Chili con carne is a bowl of beef simmered in a deep, dried-chile gravy seasoned with cumin and garlic, traditionally without beans in the Texas style. San Antonio claims its commercial origin, and the dish remains a Tex-Mex anchor, served on its own or as the gravy ladled over enchiladas.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
San Antonio's Chili Queens sold bowls of chili con carne from open-air stands in the downtown plazas from the 1880s, feeding workers and visitors by lamplight for decades. Their stands effectively introduced chili to the wider United States before the city closed them over sanitation rules in the 1930s and 1940s. The chili-gravy enchilada plate that defines San Antonio Tex-Mex descends directly from that tradition.
Tip from the editors. Keep it bean-free for the Texas style. The dried-chile paste, not chili powder, is what gives a proper bowl its depth.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Mi Tierra at Market Square never closes, so a 3am plate of enchiladas with strolling mariachis and a stop at the panaderia counter is a San Antonio rite.
Try: Enchiladas, pan dulce, mariachi at any hour
Tip: The 24-hour dining room makes it the default after-midnight Tex-Mex stop. Buy pan dulce from the bakery on your way out.
La Fonda on Main is the oldest continuously operating Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, opened by sisters Virginia Berry and Nannie Randall in 1932.
Order: Cheese enchiladas, mole poblano and a margarita on the hacienda patio.
Tip: Ask for a table on the covered patio. The mole poblano is the dish to order if you want something beyond Tex-Mex.
Rosario's two-storey Southtown room keeps its rooftop bar and Tex-Mex kitchen going late on weekends, especially on First Friday when the area fills up.
Try: Tex-Mex and frozen margaritas on the rooftop
Tip: The rooftop bar runs late on weekends. First Friday in Southtown is the night to come for the full scene.
More cities are in research. Want chili con carne covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.