by Andrew Chalk
To call the location unpretentious would be an understatement. Hard right of an eyebrow threading parlor, in a strip mall with African food markets carrying produce so unusual it makes the Asian markets of Richardson and Plano seem familiar. Unlike most upstarts, tiny Stixs & Stone is not in one of the many corners or crevices of downtown San Antonio that still offer startup-friendly rent, but slung out on the northwest reaches of I-410. An exit to drive past, would be the common argot.
Despite the logistics, San Antonio is beating a path to this Asian Fusion restaurant, all on account of the food. Chef Owner Leo Davila had a Chinese mother and Mexican father. He is able to bring both culinary cultures to bear on a menu where, remarkably, not a single thing is a straight creation of a dish from one culture or the other. Chefs are Preservers or Innovators, and Davila is firmly in the latter camp.
Take the tacos, the restaurant’s most popular item. Big Red & Barbacoa Taco Flight ($16) described as “Housemade Infused Big Red Corn Tortilla, Signature Barbacoa, Strawberry & Big Red Jam, House Pesto, Chile de Arbol Salsa, Queso Fresco, Pickled Watermelon Rind.” The San Antonio tradition of tacos and Big Red on Sundays is transformed into red tortillas created by using the Big Red in place of water in the masa. Strawberry and Big Red jam is slathered on the taco, followed by a pesto made from cilantro (in lieu of the onion, which Davila’s mother did not get on with), spicy chile de arbol salsa and creamy queso fresco all topped with fermented watermelon rind, a throwback to his grandfather serving watermelon on Sunday, as well as a piquant note to the flavor magazine.
There are elements of Mexican food here, plus personal memories, plus a nod to local culinary phenomena. Get ready for that to be a theme pervading the menu.
For example, his Asian background shows through in the first dish I was presented with at a recent media event. Korean Fried Cauliflower ($11) drowns cooked cauliflower in housemade gochujang glaze (not unlike Sriracha, which is de-balled red chile sauce, gochujang can be ferocious in its heat but is stylistically adjustable with honey or jam). Stixs & Stone’s housemade example has heat, but it is an edge, not the fiery, flavorless core that you might find in lesser chile sauces. Davilla even pondered over the microgreens. He wanted an allium note, and a supplier of local vegetables introduced him to leeks one day. That convinced him.
Asian and Mexican influences with about an equally positioned fulcrum in Pan Seared Duck Breast and Hibiscus Mole ($27). Mole is a category rather than a set recipe and this one is not that simple ubiquitous monotonic chocolate melt. Light, lifted, earthy with pecan dust. The breast is cooked with 12 hours of sous vide and given a post-sear to a sweet char. Sous vide cooking and duck’s natural fattiness ensures that the meat is super juicy. Accompanying it are crispy vegetables, wok fried in this case, but Leo did not rule out my plan to try and achieve the same thing in an air fryer.
For dessert, indulge in the Signature Churro Bread Pudding ($10). The preparation is more involved than one might guess. Responding to my email he writes “We start by making house made churros, we then dry them out overnight. The next day we make a house custard and allow the churros to soak. The churro bread pudding mixture is now baked until set. When a customer orders our signature churro bread pudding for dessert; we slice off three pieces and place them on the flat top griddle until they are warmed through and golden brown and delicious. It is then served with a house made caramel, horchata mousse and a cinnamon sugar dust.”
Beverages are a short list of non-alcoholic drinks. Mexican Coke was my choice. I did not inquire about BYOB.
I asked a more general question: Why the location?
After COVID, Leo was anxious to get back into onsite service. One of the most important things about being in the restaurant business to him was its ability to bring people together. He loves seeing families and friends getting closer together over food. His current location is outside the city core of San Antonio, but the city population has come to him. As a result, there are waits at busy times. I would not be surprised to see a move to larger premises in the near future.
It would be overusing the word to describe the service as good and simultaneously denuding it of meaning. The service is more completely described as gracious. Executed on time, with attention, but also emanating a decided classiness. I find out later the bearer of the Cheshire-cat smiles and gentle manner is Leo's "kid sister", as he describes her.
Stixs & Stone is unlike any other restaurant in town. It behooves visitors to San Antonio to check it out.
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