Allandale

Barley Swine works its magic with fresh-off-the-farm Texan bounty like no place else. And we’re obsessed with the locally made Sunset Canyon pottery each dish is served on. A healthyish dinner could look like this: bean salad with masa-infused mayo, shishito pepper mousse flecked with puffed grains, and a bowl of shiitake dumplings with grilled squash to share.

Fonda San Miguel underwent a renovation in the last decade, but the bright decor here still speaks to its impressive 1970's roots. Of course, though, the mouthwatering Mexican food is the reason this restaurant is still open forty-plus years later. In fact, they make the same tortilla soup recipe from 1975; locals love everything from the classic enchiladas to the chile rellenos and Gulf shrimp dishes.

Real-life couple Anthony and Chad met in New York in the early 2000s, bonding over the fact that they were both from small towns. As Chad waxed poetic about the ice cream he ate growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (a.k.a. hand-made with locally sourced ingredients), Anthony began imagining the types of flavors he could create with ingredients unique to his hometown in Texas. Today, their ice cream shop has stores in San Antonio and Austin, with inventive, Texas-specific flavors like cilantro lime, dewberry corn cobbler, and sweet persimmon.