The historic Mexican-American heartland west of downtown, home to Ray's Drive Inn puffy tacos, masa traditions, and long-running family taquerias.
The Jerk Shack is a Bib Gourmand Caribbean spot on the West Side where jerk chicken is the signature and the curry goat sells out; the lunch lines build fast.
Order: Jerk chicken, curry goat and festival dumplings.
Tip: Lines build at lunch. The jerk chicken is the signature, but the curry goat sells out, so go early if it is what you want.
Ray's Drive Inn on the West Side has claimed the original puffy taco since Ray Lopez opened it in 1956, home of the deep-fried puffed-masa shell.
Order: The original puffy taco with picadillo or bean and cheese.
Tip: The puffy taco is the only order that matters here. Eat it fast while the shell is still crisp and hot.
Henry's Puffy Tacos on West Woodlawn is the family rival to Ray's in the puffy-taco story, serving the crisp puffed-masa shell as a plate with rice and beans.
Order: Puffy taco plate with rice and beans.
Tip: The puffy tacos come hot and fast. Add a side of rice and beans for the full West Side plate.
Garcia's Mexican Food has served classic Tex-Mex near Woodlawn Lake since 1962, a small family room known for breakfast tacos and carne guisada.
Order: Breakfast tacos and the carne guisada.
Tip: Cash-friendly and small, with a loyal breakfast crowd. Get the carne guisada taco on a fresh flour tortilla.
Barrio Barista on Culebra Road builds its menu around Mexican flavours, with horchata lattes and cafe de olla, a West Side cafe with its own identity.
Signature drink: Horchata latte and cafe de olla
Tip: The horchata latte and cafe de olla are the orders that set it apart from the third-wave crowd.
Shotgun House Coffee Roasters works out of a former sewing factory turned creative space on the near West Side, roasting on-site and brewing single-origin.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter
Tip: The roastery cafe is tucked inside a converted factory; follow the signs to Warehouse 5. Single-origin filter is the move.
Qargo Coffee on Culebra Road is a far-West Side cafe and drive-through with a broad espresso and latte menu, a handy modern coffee stop for the growing.
Signature drink: Espresso and drive-through lattes
Tip: The drive-through is quick for a morning latte. A useful far-West Side option where cafes are still thin.
Panifico Bake Shop on the West Side makes scratch Mexican pan dulce, with pig-shaped marranitos and raisin-topped piedras the picks; go early for the bake.
Tip: The marranitos (pig-shaped cookies) and raisin-topped piedras are the picks. Go early for the freshest bake.
Worth the queue: Marranitos and piedras
Kolache Factory on the West Side is the drive-through for a quick Texas-Czech breakfast, mixing sweet fruit kolaches with savoury sausage-and-cheese rolls.
Tip: Mix sweet fruit kolaches with savoury sausage-and-cheese for the full spread. Drive-through for a quick breakfast.
Worth the queue: Fruit kolaches and sausage rolls
Bedoy's Bakery's Hillcrest Drive shop carries the family's secret-recipe pan dulce and donuts to the West Side, a second branch of the longtime panaderia.
Tip: A second Bedoy's branch with the same secret-recipe pan dulce. The conchas and donuts are the everyday orders.
Worth the queue: Conchas and glazed donuts
Panifico's Bandera shop on the West Side bakes scratch Mexican pan dulce, with the moustache-shaped bigote and the conchas the orders to watch fill the case.
Tip: Watch the case fill in the early morning. The bigote and conchas are the orders; everything is scratch-made.
Worth the queue: Bigote and conchas
Shotgun House Coffee Roasters roasts on the near West Side inside a former sewing factory, brewing single-origin coffee in a stripped-back warehouse cafe.
Tip: The roastery hides inside a converted factory; look for Warehouse 5. Buy a bag of the single origin to take home.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Barrio Barista on Culebra Road builds Mexican-flavoured coffee, from horchata lattes to cafe de olla, a West Side cafe and roaster worth the trip.
Tip: The horchata latte and cafe de olla are what set it apart. A West Side cafe worth the trip for the flavours alone.
Sources from: Mexico, Colombia
How they serve: Espresso, Cold brew, Whole bean retail
Tellez Tamales & Barbacoa is a West Side weekend ritual, where you buy barbacoa by the pound and tamales by the dozen to take home, paired with a Big Red.
Try: Weekend barbacoa and tamales
Tip: Go on a weekend morning for the barbacoa by the pound; buy tamales by the dozen to take home. Pair with Big Red.
Ray's Drive Inn on the West Side has claimed the original puffy taco since 1956, the deep-fried puffed-masa shell that San Antonio gave the world.
Try: The original puffy taco
Tip: The puffy taco is the only order; eat it fast while the shell is crisp. A West Side institution, not a tourist stop.
Henry's Puffy Tacos on the West Side is the Lopez family counter for the namesake puffy taco, served hot and crisp with rice and beans; eat it before it sits.
Try: Puffy tacos
Tip: Order a plate of puffy tacos with rice and beans. The shells come hot and crisp; do not let them sit.
Chef Nicola Blaque's Jerk Shack began as a walk-up window with picnic tables, serving Jamaican jerk chicken and curry goat that earned a Bib Gourmand nod.
Try: Jerk chicken from a walk-up window
Tip: The jerk chicken is the signature; the curry goat sells out. Order at the window and grab a picnic table.
Garcia's Mexican Food on the West Side is a small, cash-friendly counter where the carne guisada taco on a fresh flour tortilla is the early-breakfast order.
Try: Bean-and-cheese and carne guisada tacos
Tip: The carne guisada taco on a fresh flour tortilla is the order. Small and cash-friendly; come for an early breakfast.
Ray's Drive Inn on the West Side serves the original puffy taco for a few dollars, a cheap West Side institution where the deep-fried masa shell delivers.
Try: Original puffy taco, a few dollars
Tip: A couple of puffy tacos make a cheap, filling lunch. Cash and card both work at the drive-in counter.
Garcia's Mexican Food on the West Side is a small, cash-friendly counter where the cheap carne guisada taco is the order; go early before the breakfast crowd.
Try: Breakfast tacos and carne guisada
Tip: The carne guisada taco is cheap and excellent. Small and cash-friendly; come early before the breakfast crowd.
Henry's Puffy Tacos on West Woodlawn plates puffy tacos with rice and beans for a modest price, the Lopez family's cheap, filling counter for the West Side.
Try: Puffy taco plate under fifteen dollars
Tip: A puffy taco plate with rice and beans is a cheap, filling meal. The shells come hot; eat them straight away.
Tellez Tamales & Barbacoa on the West Side sells tamales by the dozen and pit barbacoa by the pound, a high-value weekend stock-up for a family breakfast.
Try: Tamales by the dozen, barbacoa by the pound
Tip: Buy tamales by the dozen and barbacoa by the pound for a cheap family weekend breakfast. Go early on Saturdays.