When you think of Texas, great food doesn’t always come to mind, especially when you’re out in the more rural areas.

Full disclosure, I am a good friend of Blanca Aldaco the originator and namesake of this restaurant. However, Aldaco’s has offered gluten-free options since 1999, even before gluten-free was glamorous (if it can indeed be considered glamorous) so it has earned the right to be included in this blog.

It is such a relief when I can go to a restaurant and know that everything on the menu is totally gluten and dairy-free. That the food is healthy is a boon to my nutritionist soul. That the food is tasty is a boon to my Dames d’Escoffier culinary soul and the chef/owner here is a fellow Dame.

Well….I didn’t want to write about too many San Antonio restaurants, but after a visit to Paesano’s on the Riverwalk, an iconic institution for 58 years, I had to give in.

Having just returned from Oaxaca, Mexico, I was afraid that I would be eating the same food at this special experience, but I was wrong. I actually thought that Mixtil did it better!