Mike Sutter’s 25 best dishes in San Antonio in 2022

Why? The restaurant scene keeps building on itself, and in a year with so many closings, there’s still been almost twice as many openings. It’s time to catalog the best of where we are now, to set a baseline for the growth to come.

Of the thousands of plates that moved across hundreds of tables the past year, these are the Top 25 things I ate in 2022. 

READ MORE: Mike Sutter's Top 10 San Antonio restaurants in 2022

Arrosta: Lasagna Bolognese

Never underestimate the power of handmade pasta — or the power of San Antonio chef Robbie Nowlin. His Lasagna Bolognese is exactly the kind of Italian farmhouse comfort food you want from this new rustic Italian trattoria just outside the Pearl’s main campus. 1803 Broadway, Suite 101, 210-979-9950, arrostapearl.com 

The Art of Donut: S’mores doughnut

A quest for the city’s Top 10 doughnuts this year found The Art of Donut resting comfortably at the top, thanks to doughnuts built like elaborate personal birthday cakes, including the s’mores doughnut, with an actual chocolate bar for full campfire effect. 3428 N. St. Mary's St., 210-265-5423, artofdonut.com

The Barn Door: Chopped sirloin with queso

The year saw the continuation of showdowns between San Antonio institutions that began with Fred’s Fish Fry vs. Sea Island Shrimp House. This time it was The Barn Door vs. Little Red Barn, two steakhouses with more than 100 years of history between them. The Barn Door came out on top, propelled by chargrilled steaks and this: a work of bacon-wrapped steakhouse art draped in Day-Glo orange cheese with a thick scatter of pico de gallo, ordered rare like cowboy tartare. 8400 N. New Braunfels Ave., 210-824-0116, thebarndoorrestaurant.com

The Beignet Stand: Beignets

A farmers market dream of becoming a stand-alone restaurant became a reality for Michael Grimes and Elisa Treviño this year when they opened The Beignet Stand on Broadway. The starter kit of a hot fried New Orleans beignet packs more powder than Tony Montana, and an order of three might also include beignets filled with strawberry jam or Mexican hot chocolate cream. 8343 Broadway, thebeignetstand.com  

Bliss: Oyster sliders 

Memory is a powerful thing, and Bliss remembers how it built its Southtown legacy on chicken-fried oysters, those four tiny sliders on baby biscuits with melt-away fried oysters and a drape of brown-butter hollandaise and tumbles of candied bacon. Show me a better one-bite masterpiece in San Antonio. 926 S. Presa St., 210-225-2547, foodisbliss.com

RELATED: Top 10 taquerías in San Antonio

Botero Tapas + Wine Bar: Paella Botero

My exploration of Boerne to find that city’s Top 10 restaurants took me to Botero for a thoroughly immersive Spanish cafe experience that included paella with clams, mussels, shrimp, pork and chicken, brought together by tiered textures of good paella rice. 161 S. Main St., Boerne, 830-446-3035, botero161.com

The Bread Box: English muffin breakfast sandwich

With 10 years under their belts, Bread Box owners Tina and Lucas Kent have perfected the art of the English muffin. Theirs is supple like ciabatta, spongy like focaccia, as evenly toasty as an artisan pizza crust. Soft and sweet, it’s the perfect platform for a breakfast sandwich with eggs souffled in two thick bouncy-house circles finished with melted cheddar and thick cowboy bacon with lettuce and tomatoes. 555 W. Bitters Road, Suite 115 at The Alley on Bitters, 210-277-8612, thebreadboxsa.com

Capo’s Pizzeria: Pizza by the slice

Is it any surprise that the No. 1 pick from our 52 Weeks of Pizza series makes the best pizza by the slice in San Antonio? This is the best slice of pepperoni pizza in the city, with cup-and-char pepperoni that curls up at the edges like kiddie pools of flavor on a textbook New York crust with a sturdy, bubbled collar and the infrastructure to hold the load all the way to the pointy end. 8522 Broadway, Suite 105, 210-362-1901, more locations at capospizzasa.com

Carriqui: Old School Nachos

Built on the bones of the old Liberty Bar, Carriqui at the Pearl is a polished confluence of Texas saloon, Mexican cookout and barbecue swagger. But for all its ambition, it knows how to keep it real with nachos made the way nachos were made at the dawn of time: one chip, refried beans, one slab of cheese, one slice of jalapeño. Melted under the broiler. Perfect. 239  E. Grayson St., 210-910-5547, carriquitx.com

Chef’s Table Turkish Mediterranean Grill: Adana kebab

Ibrahim Karabiyik brought the Adana kebab of his native Turkey to Chef’s Table in 2021, a perfectly grilled skewer of ground lamb with a bright symphony of onions, herbs, fresh peppers, cucumbers and pomegranate vinaigrette. 1546 Babcock Road, Suite 102, 210-664-5100, chefstableturkishgrill.com

READ MORE: Top 10 fried chicken in San Antonio

Cullum’s Attaboy: Steak and eggs

Chris Cullum grew up eating at the coolest places in San Antonio, thanks to his dad, the late jazz musician Jim Cullum. He’s taken everything he’s learned over the years and given it new life at Cullum’s Attaboy, a space that feels like a neighborhood dive bar, a midcentury lunch counter and a highway diner rolled into one, with fluffy scrambled eggs, and a grilled tenderloin dressed with shaved truffles and a lush brown glace. 111 Kings Court, 210-601-5353, cullumsattaboy.com

Cup Stuff and Catering: Turkey and dressing

Yearning for a taste of Thanksgiving all year round, I came across Melanee Reyna’s Cup Stuff, named for the parfaits that kick-started her business. She could start a restaurant selling nothing but turkey and dressing, it’s that good. Turkey in the kind of shaggy bits and pieces you only get from a whole bird, dressing with the sweet grain of cornbread, soaked in gravy made with real turkey stock, with sides of cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes, and a roll to sop it all up. 827 Rayburn Drive, 210-369-8106, Facebook: Cup Stuff and Catering

Double Standard: East Coast oysters

This American-style tavern opened in late May and immediately changed the downtown happy hour game with $1 East Coast oysters. They’re fresh, briny and cheap, served in a rowdy turn-of-the-20th century saloon with one of the coldest martinis in the city. 114 E. Houston St. in the Rand Building, 210-977-0005, doublestandardsatx.com

Fig Tree Restaurant: Saddle of rabbit

There’s nothing like new blood to reinvigorate an old favorite, and chef Luis Colón led the charge to bring back the 50-year-old Fig Tree from its pandemic hibernation on the River Walk. The short, smart menu is a playbook of high-technique Continental food, including tender, radiant rabbit saddle rolled and stuffed with meat from the leg, then wrapped in prosciutto, served with wild mushrooms and gnocchi. 515 Villita St. in La Villita, 210-595-1313, figtreerestaurant.com

Garcia’s Mexican Food: Breakfast tacos 

The brisket taco gets all the glory at this Tex-Mex cafe, but the breakfast tacos stand among the best in the city, an all-star lineup on fresh flour tortillas that includes papas rancheras, machacado a la mexicana, and a scramble of eggs and country sausage grilled with pico de gallo. 842 Fredericksburg Road, 210-735-4525, Facebook: Garcias Mexican Food

RELATED: Top 10 New Braunfels restaurants

The Jerk Shack: Fried chicken

I ate at more than 25 fried chicken joints to find the Top 10, and Jerk Shack took the top spot, surpassing even its world-class Jamaican jerk chicken with fried chicken wearing a well-seasoned batter like weathered parchment. A three-piece with legs and thighs and two sides is one of the city’s perfect plates of food. 10234 Texas 151, Suite 103, 210-776-7780, thejerkshacksatx.com

La Fogata: Chile en nogada

A roasted poblano pepper filled with beef picadillo, apples and nuts, chile en nogada is served for special occasions across Mexico. This 45-year Mexican restaurant standard-bearer makes every day a special occasion with rich, sweet pecan sauce and the spark of pomegranate seeds. 2427 Vance Jackson Road, 210-340-1337, more locations at lafogata.com

Ladino: Autumn squash baba ghanoush

Named for the Ladino language spoken by Sephardic Jews in parts of the Middle East, this new Mediterranean project at the Pearl transformed the old Il Sogno space the same way it transformed baba ghanoush into a seasonal celebration of golden squash, toasted seeds and shallots, scooped with warm housemade pita. 200 E. Grayson St. Suite 100, ladinosatx.com

Max & Louie’s New York Diner: Reuben sandwich

Drew Glick is a larger-than-life entrepreneur who’s kept Max & Louie’s on everybody’s lips even through the pandemic with bagels, pizza, matzo ball soup and meatloaf. But sandwiches are his love language, and the Reuben here is piled with so much pastrami and corned beef that the rye bread just hangs on for dear life. And I wouldn’t want any other way. One of the best in our 52 Weeks of Sandwiches series. 226 W. Bitters Road, Suite 126, 210-483-7600, maxandlouiesdiner.com

Panfila Cantina: Chilaquiles enmolados

The blurred lines between migas and chilaquiles are forever drawn by tortilla chips in San Antonio. Anything with scrambled eggs and chips is called one or the other, and everybody acts like that’s OK. And maybe it is, at least until the charming new Panfila Cantina weighs in with chilaquiles enmolados with full-size tortilla chips simmered in smoky-sweet mole sauce and that’s it, just that euphoric chilaquiles tipping point between soft and crunchy, because that’s all you need. 22250 Bulverde Road, Suite 114, 210-455-0702, panfilacantinaandrestaurant.com

READ MORE: Top 10 Boerne restaurants

Pollos Asados Los Norteños: Pollo asado

A showdown this year pitting Los Norteños against challenger Al Carbon Pollos Asados was close, but the charcoal-grilled chicken from Los Norteños won with balanced achiote-citrus flavor, a strong sear, a clean chop and a juicy bite. 4642 Rigsby Ave., 210-648-3303; 4822 Walzem Road, 210-481-4168; polloslosnortenos.com

Reese Bros Barbecue: Brisket

This startup just south of the Alamodome adheres to the Hill Country barbecue model of meat by the pound and sides sold separately, and the brisket justifies its premium price with moist and lean cuts that show off the smoke and let the fat find its balance. The bark holds a consistent edge as black and polished as cooled volcanic lava, with black pepper winning the tug of war with salt, the way it should be. 906 Hoefgen Ave., 512-925-9205, reesebrosbbq.com

SP Cafe: Vietnamese banh mi

SP Cafe understands the elegant simplicity of the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, the way it’s sold on the streets of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and every village and roadside cafe in between. It starts with house-baked baguettes, then rolls through a time-honored build of cold-cut layers of ham and pork loaf with a creamy spread of mayo and liver pâté for an iron-rich core of protein, salt and fat balanced by julienned carrots and cucumbers, backed up by the heat and florals of sliced jalapeños and cilantro. 602 NW Loop 410, Suite 126, in the Park North Shopping Center, 210-541-9689, savoureuxcafe126.com

Teran’s Restaurant: Teran’s Taco

Building on more than 600 taquería visits since I came to San Antonio, I updated my list of San Antonio’s Top 10 taquerías this year. True to the mom-and-pop energy of the city’s taco scene, Teran’s Restaurant took No. 1, opening its doors at 3:30 in the morning to feed the people who keep the wheels rolling. Teran’s Taco is a hulking masterpiece of fluffy eggs, crisp cowboy bacon, melted cheese, beans, ribbons of smoked sausage, ham and home-fried potatoes. It’s like a Transformer of all your favorite breakfast tacos ready to save the day, or at least fuel it up. 4403 E. Houston St., 210-333-6470, no web presence

Uwe’s Bakery & Deli: Bratwurst on a Bun

From Krause’s Cafe to McAdoo’s Seafood Co. to The Downtowner, I picked the Top 10 New Braunfels restaurants this year, a list that reinforced a city dining scene on the move. But an unassuming family-run bakery hooked me with one of the best hot dogs in Central Texas. Uwe’s is beloved for bread, kolaches and klobasneks, and its bratwurst hot dog plays in the same league, made with a fat, housemade Thüringer brat with an aroma like Bavarian incense on a stout pretzel bun with crisp sauerkraut and grain mustard. 1024 W. San Antonio St., Unit B, New Braunfels, 830-632-6585, uwesbakerydeli.com

msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking