Blanco Cafe — Restaurant in San Antonio

Blanco Cafe, Not Garcia's Has The Best Enchiladas In San Antonio, Understatement! Blanco Cafe is the TKO Winner Of Enchiladas!

Writing Below By Karl Keene,

"WHO HAS THE BEST ENCHILADAS IN SAN ANTONIO?

I have been eating great Mexican food my entire life! My family and I would drive from Sisterdale once a week to eat at one of our favorites Being Jacala Mexican Restaurant, La Margarita (Fajitas), Casa Rio, or Blanco Cafe when we desired the best enchiladas in San Antonio.

So I have been reading FB people are claiming Garcia's Mexican Restaurant has better enchiladas than Blanco Cafe. So I went to Garcia's this past Monday for lunch and there was a line out the front door waiting to be seated. Luckily I came alone because I was able to snag a bar stool to get seated in front of the line. Garcia was busy, very clean, and everybody was very attentive. I ordered an enchilada plate. Served hot, not that much rice, not that much beans, hardly any cheese in the middle of the enchilada, and two average looking and tasting tortillas. Garcia's was average maybe--- not overwhelming or food tasting excitement. The first picture is of Garcia's enchiladas as served to me. My bill was for $16.89 before tip. Chips and salsa would have been extra, so I passed.

Today I ate for lunch at Blanco Cafe on Blanco Road just South of Hildabrand Road, just two blocks south of Chris Madrid's. I ordered their three enchiladas plate. As soon as I was served the plate had my mouth watering. Three fat, loaded in the middle with cheese, topped with thick sauce, plus a mound of cheese (second picture). Compare pictures --- loaded with moist rice, reddish fresh looking, not brownish, good portion of beans with awesome flavor --- the best tasting I have had since my last visit to Blanco Cafe. Don't get me started on the tortillas-- slightly toasted just right. There is no comparison --- Blanco Cafe as usual knocked it out the ball park. Staff was busy, but extra friendly and very attentive! The Mexican music in the background just made it feel so right! The food beyond words was certainly a delight.. enchiladas practically melting in my mouth... I ate slow because I didn't want the adventure of amazing enchiladas to end.

Blanco Cafe is a little mom and pop place, a special place everybody should experience at least once in their lifetime. The interior is updated just enough, very clean, and bathrooms remodeled. Before you reach your final destination here on earth -- don't you dare die on me until you experience Blanco Cafe's TKO Enchilada plate. God bless you on your journey if you don't make it to BC! My bill was $12.44 including a 20% tip.

Remember ... Jesus Loves You Just The Way You Are--- He's ok with the few extra pounds you'll put on delighting your taste buds at Alamo Cafe Blanco Road SA-TX. Plus BC is surrounded by a small village with shops that have gifts, antiques, and there is even an adorable little wine gallery right next door. It's truly like you are experiencing a step back into time --- when America was, and still remains great, let freedom...

Well, we finally visited the famous Blanco Café. Jennifer and I had been wanting to try this place because they have been voted the “Best Enchiladas in all of San Antonio” multiple times by legitmate sources and they're often mentioned in lists of "good Tex-Mex food".

The surrounding stores and buildings in the area (including Blanco’s itself) reminded me of the smaller mom-and-pop shops in the back home int the Rio Grande Valley. It felt like I was back in downtown Mission, Pharr, or McAllen. If you're looking for a fancy place, this is not it. It felt cozy and not at all "big city" or "hipster".

THE GOOD: -Everything we ordered came out hot and was definitely made to order with the exception of maybe the beans. I'm sure they make those "for the day".

-The limeade I had was defintely fresh and not from a concentrate or mix. It was delicious on such a warm afternoon.

-Jennfier's chalupa was scrumptious! The ground beef was cooked perfectly. The meat wasn't too salty and didn't have too much comino/cumin spice that I sometimes run into at Tex-Mex places. The veggies were crisp and fresh. No brown, soggy lettuce or questioable tomatoes.

-The asada meat in my tacos was cooked JUST how I like it: A bit crispy on the outside but very tender on the inside.

-The portion of meat in the tacos was unbelievable. I couldn't believe how MASSIVE! It was!. It is EASILY the largest I've ever been served for tacos like that.

-The beans were tasty. I had charro beans on my plate and Jennifer had refried. The charro beans were tender. Both bean versions were seasoned very well.

-The rice was average. It wasn't spectacular, but it was by no means bad at all. It was cooked tender, seasoned adequately and there was a good portion.

THE BAD: -Parking. The spaces are limited and we had to go around the building a few times to shark a space.

-The food took a while to come out. To their credit though, the place was completely full with a line around the corner so I understand and was expecting it to take a bit longer than normal.

-The asada beef in the tacos was a bit on the bland side compared to all the other similar plates I've had elsewhere.

-The tortillas were a bit on the greasy side. There was a small puddle under the tacos and when I picked them up they were dripping.

-Finally, the tortillas weren't as well done/cooked (no char marks) as I like. It was like they were dipped in oil and briefly heated up.

RESULT: I'd DEFINITELY go back if I was in the area however, I'm not quite so sure I'd make the trip out there with the sole intention of eating there. The food I tasted was good, but nothing that spectacular. There are many good Tex-Mex places near me that are, in my...

WOW!!!! I must say, I am SO angry at myself for taking so long to try this place, especially considering it’s walking distance from me.

First off, the staff is super sweet, it’s a tad odd not closing out with your server, since I’ve been a server for a long while now, I’ve never worked at a place where they don’t close out with me, so I felt stupid having to ask where to close out haha…but they were sweet and helped me.

Now the food….I’m always hesitant about any place that claims “best” whatever or “won/voted best” whatever. Because honestly they’re usually lying. But oh my goodness…! You HAVE to try their enchiladas if you go here! I have to say my favorite were the cheese, second favorite were the beef, least favorite were the chicken. The chicken definitely tasted dry and kind of lacking in seasoning. Same with the potatoes, kind of lacking in flavor. But the salsa they have is delicious, the beans are great, and the carne guisada is sooo flavorful, soft, and delicious. The bacon tasted old however, sadly, so maybe it was just a slow day and they already had prepped bacon for the day, but hopefully next time it’s fresher tasting and perfectly cooked. I love extra crispy bacon, but you could tell this bacon had been sitting for quite some time. The potatoes were still amazing, because I’ve never had a place cook their potatoes so beautifully. The potatoes had a perfect crisp outside and soft inside, so good you could eat them cold. (I didn’t even bother to heat my leftovers, except the carne guisada of course, haha.)

The enchiladas were so amazing, the cheese tasted great as well. I will be going back just for them. The sweet tea was pretty great as well. I specify the cheese in general, because sone places use a disgusting cheese, usually American cheese, which can SOMETIMES taste good but I prefer to not know about it since I’m biased against American cheese haha. But their cheese on and in their enchiladas taste amazing. The tortillas are amazing. The meat is succulent, besides the chicken, but absolutely worth going again, or SEVERAL times more.

Edited: I forgot to add, the rice was so amazing. I almost wanted to cry, it tasted like rice I’d get as a kid growing up….I missed that rice. It was amazing, I mean, gosh, I’d go back just for extra rice haha, just to get that childhood nostalgia…also the tortillas were amazing too, not sure if they make in-house, but they taste...