Eat well in San Antonio for under €15 a plate: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in San Antonio for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
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.
Blanco Cafe is a no-frills Tobin Hill Tex-Mex diner where the carne guisada plate is the cheap, filling order; cash is welcome and the prices stay low.
Try: Carne guisada plate under ten dollars
Tip: The carne guisada plate is the cheap, filling order. Cash is welcome and the prices stay low.
Eddie's Taco House is a long-running Caballero family counter on the South Side where breakfast tacos run a couple of dollars and the weenie-and-egg has fans.
Try: Breakfast tacos a couple of dollars each
Tip: A few tacos make a breakfast for well under ten dollars. The weenie-and-egg taco is the cheap local favourite.
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.
Lucy's Cafe on the north side keeps breakfast cheap, with a bean and cheese with bacon taco under three dollars; it is cash-friendly and busy at breakfast.
Try: Bean and cheese with bacon taco
Tip: The bean and cheese with bacon is the order under three dollars. Cash-friendly and busy at breakfast.
Rolando's Super Tacos on the north side is famous for El Gigante, a single taco big enough to be a whole breakfast for the price of a coffee elsewhere.
Try: El Gigante, one taco that feeds a person
Tip: One El Gigante is a whole breakfast for the price of a coffee elsewhere. Order at the counter and add beans.
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.
Pollos Asados Los Norteños grills whole mesquite chickens on Rigsby Avenue that feed a family for the price of one mid-range entree, a high-value cult spot.
Try: Mesquite-grilled chicken feeds a family
Tip: A whole grilled chicken with tortillas and onions feeds several people cheaply. Go early; the line builds fast.
Schilo's, the city's oldest restaurant, serves a bowl of its famous split-pea soup and a hearty sandwich downtown for a modest sum, a 1917 German-Texan deli.
Try: Split-pea soup and a sandwich
Tip: The split-pea soup and house root beer make a cheap downtown lunch with a century of history behind it.
Chris Madrid's flips a Tostada Burger big enough to share for a modest price on Blanco Road, a family burger joint since 1977 where the Macho size feeds two.
Try: Tostada burger and cheese fries
Tip: Split a Macho-sized burger to halve the cost. The Tostada Burger and a side of cheese fries is the value play.
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.
The Original Donut Shop on Fredericksburg Road sells a breakfast taco and a fresh donut for a few dollars, the cheapest and most San Antonio of breakfast.
Try: Taco-and-donut combo for a few dollars
Tip: A taco and a donut for the price of a coffee elsewhere. The drive-through line moves fast.
Tacos El Regio griddles cheap al pastor and bistek street tacos on the St Mary's Strip late into the night, a few dollars a taco for the best-value bite.
Try: Street tacos a couple of dollars each
Tip: A handful of street tacos for under ten dollars is the late-night value play. Load up at the salsa bar for free.
Mendez Cafe has sold cheap, generous carne guisada tacos since 1986, a South Side breakfast counter where a couple of dollars buys tender beef in peppery gravy.
Try: Carne guisada taco in spicy gravy
Tip: The carne guisada taco is the cheap order to make. Small and busy, so expect a short morning wait.
Tlahco Mexican Kitchen on the north side runs breakfast all day, so chilaquiles and tacos stay cheap into the afternoon, with good value for the portion size.
Try: All-day breakfast tacos and chilaquiles
Tip: Breakfast runs all day, so chilaquiles and tacos stay cheap into the afternoon. Good value for the portion size.
Maria's Cafe on the South Side does breakfast tacos all week and weekend menudo, the cheap local cure; cash keeps the line moving on busy mornings.
Try: Breakfast tacos and weekend menudo
Tip: Weekend menudo is the cheap local cure; breakfast tacos all week. Cash keeps the line moving.
2M Smokehouse on the South Side serves Tejano-accented barbecue; order by the quarter pound and add the cheap sides to keep a BBQ lunch under twenty dollars.
Try: BBQ by the quarter pound
Tip: Order by the quarter pound and add the cheap Tejano sides to keep a BBQ lunch under twenty dollars. Go early; it sells out.
La Villita Cafe in the historic arts village downtown keeps brisket-and-egg breakfast tacos and Tex-Mex plates cheap, a rare budget bite near the River Walk.
Try: Brisket-and-egg breakfast tacos
Tip: A cheap breakfast taco a short walk from the River Walk. The brisket-and-egg taco is the order.