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5 things to know in San Antonio food right now: Burger Boy expands outside city limits

Burger Boy continues its expansion.

Editor’s note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of San Antonio’s restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our regular roundup of essential food news.

Openings and Closings

One of San Antonio’s best burger operations is making moves and laying down roots outside the city limits for the first time ever. Known for a straightforward and indulgent menu of burgers, corn dogs, grilled cheeses, and shakes, Burger Boy restaurant chain first debuted on St. Mary’s Street back in 1985 and currently boasts five locations currently open or in the works within the Alamo City, with a forthcoming sixth outpost planned for the Live Oak community, at 8060 Pat Booker Rd. While concrete details on the anticipated operation’s official opening plans have yet to come to light, mysanantonio.com reports the concept will open in Bexar County “early next year.” The burger chain is also working to open locations on West Bitters Road and on New Braunfels Avenue.

It’s out with the old and in with the new at Pearl’s Food Hall at the Bottling Department, which announced late last month that Bud’s Southern Rotisserie, the unpretentious eatery known for its succulent sandwiches and hearty mac and cheese bowls, would conclude its tenure at the Pearl shopping center’s popular Bottling Department. Though the eatery is now closed, fans of the Bud’s culinary team, can continue to enjoy their impressive talents at such still-operational concepts as Nola Brunch & Beignets and Golden Wat Noodle House. And can keep an eye out for news of what concept will be replacing Bud’s, which has yet to be announced by Pearl.

Other news and notes

The Alamo City’s most iconic light beer has a sleek new redesign. Just in time for summer, Pearl Brewing Company has released a new 12-ounce slim can for its recently revamped beer recipe, dubbed Pearl xXx. Designed by Austin-based Guerilla Suit agency, the new look is inspired by the original characteristics of the brand, including its iconic clamshell shape. Last year, the brand relaunched with an all-new look and taste, but the beer was only available in bottles. The new slim can ensures beer drinkers across Texas can safely take Pearl xXx with them to the pool, river, beach, and lake. The Pearl xXx slim cans are available at select retailers in all major Texas cities. Fans of the brand can use Pearl xXx’s beer finder tool to find a nearby retailer.

Things are getting a little more stylish at Bistr09 this month. The restaurant, located at 6106 Broadway St., will host a fashion brunch on Sunday, May 23 from 11 am-3 pm featuring special guest Anthony Ryan Auld, winner of Lifetime’s Project Runway All Stars season two and a San Antonio resident. Fashion and food collide at Bistr09’s B9 Fashion Brunch (not literally because that would be messy!), which includes brunch, cocktails, and a fashion show complete with runway models showing off designs from Auld’s Couleur + Blindé clothing brand, which is headquartered in Alamo Heights. Reservations are required.

Hopscotch, the new immersive art gallery in downtown San Antonio, has announced a variety of programming and specials for the month of May. Among the newly announced programming are such events as Sunday salsa performances from musicians like Jose Amador, a monthly yoga class led by local studio Mobile Om, and the inaugural Bark on the Park benefit for San Antonio Pets Alive on Friday, May 28, which, in partnership with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, will feature live music, swag, and cocktails on Hopscotch’s dog-friendly patio. Additionally, along with a new food-truck residency featuring two local culinary concepts — Backwoods BBQ and ChipKabobs, operating every Friday and Saturday on the space’s patio — the gallery has also debuted new seasonal cocktails, including a Sangria Swirl and a frozen Rabbit Hole Rita. Tickets are available online.

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san antonio's culinary stars

5 outstanding San Antonio eateries land on first OpenTable Icons list

Photo by Robert Lerma

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There's no denying San Antonio is full of high quality restaurants and talented chefs, and now five local restaurants are earning new recognition in OpenTable's inaugural San Antonio Icons list.

The OpenTable Icons lists, which first launched in July 2024, highlight local eateries in 25 cities across the U.S. and Canada, from award-winners to trendy hotspots and all types of cuisine. Chosen restaurants must have recently earned Michelin stars, James Beard Awards or nominations, positive reviews from diners and critics, and more.

The newly released San Antonio list is a combination of fine dining establishments and international culinary experiences mostly located in downtown or North Central San Antonio. While no one cuisine dominated the list, two out of the five restaurants –Clementine and Biga on the Banks – focus on contemporary American dishes.

The list also includes one 20-seat dessert bar, Nicosi, which opened in June 2024. This unique establishment takes a hard stance against the modern practice of constant social media sharing with its no-phones-allowed policy, allowing guests to place their full focus on the experience unfolding in front of them.

"In a sleek space with velvet curtains and 20 seats overlooking an open kitchen, chefs Tavel Bristol-Joseph and Karla Espinosa whip up an artful, eight-course dessert menu that’s one of the city’s most singular dining experiences," OpenTable's editors wrote.

Here is the full list of San Antonio Icons:

Best Quality Daughter, an Asian-American restaurant in the Pearl District
Cured, a gastropub-style restaurant in the Pearl District
Biga on the Banks, a contemporary American restaurant on the River Walk
Nicosi, an omakase-style dessert bar in the Pearl District
Clementine, a contemporary American restaurant in North Central San Antonio

San Antonio foodies will recognize longstanding local staples like Biga on the Banks, which has been mastering the art of new American fine dining in the Alamo City for more than 30 years. OpenTable praised the restaurant for its fresh fish offerings, an "eclectic" wine list, and more.

"When he opened Biga in 1991, London-born chef Bruce Auden kicked off a new era of fine dining in San Antonio, amassing a huge celebrity following (Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse) and racking up several James Beard nominations," OpenTable's editors wrote. "In 2000, the restaurant moved to a bigger space with sweeping Riverwalk views, the perfect setting for Auden’s ever-changing global menu with Texas accents — think spiced antelope and quail, habañero jerk scallops, and za’atar roasted cauliflower."

Pioneering establishments like Best Quality Daughter – whose head chef and owner Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin was nominated for CultureMap's 2024 Chef of the Year – also rightfully made the list.

"Dobbertin unabashedly combines Asian and global flavors in unique dishes like salt and pepper shrimp with Thai chimichurri or rice chips with mapo hummus, resulting in this singular restaurant in the historic Mueller House that is so very San Antonio," the editors wrote.

More information about OpenTable's San Antonio Icons list can be found on OpenTable. Texas travelers can also find OpenTable icons in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

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