Great American Bites: Classic Mexican street food in San Antonio

— -- The scene:San Antonio's defunct Pearl Brewery complex has been redeveloped into a mixed-use campus with a decidedly industrial, exposed steel and brick look. Its main tenant is the third location of the nation's most prestigious cooking school, The Culinary Institute of America, or CIA. This branch has a focus on the cuisines of Central and South America, and chefs come from all over to take courses, which makes the Pearl Brewery a perfect spot for La Gloria Street Foods of Mexico. Though completely unrelated to the CIA, it shares the regional focus, and I am sure a lot of chefs will be stopping by to sample the goods here - it's that kind of place.

La Gloria occupies a freestanding building with modernist Mexican metal sculptures outside, lining a patio where you can eat in good weather (which in San Antonio is most of the year). Inside is a long open kitchen and a huge blackboard listing the entire menu, along with specials. The room is cavernous, with a bit of an aircraft hangar feel, and the tables are sparse and modern and quite the opposite of what you might think of when you think "street food." That's sort of the point of the place: La Gloria brings the most authentic Mexican street foods to people who might otherwise never be brave enough to try them, with a dash of modern-restaurant flair. And it does a very, very good job.

Reason to visit: Tacos al pastor, molcajetes stew, tortas, tlayudas - and everything else on the huge menu!

The food: San Antonio is the capital of Tex-Mex, but at La Gloria it's all-Mex, all the time. The concept is simple: Chef Johnny and his staff have rounded up traditional regional street or fast foods from every corner of coastal and interior Mexico, including places few Americans visit, and brought them together on a tapas or small-plate style menu. This encourages visitors to try lots of different things, but the menu can be slightly overwhelming. For instance, just under the taco heading there are ten styles, all soft and served three to a plate on small tortillas. They are mostly uncommon with the exception of the better known al pastor (sliced, roasted, marinated pork with pineapple, onion, cilantro) and Baja-style fish tacos. More obscure taco choices include Puerquito Echado from the Riviera Nayarit, featuring diced crispy pork with dry rub and chilies, or Potosinos, with fried potatoes, carrots and queso fresco. No ground beef here.

Other small plates include a wide assortment of tlayudas, essentially a Mexican take on pizza cooked on a large corn tortilla; tortas, the working man's sandwiches found all throughout Mexico, stuffed with everything from carnitas pork to shrimp to breaded chicken cutlet and vegetarian options; panuchos, which are gorditas made with masa corn flour and black beans; quesadillas; tostadas; and an assortment of fresh ceviches. The final unique menu section is molcajetes, stews served in giant Mayan mortars carved from volcanic stone. I had the Arrachera version, with skirt steak, cheese, onions and chilies in a green tomatillo sauce, and it was very good.

There are also a small handful of large entrees, including the ultra-tender cabrito, a roast baby goat for two, and whole red snapper, one of Mexico's most popular ocean fish. They feature one of my favorite appetizers, which can be hard to find: queso fundido, a sort of fondue with chorizo sausage. It was excellent.