In a recent list, EATER placed San Antonio’s Carnitas Lonja as one of the Best New Restaurants of 2018. Editor and critic Bill Addison’s selective favorites were assessed in hospitality, ingenuity, and menu uniqueness.
Alex Paredes’ critically and locally celebrated taco joint opened in January of this year and has since been serving up textured, crispy and decadent pork carnitas in artfully made corn tortillas to our fortunate souls.
Marveling over a feast at Alex Paredes’s counter-service restaurant on the South Side of San Antonio brought to mind Japan’s concept of shokunin, or absorption and virtuosity in one’s profession. Paredes is master of carnitas. He slow-cooks them for hours until the ropy, near-greaseless hunks of pork reveal a gamut of textures in every bite: crisp, supple, lacy, chewy. His staff fashions corn tortillas by hand with exactly the right heft to handle the carnitas, which are the breadth of the Lonja experience. Order sides of guacamole and chorizo (for yet more texture) alongside the complimentary red and green salsas.
Yum! Make time for a visit to feast under their shady picnic tables.
Carnitas Lonja
1107 Roosevelt Ave., San Antonio, TX
So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.
Related Stories
This article appears in Best of San Antonio 2018.