Mezquite’s menu lists five ingredients for La Batanga cocktail: Blanco tequila, Mexican Coca-Cola, lime, salt and knife. Knife? It’s the traditional stirring method, explains our waiter. The refreshing drink goes down easy with our agua chile negro and tuna tostada with macha, a smoky, chile-garlic salsa. We pile carne asada onto tortillas made with beef and pork tallow, sold by the bag around the corner.

I’m at Pullman Market in San Antonio with my friend Crystal, and we’re feasting on Sonoran cuisine at Mezquite. It’s one of four restaurants in this stellar new food hall, the largest culinary market in the Southwest. Along with gourmet groceries and Texas produce, the 40,000-square-foot foodie heaven also has a sourdough bakery, butchery, tortilleria, fishmonger and florist.

It’s the latest addition to Pearl District, a former brewery complex transformed into a pedestrianized epicenter of elevated urban adventures. Alluring wine bars and French brasseries mingle with bookshops and artisan boutiques. Guitarists sing and children play. Park-like gathering spaces abound, including a riverside amphitheater. You can shop the Sunday Maker’s Market or catch a concert at the new Stable Hall, an 1894 oval brick building that once housed the brewery’s horses.

At the heart of Pearl is another shining gem: Hotel Emma. Industrial-chic at its finest, the Emma is a stunning historical structure with deep Texas roots brought back to life (and the only AAA Five-Diamond hotel in Texas). The hotel blends 19th-century smokestack architecture and unconventional luxuries with unparalleled finesse. Antique machinery is turned into art. Rooms have handcrafted wooden furniture and tiled outdoor terraces with fireplaces. 

We clink welcome drinks in the tiny two-story library, a leatherbound sanctuary with 1,700 books donated by a cultural anthropologist. I thumb through “PsychoTherapy for Cajuns” as I sip my Three Emmas cocktail. Made with gin, sherry and beer-rose cordial, it’s named after the hotel’s salacious backstory (that you should definitely look up). 

It’s my new favorite cocktail, until I try the smoked martini at Emma’s restaurant, Supper, which ruins me on plain-jane martinis forever with its smoked olive brine. After Manchego-stuffed dates, grilled oysters and a wagyu rib eye, I fall into bed with a sigh.

The next day we explore the Alamo’s recent additions, including Plaza de Valero, a grassy park stretching in front of the iconic Menger Hotel. Native trees and a shaded pavilion make it a peaceful hangout. It’s adjacent to the Mission Gate and Lunette, a new replica of the historical mission-fort’s main entrance and its earth-and-timber fortification. 

Inside is where Jim Bowie fought attackers from his sickbed. A volunteer points out the Alamo compound’s far-reaching footprint during the 1836 battle: 500 feet long with 1,320 feet of perimeter wall and 189 Texians—one defending every seven feet.

The immense size is driven home by Surrounded!, a new augmented reality experience in the Long Barrack. I pick up a digital tablet and (after a short learning curve) am immersed in a 360-degree vision of the historic Alamo. I interact with animated characters and toggle between views of 1836 and 2025, gaining a deeper understanding of the famous battle. Back in non-augmented reality, we visit the new Ralston Family Collections Center and see treasures like Santa Anna’s sword. 

Boom! After the musket demonstration, we stroll through the new River Walk Public Art Garden and admire a surreal mosaic accordion and 16-foot volcanic rock woman. Our bubbly brunch spot, Box St. All Day, is right under the Tower of the Americas and is a total vibe, with Magnum-size champagne bottles and a female DJ outside. The food is fun and fantastic, from the milk-bun smashburger to the piping-hot churro doughnuts.

Next-level chilaquiles come with fancy egg rosettes. Next time, I’ll try the Bolognese grilled cheese or the smoked salmon mousse naan, or both.

Dinnertime is much mellower at Zocca Cuisine d’Italia, a sophisticated highlight of River Walk gastronomy. Its recent renovation, with modern design and neutral tones, creates a relaxing intermezzo amid the neighborhood’s sensory overload. We can’t get enough of the Chianti-braised short rib with gouda polenta, and the creamy pistachio-ricotta cake is unlike anything I’ve tried.

Back at Hotel Emma, we take the library’s ‘secret passage’ to the balcony at Sternewirth bar. Cavernous yet cozy, industrial yet plush, the Sternewirth attracts a diverse, dynamic crowd with its brick walls, towering columns and beer-tank seating niches. 

The fireplace roars, and a massive metal bottle labeler serves as a chandelier. There is no blaring music or glaring TVs; the Sternewirth is designed for conversation and interaction, which makes for epic people-watching. 

We sip Three Emmas cocktails on the balcony until midnight, enamored with the San Antonio scene below—and the many new pleasures of timeless Alamo City.