Patricia Sharpe’s restaurant column on the places and people who shape Texas’s dining scene
In a Houston restaurant named for his great-grandmother, Mississippi-born chef Lucas McKinney is having a whole lot of fun with a menu that ranges from gumbo and po'boys to chicken on a stick and moon pies.
Prolific Fort Worth restaurateur Felipe Armenta and celebrity chef Graham Elliot have opened Le Margot, a French restaurant as exuberant as they are.
A fancy Spanish-made stove fuels an inspired menu of steaks and seafood, along with some glorious masa dishes.
Brothers Emil, Axel, and Alec Oliva have opened one of the Alamo City’s most compelling new restaurants.
Elegance is on the menu at this Italian venture from Blaine Staniford and Adam Jones—as is a ricotta-filled, beurre blanc–lavished “serpent.”
Tom and Lisa Perini have won awards, traveled the world, and cooked for heads of state. But nothing means more than the old hay barn where it all began.
At the Lymbar, legendary Houston restaurateurs David and Michael Cordúa serve Truffle Twinkies and potato “bouquets” alongside the churrasco and empanadas that made the family famous.
The latest from Regino Rojas is fun and festive, but the food’s not fooling around.
Vibrant, jewel-toned murals set the scene for masterful Japanese-Peruvian cuisine at Masaru Fukuda’s Pacha Nikkei.
Don’t let the chef’s soda-jerk hat fool you. Herein you’ll find royal osetra caviar, escargots in butter-filled shells, and a modern-day version of Spudnuts.
Austin’s famously touristy avenue welcomes a new steakhouse with a celebratory spirit.
If you were charmed by Juan Ramón Cárdenas in ‘The Taco Chronicles,’ you’ll want to make your way to Don Artemio.
Named for the ancient symbol used to ward off danger, the Houston restaurant fuses traditional and modern Israeli cuisine to miraculous effect.
And the two-time James Beard Award winner has brought the same dynamic Southern fare that made the Grey, in Savannah, a destination restaurant.
With 15,000 square feet, three private dining rooms, and one tequila sommelier, this Dallas restaurant is as lavish as it gets.
“We are just scratching the surface of what we can learn about Texas food,” says Wild Oats chef Nick Fine.
The enterprising duo behind Black Cur honors their late dog with truly sublime dishes.
Austin restaurant Birdie’s has perfected the art of serving $32 steaks to patrons who wait in line to order.
The menu at Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch offers gumbo, fried chicken, and riffs on Italian rice balls and West African street food.
At his latest restaurant, Texas’s most celebrated Mexican chef teams up with close relations to revisit the street food of his youth.
This exceptional Mexican restaurant has expanded into a larger space without shrinking any of its ambitions.
Rarely does a museum’s restaurant rival its galleries, but this addition to Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts is poised to take its place among the masters.
And he got there with help from family, some encouragement from Anthony Bourdain, and a fortuitous ride on the New York subway.
With a lush setting and a vegetable-forward menu, the showcase restaurant of the Commodore Perry Estate, Texas’s only Auberge Resort, has Austinites crashing the garden gates.
Crispy beef tacos or duck leg confit? The menu at Tony Luhrman’s taqueria is full of surprises.
After her four decades of dining across Texas came to a halt in the pandemic, Pat Sharpe realizes that what makes a meal special goes way beyond the food.
From the team behind Emmer & Rye, this new Austin restaurant is a work of hearth.
Set in a beguiling bungalow, this meat-centric restaurant makes you feel right at home.
After working at such restaurants as Pujol, in Mexico City, chef Edgar Rico brings his masa talents to East Austin.
After years of successful pop-ups in Dallas, chef Justin Holt opens a spot that’s an homage to these two Japanese dishes.
Almost nothing is as it seems at the new Spanish restaurant from the team behind BCN Taste & Tradition.
A revelatory trip four years ago inspired chef Larry Delgado to go back to his roots.
Tim Love’s new restaurant takes a break (sort of) from Western cuisine.
Another weird name, another wonderful and inventive menu.
The celebrated chef behind FT33 returns with a restaurant that is less about flash and more about flavor.
Chefs Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher bring their Texas interpretation of Goan cuisine to the new Arrive East Austin Hotel.
We've compiled our favorites from the past three years into one handy article.
Chefs Philip Speer, Gabe Erales, and Alan Delgado honor their border roots with a decidedly modern menu at Comedor in Downtown Austin.
The risk-taking, globally inspired menu is short, sweet, and a lot of fun.
At her newest restaurant, Rebecca Rather turns daytime meals into something special.
Staffed by students at the Culinary Institute of America, this new restaurant impresses our critic—even on opening night.
Founded in 1985, this Fort Worth institution goes back to perfecting the bistro basics. Mais oui.
With his two new restaurants, both in the same building, the acclaimed Atlanta chef continues what he started with State of Grace.
Chef Jesse DeLeon has created a decidedly modern menu in an 1890 Victorian house.
The celebrated chef revives the spirit of his now-closed Underbelly while creating something new and beguiling.
Italian sausages and charcuterie are the meat of the matter at the new restaurant from the owners of Lucia.
Cultural influences come together in delicious harmony at this exciting global restaurant.
A couple of well-known local chefs open dual concepts at the same location.
The traditional corn dough forms the basis of a culinary adventure at this new Mexican restaurant.
With a Southern-inspired menu, John and Elise Russ draw diners from all over the city to their neighborhood eatery.
