Try These Award-Winning Restaurants in San Antonio

Is the Lone Star State calling your name? Is the Alamo City your next destination? (That's San Antone to you, pardner!) If your travel plans in the near future include a visit to that city deep in the heart of the largest state in the Continental United States, you'll have plenty of award-winning restaurants to visit. So break out the crystal engravings, because this list hits some of the top destinations featuring the highest honors.

Chester's Hamburgers

When you visit San Antonio, you owe it to yourself to stop by one of the handful of Chester's Hamburgers locations in the city. Their old-fashioned burgers, served on poppyseed buns, have been voted to every "Best Of" list in town. We recommend the double cheeseburger for the perfect flavor and texture of cheese-beef-cheese-beef. And even though the double cheeseburger is pretty big for a non-native to eat, you're probably going to order the fresh cut fries and a homemade milkshake anyway.

Hot Joy

If modern American cuisine is your thing - if you consider yourself a foodie - try the Asian fusion restaurant in the King William district called Hot Joy. From the decor to the tiki-inspired cocktails and the overblown equivalent of elevated stoner food, Hot Joy has been on all kinds of awards lists, including Bon Appetit Magazine's "Best New Restaurants" list in 2014. The twice-fried crab fat caramel wings are downright famous, and if they have the brussels sprouts, just trust us and order a batch for the table.

B & D Ice House

Right next door to Hot Joy is a tiny little shack that sells some of the best BBQ in the town. Since the town in question is located in Texas, you could rightfully deduce that it's some of the best barbeque in the world. At B & D Ice House you can order brisket, ribs, and sausage by the pound, or you can choose from a list of sandwiches, one of which is loaded with chopped barbecue, macaroni and cheese, and coleslaw.

Bohanan's Prime Steaks & Seafood

Head downtown, just a few blocks from Hot Joy and the icehouse, for the priciest restaurant on this list; the food and cocktails will blow your mind. Bohanan's keeps winning awards from the Distinguished Restaurants of North America organization year after year. You may not know this, but San Antonio's downtown area fosters a thriving cocktail scene to rival that of New Orleans or New York, and the epicenter of this culture's birth was at the Bohanan's bar. The steaks are from prime aged, corn-fed Akaushi beef, and if you order the seafood, you can rest assured that it was flown in fresh.

Burger Boy

And now... we're back to burgers. There are a few Burger Boy locations in town, but we're specifically looking for the one that is just north of downtown. Ask enough San Antonians what their favorite burger is, and you'll soon learn that there are warring factions. But you'll probably find out that the most popular fast food burger - among the people who are passionate about food - is a little hole-in-the-wall called Burger Boy. The burgers here may remind you of Texas-based fast food chain Whataburger - only they're cooked on a far more seasoned flat top. What about the fries? At Burger Boy they're simple frozen crinkle-cut fries dropped in the deep fryer. It's an unassuming place to eat - reminiscent of a far-gone era - but the burgers are amazing, and Burger Boy is consistently voted to the important "Best Of" lists.

Alamo Cafe

Let's say half of your party wants Tex-Mex and half wants chicken fried steak. If that's the case, head over to the Alamo Cafe, a small local chain of restaurants that has won awards for its flour tortillas, queso, and more. Order tacos, enchiladas, the sizzling fajitas, the breaded and deep-fried ground steak, or whatever your heart desires. This has been a local favorite in San Antonio with its margaritas and homemade tortillas for many decades.