CONTRIBUTING WRITER – MICHELLE RAMIREZ
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT 13, 2023
Down the road at 2113 Bandera is Ice Ice Baby, an oasis in the Texas heatOwner and raspa enthusiast Lauren Cuevas brought this snowy shop to life thanks to her mom, who had prior experience working at her dad’s snack shop. The antojito experts serve many Italian ice creations topped with chamoy, Hot Cheetos, cucumbers and many other toppings that one would not have thought twice of combining. Upon walking in, there are endless options from Takis Locos, which are hollowed cucumbers filled with pickles, Takis, chamoy, and Tajin, to Fruit Roll Ups with mangonadas and Hot Cheeto Pies, which are Hot Cheetos with cheese, corn, crema and jalapenos. It’s edible art- that’s what we call it,” says Lauren Cueva, owner of Ice Ice Baby (KENS-5). “I’ve had raspas before, but I’ve never imagined putting Hot Cheetos on Italian ice,” says St. Mary’s business administration and management freshman Gabriel Badillo.
They have a large social media presence, amassing about 53,000 followers on Instagram and about 82,000 followers on TikTok, and still growing. This location has been so successful that they were able to expand and open a second location on MacArthur. Make sure to check them out, and try their unique combinations, they may surprise you. Across I-10 in the Tobin Hill area, Curry Boy’s BBQ features a unique Thai and Texan fusion, a product of a collaboration between Sean Wen and Andre Ho owners of Pinch Boil House, and Andrew Samia owner of South BBQ & Kitchen. The idea, originally a pop-up, came to be a distraction from the pandemic which became immediately popular resulting in a high demand. After another pop-up, the group saw their success and began to make plans for a permanent location which came to life in a little pink shack on the Saint Mary’s Strip and then fully established as a full indoor dine-in location while still preserving its iconic pink to honor its origin. “I tried both, and I can’t stop thinking about the whole, plump button mushrooms seasoned with smoked salt,” says Daniel Vaughn from Texas Monthly, as he describes trying the brisket smoke show and magic mushroom bowls. North Saint Mary’s Strip flavor bomb Curry Boy’s have not stopped their growth since and have been nominated for a James Beard Award which goes to the best chef in Texas. They have earned an Instagram following of 14,000 and have been featured in Texas Monthly.
Since their expansion into a larger dining area, they have broadened their menu, serving new items such as the Curry Queso Hot Dog. “This is literally genius, I was skeptical at first, but once you taste [the Curry Queso Dog] the blend makes sense,” says St. Mary’s political science freshman Ana Martinez. Sean Wen and Andrew Ho have additionally opened a sausage burger joint, Wurst Behavior, which is an Asian German Fusion, and continue to find success in unique fusions.