Local Favorites

It's Always Chili in San Antonio -- It ranks up there with apple pie in the American culinary pantheon, but nobody's mom invented chili. The iconic stew of meat, chiles, onions, and a variety of spices was likely conceived around the 1840s by Texas cowboys who needed to make tough meat palatable -- while also covering up its taste as it began to go bad. The name is a Texas corruption of the Spanish chile (chee-leh), after the peppers -- which are not really peppers at all, but that's another story -- most conventionally used in the stew.

The appellation chili con carne is really redundant in Texas, where chili without meat isn't considered chili at all, and indeed, most Texans think that adding beans is only for wimps. Beef is the most common base, but everything from armadillo to venison is acceptable.

No one really knows exactly where chili originated, but San Antonio is the prime candidate for the distinction: In the mid-19th century, accounts were widespread of the town's "chili queens," women who ladled steaming bowls of the concoction in open-air markets and on street corners. It wasn't until the 1940s that they stopped dishing out chili in front of the Alamo.

William Gebhardt helped strengthen San Antonio's claim to chili fame when he began producing chili powder in the city in 1896. His Original Mexican Dinner package, which came out around 20 years later, included a can each of chili con carne, beans, and tamales, among other things, and fed five for $1. This precursor of the TV dinner proved so popular that it earned San Antonio the nickname "Tamaleville."

Oddly enough, chili isn't generally found on San Antonio restaurant menus. But modern-day chili queens come out in force for special events at Market Square, as well as for Nights in Old San Antonio, one of the most popular bashes of the city's huge Fiesta celebration. And there's not a weekend that goes by without a chili cook-off somewhere in the city.

Frozen Assets -- Austin has long had Amy's ice cream, but when it comes to homegrown frozen desserts, San Antonio has been, well, left out in the cold. But that's all changed with the new century and the introduction of Brindles Awesome Ice Cream, 11255 Huebner Rd. (tel. 210/641-5222). Brindles features more than 200 varieties of creative ice creams, gelati, and sorbets. About 45 to 50 flavors are available on any given day. You might find such unique creations as spice apple brandy or bananas Foster ice cream; white chocolate Frangelico or candied ginger gelato; and champagne or cranberry sorbet -- as well as, in every category, far more traditional flavors for ice-cream purists. Among the best-selling ice creams is the signature Brindles, a butterscotch fudge crunch inspired, like the store's name, by the multicolored coat of the owners' pet boxer. And don't miss "The Kick" ice cream whenever it's available. This mixture of pineapple, coconut, mint, and habanero chile doesn't taste hot initially, but it packs a bit of a wallop afterward.

If you don't want to have to trek all the way to Brindles' mother ship, the espresso and ice-cream parlor in the Strand shopping center on San Antonio's northwest side, you can also sample Brindles products at several of San Antonio's finest restaurants, including Acenar, Biga on the Banks, Bistro Vatel, Boudros, and Ciao Lavanderia, all covered elsewhere in this chapter.

Only in San Antonio

Some of San Antonio's best and most popular places to eat have been reviewed in this chapter, but you can be sure you'll run into San Antonians who are passionate about other eateries I haven't covered in detail.

Tacquerias -- Everyone has a favorite taquería (taco joint). A couple of high-ranking ones near downtown are Estela's, 2200 W. Martin St. (tel. 210/226-2979), which has musical (salsa, mariachi) breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to noon, as well as a great conjunto/Tejano jukebox; and Taco Haven, 1032 S. Presa St. (tel. 210/533-2171), where the breakfast migas (hearty egg and tortilla dish) or chilaquiles (tortillas layered with meats, beans, and cheese) will kick-start your day. In Olmos Park, Panchito's, 4100 McCullough (tel. 210/821-5338), has hungry San Antonians lining up on weekend mornings for barbacoa (Mexican-style barbecue) plates, heaped with two eggs, potatoes, beans, and homemade tortillas.

Barbeque -- You'll also find emotions rising when the talk runs to barbecue, with many locals insisting that their favorite is the best joint in town. Maybe it's because the meat has been smoked the longest, or because the place uses the best smoking technique, or its sauce is the tangiest -- the criteria are endless and often completely arcane to outsiders.

Of San Antonio's more than 90 barbecue joints, a longtime local favorite that's spawned a Texas chain is Rudy's, 24152 I-10 West at the Leon Springs/Boerne Stage Road exit (tel. 210/698-2141). Cowboys, bicyclists, and other city folk come from miles around for what they insist are the best pork ribs, brisket, and turkey legs in town. A newer Rudy's is located near SeaWorld at 10623 Westover Hills, corner of Highway 151 (tel. 210/520-5552).

County Line, 111 W. Crockett St., Suite 104 (tel. 210/229-1941), brings the menu and the signature 1940s Texas decor of a popular Austin-based restaurant to the River Walk, although its smoker is not actually on the premises. Locals liked the brisket, sausage -- and sweet ice tea -- at the homegrown Bill Miller Bar-B-Q so much that it spread to 49 San Antonio locations (Austin and Corpus Christi are the only other two cities where Bill has ventured). To find the one nearest to you, log on to www.billmillerbbq.com.

San Antonians have been coming to Bun 'N' Barrel, 1150 Austin Hwy. (tel. 210/828-2829), since 1950 to chaw barbecue and to check out each other's cool Chevys. Hang around on a Friday night and you might even see the occasional drag race down Austin Highway. This joint is in a featureless area, but it's not far from the McNay Museum and the botanical gardens. Note to film buffs: If you're short on time, catch shots of this retro classic eatery in the film Selena.