Tex-Mex 101
Nachos, tomatillo sauce, chile con queso—will the real Mexican food please stand up? A crash course in Texans’ favorite fusion fare.
Executive editor Patricia Sharpe grew up in Austin and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. After working as a teacher (in English and Spanish) and at the Texas Historical Commission (writing historical markers), she joined the staff of Texas Monthly in 1974. Initially, she edited the magazine’s cultural and restaurant listings and wrote a consumer feature called Touts. She eventually focused exclusively on food. Her humorous story “War Fare,” an account of living for 48 hours on military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), was included in the anthology Best Food Writing 2002. Many of her stories appear in the 2008 UT Press collection Texas Monthly on Food. Her story about being a restaurant critic, titled “Confessions of a ‘Skinny Bitch,’ ” won a James Beard Foundation award for magazine food writing in 2006.
Sharpe has contributed to Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and the New York Times. She writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Nachos, tomatillo sauce, chile con queso—will the real Mexican food please stand up? A crash course in Texans’ favorite fusion fare.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Thirty years ago, Texans who equated fine dining with chicken cordon bleu and trout meunière suddenly found themselves eating barbecued Gulf shrimp and goat cheese quesadillas. An oral history of the Southwestern cuisine revolution.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
‘Food & Wine,’ ‘Bon Appétit,’ the 'New York Times,' and ‘Southern Living’ recognized spots in Austin, Houston, and Lexington as the best of the best when it comes to dining.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Prolific Fort Worth restaurateur Felipe Armenta and celebrity chef Graham Elliot have opened Le Margot, a French restaurant as exuberant as they are.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
A fancy Spanish-made stove fuels an inspired menu of steaks and seafood, along with some glorious masa dishes.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Brothers Emil, Axel, and Alec Oliva have opened one of the Alamo City’s most compelling new restaurants.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The highlight of the event was Benchawan Jabthong Painter, of Houston Thai restaurant Street to Kitchen, winning Best Chef: Texas, but no other Texas finalists made it to the podium.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Elegance is on the menu at this Italian venture from Blaine Staniford and Adam Jones—as is a ricotta-filled, beurre blanc–lavished “serpent.”
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The white tablecloth may be all washed up, but the dining is as fine as ever.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The days when Mexican food on this side of the border was all about crispy tacos and yellow cheese are long behind us, thanks to innovative chefs and cultural shifts.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
A writer remembers how a chance conversation at a food festival led to her classic 2014 oral history on Southwestern cuisine.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The latest from Regino Rojas is fun and festive, but the food’s not fooling around.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Vibrant, jewel-toned murals set the scene for masterful Japanese-Peruvian cuisine at Masaru Fukuda’s Pacha Nikkei.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Austin’s famously touristy avenue welcomes a new steakhouse with a celebratory spirit.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Patricia Sharpe recalls the smoked meats and mileage that went into Texas Monthly’s first-ever Top 50 barbecue list in May 1997.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
If you were charmed by Juan Ramón Cárdenas in ‘The Taco Chronicles,’ you’ll want to make your way to Don Artemio.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Throughout her fifty-year career, the English-born cook influenced—and even advised—chefs of some of Texas’s best Mexican restaurants.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Named for the ancient symbol used to ward off danger, the Houston restaurant fuses traditional and modern Israeli cuisine to miraculous effect.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
And the two-time James Beard Award winner has brought the same dynamic Southern fare that made the Grey, in Savannah, a destination restaurant.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
After a diversity scandal in 2020, the Oscars of the restaurant industry upgraded its standards. A bar in Houston, a taqueria in Austin, and Texas Monthly taco editor José Ralat are among the first winners under the new system.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
With 15,000 square feet, three private dining rooms, and one tequila sommelier, this Dallas restaurant is as lavish as it gets.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
“We are just scratching the surface of what we can learn about Texas food,” says Wild Oats chef Nick Fine.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Texas Monthly remembers Jim Darilek, an early art director who helped give the magazine its characteristic look and swagger.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The enterprising duo behind Black Cur honors their late dog with truly sublime dishes.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
A popular columnist embeds herself inside the exclusive world of girls’ summer camps.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Restaurants are still struggling, yet new places keep stepping up to the plate. Here are our favorite dishes from the most impressive rookie establishments.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Patio dining has become a necessity during the pandemic. Here are some of the best places to get your alfresco on.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Despite everything, new restaurants are still opening. Here are a few we’re looking forward to this year.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Austin restaurant Birdie’s has perfected the art of serving $32 steaks to patrons who wait in line to order.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The menu at Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch offers gumbo, fried chicken, and riffs on Italian rice balls and West African street food.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
At his latest restaurant, Texas’s most celebrated Mexican chef teams up with close relations to revisit the street food of his youth.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
This exceptional Mexican restaurant has expanded into a larger space without shrinking any of its ambitions.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
With delta infections surging and local governments unable to enforce mask regulations, restaurant personnel have become reluctant de facto enforcers.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Over a career spanning three decades, Griffith chronicled the evolution of Texas from a culinary backwater to a major player on the national scene.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
The magazine honors Fermín Núñez, the chef behind Austin’s Suerte, for the second time.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
And he got there with help from family, some encouragement from Anthony Bourdain, and a fortuitous ride on the New York subway.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
From South Texas’s simple ocelot culverts to San Antonio’s pioneering land bridge, these passageways can reduce car accidents and help animals thrive.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Crispy beef tacos or duck leg confit? The menu at Tony Luhrman’s taqueria is full of surprises.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
It took decades of persistence in the restaurant industry for Mexican food to get the respect it deserves, says Mariano Martinez.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Here’s to Mariano Martinez, the inventor of the world’s first frozen margarita machine.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
With a new restaurant and farm, Sonya Cote and David Barrow hope to spread their magic a little farther east.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Here are more than two dozen Texas restaurants that we’re excited to try in 2021.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Remembering just a few of the restaurants that have closed across Texas in the past year.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
For the 20th edition of Where to Eat Now, we’ve compiled some of our favorite takeout options from places that opened in 2020.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Holt’s partner, Trina Nishimura, who was the beverage director at the beloved ramen shop, shares their story with Texas Monthly.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
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.
Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.