As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which restaurants have been most discussed 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 increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are riding a trend, right now.
Lucy Cooper's Ice House
Open since December, this bar and traditional American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, bars saw review counts increase by a median of 2.4 percent over the past month, but Lucy Cooper's Ice House saw an 88.6 percent increase, with a slight downward trend from a four-star rating a month ago to 3.5 stars today.
Located at 16080 San Pedro Ave. in Shady Oaks, Lucy Cooper's Ice House offers a large menu with categories like "things you share,""things on a bun," and "things that come from the garden."
Take a look at the Cooper's Clucker's section, where you can order eight chicken wings coated in flavors such as a spicy barbecue sauce called Nashville South, served with bread and butter pickles. Wash it down with a signature Cooper's drink, always served in a Mason jar.
El Chivito Tortas Ahogadas
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about El Chivito Tortas Ahogadas, the Mexican spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 2.2 percent over the past month, El Chivito Tortas Ahogadas bagged a 27 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining an excellent five-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.5 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 204 Crossroads Blvd. since 2013, El Chivito Tortas Ahogadas offers popular Guadalajara street food like tortas Ahogadas, rolled tacos and empanadas. On the menu, look for six different types of empanadas or the taco dorado sencillo, which is a crispy taco with potato or beans. (Check out the full menu here.)
Range
Downtown San Antonio's Range is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 125 E. Houston St., the steakhouse, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 9.3 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Steakhouses" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 200 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in San Antonio's steakhouse category: The Palm San Antonio has seen a 6.9 percent increase in reviews.
Range offers steak, chicken, seafood, pasta and salad. On the menu, start with the artisanal cheese and charcuterie board for the table and move on to the sirloin coulette, a 10-ounce steak from Texas' 44 Farms. (Here's the full menu.)
Over the past month, Range has seen its Yelp rating tick down from four stars to 3.5 stars.
TGI Fridays
TGI Fridays is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The well-established traditional American spot, which opened at 29 N.E. Loop 410 in 2010, increased its review count by 7 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 3.8 percent for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 10.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
TGI Fridays offers burgers, chicken, steak, salad, desserts and more. On the menu, look for sizzling chicken and shrimp, served over melted cheese with onions, peppers and mashed potatoes, or the spinach and artichoke dip for a crowd at happy hour. (Here's the entire menu.)
