Modern Forage: San Antonio, TX
San Antonio's Mexican-American foodways anchor two locked-in traditions: the puffy taco shell-puffing technique invented at Ray's Drive Inn in the 1950s (the San Antonio Missions baseball mascot is 'Henry the Puffy Taco') and the Sunday-morning ritual of beef cheek barbacoa tacos paired with Big Red cream soda.
San Antonio’s Mexican-American foodways anchor two locked-in traditions: the puffy taco shell technique (Ray’s Drive Inn, 1950s) and the Sunday-morning beef-cheek-barbacoa-and-Big-Red ritual.
This list is almost certainly incomplete; San Antonio holds further hyper-local dishes that have not yet surfaced in the survey.
A note on the Where-to-eat blocks. Every entry below carries a list of restaurants and, where available, star ratings as of the date this post was published. These are a snapshot. Verify hours and addresses before driving anywhere.
Puffy Tacos — San Antonio, TX
Raw masa dough deep-fried until it balloons into an airy, crispy shell, then filled with picadillo (spiced ground beef), chicken, or beans. Created in the 1950s at Ray’s Drive Inn. The San Antonio Missions minor league baseball mascot is “Henry the Puffy Taco.” The shell-puffing technique (dropping raw masa into hot oil so it inflates) is the distinguishing element. Pre-made shells don’t replicate it. Functionally a San Antonio-only phenomenon.
Sources: Texas Monthly (Jan 2026, José Ralat); Best Food San Antonio (2024); CultureMap SA (2026). Five+ sources.
Where to eat: Ray’s Drive Inn, 822 SW 19th St, San Antonio (the 1950s origin). Henry’s Puffy Tacos, 6030 Bandera Rd, San Antonio. Los Barrios, 4223 Blanco Rd, San Antonio.
Barbacoa and Big Red — San Antonio, TX
Pattern: Grocery Store Regionalism (Big Red).
A Sunday morning tradition specific to San Antonio’s Mexican-American community: beef cheek barbacoa tacos paired with Big Red cream soda. The pairing is the cultural artifact. Barbacoa exists across Texas and Mexico. Big Red is sold regionally. The ritualized Sunday combination is unique to SA. Annual Barbacoa & Big Red Festival. Bean and cheese tacos on flour tortillas are the weekday companion tradition. SA has an entire review website (sabeanandcheese.net) rating them citywide.
Sources: Texas Monthly (Jan 2026, José Ralat); CultureMap SA (2026); sabeanandcheese.net. Four+ sources.
Where to eat: Mendez Cafe, San Antonio (Sunday barbacoa institution). Pico de Gallo, 111 S Leona St, San Antonio (downtown Sunday barbacoa). Annual Barbacoa & Big Red Festival, San Antonio.
More from the series
Browse the rest of the Modern Forage survey.
Research & primary sources
Methodology, validation logs, and the entries that didn’t make this post are in the modern_forage/ on GitHub. Every entry here passed a 2+ independent-source check; the citations under each dish list them.