San Antonio’s culinary legacy goes well beyond tacos and tequila. These 15 foods, drinks and iconic combos all trace their roots to the Alamo City — or at least wouldn’t exist in quite the same form without it.
Chili con carne
Credit is due to San Antonio’s famous Chili Queens for this meaty, chili-spiked dish. A group of women brought the Mexican tradition of open-air food stands to the plazas of San Antonio in the 1880s, introducing locals and visitors to the dish. Check this online recipe.
Fritos
It was Oaxacan-born Gustavo Olguin who inspired Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin with the now-famous recipe in San Antonio during the 1930s. A popular Mexican street food, Olguin’s recipe prompted Doolin to buy the patent and further refine the flavor into the Frito Lay-produced snack food we know and love today.
Gatorade
This one comes with a caveat.The actual drink was never produced in San Antonio, but Gatorade’s founder, Robert Cade, had roots here. Recognizing that athletes had a vital need to rehydrate to optimize their performance, Cade developed a formula full of electrolytes that ultimately became Gatorade. We like to think the San Antonio heat was his original inspiration.
Puffy tacos
They say accidents happen. And sometimes accidents lead to puffy tacos. According to legend — and the family that owns Ray’s Drive Inn — the first puffy taco was born by mistake in the 1970s, when a ball of masa ended up in the deep fryer and transformed into the pillowy flavor cradle we know today. While there’s still some debate about the origin story, Ray’s Drive Inn is widely considered the birthplace of this SA favorite.
Ice cream soda
According to an Express-Newsarticle dating back to 1913, ice cream soda was invented by Alamo City entrepreneur G.A. Duerler Sr., who reportedly struggled to keep the soda water at his confectionery cold. After adding a dollop of ice cream into the bubbly water, Duerler recognized the new concoction was a certified hit.
Bean burger
Taco Cabana co-founder Felix Stehling has often been credited for creating the first bean burger. Not to be mistaken for a veggie burger, which often contains legumes along with other non-meat items, this San Antonio favorite typically consists of a beef patty topped with refried beans, cheese, and, in some versions, chips and salsa.
Commercial chili powder
You can say danke to German immigrant William Gebhardt for this one. After laying roots in New Braunfels with his first restaurant, Gebhardt created what he called Tampico Dust from ground herbs and peppers. Inspired by his love for Mexican cuisine, Gebhardt wanted to create powdered chili peppers that could be available to use year-round. It eventually became the commercial chili powder we know and use today, and the Gebhardt brand still dominates.
Chispas
A San Antonio legend in its own right, the chispa has become synonymous with memorable nights and regrettable decisions. Some people say it’s simply a lower-calorie margarita, while other locals swear chispas are laced with Everclear. Regardless, the tequila-based drink was created by Soluna founder Jesse Calvillo at the original La Fogata back in the 1970s. The rest is boozy history.
Ballpark nachos
San Antonio entrepreneurs over the years have had a knack for taking classic recipes and enhancing their functionality — case in point, the ballpark nacho. Nachos themselves are a Mexican invention, but San Antonio resident Frank Liberto made them an easy ballpark concession in the 1970s thanks to his shelf-stable liquid cheese. The resulting nacho has been a go-to snack stadium venues in the decades since, and Liberto’s family built an SA-based snack business called Ricos Products.
Sizzling fajitas
The true origin of fajitas can be traced back to Mexican vaqueros. However, the birthplace of the iconic restaurant fajita is still a hot topic of debate to this day. Many Texas cities, including San Antonio, claim to be the birthplace of serving the cuts of steak on a sizzling platter. While there is no concrete evidence confirming or contradicting the numerous claims, many insist SA’s La Margarita Mexican Restaurant & Oyster Bar was the first or among the first.
Big Red and barbacoa
While Big Red and barbacoa weren’t created in San Antonio, the city is famous for popularizing the pairing, resulting in one of the most beloved hangover cures in town. Chef Leo Davila — now of downtown restaurants Esencia and Anacacho — took the combo one step further at his old restaurant Stixs & Stone by infusing blue corn tortillas with Big Red and serving them with fresh barbacoa. The famous dish is also available at Esencia.
Chicken on a stick
We’d be remiss not to mention the popular Fiesta food featuring a large piece of fried chicken skewered on a stick with a jalapeño on top. J.J. “Mr. Chicken” Gonzalez created the Fiesta favorite locals know and love today for NIOSA — a fitting tribute to his legacy after passing away from kidney cancer at the age of 50 in November 2025.
La Preperada
It’s no shocker that San Antonio, a hotbed of hot temps, has birthed unique drink creations. The La Preperada for example, emerged from NIOSA in the early 2010s. Keeping it simple, the drink typically centers around a Smirnoff bottled beverage with creative fruit accoutrements.
Agua fresca vodka
San Antonio vodka brand Volada created a liquor designed with local tastes in mind — vodka infused with traditional flavors used in agua frescas. Sip on the watermelon, hibiscus or mango chamoy flavors, which pair well with fresh juices for a truly authentic agua fresca-inspired drink.
Packaged beer salts
It’s a longtime tradition in Mexico to doctor up a cold brew with lime and salt, and street vendors there have been known to offer citrus-spiked salt to customers. However, Texas Highways Magazine credits family-owned San Antonio company Twang for being the first first business in Texas and “most likely the first in the United States” to commercially package beer salts with added flavors such as lemon, lime and pickle.