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Staff writer

Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter is the Express-News restaurant critic. Before joining the Taste Team in 2016, he served as restaurant critic for the Austin American-Statesman and editor of FedManWalking.com. He’s appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” ABC’s “To Tell the Truth” and written for The Guardian, Bon Appetit and The Wall Street Journal.

Stories By Mike Sutter

San Antonio chef will battle baskets on Food Network’s 'Chopped'

The March 14 TV appearance by Braunda Smith of Lucy Cooper’s Ice House comes just weeks before she competes on “Guy’s Grocery Games.” Mike Sutter

10 fish tacos you need to try during Lent in San Antonio

These taquerías and restaurants are solid choices for fish Friday — and every other day. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter review: Fig Tree’s long way back on the River Walk

The resurrection of a half-century San Antonio restaurant name comes with rewards and regrets. Mike Sutter

Restaurants with a past, present & future on NW Military Highway

Clementine, Sushihana, Los Azulejos, Dim Sum and Bilia make their mark as FM 1535 stretches through Castle Hills in San Antonio. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter: The 10 best (and worst) Voodoo Doughnuts

I ate every doughnut at the new Voodoo Doughnut in the old Playland Pizza in downtown San Antonio, with more than 40 kinds of doughnuts, from the Old Dirty Bastard to the Memphis Mafia to one I can’t say out loud. Do they live up to the hype? Mike Sutter

On Fat Tuesday, the top 10 New Orleans restaurants in S.A.

On Fat Tuesday, here are the best local Louisiana-inspired places for gumbo, beignets, etouffee, po’boys and more. Mike Sutter

Lucy Cooper’s chef heading to Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Grocery Games”

San Antonio’s Braunda Smith will compete on the Food Network show in May. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter’s 10 best (and worst) things I ate in January

From caviar and lamb chops to enchiladas and po’boys, the ups and downs of a month in the life of a restaurant critic. Mike Sutter

Tipping point: Is S.A. suffering from gratuity fatigue?

From drive-thrus to fine dining, we’re tipping more since the pandemic. How long can it last? Mike Sutter

Have a bite off West Avenue, one of S.A.'s tastier roads

This 8-mile street on the Northwest Side blends the city’s best taco stand, an old-school burger drive-thru, a revitalized Chinese cafe, a sushi master named Goro and legacy barbecue from chef Jason Dady. Mike Sutter

Top 10 country cafes from San Antonio to the Hill Country

The best chicken-fried steak, plate-size pancakes and Texas-size stories from cafes in San Antonio, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake, Boerne, New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter review: Ladino’s Mediterranean magic at the Pearl

The new San Antonio project from Austin’s Emmer & Rye traces the language, the journey and the food of Sephardic Jews through the Middle East with strong results. Mike Sutter

Eat the Street: Nightmare on North St. Mary’s

A new series exploring the streets that feed San Antonio’s restaurant scene begins with the St. Mary’s Strip construction fiasco and 5 businesses determined to see it through: Burger Boy, Demo’s Greek Food, Little Death, Singhs Vietnamese and... Mike Sutter

The Top 10 sandwiches in San Antonio

Our 52 Weeks of Sandwiches series wraps up with the best things since sliced bread, from lobster rolls to Reubens to a very Serious Sandwich indeed. Mike Sutter, Chuck Blount

San Antonio restaurants that opened and closed in 2022

From a flurry of restaurant openings at the Pearl to the closing of the soul-food staple Mr. & Mrs. G’s, it was a year of churn for the San Antonio scene. Mike Sutter

The top 10 taco places in San Antonio

San Antonio’s best taquerías give tacos the respect they deserve no matter the style -- from breakfast and street tacos to birria, puffy and guisada. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter’s Top 10 San Antonio restaurants in 2022

Steak, sushi, seafood, Italian, Mexican, French, Japanese and inventive American restaurants all find a place at the table this year. By Mike Sutter

52 Weeks of Sandwiches: PB&J with Tay worth a drive in Olmos Park

Nostalgia tastes good on Texas toast at this homage to our favorite childhood sandwich. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter: 5 worst things I ate in S.A. in 2022

From rainbow sliders at the River Walk disaster Sugar Factory to the tragedy on a stick that is Bovino’s Churrascaria, not everything’s good in the neighborhood. Mike Sutter

Mike Sutter: Top 25 things I ate in 2022

The Top 25 things I ate this year included tacos, doughnuts, fried chicken, sandwiches and more from a year of Top 10 lists in San Antonio, with side trips to Boerne and New Braunfels. Mike Sutter