Patricia Sharpe
Patricia Sharpe grew up in Austin, Texas, and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. After a stint as a schoolteacher (teaching English and Spanish) and at the Texas Historical Commission (writing historical markers), she joined the staff of Texas Monthly, in 1974, when the magazine was two years old. She edited the magazine’s cultural and restaurant listings, and over the years, she also wrote a consumer column called “Touts.” Eventually she focused exclusively on food, and her humorous story “War Fare,” an account of living for 48 hours on military-style MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat), was included in the anthology Best Food Writing 2002 (Marlowe & Company). Many of her stories appear in the collection, Texas Monthly on Food (University of Texas Press, 2008). Pat Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column for Texas Monthly and is in demand to judge food contests (she declines those involving large quantities of chile peppers or hot sauce). In March 2005, she wrote a memoir of her thirty years as a restaurant critic entitled “Confessions of a Skinny Bitch.” It won a James Beard Foundation award for magazine food writing. She stands five feet, seven inches tall and weighs 118 pounds fully fed and fully clothed. (1974)
Features
Where to Eat Now
And the year's best new restaurants are . . .
Home Is Where the Cart Is
In this exclusive excerpt from his forthcoming cookbook, Hugo Ortega shares the secrets of the humble dishes of his homeland.
The Birding Drive
Miles and Miles of Texas
The Hill Country Drive, the BBQ Market Drive, the Backwoods Drive, and thirteen other summer trips, from the mountains to the coast, that will take you down some of the prettiest, most picturesque, most wide-open stretches of asphalt Texas has to offer. Buckle up!
Where to Eat Now 2012
White tablecloths. Street food. Small portions. Lots and lots of innards. The only thing the ten best new Texas restaurants have in common is a willingness to prove that there is no such thing as a “Texas restaurant.” But when the escargots with fennel purée are this good, who cares?
Up and Eat ’Em
Breakfast isn’t just the most important meal of the day. As determined by our exhaustive survey of the state’s best bacon, eggs, pancakes, migas, biscuits, tacos, kolaches, grits, pie, pan dulce, and more, it’s also the most delicious.
Fried Catfish
Bacon-wrapped Dove
Smoked Brisket
The Way We Ate Then
A look at how some of our forebears cooked.
A Big Splash
Home Plates
The heritage, splendor, and proper preparation of the ten dishes every Texan should be able to cook from scratch, from smoked brisket and migas to fried catfish and bacon-wrapped dove. Skillet and shotgun not included.
The Great Terquasquicentennial Road Trip
Some people call it a quartoseptcentennial, or a septaquintaquinquecentennial (seriously), but you’d better save your breath. You’ll need it on this wide-ranging 6,000-mile voyage commemorating Texas’s 175th birthday. It starts in Glen Rose, ends in Austin, and stops along the way at 175 places that tell the story of the state, from the grassy field in La Porte where independence was won to the parking garage in Dallas where the Super Bowl was dreamed up; from the Austin dorm room where Dell Inc. was born to the college hall in Houston where Barbara Jordan learned to debate; from the hotel in San Antonio where Lydia Mendoza recorded “Mal Hombre” to the—well, you get the idea. And you’d better get started. The road awaits . . .
Where to Eat Now 2011
Jalapeño sausage–stuffed quail, lemon-pepper-marinated fried chicken: The trend for most of the best new restaurants last year was comfort food with pizzazz. But then along came Uchiko to wow us with its mouthwatering take on Japanese fusion. Who says you can’t buck a trend?
La Maestra
A lesson with Diana Kennedy.
Let’s Have Mex-Tex
Where’s the best place to get a perfect plate of enchiladas? A chile relleno to die for? A salsa you’ll never forget? Come along on our tour of the fifty greatest Mexican restaurants in Texas, from Hugo’s, in Houston, to Tacos Santa Cecilia, in El Paso. This is not your father’s Tex-Mex.
Sea Student
Bryan Caswell, the chef-owner of Reef, in Houston, has your backyard summer picnic all figured out.
The Bucket List
Driving the River Road, in far West Texas; having a drink at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, in Dallas; fishing for bass in Caddo Lake; eating a chicken-fried steak in Strawn; searching for a lightning whelk along the coast; and 58 other things that all Texans must do before they die.
Directory
Our favorite restaurants from around the state.
Honorable Mention
Seven restaurants from Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
Where to Eat Now 2010
You had to be brave to open a restaurant last year. Or you had to be a genius. Or, like Robert Del Grande, whose revamped Houston eatery tops our list of the ten best gastronomical debuts of 2009, you had to be both.
People We’ll Miss—2009
A fond look back at 22 Texans who died in 2009, from Farrah Fawcett and Walter Cronkite to Brandon Lara and Joe Bowman.
Pecan Artists
The best way to go completely nuts this Thanksgiving is with this five-part meal featuring the bounty of our beloved state tree.
How We Did It
The 50 Greatest Hamburgers In Texas
On our first-ever quest for the state’s best burgers, we covered more than 12,000 miles, ate at more than 250 restaurants, and gained, collectively, more than 40 pounds. Our dauntless determination (and fearless fat intake) was rewarded with a list of 50 transcendent burgers—and you’ll never guess which one ended up on top. Check out our Best Burger section.
Vineyard Hopping
How to Eat Well in Hard Times
It’s easy, really. Just go get yourself some shrimp tacos, a beef-and-cheese cachapa, grilled pork with green papaya, fried chicken, gourmet Frito pie, or any of the 25 finds on this list of my favorite dishes in Texas under ten bucks.
Where to Eat Now 2009
How perfect is this: The best new restaurant to open during the Year of Financial Meltdown is located in the lobby of an old Houston bank. What better place to invest your money than in the soul-nourishing flavor combos of chef Michael Kramer’s beautifully composed plates?
The 40 Best Small-Town Cafes
Our exhaustive, exhausting, strictly scientific (and lamentably fattening) survey of the finest home cooking around, from Maxine’s on Main, in Bastrop, to El Paraiso, in Zapata.
Your Bird Here
Turkey, shmurkey! This Thanksgiving, when your mother-in-law gets ready to serve up boring old tradition as a main course, you should cry fowl and turn her attention to these other fine, feathered, delectable friends.
Keeper of the Flame
Need someone to create a menu for the ultimate backyard feast? Paul Petersen, the executive chef at Marathon’s Gage Hotel, is ready, grilling, and able.
PITS: The Encyclopedia Entry
BBQ08
Eighteen hungry reviewers. 14,773 miles driven/flown. 341 joints visited. Countless bites of brisket, sausage, chicken, pork, white bread, potato salad, and slaw—and vats of sauce—ingested. There are only fifty slots on our quinquennial list of the best places to eat barbecue in Texas. Only five of those got high honors. And only one (you’ll never guess which one in a million years) is the best of the best.
Where To Eat Now 2008
Yes, the setting is ritzy and the food remarkable. But what really makes the state’s best new restaurant sizzle is something less tangible: the (Dean) Fearing factor.
Eat Their Words
What will dining, both out and in, be like in decades to come? We asked the state’s top chefs and food folk, from Dean Fearing and Hugo Ortega to David Bull and Charles Butt.
Meat Your Maker
From city to country, fancy to down-home, the state’s 38 best steakhouses. Plus: the Japanese beef that everyone should be eating, our favorite butcher shops, and how to grill a ribeye that even your father-in-law will love.
The Art of the Meal
Five of the best museums in the state have cafes designed to tempt the most refined tastes and sophisticated palates. A few have masterpieces on the menu; others are works in progress.
From Husks Till Dawn
Even cowgirls get the munchies, which is why Paula Disbrowe came up with these great recipes for migas, blackberry blue-corn muffins, and other breakfast staples.
Where to Eat Now 2007
Well, first and foremost, Dallas, since four of the year’s ten best new restaurants—including the top three—are there. But if you’re hip and hungry in Houston, Austin, or San Antonio, my list won’t disappoint.
The Greatest Tacos Ever Sold
Sixty-three of them, to be exact: from picadillo in Dallas and brisket tinga in Houston to carne asada gringa in San Antonio and chorizo-and-jalapeño in McAllen. Be sure you don’t leave this earth without trying each and every one.
The Chop Is in the Mail
You want to send your granny a grapefruit this Christmas? Your bro a brisket? Your pop a pie? We’ve taste-tested more than four hundred foodstuffs that Texas companies will happily ship to your door, and more than forty are first-class.
Peas Be With You
This farm-to-table feast will make you thankful for the Texas growers who still work the land and for at least one hip chef who gives new life to the fruits and vegetables of their labor.
Wings
At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, butterflies are free (sort of).
A Desert Feast
How to make black bean soup, cactus cornbread, and other mouthwatering dishes from Melissa Guerra’s South Texas kitchen.
Runners-up
Directory
Where to Eat Now 2006
Our favorite new restaurants of the year—and a few more that almost make the cut.
Pie + Cobbler
Pork Chops
Meat Loaf
Okra + Greens
Chicken-Fried Steak
House Specialties
Cornbread + Biscuits
Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Southern Comfort
Fabulous fried chicken, marvelous meat loaf, great greens, outstanding okra, perfect pie, and more: where to find our favorite staples of home cooking.
How To Open A Restaurant
You have to be either crazy or masochistic to do it—maybe both. But for Lisa and Emmett Fox, owners of the new Austin eatery Fino, the benefits of taking the heat far outweigh those of staying out of the kitchen.
Got Game
At Hudson’s on the Bend, in Austin, venison isn’t the only dish that’s smokin’.
If you’re hungry . . .
“Confessions of a Skinny Bitch”
Over the past thirty years, I’ve edited or written more than 28,000 restaurant reviews for this magazine. That’s a lot of crème brûlée under the bridge, folks. So what’s my life been like, exactly? And how have I stayed this thin? Good questions.
Where to Eat Now 2005
What’s on the menu this year? Not the best new restaurants of all time, perhaps—but you’ll still love the veal shank at 17, the Texas quail at T’afia, the Guinness stout cake at George, and the fusion of French and Mexican cooking at Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana. And don’t forget to order the fish . . . everywhere.
Directory
The Best of the Rest
Some Like It Picante
Actually, most of us do, which is why we’ve visited Mexican restaurants and taquerías all over the state in search of the best enchiladas, guacamole, cabrito, and other classic dishes; pilfered three great restaurant recipes for you to make in your own cocina; answered every frequently asked question we could think of; collected expert tips and techniques; and compiled a glossary of terms you’re likely to find on a menu. Sound like the last Mexican food story you’ll ever need to read?
Life Is Sweet
Rebecca Rather’s recipes for five tempting treats are our holiday gift to you.
Stop and Smell the Lavender
Staples of Provençal cuisine, such as olive oil, goat cheese, and honey, are being produced in Texas? Mais oui.
Triumph of the Grill
A pomegranate daiquiri, a spicy poblano quail, and thou: Three hot Texas chefs have whipped up a patio picnic that's sure to put a little spring (and summer) in your step.
Where to Eat Now 2004
Now serving: the best new restaurants in Texas, including a glamorous international kitchen in Dallas, a hot sushi spot in Austin, and—the best of them all—a drop-dead room with a globe-trotting menu in Houston.
Eyes on the Pies
Five modern twists on traditional recipes make mincemeat out of store-bought desserts.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Top Fifty
Pit Stops
Where are the best places to eat barbecue in Texas? Six years ago we published a highly subjective—and hotly debated— list of our fifty favorite joints, and now we’ve gone back for seconds. Ten intrepid souls drove more than 21,000 miles in search of 2003’s worthiest ‘cue. Here’s what they came back with: the top 5 and the next 45, plus honorable mentions, great chains, and meat by mail.
Where to Eat Now
In our annual roundup of the restaurants everyone's talking about, you'll find a bare-bones taquería, a bastion of cowboy chic, a snazzy deconsecrated church—and dishes that range from soup (squash blossom) to nuts (toasted cashews with chocolate-swirled bread pudding). Not to mention a little French place in San Antonio that's the best of the best.
Who's Next?
San Antonio's Marshevet Hooker is not just any old high school sprinter; she's an Olympic gold medalist in the making. Meet her and nine other women we're betting will lead the new Texas—and the world.
Make Way for Duck
Tired of talking turkey? ‘Tis the season to feast on a bird that’s all it’s quacked up to be—and other dishes created by five of the state’s hottest chefs.
Puebla
Ladies, First
Three former Texas first ladies dish about life in the Governor’s Mansion and share recipes that have served them well.
San Antonio to Loving on Texas Highway 16
Huge apple pies, a Japanese submarine, handmade soaps—and a dressed flea.
Where To Eat Now
Want to know where to find remarkable roast chicken? Terrific shrimp tacos? Cloudlike chèvre cheesecake? Having munched my way across the state, I have the answers. Chow, Baby.
The Shuck Stops Here
Whether you plan to buy tamales or make them from scratch this holiday season, here's everything you need to know about these simple (and simply delicious) gift-wrapped treats.
Old-Fashioned Texas
Texas is changing before our eyes, but fried pies, drive-in movie theaters, and other vestiges of earlier days are all around. To find these treasures, we risked life, limb, and cholesterol count-and had a blast from the past.
A Star-Spangled Spread
This Fourth of July, forget the fried chicken and potato salad. Our potluck picnic, cooked up by six top Austin chefs, is full of culinary fireworks. Plus... extra web-only recipes!
Round and Round
Tortillas have been with us since the heyday of the Maya and the Aztecs. Now these simple small cakes are big business-but some are still made the old fashioned way. Includes extra tortilleria listings.
Season’s Eatings
When we asked chef Bruce Auden of San Antonio's Biga on the Banks to create a festive holiday feast, he served up a menu with some delicious twists on tradition.
Food • Phil Romano
Restaurant raja.
Franco File
The best French restaurant in Texas is in San Antonio? Mais oui. And around the state, there are others that are très bon as well.
Great Escapes
From a boutique hotel in hip South Austin to a bed-and-breakfast across the Mexican border, from fly fishing on the Llano River to bathing in the Chinati Hot Springs, 33 getaways the guidebooks don’t tell you about, courtesy of our intrepid staff of weekend warriors.
Top of the Morning
Recipes for the state’s best breakfasts, including empanadas from Joe T. Garcia’s Bakery in Fort Worth, smoked-salmon omelets from benjy’s in Houston, and gingerbread pancakes from Austin’s Magnolia Cafe.
The Joy of Mex
From La Valentina in Dallas to Casa del Sol in Juárez, 75 Mexican restaurants that will leave your taste buds begging for more, plus seven great recipes.
Food • John Campbell
Supermarketer.
Wing Tips
Where to see the painted bunting, the summer tanager, and other feathered friends: A guide to the best birding spots in Texas.
Restaurants
A creamy quiche of spinach, cheese, and mushrooms in Comfort, smashingly good smashed turnips in Granbury: These and other delicious dishes at ten extraordinary eateries.
Wild Turkey
Here’s something to be thankful for: chef Grady Spears’s holiday feast, with a deep-fried bird and all the trimmings.
FOOD • Stephan Pyles
A recipe for success.
DANCE • Carlos Acosta
Feet accompli.
Hot Plates!
Recipe for a great new cookbook: Combine a celebrated chef, a veteran food writer, and an innovative approach to contemporary Tex-Mex; serve.
Out of This World
At the entrance to Las Pozas, the logical, the predictable, and the commonplace evaporate, giving way to one of the most enchanting places on earth.
Tiles and Tiles of Texas
The ceramic designs created by these four Texas studios will look great in your kitchen or bathroom—and except for their shape, there’s nothing square about them.
It’s a Wrap
What happens when the modern world gets its hands on the lowly burrito? A food fad is born.
Art • Peter Marzio
On the money.
Food • Tri La
Culinary assimilation.
Grand Hotel
Why do reviewers from Condé Nast Traveler to the Zagat and Mobil guides swoon over Dallas’ Mansion on Turtle Creek? I wanted to find out, so I checked in.
Road Show
Our guide to finding Texas wildflowers that stand out in their fields.
The Elite Meat to Eat
Chicken? For the birds. Fish? In the tank. From Buffalo Gap to Galveston, the faddish food these days is steak. Here are ten prime places to enjoy it.
Environment • Tony Amos
Gulf pro.
Bread Winners
Upper-crust bakers in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin are turning out heavenly handmade loaves that make store-bought seem stale by comparison.
Holy Cacao!
Introducing El Rey, the Venezuelan chocolate that is wowing chefs everywhere, thanks to the efforts of a Texan with a taste for treats.
Robert Del Grande, Cafe Annie, Houston.
Dean Fearing, Mansion On Turtle Creek, Dallas
Southwestern Ho!
Chef’s On The Rise
Texas Food Conquers the World!
How to cook up a culinary craze: Mix talented chefs, native ingredients, classical techniques, and good publicity. Name result “Southwestern.” Let spread across globe.
Cook Your Goose!
Turn your holiday dinner into a moth-waatering master-feast with these new recipes from Stay Canyon chef Stephan Pyles.
¡Viva Tequila!
How it’s made, the secret of cooking with it, the truth about the worm, and everything else you ever wanted to know about Mexico’s favorite drink—and ours.
The Cook, the Chief, His Wife, And Their Dinner
Who feeds Zuni stew and scrambled eggs to George W. Bush? Meet Sarah Bishop, the young chef at the Governor’s Mansion—and try out some of her favorite recipes.
Something’s Cooking
Meet the hip young chefs at two Texas restaurants that everyone’s buzzing about.
Go West!
Now is the time to check out newly stylish hotels and restaurants in West Texas. Tourists aren’t far behind.
What a Dish!
We cleaned our plate at restaurants across Texas. Here are the results: 66 irresistible specialties of the house.
Secret Summer Places
Follow us for a great vacation, minus something all tourists can do without crowds.
Swimming to Oblivion
Marine scientists have struggled for ten years to establish a new colony of ridley sea turtles on South Padre Islands. All their efforts may have been in vain.
Texas Primer: The Chilipiquin
Some like it hot; those who eat the national pepper of Texas like it hotter.
Texas Primer: Cedar Fever
When cedars start to mate, Texans start to suffer.
Columns | Miscellany
Stock Tips
After years of writing about chefs, I wanted to get a taste of what it’s like to be one—which is how I found myself browning veal knuckle bones at the fastest-growing cooking school in Texas.
Stirring the Pot
What Julia Child is to French cooking, Diana Kennedy is to Mexican: a pioneer in her field with creativity to spare and strong opinions about everything.
The Fusion Thing
Don't make the mistake I did in assuming that Dallas dining is a white-bread world. This is the Latin Century, and these days Big D is all about Nuevo Latino.
Tex-Mex 101
Why yellow-cheese enchiladas, chile con carne, and puffy tacos aren't Mexican food: A short course on the cuisine that was fusion before fusion was hip.
Melting Pots
Serving three of Houston's immigrant cuisines—Indian, Japanese, or Vietnamese—these restaurants put culinary adventure on the menu.
Fallen Star
Plenty of buzz and a distinctive menu couldn't keep Austin's Star Canyon from closing after just fourteen months. I didn't see it coming, but now I know one recipe for recipe for failure.
War Fare
When I discovered that a Texas company makes the portable meals our soldiers carry into battle, I got my orders to eat up. I knew I would complete my mission—or get indigestion trying.
Cocina Confidential
What did I do when I wanted to indulge my weakness for cooking classes? I put San Miguel de Allende on the menu.
Georgette Mosbacher
Joel Gregory
Tio Kleberg
Stars and Gripes
Why did we take away our restaurant guide's highest rating for the Mansion on Turtle Creek? Let's dish.
Mercury Rising
What's it like to be the chef at one of the state's top restaurants? The words "pressure cooker" come to mind
Slush Fun
Raise your glass to Dallas' Mariano Martinez, Jr., whose frozen margarita machine changed happy hour forever.
Unnatural Habitat
Noah's Land—an exotic-animal park and petting zoo near Bastrop—is underfinanced, and its staff is overwhelmed. As if that weren't enough, it's also under investigation for possible animal neglect.
Joys in the 'Hood
Think cozy neighborhood restaurants are a thing of the past? Here are four places that will serve you well.
Java Nice Day
After years of not much brewing, Houston’s Duncan Coffee Company is piping hot all over again.
Success by Design
At Texas’ top industrial design firm, the old style-versus-substance debate is a nonstarter: Why choose when you can have both?
Better Than Wurst
Portobello mushrooms and paella alongside the schnitzel and sauerkraut: In the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg, there’s clearly something cooking.
Mexican Revolution
New restaurants in Dallas and Houston are serving up authentic interior-style Mexican dishes that turn the tables on Tex-Mex.
New Deli
It started as a hippie sandwich shop in Austin. Now, more than two decades later, Schlotzsky’s is finally kicking the competition in the buns.
7th Heaven
What do Monty Python, the Lion King, Ace Ventura, and Howie Mandel have in common? They’re all part of 7th Level’s strategy to marry show biz with the computer-game biz.
Virtual Vittles
From chili to chiles, there’s a heaping helping of Texas food on the Internet, including cookoff schedules, mail-order info, recipes, and restaurant reviews. Dig in.
Chuck Wagon Redux
The latest culinary crazy, Cowboy Cuisine has put a new spin on traditional Texas cooking.
Heartless Behavior
Cardiologists Per and Peter Langsjoen sounded a warning.
Mix Masters
Three trend-setting Mexico City restaurants defy tradition by blending native and European cuisines.
King Crab
In tiny Sabine Pass, two restaurants battle to see which will be the barbecued-crab master of the universe.
State Fare
In Port Aransas the roast of the town is at the Other Guy's Seafood Cafe.
State Fare
Get hooked on the sea bass at Dallas' Bistral.
State Fare
Pudding a new twist on shrimp at Houston’s Amazón Grill.
State Fare
Sweet designs for Christmas cookies from Penny's Pastries of Austin.
State Fare
Stephan Pyles’ sweet mascarpone polenta has a corn-ucopia of flavor.
State Fare
Houston’s Tony Ruppe’s has got your goat cheese.
State Fare
Stick to the ribs at Austin's La Traviata.
State Fare
Be the king of all that you sorbet with a passion-filled dessert from Anthony's in Houston.
State Fare
When it grains, it scores: The smoothest risotto yet, courtesy of Salve! in Dallas.
State Fare
Will you enjoy the wrapped sea bass at San Antonio's Biga on the Banks? That depends on how you filo.
State Fare
Eat to the beat: Rosemary-marinated pork from Houston caterer and string bass player Joe Abuso.
State Fare
You get a spicy stir-fry; Dallas' Abacus gets your gratitude. Call it a squid pro quo.
State Fare
Hungry for shrimp? Use your noodle—udon, preferably—and head for Citizen in Dallas.
State Fare
A cake that gets to the heart of the batter from Austin’s Rather Sweet Bakery.
State Fare
"Deer diary, tonight I had a wonderful venison stew from Hudson's on the Bend outside Austin . . . "
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At Houston’s La Réserve, you can have yourself a merry little Christmas tree—for dessert.
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From Francesca’s at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio.
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Revenge of the bird: A pleasant pheasant from the Rough Creek Lodge near Glen Rose.
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Jailhouse Chili is a gastronomic pleasure for the Kinkster—and the rest of us.
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Remembrance of things pasta: The capellini salad from Dallas’ Nana Grill will live on in your memory.
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Think fig: The chef at Austin’s Vespaio does, and his crispy duck is delicious.
Tila’s Antojitos
From Tila’s in Houston: three Mexican appetizers that are, well, appetizing.
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Pig out on pork tenderloin at Mark’s in Houston.
State Fare
Shellfish? Swellfish. One bite of miso-glazed shrimp at Dallas’ Green Room and you’ll be hooked.
State Fare
As Valentine’s Day desserts go, this one from Houston’s Houstonian Hotel takes the cake.
State Fare
For fans of lamb and rabbit, this dish from Houston’s Tasca is a real meat and greet.
State Fare
A savory couscous with a long Shelf life.
State Fare
San Antonio’s Las Canarias has a dish that will be deer to your heart.
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Salads, they do get weary, wearing that same shabby dressing. And when they get weary, Thai Spice says, try a little tenderloin.
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These crispy salmon and spinach spring rolls have Saks appeal.
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The lavender-dusted quail at Laurels in Dallas deserves, er, laurels.
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Houston’s restaurateur to the stars, Tony Vallone, goes full boar.
State Fare
Dallas’ AquaKnox offers ceviche with a smile—three kinds, in fact.
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The grilled scallops at Houston’s Bistro Lancaster are morsels of edible silk.
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Yellowfin tuna with wasabi mayo at San Antonio’s Silo Elevated Cuisine? It may take you a while to get Orient-ed.
State Fare
How did the chefs at Dallas’ French Room whip up such a delicious cake? Choc it up to creativity.
State Fare
Roasted poblanos, toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatillos: At Houston’s Taco Milagro, you’ll want to eat the whole enchilada.
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Pesto, change-o: Luigi’s in Galveston serves up a magical veal dish.
State Fare
Will you enjoy the smoke-roasted shrimp at Houston’s Moose Cafe? You can plank on it.
State Fare
Dallas’ Seventeen Seventeen has mastered the art of the catfish taco.
State Fare
There’s no need to be chicken about the dumplings at Fort Worth’s Angeluna: After all, they’re filled with pork.
State Fare
It’s okay to be shellfish: You won’t want to share this shrimp appetizer from San Antonio’s Massimo.
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From Austin’s Eastside Cafe come three soups that will bowl you over.
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Walnuts, Gorgonzola, and chutney make for an upscale fish dish at the Grape in Dallas.
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Gird your loins for the tender smoked pork at the Guadalupe River Ranch near Boerne.
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Don’t steer clear of the chocolate mousse iceberg from Dacapo’s on the Parkway in Houston.
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Salmonchanted evening, you’ll get hooked by a delectable fish dish at Fort Worth’s Bistro Louise.
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Mesteña’s apple sorbet and walnut-apple flautas are delicious to the core.
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The luxurious French toast at Benjy’s in Houston makes every day a challah day.
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Why does the grilled lamb loin at Austin’s Bitter End taste so good? Harissa explains it all.
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At Dallas’ Toscana, it’s a time to grill—shrimp, that is.
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Penne for your thoughts: You’ll never say basta to the pasta with vegetables and mixed greens at the Presidio in San Antonio.
State Fare
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If it’s salmon you relish, you’ll go bananas for a plantain-crusted concoction at Austin’s Z’Tejas.
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Tired of plain old greens and lifeless veggies? Houston’s La Mora has a salad you just can’t beet.
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There’s nothing fishy about tasty Vietnamese fish tacos at Houston’s Kim Son.
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In the hands of chefs Raymond Taum and Robert Mayberry at Austin’s Brio, pork is more than just the other white meat.
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State Fare: Picnic Special
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Teala’s, 3210 W. Dallas, Houston
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Little Boats de la Noche
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The New Texas Cuisine by Stephan Pyles
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Rack of Lamb Italo-Francese
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From Clarksville, 1205 N. Lamar, Austin
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From Kathleen’s Art Cafe, Dallas
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From Avner Samuel, chef owner of Avner’s, Dallas.
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From Chef Hervé Glin, Cité Grill, Houston
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The Hill Top Cafe
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From Aunt Pearl’s Cookbook.
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Anaqua Grill, San Antonio
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Chef Harvey Harris, Mezzaluna, Austin
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LocuStreet Bakery, San Antonio
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Jeffrey’s, 1204 West Lynn, Austin
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Houston’s 8.0 restaurant.
State Fare
Four Seasons Hotel, Riverside Cafe, Austin
State Fare
From San Francisco Grill, El Paso
State Fare
L’Etoile, San Antonio
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Reporter
Building a Gingerbread Capitol
Amanda Naim on baking her first batch of cookies, molding each piece of the dome, and having a steady head.
Rescuing Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles
Donna Shaver on finding a nest, sleeping at the office during hatching season, and dedicating her career to saving sea turtles.
Susie Q.
Susie Q., mystery shopper.
Making Wine
Richard and Bunny Becker on making Texas wine.
Food
Pecan-crusted trout, lamb chops with salsa verde— and salads wearing fresh flowers.
We Remember Ninfa Laurenzo
Houston's queen of Mexican cuisine remembered.
Inflamed
Why a Seguin writer is all fired up.
Skin Care
A Houston company’s breakthrough burn treatment.
Saucy
Saucy Katherine Anne Porter’s recipe for mole.
Dogfight
Texas at war with the United States Air Force.
Grady Spears
Slime Time!
An Addison snail breeder gets fresh with the world.
Biting Remarks
New guides to Houston and Metroplex eateries hash it out.
Web Exclusives
New + Noteworthy
The Hay Merchant and Doss Country Store.
New + Noteworthy
Swift's Attic and Sustenio.
New + Noteworthy
Chicken Scratch and Papi Tino's.
New + Noteworthy
Elizabeth Street Cafe and Underbelly.
New + Noteworthy
Bliss and Olive & June.
SXSW: Where to Eat
The definitive guide on where to grab a hangover taco, a soul-satisfying plate of ’cue, a beautiful piece of sushi, a see-and-be-seen table, a killer margarita, and more.
SXSW: The Top 10 Places to Eat on South Lamar, Barton Springs, and Down South
The gotta-have-it list of restaurants you simply must hit.
SXSW: The Top 10 Places to Eat on South Congress
The gotta-have-it list of restaurants you simply must hit.
SXSW: The Top 10 Places to Eat on the East Side
The gotta-have-it list of restaurants you simply must hit.
SXSW: The Top 10 Places to Eat in Downtown ATX
The gotta-have-it list of restaurants you simply must hit.
SXSW: The Top 10 Places to Eat in Central ATX
The gotta-have-it list of restaurants you simply must hit.
SXSW: Where to Eat on South Lamar/Barton Springs
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a famous live music joint to a frozen banana food cart.
SXSW: Where to Eat Up North
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a beautiful hacienda to a hipster coffee bar.
SXSW: Where to Eat on South Congress
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a Hawaiian shaved-ice stand to a romantic Italian spot.
SXSW: Where to Eat on the Water
A culinary guide for navigating your way around and outside the city, from a tropical waterfront cafe to a barbecue joint with a deck.
SXSW: Where to Get Away to Eat
A culinary guide for navigating your way around and outside the city, from a rustic barbecue joint to a sunset-watching venue on the lake.
SXSW: Where to Eat on the East Side
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a hipster hangout to a vegetarian grocery.
SXSW: Where to Eat in Downtown ATX
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a late-night taco truck to a modern tequila bar.
SXSW: Where to Eat Down South
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a funky French Vietnamese spot to a local hangout for people-watching.
SXSW: Where to Eat in Central ATX
A culinary guide for navigating your way through the city, from a casual Ethiopian spot to a classic burger joint.
SXSW: Where to Eat Vegetarian
A guide to the city's best restaurants that offer vegan tacos, gluten-free options, smoothies, and fresh alternatives to beef, chicken, and the other white meat.
SXSW: Where to Get Trailer Food
A guide to the city's best mobile eateries that are cranking out everything from Italian street food to funky gourmet doughnuts.
SXSW: Where to Eat Late Night
A guide to the city's best places to go when when you get out of a show—or just have the munchies.
SXSW: Where to Find Cheap Eats
A guide to the city's best restaurants that won't blow your wad.
New + Noteworthy
Grady's Line Camp Steakhouse and Texas Spice.
New + Noteworthy
Costa Pacifica and El Gran Malo.
New + Noteworthy
The Bird & the Bear and Bistro 31.
New + Noteworthy
One Art and Private Social.
New + Noteworthy
Le Chat Noir Eatery and Dough Pizzeria Napoletana.
New + Noteworthy
Kushi Yama and El Alma.
New + Noteworthy
Restaurant Gwendolyn and Sapori Ristorante Italiano.
New + Noteworthy
Up and McCullough Avenue Grill.
New + Noteworthy
Contigo and Alto Pizzeria.
Margaritaville
Where did our unofficial state drink come from?
New + Noteworthy
Pondicheri and Malai Thai-Vietnamese Kitchen.
New + Noteworthy
Francesca's at Sunset, San Antonio, and Saldivia South American Grill, Houston.
New and Noteworthy
Tango & Malbec and Seasons 52.
New and Noteworthy
Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar and Olmos Park Bistro.
New and Noteworthy
Flora & Muse and Zimm’s Little Deck.
New and Noteworthy
Fuego, at Stephan Pyles, and House Wine.
New and Noteworthy
Phil’s Texas Barbecue, Houston and Dive Coastal Cuisine, Dallas.
New and Noteworthy
Las Canarias, San Antonio and Patrizio, Fort Worth.
New and Noteworthy
Brownstone Restaurant and Lounge, Fort Worth and the Meddlesome Moth, Dallas.
New and Noteworthy
Liberty Bar, San Antonio and El Mesón, Austin
On the Beach
It’s time for grillin’ and chillin’—and we know just where to buy fresh seafood and have the perfect picnic on the sand.
New and Noteworthy
Foreign & Domestic, Food & Drink, Austin, and Shockley Market, Corpus Christi
New and Noteworthy
Cat City Grill, Fort Worth and Yelapa Playa Mexicana, Houston
New and Noteworthy
Tost BistroBar, San Antonio and Sushi Raku, Houston
New and Noteworthy
Il Cane Rosso, Dallas and Rockwood Room, Houston
New and Noteworthy
Tillman’s Roadhouse Fort Worth and Canopy Houston
New and Noteworthy
New and Noteworthy
Restaurant Insignia, San Antonio and Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
New and Noteworthy
Ciao Bello, Houston and Justine’s, Austin
New and Noteworthy
Fabi + Rosi European Kitchen, Austin and Tintos Spanish Restaurant & Wine Bar, Houston.
New and Noteworthy
RDG + Bar Annie, Houston and Park, Dallas
New and Noteworthy
New and Noteworthy
Kata Robata, Houston and Vapiano, Dallas
New and Noteworthy
Brisa Cocina Mexicana, Houston and Max’s Wine Dive, Austin
New and Noteworthy
Coast Global Seafood, Plano, and Buenos Aires Café East, Austin
New and Noteworthy
Café Byblos, Houston and The Mighty Cone, Austin
New and Noteworthy
Grady’s, Fort Worth and ROCC, Dallas
New and Noteworthy
Cibus, Dallas and Cover 3, Austin.
New and Noteworthy
Frederick’s Bistro, San Antonio and Cowboy Chow, Dallas.
New and Noteworthy
Tresca, San Antonio, and Sala, Dallas.
New and Noteworthy
Mulberry, Austin and Lake House, Houston
New and Noteworthy
Tre Trattoria, San Antonio and Américas, The Woodlands
New and Noteworthy
Dali Wine Bar Restaurant, Dallas and Kenzo Sushi Bistro, Katy.
New and Noteworthy
New and Noteworthy
Sage on West Alabama, Houston and El Chile, Austin
New and noteworthy
Villa O, Dallas and Trattoria Lisina, Driftwood
New and Noteworthy
Bistro Don Camillo, Houston and August E’s, Fredericksburg
New and Noteworthy
Café Pita, Houston and Rise no1, Dallas
New and Noteworthy
New and Noteworthy
New and Noteworthy
Rebecca’s Table, Fredericksburg and So Vino Wine Bar & Bistro, Houston
Recipe for a Perfect Cookoff
Beefing Up
Where to buy Akaushi, the best beef in Texas.
New and Noteworthy
New and Noteworthy
Casa Colombia, Austin and Grooves Restaurant And Lounge, Houston
New and Noteworthy
Brasserie Max And Julie, Houston and Soleil Bistro and Wine Bar, San Antonio
New and Noteworthy
Estâncía Churrascaría, Austin and Kavála Mediterranean Grill, Dallas.
New and Noteworthy
Monarch, Houston and Sangría Tapas y Bar, Dallas.
New and Noteworthy
Where Mex Meets Tex
Tex-Mex is a true American regional cuisine.
More Mexican Food—Ceviche
More Mexican Food—Flautas
More Mexican Food—Runners-up
More Mexican Food—It’s About Time
More Mexican Food—Atmosphere
More Mexican Food—Migas
Table Talk
Four restaurateurs talk about Tex-Mex, chile con queso, chips, and heartburn.
A Q&A With Sharon Hage
Sharon Hage is chef at the reputable York Street restaurant in Dallas.
Texas Tidbits
Textile
Textile, Houston
Oh, Baby!
When you tire of oatmeal and toast, head to Fort Worth for a special breakfast treat.
Hecho en Mexico
Instead of a margarita with your chicken breast in red mole, try a Cabernet Sauvignon from Mexico's growing wine country.
Flour or Corn?
It sounded like the perfect assignment: Find the state's best tortillas. But was it? A Q&A with senior editor Patricia Sharp.
Best of Texas: Dallas Dining
The ten restaurants in Dallas that (almost) make me regret that I live in Austin.
Best of Austin: Dining
Where to find our favorite breakfast tacos, fajitas, rigatoni with spicy lamb meatballs, and lakeside views.
The Pecan
San Antonio to Loving on Texas Highway 16
Huge apple pies, a Japanese submarine, handmade soaps—and a dressed flea.
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