The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out...Featuring Tributary at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter #WGDinesOut #SADining #TributarySA

The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out feature is back! We're reintroducing this popular series with Tributary, a farm-to-table restaurant located at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter. Chef Joseph Martinez focuses on produce and meats sourced from local farmers, keeping in mind Texas seasonality. The Weekend Gourmet team recently visited Tributary to sample items from the creative, wide-ranging menu. From appetizers to desserts, it was a delicious dining experience.

Tributary offers plenty of seating in its main dining room, as well as in the Marriott Rivercenter's expansive lobby. The lobby seating offers a ton of natural light...and great people watching! We were greeted and quickly seated in the expansive lobby dining area adjacent to the restaurant's well-stocked bar. We started our meal with a duo of craft cocktails and appetizers. The Tributary Tequila O.F. is an updated take on a classic Old Fashioned cocktail. It features Dobel Diamante Cristalino Barrel tequila that's hand-selected by the Tributary team. This tequila is exclusive to the restaurant, so this is definitely a one-of-a-kind cocktail you literally won't find it anywhere else! It's potent, but smooth...with a citrus back note from the twist of orange peel. We also tried the restaurant's signature Tributary Margarita...a beautiful fuchsia cocktail flavored with tangy prickly pear and lime juice. It's festive and delicious...cheers!

We paired our cocktails with a duo of appetizers. Up first was the Chips & Dips Trio...which included two housemade salsas and freshly made guacamole. Although not prepared tableside, we both agreed that the supremely fresh guacamole was some of the very best we'd ever eaten. Simple, creamy, and delicious!

Next from the kitchen was a warm flatbread appetizer with a distinctly Tex-Mex flavor. The Chicken Tinga Flatbread featured spicy Chipotle Braised Chicken, Oaxaca Cheese, Cotija, Pickled Red Onion, and Cilantro. The crust was thin, but not soggy. The toppings were mildly spicy and cheesy...the pickled onions brought a brightly tart flavor to every bite.

After enjoying our cocktails and appetizers, it was time for a shared salad course. Tributary's updated Iceberg Wedge features creative sweet tea-infused bacon, creamy mild Point Reyes Blue Cheese, heirloom tomatoes, and herb-infused Buttermilk Ranch. This salad was bursting with fresh flavors...a perfect Summer dish. I could literally eat this salad every day of the week!

From there, it was time for two comforting Gulf seafood entrees: Blackened Red Snapper and classic Southern-style Shrimp & Grits!

The Louisiana-inspired Blackened Red Snapper was paired with seasonal yellow squash and zucchini, Creole sauce, and a sweet-savory cornbread crumble. The spicy fish was cooked perfectly moist, and it paired very nicely with the veggies and spicy tomato-based sauce.

The Shrimp & Grits featured herb grits...and a sweet corn succotash. The plump Texas Gulf shrimp paired nicely with the creamy grits and sweet corn kernels. The dish was savory and full of flavor thanks to the sweet shrimp and fresh corn, luscious grits, and savory sauce. So good!

The final duo of menu items we tried were the grand finale -- dessert! We shared the Bourbon Tres Leche cake and the Chocolate & Coffee plate. Both desserts were beautifully presented and tasted great. The Bourbon Tres Leche featured bourbon sponge cake and dulce de leche. The three milks in the sauce were richly sweet, and the cake was moist -- but not soggy. It was topped with fresh seasonal berries and adorable daisy candy garnish. This was an elegant Summer dessert...not heavy at all.

The Chocolate & Coffee dessert was an artfully composed plate comprised of Mexican Spiced Chocolate Cake, coffee cremeaux, cajeta, and cinnamon meringues. Chocolate and coffee are a perfect pairing, so this dessert was really fun to eat. It offered a ton of textures and flavors: rich flourless chocolate cake, caramel cajeta, creamy coffee mousse, crunchy meringue cookies, and a tart dried apricot compote that perfectly cut through the rest of the plates deeper flavors. Each bite was a little bit different, but every bite was delicious!

From start to finish, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Tributary. Whether you live in San Antonio like I do...or are planning a vacation visit...Tributary is a great dining option! Tributary is open 7 days per week inside the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter at Rivercenter Mall. Dinner is served from 500-1000 every evening. On weekends, Tributary also offers a lunch menu from noon until dinner time. Parking is conveniently available via the hotel's self parking...and the nearby Commerce Street Garage.

Disclosuer: Tributary San Antonio provided The Weekend Gourmet team a complimentary dinner tasting to facilitate this article. All opinions shared are solely my own.