News You Can Eat

6 things to know in San Antonio food right now: Chicken spot roosts in Alta Vista

Side Chicks combines vegan fare with real chicken.

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

Lucas Bradbury, the Shark Tank-featured founder of plant-based fast food joint Project Pollo, has some meaty news. The entrepreneur has openedSide Chicks at 303 San Pedro Ave. Although the concept will have plant-based sandwiches, salads, and oat milkshakes, the new project is omnivorous. Real chicken options include a Nashville hot sandwich, nuggets, wings, and a Caesar wrap.

The long-awaited reincarnation of Rosario's finally opened on February 10 at 722 S Saint Mary's Street in Southtown. The sparkly new space has a much more contemporary look than the original, with low leather furniture, poppy art, and looming fringe chandeliers. The team also added al fresco dining, courtesy of a large rooftop patio cooled by ceiling fans.

While a host of national chains race to fuel San Antonio's daily grind, one local coffee shop has entered the fray. On February 5, Press Coffeeannounced via Facebook that it had debuted its second location at 11103 West Ave. in Castle Hills. Although it serves the same espresso drinks as the Broadway corridor original, the new shop has an additional perk — a spacious outdoor patio for enjoying early spring.

Other news and notes

Knock one back for the Alamo City Winners of this year's Texas Craft Brewers Cup. The annual event, organized by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, awarded six local favorites medals, including four golds. The big San Antonio winner was Freetail Brewing Co., earning golds for its Image 14 Years and La Muerta brews and four medals total. Alamo Beer, Dorćol Distilling and Brewing, Kuenstler Brewing, Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling, and Roadmap Brewing Co. also went home with bragging rights. See the full results here.

Three San Antonio restaurants have landed on Yelp's annual list of the most romantic places to eat in Texas. The review giant analyzed its trove of customer feedback, plucking out spots frequently mentioning words and phrases like romantic," "date night," and "valentine." The picks were then weighted by total ratings and volume of reviews. Bliss came out tops of the local spots, landing the No. 3 ranking. Also placed were Biga on the Banks and Toro Kitchen + Bar, nabbing the No. 13 and 16 spots, respectively.

What's better than Girl Scout Cookies? Girl Scout Cookies turned into edible and drinkable creations by some of the city's top chefs and mixologists. Girl Scouts of South Texas is bringing back its annual Girl Scout Cookie Flavor Fest on February 17-26 with 25 featured creations. Among the highlights are a cookie beer flight at Black Laboratory Brewing, a chocolate caramel brownie at Clementine, and a spiked coconut hot chocolate at Hops & Hounds. See the complete list of offerings here.

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NYT loves AUS

Pastry chef from San Antonio makes New York Times Best Bakeries list

Comadre Panadería/Instagram

Comadre Panadería is known for nostalgic Mexican bakes with feminine flair.

The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Austin’s culinary scene. It included Comadre Panadería, an Austin bakery by San Antonio native Mariela Camacho, on its new list of the 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.

Interim food critic Priya Krishna praises pastry chef Camacho’s pastries that include conchas and her signature pink cake. “Despite their saccharine appearances, not one of the desserts is overly cloying, and even the coffee drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries,” she writes.

Comadre Panadería has been widely recognized, including by this publication; Camacho, who is now based in Ausitn, won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards. She also earned a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

Camacho and Comadre as a whole are both invested in using baked goods to make a more equitable world, from the bakery's early days as a fundraiser for disaster relief, to a current insistence on charging enough to support ethical and organic foods, and paying staff enough to keep up with rising costs in Austin.

Although Camacho was born in San Antonio and started her baking career there, she also spent a significant time in Seattle, Washington, where Comadre started as a pop-up. According to Austin Monthly, she then moved back to San Antonio, and then to Austin. But no matter where she is, the Mexican cooking traditions of her ancestors take precedent.

Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panaderia in Austin Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panaderia. Courtesy photo

The Times also recognized Houston's Koffeteria. Krishna hails the bakery for pastry chef-owner Vanarin Kuch’s creative fare that includes dishes such as beef pho kolaches, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and butter mochi.

“Some of Mr. Kuch’s offerings are rooted in his Cambodian American identity — he makes cornbread with the coconutty, scallion-forward flavors of Cambodian street corn — while others are odes to Houston’s multicultural makeup. But most of the fun of Koffeteria is having no idea what Mr. Kuch will do next, and eagerly awaiting his next innovation,” Krishna writes.

Open since 2019, Koffeteria has been riding high this year. It earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Bakery and a CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year.

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Comadre Panadería and Koffeteria are the only Texas establishments to make the Times’ list. Only California and New York City, which each have three representatives, earn more recognition.

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