Taco of the Week: Birria de Res at JQ’s Tex Mex BBQ
This Houston-area pop-up is adding a Tejano twist to a Mexican preparation trending on the West Coast.
Taco editor José R. Ralat covers Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine with reviews, profiles, and trend pieces
This Houston-area pop-up is adding a Tejano twist to a Mexican preparation trending on the West Coast.
Nopales, cocoa powder, squid ink, and beets are just some of the ingredients that can bring a new dimension to tortillas.
This eatery, in the Texas Panhandle town of Childress, does fried tacos right.
After working at such restaurants as Pujol, in Mexico City, chef Edgar Rico brings his masa talents to East Austin.
At this Rio Grande Valley taqueria, starting with dessert might be the best way to kick off a meal of creative tacos.
The San Antonio outpost of a beloved Michoacán restaurant serves pork exactly like what you’ll find at the original in Mexico.
At this mainstay, a flaky flour tortilla is the foundation of a smoked brisket breakfast taco—or, rather, a mariachi—that's one of the best in the state.
Houston and North Texas see the most closures as the chain shuts down underperforming stores.
After a national spotlight was cast on Emilia Flores’s coat donation program, an expletive-drenched letter arrives at her taqueria.
This small El Paso restaurant offers a sense of home and a connection to the past in a most creative way.
The San Antonio stalwart, known for its creative Tex-Mex tacos, evokes a long-gone Texas Monthly favorite with this offering.
In addition to my tacos of the week, these dishes from both sides of the border stand out.
The migas taco might be all the rage, but this open-face tortilla delight is the secret star of the North Austin location.
The expert beef preparation was a nice surprise at this Breckenridge breakfast-and-lunch spot.
How to wear your love for tacos on your sleeve, your feet, or even on a fanny pack.
Poblanos, cauliflower, kale, and other delights have the starring role in these inventive offerings.
A Waxahachie institution serves a great version of the South Texas specialty.
An Austin bar and record shop is cranking out wonderful additions to the city’s tortilla scene.
The recently opened Tex-Mex restaurant from chef Omar Flores has a few surprises among the classic offerings. One in particular is a must-try.
A tradition of the indigenous Otomí people of Mexico is growing in popularity north of the border.
The fried treat scarcely found outside San Antonio isn’t officially on the menu, but it’s worth inquiring about.
The El Paso native and celebrity chef is coming home in support of his new memoir, ‘Where I Come From.’
Zavala’s Barbecue’s weekday morning alter ego makes a signature taco even better than the joint’s original.
The tortillas de harina at this Brownsville restaurant are amazing, but just one is more than enough.
A brief history of the costra, a Mexico City delight that's finally gaining traction across the state.
At his weekly pop-up in Houston, Eddie Ortiz serves tender brisket wrapped in a shell of griddled cheese.
As Roberto Espinosa and Eric Wilkerson mark the Austin institution's milestone anniversary this week, they look back on how it all began.
If ever an island paradise were represented in a single dish, this taqueria special might be it.
I might have come in last place, but I learned a lot while walking in the woods of San Antonio during El Taco Loco.
A northern Mexican specialty gets a Mexico City twist in Central Texas.
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the hosts of the El Rey series discuss the remarkable ways this humble dish brings people together.
This Tarrant County taco pop-up treats its vegetarian options as seriously as its meat offerings.
Purists, be prepared to have your minds changed by the Fort Worth pizzeria.
The new Dallas taqueria serves this not-so-usual taco de guisado.
Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece connect tacos with community issues in their new show on Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network.
I ate my way from San Antonio to Dallas in one (very filling) day. Here are some of the highlights of my taco travels.
You can cut meat from the bone before you eat, but it’s better to go all in with this San Antonio staple.
Blasphemy? Far from it. Allow me to fill you in.
Daniel Vaughn welcomes José R. Ralat into the Texas Monthly fold as they chat tortillas, culinary coverage, and what it’s like to have the best jobs in the world.
Dallas-based writer and tortilla connoisseur José R. Ralat is one of five recent additions to our staff.
Chilorio, PicosType: Classic MexicanRating: 5Price: $10Chef Arnaldo Richards recently moved his popular self-styled “Mex-Mex” restaurant from the southwest side to a more central location on Kirby Drive and gave it a new slogan: “Seven Regions of Mexican Cuisine.” One of those regions is Sinaloa,a coastal state in northwestern Mexico
Pre-1,200 BCE: People in the New World discover nixtamalization, a process of soaking maize in water with wood ash that vastly increases the nutritional value of anything made from it, including corn tortillas. 1520’s: In recounting Hernán Cortés’s conquest of the Aztecs, Spanish historian Bernal Díaz del Castillo observes that
Chicken Tinga, El Taco del Rincon de VillaType: Classic MexicanRating: 4.25Price: $1.99Chicken tacos generally inspire monumental indifference. But you won’t be able to get enough of these corn masa pockets filled with juicy, chipotle-smoky shredded fowl. For an extra kick, add the orange-tinted chile de árbol salsa. 6867 Greenville
Carne Guisada, Southside BarbacoaType: Classic MexicanRating: 4Price: $2.49On Saturdays, the carne guisada tacos, filled with cubed beef in a rich and spicy chile gravy, come with a sound track: music from the Southside Farmers’ Market band, a homespun ensemble that includes harp, banjo, accordion, and violin and plays just steps
Potato and Egg, H&H Car Wash and Coffee ShopType: BreakfastRating: 5Price: $4.99/platePut aside the fact that H&H is a half-century-old restaurant/car wash whose co-owner, Maynard Haddad, is a supreme grouch (if one with a soft heart). Ignore the time-scuffed Formica tabletops and the aging counter stools. Then strip
The lexical evolution of a most delicious word.
Carne Guisada, Jesse’s Taqueria and BakeryType: Classic MexicanRating: 4Price: $4.25Burrito-size tortillas stay hot in a large Tupperware container as they wait to be filled with tender, well-seasoned carne guisada. The finished taco, tightly rolled in shiny foil, resembles a missile. Be careful unwrapping it later, lest the soupy contents
Lengua, La PosadaType: Classic MexicanRating: 4.75Price: $2.80La Posada is hidden between a liquor store and an insurance agency—blink and you’ll miss it. But don’t: this taco is a real find. Braised with onions, peppers, and tomatoes to stewlike consistency, the sliced beef tongue is cradled into a thick, lightly griddled
Barbacoa, Vera’s Backyard Bar-B-QueType: Classic MexicanRating: 5Price: $3 for 1/4 pound (makes 3 to 4 tacos)Fans from far and near know that humble Vera’s is the only place in the state, maybe the country, that still does traditional “barbacoa en pozo con leña de mezquite,” or cow’s head
Brisket, Mi Cocula Mexican GrillType: Modern AmericanRating: 4.5Price: $12/plateAt this hidden shopping-center gem, tender shreds of smoked beef mingle with grilled onion inside miniature corn tortillas, glistening with melted jack cheese (add a dab of the salsa de chile pasilla). The tacos al pastor, pork tips loaded with grilled pineapple