Weekend in San Antonio

Kathy and I spent the weekend in San Antonio last weekend. We did the SA Food Tour, which was super fun! It's a three-hour downtown walking tour that stops at several restaurants, at which we had reserved tables for our group and got a signature dish. Our favorite stop on this particular tour was La Panadería, a bakery and sandwich shop, where Chef/Co-Owner José Cáceres (from Mexico City) talked with all of us and shared his and brother David's famous tequila almond croissant, and the chocolate concha.

Um, yep. Tequila. Almond. Croissant. Holy moly, that thing is heaven. It is crispy-edged, cloud soft middle, croissanty almond perfection. (You may have seen it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network.)

He told me they are opening a downtown Austin location soon. Woohoo!

The tour also stops at a few San Antonio touristy and not-so-touristy spots along the route, like the Alamo, for photo ops and a little history.

After the tour, we wandered around downtown and had drinks at Haunt and a late dinner at Rebelle, both in the St. Anthony Hotel. Dinner was AMAZING. Rebelle's decor and vibe is so cool, with a lot of glass and shiny materials. (Here are a couple of photos.) Everyone was taking pictures with (and on- there was some drinking) the restaurant's gorgeous glass tile lion. We shared small plates there, which were all very unique and delicious.

Sunday we went to the San Antonio Botanical Garden. I could swear I had been there years ago, but it didn't look at all familiar. It is beautiful, with an astonishing variety of plants. Lots to see. I really loved it. Don't miss it, if you like that sort of thing!

The only thumbs down of the weekend was the downtown bar/street noise Saturday night. If you're not staying up until at least 2:30 am, you'll want to get a hotel room away from downtown. It was crazy loud, even a few blocks from the Riverwalk.