Fruteria Los Trejo is a street-food stop in North Side, San Antonio.
Fruteria Los Trejo on Eckhert Road serves mangonadas, fruit cups, and shaved ice in the Mexican fruteria tradition, a refreshing snack stop that has grown.
Tip: The mangonada, a mango-and-chamoy frozen treat, is the order. A reliable refresher on the northwest side.
Address: 7722 Eckhert Rd, San Antonio, TX 78240
Pollos Asados Los Norteños on the east side grills whole chickens over mesquite; order one with grilled onions and tortillas, and go early as the queue grows.
Try: Mesquite-grilled pollo asado
Tip: Order a whole chicken with the grilled onions and tortillas. The queue can be long; go early on weekends.
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.
El Milagrito Cafe on East Woodlawn is the oldest restaurant on the St Mary's Strip, with a chorizo-and-egg puffy taco that has built a quiet cult following.
Try: Chorizo-and-egg puffy tacos
Tip: The chorizo-and-egg puffy taco is the cult order. A small family-run room; come on a weekday morning to skip the wait.
Carnitas Don Raúl on West Jones is a husband-and-wife counter for Michoacán-style carnitas, rooted in a 1991 Morelia family operation and featured on Netflix.
Try: Michoacán-style carnitas tacos
Tip: Order the carnitas by the pound with fresh tortillas and the house salsa. A quick weekend lunch on the way out of downtown.
