Some Restaurants that Most Tourists Miss

This one is definitely different but don't let the appearance fool you, it's been rated the home of the BEST burger in San Antonio by the Texas Monthly in August'09. The Cove is a funky combination of car wash, Laundromat, and some of the best fast food you’re likely to get in all of Texas. First of all, the meat is all local, all humane, and all organic. The flavor of the meat is astonishingly good. The selection is also wonderful—lamb burgers, bison burgers, chicken sandwiches, fresh organic salads, and the meanest sweet potato fries on this side of the Rio Grande. The sodas are all sugar-based, rather than corn syrup, and the bar in the back has a wide selection of beer and wines. TheThe Cove features live music nightly and weekly beer and wine tastings. Plus, you can do your laundry while you eat and leave with a clean car. This is a stellar little dive which I can’t wait to try again, especially on Wednesday nights when they feature a live jazz band. Tell me this burger and sweet potato fries don't make your mouth water.

For a traditional Mexican lunch or dinner, Texas Monthly offered another tempting suggestion: Guajillo’s:

(From January 2010 Texas Monthly) "When Tex-Mex just won’t do, there are a few deep interior Mexican places around town worth a try. One of them, Guajillo’s, offers six or eight lunch specials, all popular with North Side business types. Our lunch favorites include the alambre (mixed beef and pork sautéed with chiles and onions and topped with cheese), the meatballs with a mild chipotle sauce, and the cod a la mexicana, and all include either a deep red tortilla soup with melted cheese or a fideo soup, both pleasantly spicy. Things get even more serious in the evening, when cochinita pibil (Yucatecan barbecued pork), lamb, and steak with pasilla sauce all vie for attention. Informal, chummy, and congenially noisy, Guajillo’s is a delight—but look out for the hot-hot table salsa. Bar."

Just looking at this place, you would never guess that the kitchen is producing some of the finest home-cooked Mexican food based on family traditional recipes that you are likely to find in all of San Antonio, if not all of Texas. Unassumingly and deceptively located off Loop 410 near a giant shopping center in the San Antonio suburbs, Guajillo’s is anything but suburban. Brothers Carlos and Dianko Barajos opened Guajillo’s (then Taco Inn) in 1999 in an effort to introduce Mexican flavors not typically found in the United States to the American palate.

Sauteed zucchini smothered in pumpkin seed mole. Rich, delicious, and very Mexican comfort food.

The grilled zucchini smothered in pumpkin seed mole, with only a hint of tomatillos, is the perfect comfort food. Served with a side of rice and beans cooked in water (not lard) and the most perfect homemade corn tortillas you have ever put your mouth around. There is no Tex-Mex on the menu, though you can still eat your fill of chips and salsa. The salsa, however, is not your typical tomato-based salsa fresco, but rather a spicy puree of ancho and other chili peppers, served with a side of lime wedges. Save room for the appetizers. Their menu is so full of treats you'll find yourself debating over the soup options (tortilla, fideo, or the spicy shrimp) or the fish and shrimp ceviche. Served in a footed sundae glass, the ceviche is a cool blend of fresh fish, lots of citrus, tomatoes, onions, and olives. A favorite with many is the cactus salad, slices of pickled cactus, fresh tomatoes and onions, and covered with mild queso fresco.

These Tacos Pastor are another mouthwatering favorite.

So the next time you're near San Antonio, try the famous MiTierra's, J Alexanders and Rudy's BBQ but then try some of what the locals eat, The Cove and Guajillo’s. And check out their delicious websites too for menus, maps and extras.