Duck confit is right at home in this dive bar

Dive bars are usually the domain of wings, fried mozzarella sticks, pretzels and the like — if they even have food on tap.

Clearly, David Gates didn’t get the memo. Oak Hills Tavern, the South Texas Medical Center-area watering hole he’s owned and operated since 1995 proclaims itself “The Best Damn Dive Bar in San Antonio,” and it has, hands-down, the best food menu you’ll find in any San Antonio shot-and-a-beer establishment.

That magic begins with housemade duck confit, the classic French dish of duck slowly poached in fat to the point it starts breaking down into succulent ribbons of tender poultry, which can be found on a number of dishes at Oak Hills, where Gates is also the chef.

If you’re skeptical, it’s because you haven’t tried Gates’ Stuffed Grilled Cheese ($6) packed with duck confit (a $5 add-on). Cheddar and mozzarella cheese get piled onto house-baked Texas toast. Between those two layers of gooey cheese, Gates stuffs in a generous quantity of duck confit, and the whole affair is finished with drizzles of spicy ranch and avocado ranch, a scattering of pico de gallo and grated Asiago cheese. This sandwich was every bit the over-thetop flavor bomb it sounds like during my recent lunch visit.

That same duck confit, a hefty 3-ounce portion of it, showed up again in a taco ($5.50) along with grilled mushrooms, onions and red peppers. I also added it (for $5) to an order dubbed A

Mess of Fries ($10) along with cheese, queso, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños and more piled atop a bed of crispy handcut fries.

The whole meal was a threeway duck indulgence I’d more expect to find on fancy plates in a swanky modern eatery instead of on a metal tray lined with green-and white checkered paper served at a weathered picnic table.

Duck confit is just one of several proteins Oak Hills offers. Pulled pork, jerk chicken, carne asada, spicy shrimp, pork adovado and more can be added to any of the bar’s grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, fries, tacos, scratch-made pizzas and more. Grilled vegetables are also available as a filling. If burgers are your thing, they come on house-baked buns with bacon onion jam and house-made

pickles.

Gates, a veteran caterer who received culinary training at St. Philip’s College, knows his menu isn’t the typical bill of fare for a place where customers line up for cheap beer specials while the clack of pool balls and shot glasses tapping the bar provide a rhythmic soundtrack in the background.

“My philosophy is to only cook the kind of food I want to

eat,” he said. You’ll want to eat it, too.

Oak Hills Tavern, 7920 Fredericksburg Road, 210-614-8855, oakhillstavern.com, Facebook: @OakHillsTavern. Hours: 11 to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

Paul Stephen / Staff Oak Hills Tavern, in the Medical Center area, serves tacos, fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and more loaded with duck confit.