Evers Road in San Antonio is a hub of international cuisine

All those options make Evers Road and the community around it a perfect entry in our regular Eat the Street series celebrating the many restaurants and roadways that give San Antonio a flavor all its own.

Located on the city’s Northeast Side near the South Texas Medical Center, Evers Road is deeply rooted in Bexar County history. Bearing the family name of early Leon Valley landowner Christian Evers and his parents, German immigrants Claus H. Evers and his wife, Johanna K. Brocken Evers, the road continues to draw immigrant families today.

In a single shopping plaza at the intersection of Evers and Wurzbach roads alone, the flavors of Morocco, Mexico, Syria, China, Vietnam and the United States all vie for the dining dollars of hungry customers.

Eat the Street: Wurzbach Road from Interstate 10 to Fredericksburg Road

The next time your appetite acts up and you’re not sure where to nosh, hop in the car and head that way. Follow your nose to any of these five restaurants for a memorable meal.

El Ceviche De Waldito

This modest restaurant represents the culminated career of chef, owner and all-around rock star Waldo Castro. Since 2009, the charismatic “Chef Waldo,” as he’s known by many, has held court over countless orders of everything from Caribbean-inspired rice and beans to the elaborate seafood ceviches of his native Peru. A glance around his dining room showcases the numerous accolades, articles and other achievements of his roughly four decades in the hospitality industry.

While chef Waldo came up through hotel kitchens, arriving in San Antonio in 2009 to run the restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, these days a meal with Castro is more like a visit to his family table. He greets nearly every customer at the door — often with a hug — and is more than willing to share his vast knowledge of Latin American culinary traditions, meals he’s prepared for celebrities and his many charitable endeavors with anyone who will lend an ear.

Grab a seat, get comfy, and order a hearty plate of lomo saltado or whatever catch of the day he has marinating in a potently tart and spicy leche de tigre sauce. Your belly and heart will both leave full.

El Ceviche De Waldito, 5526 Evers Road, 210-214-7812, elcevichedewalditotx.com

La Terrazita

Big shocker here: It gets hot in San Antonio. And there are few better ways to cool down than with a fruit cup or chamoy-dressed mangonada at this sprawling backyard oasis decorated in bright colors and ornate papel picado.

Formerly home to the beloved Fruteria Las Gueras, the property is now host to a food truck that’s backed right up to the main building. From that mobile kitchen, a menu of burgers, hot dogs and Mexican street eats, including tacos (the cochinita pibil option is among the best), huaraches, gorditas, nachos and more, keep appetites at bay.

But the main draw is the cooling agua frescas, fruit cups, raspas, milkshakes and other icy beverages. The mangonada is a particular standout, made from a just-sweet base of fresh mango sorbet laced with chunks of fresh fruit. Into that goes a crown of mango wedges and healthy dose of chamoy, providing the sweet, salty and spicy alchemy San Antonio loves to savor. 

La Terrazita, 4823 Evers Road, 210-838-8606, laterrazitatx.com

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Moroccan Bites Tagine

Founded in 2009 by Latifa Ghafai, Moroccan Bites quickly became a bustling restaurant where she and her children have served countless meals to locals and out-of-town celebrities alike.

 The business secured its enduring place in San Antonio’s restaurant landscape by appearing in a 2011 episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” with flamboyant host Guy Fieri going gaga for Ghafai’s lamb couscous with vegetables, among other dishes.

You don’t need a shock of electric blond hair to enjoy the complex flavors coming from the kitchen at Moroccan Bites. If you’re unfamiliar with Moroccan cuisine, start with the mixed appetizer sampler to get your palate in an adventurous mood. Chase that with an order of chicken pastilla — a famous pie featuring heavily spiced (but not spicy) shredded chicken laced with cinnamon, ginger, rose water and almonds inside a flaky phyllo crust sprinkled with powdered sugar and more cinnamon. It’s a textbook example of the sweet-and-savory flavors that define Moroccan fare.

And as the restaurant’s name suggests, don’t miss out on the tagines. These slow-cooked stews served in a ceramic lidded dish of the same name feature several proteins — the lamb shank with apricots or prunes are particularly popular options — along with tender vegetables and a side of golden rice. Washed down with a glass of sweet mint tea, you’ll feel transported to another land without leaving your area code.

Moroccan Bites Tagine, 5718 Evers Road, 210-706-9700, moroccanbitestagine.com

Syrian Kitchen

This ornately decorated dining room features colorful lamps hanging from the ceiling, bold red and gold tablecloths, and a steady backbeat of Syrian music matching the aromas in the air. Along one wall, a slightly elevated space draped in red provides ample room for friends and family to gather seated on the floor, as is customary in many parts of the world, to enjoy a meal. Several tables provide a seat for those who prefer a chair.

Fattoush salad is a fine place to begin, with vegetables topped with crisp pieces of bread and a tart dressing made from pomegranate molasses. Or perhaps you prefer tabouleh, although in this case don’t expect a plate of bulgur wheat. This version is almost entirely composed of chopped parsley with a bright citric dressing.

And don’t forget a pot of tea. The ginger option is made with a ridiculous quantity of fresh chopped ginger, lemon and just enough sugar to tame those strong flavors.

Kebabs, shawarma and whole lamb shanks are solid options here, but for a taste of something different, go for the Whole Fish Mandi. You’ll be treated to a large and meaty, head-on fish grilled to tender perfection and dressed with sharp raw onions and tart sumac. 

Syrian Kitchen, 5750 Evers Road, 210-334-0589, menu.syriankitchensa.com

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Pupuseria Romero & Seafood Boil

A place that serves Salvadoran pupusas and Cajun-style seafood boils, you might ask? Don’t call it an identity crisis. Call it a meal meant to be.

This long and slender dining room wedged into a small shopping center was previously home to a restaurant and bar called Texas Crab Boil. While that outfit may have left, its signature dish stuck around after a new concept took over the space. And it’s a good thing, too: Longtime regulars would throw a fit if they couldn’t get succulent shrimp, crab legs and crawfish doused in a comical quantity of the shop’s bold garlic and chile sauce.

Tex-Mex staples such as tacos and quesadillas, shrimp cocktails and tostadas fill out most of the menu here, but flip to the last page for a treat. Pupusas, or hand-formed rounds of masa filled with a a wide range of ingredients and toasted on a griddle, are the star here. Whether  filled with spinach, cheese, steak or seafood, they’re  all  served with a punchy cabbage slaw called curtido and a bright red salsa for a hot and tangy contrast of flavors.

Pupuseria Romero & Seafood Boil, 6613 Evers Road, 210-773-1309, pupuseria-romero.negocio.site