A festival of eats and drinks

Hill Country's newest food festival, Tasting Texas, promises a feast of culinary events

Tasting Texas will be held in multiple locations around San Antonio from October 27-30.

Courtesy Culinaria

Attendees of the Tasting Texas Wine and Food Festivalcan expect to chow down on a range of tastings, intimate dinners, lunches, hands-on workshops, educational panels, and other activities.

Culinaria and Visit San Antonio are partnering with the James Beard Foundation to put on Tasting Texas, which will be held in multiple locations around San Antonio from October 27-30.

Festival guests may customize their gastronomic experience by choosing between all-inclusive festival packages or a-la-carte event options starting at $100, each granting access to James Beard Award-winners, nominees, and other leaders in the food and beverage industries.

Here are some highlighted events:

The Collective: noon-6 pm, October 28-30, Travis Park
The festival’s flagship happening will feature more than 100 chefs and restaurants, and hundreds of beverage brands, a Texas wine garden, live fire activations, cooking demonstrations, educational seminars, and a mercantile market. The family-friendly Collective will also have a wellness zone, music, and children’s activities.

Southern Hospitality: 7-9 pm, October 28, Pearl Brewery
A cornucopia of foods and beverages that celebrate Texas culture, from biscuits and gravy to enchiladas.

Celebrate Agave: 7-9 pm, October 29, Travis Park
This event will offer a variety of beverages — aged, sipped, neat, or mixed — served in a walk-around tasting event accompanied by complementary cuisines.

Additionally, festival-goers will have exclusive access to unique chef collaborations at dinner and lunch events held at varying locations across the city October 27-29, including a luncheon at Becker Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country, “A French Aperitif Soiree” at the Witte Museum, and a dining tour with renowned local Chef Jason Dady.

Tasting Texas will also have different kinds of culinary seminars and panel discussions in various locations, including workshops on making craft cocktails or smoking meat, and chats on women in the beverage industry.

Currently, the “Super VIP” top-tier ticket package is sold out, but two other ticket packages are still available. One package, The Weekender, provides access to the Celebrate Agave and Southern Hospitality events and The Collective. The other package, The Collective, grants admission to The Collective at Travis Park anytime.

Travel Tip

Texas city tops Travel + Leisure's best places to travel in 2025 list

Photo by Robert Lerma

Travel + Leisure spoke highly of San Antonio's new and popular Pullman Market.

One group of proud Texans can now say they live in a destination city. Nationally recognized magazine Travel + Leisure has declared San Antonio one of the best places to travel in 2025.

The publication's annual "Where to Go" list reviews nearly 120 notable places around the globe and chooses only 50 for its collection of best destinations. Winners are then categorized into one of seven categories: cultural immersion, nature lovers, big-city thrills, moments on the water, food and drinks, beach vibes, and adventurous travelers.

"These are places that feel of the moment, whether that’s because they offer unparalleled access to the outdoors, a cultural immersion you can’t find anywhere else, a pulse-quickening hit of excitement, or the sort of blissful luxury only a true five-star property can deliver," Travel + Leisure editors wrote.

San Antonio was lauded as a must-visit destination for 2025 "For the Food and Drinks" by T+L. The Alamo City was specifically praised for being "on the cutting edge of culinary innovation" in part thanks to the 13 outstanding local restaurants that were recognized in the first-ever Texas Michelin Guide, and the numerous James-Beard Award-nominated local chefs and eateries.

"Elsewhere, chef and restaurateur Jason Dady will be opening Mexico Ceaty in early 2025, overhauling a food court to create a dining destination that highlights Mexican cuisine," T+L said.

Mexico Ceaty will bring several concepts to the Shops at Rivercenter. Rendering courtesy of SA Partnerships

The report also gives a shoutout to the increasingly popular dining complex Pullman Market, which opened earlier in 2024.

"Our market highlights the difference and value of truly fresh and truly local," said CEO Kevin Fink in the report. "Whether it’s whole fresh fish from the Gulf of Mexico, Berkshire pigs from down the road, or butter from a herd of cows whose milk tastes of the Texas landscape."

When it comes to finding a place to stay in San Antonio, there is no shortage of comfortable and lavish accommodations. T+L names two recently opened hotels in its report: Kimpton Santo, a boutique hotel that repurposed 19th century schoolhouses, and the fully renovated InterContinental San Antonio RiverWalk.

San Antonio was the only Texas city to be recognized in Travel + Leisure's "Where to Go" list for 2025. Fort Worth previously earned this unique recognition in the 2024 report. Earlier this year, San Antonio won national acclaim in the publication's annual "World's Best" reader's choice awards, and was named the No. 6 best U.S. city in 2024.

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