Tong's Thai is a thai restaurant in Alamo Heights, San Antonio.
Tong's Thai has anchored Austin Highway near Alamo Heights for years, serving Thai curries and noodles plus sushi, with a serene koi-pond garden for bubble.
Must order: Pad see ew, curries and bubble tea in the koi garden.
Tip: Ask to sit in the Nong Garden by the koi pond. The curries and pad see ew are the reliable orders.
Address: 1146 Austin Hwy, San Antonio, TX 78209
Viet-Nam Restaurant is a plain-fronted Broadway room that locals rate for some of the best pho in the city, a no-frills Vietnamese kitchen built on the broth.
Order: Pho, spring rolls and vermicelli bowls.
Tip: Go for the pho and the spring rolls; the room is simple but the bowls are deep. Lunch is the quieter time.
Viet-Nam Restaurant is a plain-fronted Broadway room that locals rate for some of the best pho in the city, a no-frills Vietnamese kitchen built on the broth.
Order: Pho, spring rolls and vermicelli bowls.
Tip: Go for the pho and the spring rolls; the room is simple but the bowls are deep. Lunch is the quieter time.
Eddie's Taco House is a South Side breakfast-and-lunch counter where the carne guisada and the cult weenie-and-egg breakfast taco draw a steady morning crowd.
Order: Carne guisada and weenie-and-egg breakfast tacos.
Tip: The weenie-and-egg taco sounds odd and is a local favourite. Come early; the breakfast crowd is steady.
Lucy's Cafe on the north side is a cash-friendly Tex-Mex counter busy at breakfast, where the bean and cheese with bacon taco is the local favourite order.
Order: Bean and cheese with bacon, carne guisada taco.
Tip: The bean and cheese with bacon is the order locals swear by. Cash-friendly and busy at breakfast.
Rolando's Super Tacos on West Hildebrand is known for El Gigante, a massive five-ingredient breakfast taco that doubles as a full meal at counter prices.
Order: El Gigante, the massive five-ingredient breakfast taco.
Tip: El Gigante is the gimmick and the draw; one is a full meal. Order at the counter and add a cup of beans.
Carnitas Don Raúl on West Jones brings Michoacán-style carnitas to San Antonio, a husband-and-wife operation rooted in a 1991 Morelia family recipe.
Order: Carnitas by the pound with tortillas, salsa and lime.
Tip: Order the carnitas by the pound with tortillas and the house salsa. Cash and card both work; weekends move fast.
Pete's Tako House on the South Side is a Tex-Mex counter best for breakfast tacos before the lunch rush, with the carne guisada plate the bigger sit-down.
Order: Breakfast tacos and the carne guisada plate.
Tip: Come for breakfast tacos before the lunch rush. The carne guisada plate is the bigger meal.
