There are so many opportunities to try different types of foods and drinks outside of restaurants – and what’s better than trying all of it? From Asian to Hispanic, from craft beers to cocktails, and from brunch to dessert, there’s a food and/or drink event on this list for almost everyone. So take off your belts and put on your bibs, because some are even as soon as next weekend!

Taco Fest: Music y Mas $20, April 14, noon, 418 Villita St, localculturetickets.com Slated to be one of the most SA festivals ever, the inaugural Tacofest will satisfy our hunger for tacos and love of music. Enjoy all kinds of tacos (we ain’t got no type) while jamming to tunes from the likes of La Santa Cecilia, Girl in a Coma, Femina-X, and Piñata Protest. Photo via Instagram / sacurrent Credit: Instagram / sacurrent
Culinaria’s Restaurant Weeks $25-$45, Jan 21-Feb 2, multiple locations, culinariasa.org Probably the coolest thing about Culinaria’s Restaurant Weeks are that a ton of classic, trendy, new, and exclusive restaurants spread their peacock feathers and pull out all the stops on their menus to bring patrons fairly-priced menus. You can try many of them or just one, but we definitely recommend using this event to try something that you haven’t before. Photo via Instagram / culinariasa
Credit: Jaime Monzon
Culinaria Festival Week $TBD, September 2019, culinariasa.org While most things are still in the TBD phase of planning (the event won’t be happening til September of this year), you know Culinaria won’t steer you wrong. You can expect this to be well-organized, fun, and, of course, delicious. Photo via Instagram / culinariasa
Twisted Taco Truck Throwdown May 2019, facebook.com Yeah, we know this isn’t official yet – at least according to their Facebook page. But it’s been going on for 8 years! We know that they won’t give up this puro San Antonio tradition now. Photo via Instagram / theresazavala1
United We Brunch $TBD, June 8, Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W Market St, unitedwebrunchsa.com Even though the restaurants attending are still a mystery (well, the event isn’t until June), don’t let that keep your mouth from watering. Here’s what we know: this event benefits the Briscoe Western Art Museum, which is where it will be taking place, and everything will be delicious. And honestly, do you need anything else? It’s brunch, you should already be down. Photo via Instagram / botikapearl
Poteet Strawberry Festival $5-$15, April 5-7, 9199 N State Hwy 16, (830) 742-8144, strawberryfestival.com In more recent years, the Poteet Strawberry Festival has become more like a miniature rodeo than a festival that simply celebrates strawberries. Though the strawberry theme is still strong throughout, you can do so much more while you’re there. One of the headlines of the festival are their sweet jams – music. Photo via Instagram / strawberryfestx
A Night in Old San Antonio $12-$15, April 23-26, Better known as NIOSA (duh). There are fifteen culturally-themed areas to choose from, or you can just explore them all. Each have their own food and their own vendors, not to mention their own attitude, and each is memorable. Obviously we recommend stuffing your face with chicken on a stick, though. Photo via Instagram / anightinoldsa
San Antonio Beer Week TBD dates and location, sabeerweek.org Bring your beer snobs to San Antonio Beer Week! This event is designed to highlight small breweries and craft brewers of your favorite drink. Of course there will be beer sampling, and plenty of it, but there are also pub crawls and beer dinners to participate in as well as educational seminars if you truly want to geek out. Photo via Instagram / sabeerweek
Honeysuckle Galentine’s Cupcake Workshop $38, Wed Feb 13, 6-8pm, 6408 North New Braunfels Avenue, facebook.com Tickets for this event include all supplies and you don’t have to bake anything or clean up. With no experience required, this event is great for you and your galentine, especially since you get to take four cupcakes that you decorate home. You can give them to your lovelies or you can keep them all for you – but there’s no guarantee that yours will come out like the picture. Photo via Instagram / honeysuckleteatime
A Taste of New Orleans Fri April 12, 5pm-midnight, Sunken Garden Theatre, 3875 N St Mary’s St, fiestasanantonio.org As part of Fiesta San Antonio, you can taste almost every dish that ‘Nawlins has to offer without leaving San Antonio. A famous culinary district of the U.S., New Orleans is known for everything from creole to cajun. Photo via Instagram / fiestsa
Barbacoa & Big Red Festival $TBD, Sun May 19, 2532 Sidney Brooks, barbacoabigredfestival.com If we could only show a person one image to illustrate what it’s like to be in San Antonio, we’d probably show them an image of this festival. Name something more puro San Antonio. We’ll wait. Photo via Instagram / barbacoabigredfestival
Art Party: Art, Love, and Chocolate Free with museum admission, Feb 8, 6-8pm, San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 West Jones Ave, samuseum.org You read “chocolate” in the title, but did you expect cocktails as well? This event is free with admission into SAMA, so get your art on while you sample some Tre Trattoria cocktails from the cash bar, take a guided tour of the museum, and eat some chocolate. Photo via Instagram / sama_art
Zoo La-La! $68-$125, Thurs May 23, 7-10:30pm, San Antonio Zoo, 3903 N St. Mary’s, sazoo.org As a 21+ only event, this just proves that zoos can be cool for adults too. As you sample 50 of San Antonio’s most notable restaurants, you’ll be supporting animal conservation and education, as well as maybe getting a little tipsy as well. Just don’t ‘tip’ yourself into a lion enclosure. Photo via Instagram / sanantoniozoo
Oyster Bake $30, April 12 & 13, (210) 436-3324, oysterbake.com An event that’s been going on for slightly longer than a century, Oyster Bake is set to happen again on April 12th and the 13th. If you’ve somehow never been, here’s the gist: You go, you enjoy some oysters with thousands of your closest friends and neighbors, and you rock hard to some music. Photo via Instagram / oysterbake
Seven Seas Food Festival $39, April 20-May 28, seaworld.com SeaWorld will offer a taste and toast around the world every weekend through Memorial Day beginning 4/20. From the Pacific Rim to the South Atlantic to the Mediterranean, you’ll be able to sample flavorful dishes paired with exotic wines, craft cocktails and imported beers. Photo via Instagram / theofficial_sincerelymommy
Chili Queens Chili Cook-Off Free, Sun April 28, 3-8pm, 411 Bonham, 210-224-9219, fiestasanantonio.org The origins of this event stem from an event that would happen in Old San Antonio in the 1840s, where women would bring their kitchens to the various market squares in town and sell their foods to the public. They didn’t make just chili, though – they made tamales, tortillas, and chile con carne, which is where many hypothesize that the event got its name. Today, you can go to this Fiesta event to taste true chili – and may the best chili win. Photo via Instagram / fiestasa
Fiesta Gartenfest $3-$5, Wed April 24, 5pm-midnight, 422 Perieda St, (210) 222-5121, fiestasanantonio.org Fiesta Gartenfest is the best way to get your German on during Fiesta. Hosted by San Antonio’s oldest German singing societies, you’ll be enjoying German-themed food, drink, and not to mention, authentic entertainment. You heard us right – they’ve got a 50 person band. Photo via Instagram / ssoliz67
10th Annual Corona Paella Challenge $20-$125, Sun March 24, noon-4pm, 6030 Padre Dr, paellachallenge.com In its most basic form, paella is rice cooked in a shallow pan. To anyone who’s ever made or tasted it, it’s a lot more detailed and complicated than that. The Annual Corona Paella Challenge is made to highlight that. Here, you’ll watch your favorite chefs compete to have the best paella recipe – and you can sample them all. Photo via Instagram / frolicnfoodie
Wings & Beer Fest Sat March 30, St Paul Square, egcollaborations.com We don’t have a lot of solid details about this one yet, but we know it’s going to be good. Coordinated by the same folks who brought you the Frozen Treats Fest, we know that it’s going to be good. I mean, what’s better that wings and beer? Photo via Instagram / wingsandbeerfest
Cocktail Scavenger Hunt $18-$20, Sun Jan 27, 12:30-3:30pm, Botanical Gardens, 555 Funston Place sabot.org Here’s what we know: you and a group of friends (or you can go it alone, if that’s your thing prerogative) are challenged to comb the gardens for ingredients to cocktails, and when you find them, take a picture. Once you’ve gathered your gallery, show it to one of the present bartenders, and they’ll hand you a cocktail. Sigh – if only this worked at other bars. Photo via Instagram / sabotgarden
Culinaria 5K Wine and Beer Run $20, Sat March 16, 7am, The Shops at La Cantera, 15900 La Cantera Pkwy, culinariasa.org Here’s what you do: you register in the 5k, you run or walk 3.1 miles through beautiful La Cantera, and you’re greeted at the end with some of San Antonio’s best restaurants. Culinaria is committed to providing delicious food, and promoting healthy living. Photo via Instagram / culinariasa
Frozen Treats Fest egcollaborations.com Taking place in the beginning of summer, you might say that this is the most refreshing fest that goes on all year. Even though this event is still in the making, it’s worth keeping up with and putting on your calendar for those sweet treats in the hot Texas June/July. Photo via Instagram / edm06
Sausage Showdown $25, Sun March 3, 2-6pm, 422 Pereida Street, Sigh – we’re as disappointed as you are to learn that there are no gray sweatpants at this particular event. What they do have, though, is a wild sausage contest – and what we mean by that is different cooks will make sausages out of wild game (think boar and venison) and compete to see who has the best. And, really, it sounds almost just as exciting. Photo via Instagram / wiatreksmeatmarket