots here.

Just want to report back about my trip to San Antonio! :)

Friday night we took a river cruise and ate dinner at Boudro's at an outside table. The guacamole and margaritas were fabulous and the menu was extremely interesting. We went with the blackened prime rib and a lobster dish which were both excellent but possibility a bit over-seasoned.

Saturday, we went to Mi Tierra for brunch and dessert. I went with the beef jerky omelette (one of their specialities) and my boyfriend had the chalupas. For dessert we had churros, pumpkin empanadas and strawberry jaivas. Such a fun place! After that we went to see the Alamo and walked around the city before we went to the Tower of the Americas. We had some drinks a shrimp and crab fondue appetizer there (all very good!). After that, we had a late dinner at County Line bbq (I know many of you advised against this but the truth is we were very limited without a car and many of the outer skirt barbecue places had limited hours). It was good though! I loved my barbecue brisket, hadn't anything that tasty in a long time.

In fact, we liked it so much...we went back on Sunday for lunch. We were craving more barbecue and nothing else was open (aka Bill Miller's, the only other bbq place near the Riverwalk). We wanted to go to Schilo's, a German deli, for lunch but they were closed on Sunday too. What's with everything closing on Sunday?

Anyway it was all very tasty and a lot of fun! Thank you again for all of your help. I'll be writing blog posts on each of these restaurants throughout the coming week.

Hillary
Chew on That