Revelers enjoy beer and sausage at Wurstfest in New Braunfels. Credit: Jaime Monzon
Fall officially kicked off this Monday, and San Antonio’s food scene is serving up plenty to celebrate.
From holidays stemming from our area’s diverse cultures to celebrations of salsa, beer and more, here are some of the tastiest events to mark on your calendar as the weather finally cools.
Oktoberfest
San Antonio’s Oktoberfest season is already in full swing, offering plenty of chances to sample Bavarian bites, frothy pours and stein-raising sing-alongs. Six Flags Fiesta Texas (sixflags.com/fiestatexas) is hosting its Oktoberfest Food Festival through Oct. 26, while downtown’s historic La Villita (lavillitasanantonio.com) will transform into a Bavarian village Sept. 19-21. Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling (drinkrangercreek.com) joins the fun Sept. 27 with schnitzel and steins at its tasting room. For those looking to go native, venerable German beer hall Beethoven Männerchor (beethovensanantonio.com) will keep tradition alive with two weekends of music and beer, Oct. 4-5 and Oct. 11-12. The Current’s San Antonio Beer Festival (sanantoniobeerfestival.com) will cap it all off Saturday, Oct. 18, at Hemisfair with an Oktoberfest-inspired bash featuring hundreds of premium, craft and near beers from around the world, along with food trucks, live music and more. September through October, various locations, see websites for cost, schedule and other details.
2nd Annual Puro Salsa Cook-Off
The chips are down for the 2nd Annual Puro Salsa Cook-Off. Local chefs and home cooks will gather to battle it out for salsa supremacy as celebrity judges including Gusto Group’s Gera de Anda and San Antonio Spurs correspondent A.C. Carreno see if they can take the heat. Proceeds from ticket sales go toward the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, meaning it’s not just a chance to sample some of the city’s best salsas but also to support cancer research. Free, 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, Ranch Motel & Leisure Club, 3101 Broadway, purosalsa.org.
Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, and you can bet there are plenty of food-related activities commemorating the event. For example, Sabores de México at the Pearl’s Stable Hall (events.atpearl.com) will kick off the month on Saturday, Sept. 13 by showcasing the complex flavors of Northern Mexico with live-fire cooking and a Mexican parrillada-style atmosphere in a ticketed event led by internationally recognized grill master Alejandro Gutiérrez. Several El Grito events are also planned around town, including one on Saturday, Sept. 13, at La Cantina by Cuishe (cuishemx.com/la-cantina). That gathering will include Mexican food and cocktail stations, plenty of cocktails, Mariachi performances, and more. Sept. 15-Oct. 15, various locations, see websites for cost, schedule and other details.
Día de los Muertos
There are a large array of events paying homage to Day of the Dead around San Antonio in October. On Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25-26, enjoy a themed and free festival at Market Square (marketsquaresa.com/events) with delicious food options such as pan de muerto, or book prime seating at a River Walk restaurant for the Day of the Dead River Parade on Friday, Oct. 24. The banger of them all, though, is bound to be the two-day MuertosFest (muertosfest.com) at Hemisfair on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25-26, which will feature live music, altars, a Muertos Mercado and, naturally, plenty of food. Oct. 24-26, various locations, see websites for cost, schedule and other details.
Wurstfest
The annual 10-day celebration of German heritage and sausage — similar to, but not to be confused with, Oktoberfest — returns to New Braunfels this November, and it’s worth the half-hour drive to experience. Crowds gather to enjoy German beers, live music, face-painting, family-friendly activities, and of course, plenty of bratwurst and crisp potato pancakes. Wearing dirndl and lederhosen isn’t mandatory but strongly encouraged — and so is buying early-bird online tickets, which are $5 off. Free Monday-Thursday and for kids 12 and under, $20 at gate Friday and Sunday, $30 at gate Saturday, Nov. 7-16, 120 Landa St., New Braunfels, (830) 625-9167, wurstfest.com.
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This article appears in Sep. 18-Oct. 1.