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.
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
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.
Shakespeare deemed music the food of love. We beg to differ. For a romantic Valentine’s Day breakfast in bed, the true food of love is a stack of pancakes with raspberry-maple syrup and a lavish helping of oatmeal pudding doused with fragrant vanilla sauce. These normally humdrum breakfast staples have
Recipe from Cattle Kings Grill, Houston.
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.
Here’s something to be thankful for: chef Grady Spears’s holiday feast, with a deep-fried bird and all the trimmings.
It’s time for grillin’ and chillin’—and we know just where to buy fresh seafood and have the perfect picnic on the sand.
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.
The thirty Texans with the most iconic, unforgettable, eye-popping looks, from Davy Crockett to Beyoncé.
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.
Our favorite restaurants from around the state.
Seven restaurants from Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
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.
Staples of Provençal cuisine, such as olive oil, goat cheese, and honey, are being produced in Texas? Mais oui.
Recipe for a great new cookbook: Combine a celebrated chef, a veteran food writer, and an innovative approach to contemporary Tex-Mex; serve.
Fabulous fried chicken, marvelous meat loaf, great greens, outstanding okra, perfect pie, and more: where to find our favorite staples of home cooking.
Our guide to finding Texas wildflowers that stand out in their fields.
Up-and-coming Southwestern chefs.
How to cook up a culinary craze: Mix talented chefs, native ingredients, classical techniques, and good publicity. Name result “Southwestern.” Let spread across globe.
A guide to hot spots in Texas and around the country.
“In the past few years I have tried to simplify what we do and not trump it up too much. I’ve never strained the sauces—I leave bits of chile in there to give a more rustic look.”
Fort Worth
Our 31 researchers were given rigorous training and dispatched to the field with packets of wet ones, bottles of Tums, and a scientific score sheet (the one pictured at right is from the Cove, in San Antonio, whose Texas Burger ranked number five on our list).As soon as the burger
Location: Hill CountryWhat You’ll Need: Road map, spittoonTexas runneth over with wineries; more than 160 are scattered from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods. But for a doable weekend that blends good wine and well-run tasting rooms with wonderful scenery, side trips, varied shopping, and restaurants both
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?
Even without fancy dressing, this showy Mediterranean-style salad makes a spectacle of itself. Chef Timothy Keating of the Omni Houston Hotel’s La Rèserve restaurant (4 Riverway), created the “intense” salad, as he calls it, for a fundraiser last year on a Hollywood soundstage, where he was “elbow-deep in roasted vegetables,
Salads, they do get weary, wearing that same shabby dressing. And when they get weary, Thai Spice says, try a little tenderloin.
Tired of talking turkey? ‘Tis the season to feast on a bird that’s all it’s quacked up to beand other dishes created by five of the state’s hottest chefs.
Panhandle Cope’s Coney Island, CanyonAt Cope’s, the lunch counter with swivel stools will make you nostalgic for the fifties. All-American eats include chicken-fried steak, one-third-pound burgers, barbecue, grilled steaks, and, of course, hot dogs. On Saturdays, chow down on fried catfish and shrimp. 2201 Fourth Avenue, 806-655-1184. Lunch and dinner
• Tell me if this idea is not totally Dallas: a restaurant with a conjoined clothing boutique. At Cretia’s on McKinney, both sexes can peruse trendy garb while the kitchen whips up their food. To be honest, I prefer lunches here because the damage to my pocketbook is less if
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
• Beso, – Closed• Cretia’s on McKinney, 4438 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, 214-252-9300• El Chile Cafe y Cantina, 1809 Manor Road, Austin, 512-457-9900• Fireside Pies, 2820 N. Henderson Avenue, Dallas, 214-370-3916• George, – Closed• Hector’s on Henderson, 2929 N. Henderson Avenue, Dallas, 214-821-0432• Julia’s Bistro, 3722 Main, Houston, 713-807-0090• Lanny’s Alta
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
The traditional way to prepare Texas barbecue is in a pit, the more smoke-infused and grease-encrusted the better. The word “pit” harks back to the days when meats were cooked over smoldering coals in an earthen pit or trench, especially for large gatherings. Nowadays, such buried ovens are extremely rare,
Don’t bother going in the front door. You’ll end up in the parking lot behind the boxy brick building anyway, doing the Smitty’s shuffle: At peak hours, the lines invariably stretch out the back door. Patiently, you inch your way forward, passing the waist-high brick pits and perusing the list
Start your New Year’s Day dinner with ruffles and flourishes—specifically this flaky, frilly tart of filo leaves containing an earthy mix of exotic mushrooms and leeks, from the elegant Conservatory at Dallas’ Hotel Crescent Court.Says executive chef Jim Mills: “Our customers are always surprised by this dish. They tell me,
Former San Antonio paralegal Debra Auden is a law unto herself when it comes to baking—she learned by trial and very little error. Three years ago, she made her first loaf of Italian peasant bread. It turned out so well that she started selling bread to friends before opening a
The lowly onion gets glamour lessons from Davasha Stalarow, the executive chef at Houston’s new 8.0 restaurant (3745 Greenbriar, Houston). The Dallas-based 8.0 has long prided itself on being a bastion of home cooking away from home, specializing in healthful food to nourish both body and soul.The Houston outpost keeps
At Austin’s Majestic Diner, co-owner and chef Mick Vann gives the royal treatment to even the simplest entrée. Vann has been cooking for twenty years (the last seven at Clarksville Cafe in Austin), and he still has a knack for the unexpected: whole leaves of spinach in spanakopita and a
This vigorous melding of ricotta, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses with assertive herbs epitomizes the free-and-easy style of EZ’s, Cappy Lawton’s newest San Antonio restaurant. The Lawtons’ dinnertime joke was, “Let’s go someplace easy,” but few nearby restaurants fit that description. So when the Waitz Model Market relocated, Cappy nabbed
Stephan Pyles’ sweet mascarpone polenta has a corn-ucopia of flavor.
Houston’s Tony Ruppe’s has got your goat cheese.
Be the king of all that you sorbet with a passion-filled dessert from Anthony's in Houston.
Ginger Crisps1/2 cup butter at room temperature 1 cup sifted powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups sifted flour 1/2 cup milk, warmed to room temperature 1/4 cup very finely chopped candied gingerPreheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter. Sift sugar again and beat with butter until smooth.
At Houston’s La Réserve, you can have yourself a merry little Christmas tree—for dessert.
From Tila’s in Houston: three Mexican appetizers that are, well, appetizing.
From Austin’s Eastside Cafe come three soups that will bowl you over.
Don’t steer clear of the chocolate mousse iceberg from Dacapo’s on the Parkway in Houston.
Mesteña’s apple sorbet and walnut-apple flautas are delicious to the core.
