As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which local businesses have been on the tips of diners' tongues 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 on a hot streak, right now.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
Open since September, this breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea, sandwiches and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw review counts increase by a median of 2.6 percent over the past month, but Snooze, an A.M. Eatery saw a 37.3 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 160 percent.
Located at 1305 N. Loop 1604 West, Snooze, an A.M. Eatery offers traditional breakfast fare such as eggs, pancakes and french toast, all with its own twist, as well as unique menu items.
Try the Snooze Breakfast Burrito, which comes with scrambled eggs, hash browns, house black beans, cheddar and jack cheese and is topped with pico de gallo, or the Sandwich I Am, a soft pretzel roll filled with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and a sausage patty, served with a side of smoked cheddar hollandaise & house hash browns. (Click here to view the entire menu.)
Sustenio
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Sustenio, the cocktail bar, wine bar and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 3 percent over the past month, Sustenio bagged a 7.6 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 11.0 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 18603 La Cantera Terrace, Sustenio offers breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full bar and wine list. For breakfast, there are egg, pancakes, french toast and smoked salmon dishes as well as an assortment of pastries from the bakery. For dinner, expect flatbread cooked in a mesquite wood burning oven, cast-iron fried entrees, Texas Hill Country meals, seafood and tacos. (To view any of the menus, click here.)
The Palm San Antonio
Downtown San Antonio's The Palm San Antonio is also making waves. Open since 2000 at 233 E. Houston St., the steakhouse, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 6.8 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Steakhouses" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 330 percent.
The Palm San Antonio offers Italian dishes, steak and chops, seafood and lobster and seasonal cuisine. Popular menu items include the Chilean Sea Bass filet with garlic and herb polenta and the Prime Bone-In Ribeye Steak. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap
Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The popular beer bar and traditional American spot, which offers pizza and more and opened at 819 N. Loop 1604 East in April, increased its review count by 12.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 4.1 percent for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)."
Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap offers its wood-fired pizza, which can be ordered from one of its signature pies such as the S&M (sirloin with baby bellas and mozzarella and white sauce) and the Maui Waui (chicken, pineapple and bacon marinated in sweet teriyaki with red onion and mozzarella and white sauce). Also on the menu, which can be viewed by clicking here, are burgers, pork and ribs, pasta and other meals cooked in the wood-fired grill.
