Multitask at the Cove
Time is of the essence during a lunch break. With typically just an hour or less to spare, performing eat-or-errand triage is often a necessity. The Cove (606 W. Cypress St., 210-227-2683) helps solve that problem by offering not just fresh and delicious burgers, fish tacos, nachos and sweet potato fries (pair with the Sriracha…
Explore the Emerald Ring
For 15 years, the City of San Antonio has been chipping away at a hike-and-bike trail — a ring of green within the city — that is accessible for nearly every side of town. The Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System winds through the South, East, West and North sides of SA, with 1,400 acres…
Work It Out
San Antonio is often (and sadly, deservedly) known for being a city on the “husky” side. The city has undertaken several initiatives to help curb this situation, including the Fitness in the Park program. The citywide initiative offers a number of free — that’s right, free — exercise and fitness classes at nearly every park,…
Twerk It Out
Brass Monkey • If you’re looking to dance on the St. Mary’s Strip, then the place to be is Brass Monkey. With a combination of ’80s new wave, indie and dance music, this oddball venue knows how to pack the dance floor. Here, hipsters and dancing queens unite to pay tribute to the worst-dressed decade,…
Get Groomed
You know, sometimes filling yourself up with confidence and comfort can be a whole lot more beneficial than stuffing your face with some greased-caked burger or boring lunch plate. Why not use that lunch hour to treat yourself? You might find, refreshed and looking oh so fresh, that you become more of a treat to…
Drink Your Breakfast
Whether you are fully committed to rocking and rolling all night and partying every day, or just need some liquid courage to face your boss and the carrot on the end of the stick that is your livelihood, sometimes you wanna tie one on before life has had an opportunity to grind you into spiritual…
Wind Down at Woodlawn
For more than a century, San Antonians have blown off steam by enjoying time at Woodlawn Lake (1103 Cincinnati Ave.), with its decorative lighthouse watching over them. The artificial lake was built by George W. Russ, president of the Rhode Island-based West End Town Company, in the 1880s. According to the city, visitors used streetcars…
“Gift” Shop at Planet K
I get high with a little help from my friends … at Planet K. High on tobacco products emanating from the plethora of pipes (many made by local blowers), one-hitters, vapes, Medusa-like hookahs and bongs of all shapes and sizes that make up the merchandise of this Texas staple of civilization. You can always buy…
Feast at Food Trucks
Need to grab and go, or like to have several options in one place? Food truck parks are a good option. Roll on through or sit and stay awhile at these three SA parks. The Point Park and Eats • Come for the grub, stay for the kid- and pet-friendly environs and craft beer. The…
Get Jacked at Crossfit
People are busy, and their days offer precious few opportunities to hit the gym. Instead of unwinding with a few 12-ounce lifts, get your post-work decompression from a crossfit session. There are more crossfit gyms in town than you can shake a stick at (or a dumbbell, if it’s light enough), so finding a place…
Savor Can’t-Miss Cuisine
American • The Big Bib (104 Lanark Drive, 210-654-8400) takes its service and home-cooked barbecue seriously. Brisket, ribs, turkey and sausage are all available to satisfy your carnivore needs. At Smoke Shack (3714 Broadway, 210-957-1430), the barbecue is traditional, and the sides have some additional flavors you didn’t realize you loved. The Filling Station (701…
Snag a Naughty Novelty
If you want to spice up your post bar-hopping activities, San Antonio has a few great stores to help you fill your goodie bag. A local favorite, The Love Shack (1580 Babcock Road, 210-767-9411) sets the bar high with clean, friendly, helpful and shame-free adults-only shopping. Besides toys, Adult Video Megaplex (multiple locations) boasts a…
Get Your Nails Did
When your cuticles are just wrecked and it’s time for a new coat of OPI’s fiercest red, get thee to your nearest nail salon. Our Best of San Antonio 2015 issue would suggest giving Vanity Room (11703 Huebner Road, Suite 202, 210-414-6985), where artist Priscilla Charbel can make any of your Pinterest nail art dreams…
Go Fishing
If you’re an angler, you don’t have to leave the city limits to find a place to fish. Spend a cool morning on the bank of Woodlawn Lake (1103 Cincinnati Ave.), where you’ll find carp and channel catfish. You’ll also find channel cats in Miller’s Pond (6175 Old Pearsall Road) on the South Side, which…
Eat Your Way Through the Pearl
It’s entirely possible to visit San Antonio without stepping foot outside The Pearl Brewery Complex, which opened the doors to Hotel Emma (136 E. Grayson St., 210-448-8300) in November 2015. Though the boutique hotel added a posh grocer with Larder and a full-service restaurant with the John Brand-helmed Supper, along with Sternewirth, the hotel’s new…
Grab Late-Night Tacos
When out drinking, nothing satisfies that early morning hunger like a taco from a taco truck. A good after-bar taco truck combines tastiness, quickness and cheapness. Located right next to Hardbodies, Tacos El Regio (2726 N. St. Mary’s St.) is ideally situated in walking distance from all of the bars along the St. Mary’s Strip.…
Find Tranquility Through Yoga
Let go of the stressors of every day life before starting your day. Whether you’re trying to figure out work-life balance, need to shape up your practice or just nail tree pose, there are plenty of studios to enjoy a very early morning yoga sweat sesh. MBS Fitness • Though MBS Fitness (multiple locations, mbsfitness.net)…
Pick Up Breakfast Tacos
There are but a handful of things better than access to great breakfast tacos. Thankfully, this is San Antonio and most of us are but a hop, skip and jump away from our nearest taco joint. Let’s be honest, few will go out of their way to pick up a carne guisada taco on their…
Where to Wow Out-of-Towners
Whatever your people are here for — a graduation, a birthday or a niece’s quinceañera — they’re going to need to eat eventually. Here are three spots to take your guests before they get hangry and you need to get them out of your house: La Fogata • If you’re spending a ton of time…
Eat Great Late
Used to be that local denizens of the dark had limited late-night feeding options: Mi Tierra pairing enchiladas and mariachis and Earl Abel’s mating insomniacs to fried chicken. Mi Tierra Restaurant & Bakery (218 Produce Row, 210-225-1262) still soldiers on. But a new breed of night owls has emerged, encouraged in part by upscale bars…
Build the Perfect Day in San Antonio
City Guide
Cool Down with a Cold One
On certain days the workplace feels like a monotonous inferno of crumpled sticky notes and forgotten to-do lists in a nightmare straight out of Office Space. These long days unfold into even longer weeks, leaving us world-weary and in dire need of a place where our frazzled hair and tattered business casual aren’t targets of…
Treat the Tots
Going out to eat with kids doesn’t mean you’re stuck going to McDonald’s or Chuck E. Cheese’s. There are plenty of restaurants in San Antonio that have great food and distractions for the kids. The Cove (606 W. Cypress St., 210-227-2683) has a unique menu featuring bison, lamb and grass-fed beef dishes with plenty of…
Take a Joyride
Aptly billed as the “healthiest happy hour of your day,” JoyRide Cycle Studio (multiple locations, joyridestudio.com) puts a decidedly modern spin on the group fitness concept. Led by motivating instructors in a sleek space tricked out with a killer sound system, JoyRide’s “calorie-torching, endorphin-surged, high-energy” sessions get riders amped up with amusing themes (from “Mashup…
Walk or Bike Through Downtown
It’s tough to appreciate everything Downtown has to offer in the middle of the day. Whether you’re inching through traffic, accidentally turning down one-way streets or trying to cut through herds of people looking for the Alamo (“Do ya’ know where I could get my hands on a coonskin cap?”), just existing in the city’s…
Take a Hike
Author and naturalist John Muir once said: “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” In San Antonio, we are fortunate to live in a fairly large metropolitan area that still has a number of lush green spaces that are perfect for getting that same feeling Muir mentions. In the last…
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
After a savory dinner or a particularly trying day, we can’t think of anything better than a sweet treat or two. But why wait until the end of the day to satisfy those sugary cravings when San Antonio’s got a multitude of dessert options ranging from delicate macarons to decadent conchas stuffed with ice cream?…
Rack ‘Em Up
Shoot stick? If you’ve ever seen the Swayze arthouse flick Roadhouse or Paul Newman in The Hustler, you know what kind of badassery goes down in the pool hall. However, if your billiard goals are slightly lower than running the table on some poor, unsuspecting schmuck, there are plenty of places to brush up on…
Bird Watch at Olmos Basin
The views in Olmos Basin Park (651 Devine Road) are some of the best in the city. The trees and open spaces make you feel lost in nature even though you’re not far from great restaurants and top coffee shops. Some of the main attractions are the kick ass birds that populate the park. Give…
Get Zen at the San Antonio Botanical Garden
The San Antonio Botanical Garden might just be one of the most beautiful places in the entire city. The 38-acre park, with a tall hill at its center that provides a great view of San Antonio, features all kinds of nature, from native plants found throughout the garden in a variety of displays to a…
Rally the Troops
After the graduation caps have been tossed, and that intense training seminar at work has ended, nothing feels more necessary than succulent food and drinks enjoyed with good company. We know a thing or two about feeding large masses of people here in SA, and some restaurants have refined this to an art form by…
Drink at Home
Sometimes, you just want to go where everybody knows your name. And the surest way to do that is to stay planted on your own couch while sporting your best elastic waistband. Here are some of the spots around town to stock up on craft brews to enjoy in the comfort of your own home:…
Watch the Sun Rise from a Historic Hill
San Antonio can be loud. But before the day breaks and the sun rises, prior to thousands upon thousands of commuters taking to the Alamo City’s network of highways and streets causing a cacophony of traffic sounds, there’s a serene quiet across the city. San Antonio’s not known for dramatic views from high points in…
Go Retro
Although random vintage duds and furnishings can still be be spotted hiding on the racks and shelves of San Antonio’s many thrift stores (Thrift Town, Boysville Auxiliary Thrift, Community Thrift and Texas Thrift, among the local favorites), a handful of dedicated shops are happy to do the hunting for you. While Period Modern (4347 McCullough…
It’s Showtime, San Antonio
Gone are the days when entertainment on your perfect day meant a paleta by the television set. Now, with a rapidly growing arts scene and more tourists to entertain than ever, when the sun goes down on the Alamo, the curtains must come up on stages across this destination city. From a steady rotation of…
Go Gallery Hopping
While the monthly mainstays of First Friday and Second Saturday routinely get the Alamo City art scene out en masse for animated — and often boozy — evenings of gallery hopping, art openings are almost a weekly occurrence in San Antonio. Membership has its privileges at institutions like the San Antonio Museum of Art (200…
Breakfast at Jim’s
There’s something comforting about knowing that Jim’s Restaurants (multiple locations, jimsrestaurants.com) exist, and that you can visit most of the locations at any time. The diner is a beacon of basic breakfast, available at dawn, noon, midnight or any point in between. There are 16 San Antonio-area Jim’s, 13 of which are open 24 hours…
Do the DoSeum
Since opening its doors back in June 2015, The DoSeum, the new incarnation of the San Antonio Children’s Museum, with its cutting-edge technology and focus on learning-through-doing, has wowed, engaged and educated visitors of all ages. Sure, it’s a wonderful place to take the kiddos — a place where they can burn as much energy…
Cozy Up with the Burlesque Scene
Burlesque in the Alamo City is an unsurprisingly eclectic and refreshingly body-positive affair that takes shape in themed, seasonal spectacles filled with bumping, grinding, glitter and tassels, and during the young but promising San Antonio Burlesque Festival (the fifth edition is set for September 16 and 17 at the Woodlawn Theatre). Spearheaded by the lovely…
Get Batty
Mexican free-tailed bats are oft-unheralded saviors of South Texas. They prevent the region’s crops from being overrun by pests, and the rest of us from being perpetually bothered by mosquitoes, gnats and other buzzy little beasts. Watching them emerge from their daily slumber is also a fantastic and mesmerizing sight, and there are several places…
Indulge in Indie Coffee
The coffee explosion doesn’t stop with power meetings. Sometimes the lattes and cortados come in sweet little locally grown packages. Here’s a list of a few joints we love to while away an afternoon in. Fairview Coffee (3428 N. St. Mary’s St., 210-731-8009) is located in a small, unassuming strip center near the San Antonio…
Reach for the River
Completed in 2013, the Museum and Mission Reaches give Alamo City residents a part of the River Walk they can own, one with far fewer visitors and attractions than the tourist-saturated portion of the San Antonio River. And they’re perfect places for a stroll. The Museum Reach — four miles soaked with native flora —…
Be a Karaoke Star
The beautiful thing about karaoke is that there’s no one way to succeed. Nothing pulls strangers together like an entire room joining in, pained expressions across their joyous faces, as they belt out “Don’t Stop Believing.” Or the guy who gets super agro on Pantera and then comes back next round to wail on Miley’s…
Discover the Four Southern Missions
Ignore this if you haven’t visited San Antonio’s Spanish missions before. If that’s the case, you’ll want to see their interiors too, which close each day at 5 p.m. But if you’re a veteran of mission tours — which, not counting the Alamo, include Missions Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan and Espada — the best…
Freshen Up with a Fruit Cup
Satisfying a sweet tooth doesn’t always mean a trip for some ice cream. This is San Antonio, where Mexican culture brought us the fruit cup and raspas. Chamoy City Limits (multiple locations, chamoycitylimits.com), a food truck, takes the traditional raspa to the next level with selections like The Anaconda and Lochness Monster, which are filled…
Forage Farmers Markets
Picking up fresh produce for the week at one of the city’s farmers markets makes you feel good about yourself. There’s something about getting outside, walking around and selecting healthy, locally grown food that sets a positive tone for the rest of the day. Here are three to take in around town: Olmos Basin Farmers…
Bar Hop on the Strip
Once a thriving stretch of nightlife packed with live music and weekend revelers, due to a stream of bar purchases, renovations and the influx of Downtown dwellers, the St. Mary’s Strip is poised to return to its former position as the primary destination for live music seekers. We shall start at The Mix (2423 N.…
Nourish with Juice
Whether you’ve been out the night before and want a fresh start or want to start the day with 17 servings of vegetables, there are juice shops out there for you. Each has carved out an audience within SA, but here’s a rundown of where to get your fresh-pressed beets and then some. Fresh-pressed and…
Wake and Bake
Uuhhh … it’s that time again. The quiet consolation of evening has passed and we’re back in the shuffle of the mortal coil. But, alas! There is herb of which to partake! Herb for all humankind! This is the first toke, first drag, pull, hit, touch: the first time that we’re putting our lips to…
Catch a Flick
PALLADIUM THEATER • This movie house will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in December 2016 as one of the most impressive of the theaters in the locally owned Santikos chain. From its Greek-influenced architecture to its state-of-the-art IMAX theater to its newly installed Barco Escape that uses multiple screens to present a film, the movie-going experience…
Eat on the Cheap
San Antonio has always been a city that loves food. And in recent years, with places like the Pearl and its restaurants making national foodie news, the Alamo City seems to have made an unequivocal mark on the culinary map. While diners should be ready to drop at least 100 bucks to enjoy a solid…
Browse for Books and Vinyl
For the literate individual whose free time is not spent just Netflix-and-chilling, or the audiophile with the insatiable appetite for all things vinyl, what better way to spend an afternoon than among the stacks and rows of some of your closest companions: books and records. Luckily, San Antonio has some exceptional opportunities to score that…
Go Antiquing on Hildebrand
It’s a weekend tradition for hardcore pickers and casual browsers alike, but there’s no need to wait for Saturday or Sunday to peruse the packed aisles of antiques, collectibles and vintage finds that line the funky little strip of Hildebrand Avenue between San Pedro and Beacon. While certain spots come and go, mainstays Antiques on…
Take in a Show
If you’re looking for great live music of the local and touring variety, chances are you’re thinking of hitting the St. Mary’s Strip. And you’re not wrong. Our fair city, however, boasts plenty of other great spots around town to dig live music of all types. So let’s say you decide to skip the Strip,…
Lunch in the Park
Forget eating lunch at a desk or in a breakroom. Forget about the hustle and bustle of finding some quick grub to chow down during that all-too-short lunch hour. Instead, pack a lunch and escape the workday in one of San Antonio’s endless number of parks. There’s no way to do justice to them all…
Power Through Your Morning Meeting
Time to make some big decisions? Interviewing for a new position? Making calls on big-time projects that’ll re-energize San Antonio? It’s time for a power meeting. Thankfully, San Anto is currently replete with coffee shops for the “get shit done” set. Here are a few of our go-to joints for sealing any deal. Rosella Coffee…
Score a Slice
Listen, we’ve all been there. You left your bag lunch on the counter, you’ve got less than 10 buckaroos in your wallet and you’re starving. Though New York City this ain’t, there are plenty of places to find a solid slice around town, on the cheap, and on the fly. From customizable pies to pre-set…
Cruise the Gayborhood
For a fun-filled night of dancing, boozing and entertainment, head on over to the strip on Main Avenue. Located just north of Downtown, San Antonio’s “gayborhood” is currently “on the rise” with new additions to the neighborhood (check out Ouch Underwear and the soon-to-open Boxer Bar) and recent renovations and expansions to many of its…
Sneak a Beer
It’s already such a perfect day. You’ve sipped sangria in the park and fed animals at the zoo, but now it’s your turn to grab a bite and sneak a beer (or two). The spots named below offer solid grub selections and open their taps by noon, so you’ll have no trouble nursing a lunchtime…
Make Happy Hour Count
B & D Ice House • We were told that we’d love this little hole in the wall bar and barbecue joint, and we do. Its position between Hot Joy and The Friendly Spot to the south, Rosario’s to the north and Madhatter’s across the street makes it all the more appealing as the what-you-see-is-what-you-get…
Unleash the Hounds
Show some love to your four-legged friends by taking a paws during your busy day to spend some time with the pups at one of San Antonio’s many dog parks. Two popular spots include Phil Hardberger Park West (8400 NW Military Hwy.) and East (13203 Blanco Road), where the mutts can roam off-leash in separate…
Tipple Cocktail Creations
Sure, Lone Star and one-and-one mixed beverages still hold a place in our hearts, but sometimes you really want a great Manhattan. Step into Slam Antonio where the daiquiris are cold and the large format ice is even colder. Get your drink on at any of these fine joints across the city. Stay Classy, Stay…
