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In the know: What's heating up San Antonio's food scene this month

Photo: Twin Peaks/Yelp (Photo: Twin Peaks/Yelp)

Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which local businesses have been getting extra notice this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at San Antonio businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak, right now.

Redhook Cajun Seafood & Bar

Photo: RedHook Cajun Seafood & Bar/Yelp

Open since November, this bar and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, bars saw a median 2.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but RedHook Cajun Seafood & Bar saw a 62.5% increase, with a slight upward trend from a three-star rating a month ago to 3.5 stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis RedHook Cajun Seafood & Bar's review count increased by more than 380%.

RedHook Cajun Seafood & Bar has three other locations in Tennessee. The first Texas outpost, located at 6759 N.W. Loop 410, offers boiled seafood, along with fried calamari, oysters and chicken wings. Customers can choose their own spice level and seasonings.  

RedHook Cajun Seafood & Bar is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and noon–10 p.m. on Sunday.

Twin Peaks

Photo: twin peaks/Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Shearer Hills' Twin Peaks, a member of the popular chain, the well-established sports bar and New American and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, Twin Peaks bagged a 5.7% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight upward trend from a three-star rating a month ago to its current 3.5 stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.6 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

Here's more about the national franchise, from its history section on Yelp: "Established in 2005, Twin Peaks features high-quality food and ice cold draft beer served by friendly Twin Peaks Girls in a mountain sports lodge setting. Twin Peaks was also recently named 'America's Fastest-Growing Restaurant Chain' by Bloomberg Businessweek."

What does this business focus on? "Twin Peaks is the ultimate sports lodge; Our entire menu is prepared in-house and to order... We pour beer at 29 degrees into huge frosted mugs for you to wash down hearty dishes like hand-cut mozzarella bites, succulent pulled pork nachos, a juicy twin cheeseburger and savory venison chili." — that's from its Yelp page.

Open at 702 N.W. Loop 410 since 2014, Twin Peaks offers comfort foods like chicken wings, fish & chips, pot roast, steak, burgers and tacos. Keep an eye out for the Billionaire's Bacon appetizer, topped with brown sugar, red chile flakes and smoked paprika. (See the entire menu here.)

Twin Peaks is open from 11 a.m.–midnight on Monday-Wednesday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on Thursday-Saturday.

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery

Photo: veronica r./Yelp

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, a member of the well-known chain, is also making waves. Open since March at 11255 Huebner Road, Suite 100, the well-established breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and sandwiches, has seen a 1.9% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp — but it's seen a 12% increase in visits over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.

There's more than one hot spot trending in San Antonio's breakfast and brunch category: Bakery Lorraine has seen a 0.7% increase in reviews.

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery has locations scattered across seven states. On the menu, look for breakfast favorites like French toast, pancakes, omelettes, Benedicts and huevos rancheros. Look for the Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes with caramelized pineapple chunks, housemade vanilla crème and cinnamon butter.

Over the past month, the restaurant has maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.

Snooze, An A.M. Eatery is open from 6:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. daily.

Embers Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap

Photo: jennifer d./Yelp

Embers Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.

The well-established beer bar and traditional American spot, which offers pizza and more and opened at 819 N. Loop 1604 East in 2015, increased its new review count by 6.9% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1% for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)." It outperformed the previous month by gaining eight times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

Behind every business are the people who make it happen. Here's more from owner Adam Rasmussen on Yelp: "I started in restaurants 20 years ago. I didn't know this was going to be my career and life choice. It's in my blood... I've been blessed to have wonderful partners and we are working hard to build a successful brand. We now have two locations in San Antonio and are looking to our continued growth in the future."

What's the business known for? "We proudly serve certified Angus beef that is hand-cut in house and grilled over an oak fire. We also have an oak-fired pizza oven that cooks between 800-1000 degrees. We can cook a pizza to perfection in around two minutes. Our ribs are fall-off-the-bone and forkin' delicious. We also offer burgers, chicken, salmon, pasta and more. Come by and try for yourself. This location also boasts a staggering 52 taps." — that's according to its Yelp page.

It's not the only trending outlier in the traditional American category: The Roo Pub has seen a 2.1% increase in reviews, and Lucy Cooper's Ice House has seen a 6.8% bump.

Embers Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap offers pizza, burgers, ribs and pasta. Try the Three Little Pigs appetizer with crispy pork shanks drizzled with raspberry chipotle and the Chicken Balsa entree with wood-fired chicken breast topped with roma tomatoes, lemon wine sauce and a balsamic reduction. (Check out the entire menu here.)

Embers Wood Fired Kitchen & Tap is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–midnight on Wednesday-Saturday.


This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.