{"id":257061,"date":"2026-04-19T17:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/257061\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T17:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:46:08","slug":"step-inside-the-texas-restaurant-that-feels-frozen-in-the-1950s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/257061\/","title":{"rendered":"Step inside the Texas restaurant that feels frozen in the 1950s"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a city like San Antonio, one that’s world-renowned for\u00a0its culinary scene<\/a>, you\u2019ve got restaurants, which can be great on their own, and you\u2019ve got institutions. These are places that have stood the test of time and remain strong.<\/p>\n

Since opening up in 1956, by Raymond “Ray” Lopez, Ray’s Drive Inn has served generations<\/a> upon generations of San Antonians from its landmark location on the city’s historic Westside. Ray\u2019s house specialties are two hyper-local classic dishes unique to the Alamo City.<\/p>\n

These are two that are also becoming increasingly hard to find on local menus: puffy tacos and crispy dogs. Recently, I had a powerful hankering for both and had to make a long-overdue visit.<\/p>\n

Coming back to Ray\u2019s is like stepping into a living, breathing time capsule. Everything from the faded neon sign out front to the covered parking lanes that look like a carhop will be out to serve them any second, to the jukebox inside that played songs by Sammy Davis, Jr. and the theme from Laverne & Shirley \u2013 all of that transports you to another time and place.<\/p>\n

Beyond the nostalgia is the food. Oh, the food!<\/p>\n

Enchiladas, picadillo, fajitas, gorditas \u2013 all of your favorite Tex-Mex friends are here, and they are delicious. However, as I said, I had a particular hankering.<\/p>\n

Ray\u2019s Drive Inn<\/a> stakes a claim to being one of, if not the, originator of the puffy taco. Legend has it that corn tortillas accidentally fell into a deep fryer, and, like magic, the puffy taco was born.<\/p>\n

My favorite kinds are stuffed beef fajitas, so that\u2019s what I got on this visit, while my traveling partner ordered a bean and cheese one. They come topped with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. A little bit of their house-made salsa and you\u2019ve got perfection.<\/p>\n

The origin of the crispy dog \u2013 a hot dog with cheese wrapped in a corn tortilla and also deep fried \u2013 is even less clear. However, it was already an iconic San Antonio dish before Ray’s Drive Inn put it on the menu, according to Texas Monthly<\/a>.\u00a0Served up with a side of mustard, there really should be no reason for this particular dish to be as good \u2013 nay, great, as it is.<\/p>\n

My fajitas were tender and juicy and perfectly complemented by the crispy yet light puffed up tortilla. Like a ravenous wolf, I devoured them before turning my attention to the crispy dog. Still piping hot from the fryer, the crispy dog takes me back to a simpler time. A simple dish made with love and care. It is as delicious now as it was the first time I ate it.<\/p>\n

As I finished the last bites, I was already thinking about when I could make a return visit. If you\u2019ve not had the pleasure yet of visiting Ray\u2019s Drive Inn, or if you are like me and have had too long a time between visits, it\u2019s high time that you head over there yourself. You won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a city like San Antonio, one that’s world-renowned for\u00a0its culinary scene, you\u2019ve got restaurants, which can be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1112,820,82,84,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-257061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-mysafood","9":"tag-mysastaff","10":"tag-san-antonio","11":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","12":"tag-san-antonio-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}