Honey! What’s for Dinner?!? San Antonio Restaurants Worth Trying

My Top Three Favorite Eateries When I CAN'T Do The Dishes

In the Wilbourn household, we loooove food! BUT, the whole cleaning up after you cook part of a meal makes a great recipe quickly unappealing! If we are being honest with each other here, this mama isn’t much of a housekeeper, making matters in the doing dishes department even worse. This keeps my husband and me in a neverending game of “not it” when it comes time to decide what’s for dinner. Thankfully we live in a beautiful place with a delicious food scene—San Antonio, TX.

cute kitten hiding behind dirty dinner dishes

So, as a work-at-home mom with a busy husband, three kiddos (ages 11, 9, and 7 months), and a deep aversion to doing dishes, we enjoy as much of that blooming food scene as our family budget will allow. As you can imagine, Yelp, Facebook, and Google reviews are my best friends. 

We have our go-to places during the week when I’m too tired/too busy to cook and/or my husband is working late. This list also comes in handy when I hear, “Moooom, I’m tired of pizza!” I base these restaurants on proximity to our casa because after living on the East Coast for five years, driving more than five miles from the house is considered a day trip.

TOP 3 WEEKLY GO-TOs in MY NEIGHBORHOOD (Stone Oak)

1. TRUE TEXAS BBQ

Y’all! Does it get any better than H-E-B? I am all about a good home-cooked meal from the grocery store. When I’m not the one cooking, it makes it even better! My solution for this was to let my local market do the dirty work. So naturally, when they put an entire restaurant in there, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! My main dish at TTBbq is the loaded turkey baked potato. Partnering it with a second chopped brisket baked potato for the hubs and chicken with mac & cheese for the kids has me living my best dishes-free life! Oh, and I’m not sure if all of their locations have the same menu, but their queso… Trust me. Just get it!

BONUS: They usually turn around my orders in less than ten minutes, and while I wait I can grab a few items from the store that I might have forgotten during my last shopping trip. It’s the perfect spot for lunch or dinner!

2. ALDACO’S

Ok! Can you blame me for having Mexican as one of my top food choices?! In my opinion, the San Antonio Mexican food scene is like always being able to get a good home-cooked meal from grandma’s house. Aldaco’s is the closest Mexican restaurant to me and one of the best places to get my Taco Tuesday fill. Our go-to here is the Tacos Gringos.

Now, I know that pineapple on things like pizza has divided the internet. Admittedly I’m sans pineapple, but hear me out. You put pineapple in Aldaco’s flour tortillas with the marinated beef, and it’s the best thing since sliced bread! I pair this with quesadillas for the kiddos, and dinner is served. Oooooh, and just two parting words, TRES LECHES!

 

3. PAN & COFFEE

Listen, if you know, you know! While Pan, as I so affectionately like to call it, is only open until 6:00 p.m. most days, it is almost a daily driver for my husband’s coffee obsession. AND, since we are already there most mornings, how can anyone expect me to turn down their breakfast and lunch menus? Do you have a notepad ready because my go-to’s here are many?! Let’s start with the basics. You can’t go wrong with their breakfast plate (two eggs, refried black beans, roasted potatoes, two slices of bacon, served with toast—YUM!). Throw in a pistachio concha on the side, and it hits all the spots. Next up would be their quiche: caramelized onions, bacon, and goat cheese is the stuff of dreams. My husband’s fave at Pan is the Chilaquiles Pan & Coffee. Honestly, I have only seen him eat something else on their breakfast menu one other time because he likes it so much. If we aren’t in the mood for breakfast foods, my immediate choice is the turkey pesto sandwich. I could eat this every day! They serve it with a side salad, but there are a couple of other options for sides as well. Then you have their French dip, grilled cheese, tomato soup… their WHOLE menu. Trust me, go there! 

You can’t go wrong with breakfast, brunch, lunch, or an early dinner!

SIDE NOTE: If you need your kiddo occupied so you can sit down to eat, we’ve got you covered! Check out what’s for dinner at these great SA restaurants with playgrounds HERE! Also, need more ideas? Look at the places on San Antonio Yelp’s IG. Soooo good!

Now, it’s your turn. Share your faves!

While those are my top three “can’t-ever-go-wrong-closest-to-my-casa” and “just like eating at grandma’s” (Shhh, don’t tell her I wrote that!) picks, there are so many more places to choose from all over San Antonio. Since I abandon my five-mile philosophy on the weekends and am usually up for an adventure, tell me your top three eateries in your neighborhood.

**Serious bonus points for a stroller and family-friendly environment!**

hands typing on laptop to tell me what's for dinner cartoon gif

Tiffeny
A native Texan, Tiffeny returned to her home state in 2021 after living on the Northeast coast for many years. As a work-from-home mom with three children (12 y/o, 10 y/o, and 1.5 y/o), she is always on the go, whether to school, church, or last-minute errands; she usually has her laptop in tow. With a background in visual design, she works as a UX/UI Designer for No Spoon Solutions. She is also pursuing a B.A.S in Learning Technologies remotely from the University of North Texas. Tiffeny admits she is a true cat lady with the best of both worlds; her furbabies and family. If you ever meet her in person, you will quickly learn she bleeds coffee and doesn't take herself too seriously!