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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to uncover which local businesses have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak, right now.
Cabo Bob's Burritos
Open since June, this Mexican spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mexican spots saw a median 2.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Cabo Bob's Burritos saw a 23.3% increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Mexican category: Beto's Alt-Mex has seen a 1.8% increase in reviews.
Located at 847 N.E. Loop 410, Cabo Bob's Burritos offers pork burritos, brisket and queso burritos, fish tacos, rice and beans and a vegan 17-veggie burrito.
Cabo Bob's Burritos is open from 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)
The South Chicken & Waffles
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Rolling Ridge Club's The South Chicken & Waffles, the breakfast, brunch and Cajun/Creole spot is trending based on local foot traffic data.
While The South Chicken & Waffles stayed on par with the median 2.3% increase in new reviews businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a healthy four-star rating, visits to The South Chicken & Waffles increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
There's more that's trending on San Antonio's breakfast and brunch scene: Aldaco's Stone Oak has seen a 2.4% increase in reviews, and La Panaderia and Chicago Bagel & Deli have seen 2.8% and 1% increases, respectively.
Open at 5739 Callaghan Road, Suite 100 since 2017, The South Chicken & Waffles' options include a catfish po'boy, a ribeye steak sandwich, biscuits and gravy, and all-day brunch featuring chicken and waffles.
The South Chicken & Waffles is open from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday and 9 a.m.–9 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday. (It's closed on Monday.) According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays, so go on Thursdays if you want to avoid the rush.
Bar Louie
Bar Louie is also making waves. The chain gastropub and New American spot at 22610 U.S. Highway 281 North, Suite 105, has seen a 4.5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.5% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Bar Louie's review count increased by more than 280%.
Flatbreads with Buffalo chicken or bourbon barbecued pork and pineapple are served, as well as salads, craft burgers and hot honey chicken and barbecued pulled pork sandwiches. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Bar Louie is open from 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.–2 a.m. on weekends.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
