Tacos De Cabeza Cuts of Beef

The 38 Essential Restaurants of Texas

Smoky brisket, breakfast tacos, chile con carne, and 200,000 square miles of belt-busting beauty

by Mar seven, 2018, 12:23pm EST

The time has come: We're messing with Texas. Eater'south "Regional 38" series previously named the vital dining destinations beyond iii fertile swaths of America: the South, New England, and the Great Lakes region of the Midwest. The project builds on our city sites' 38 lists and our almanac guide to the essential restaurants in America. Just Texas is a state and then immense, so full of mythology and ambition, so populated with such compelling and culturally specific dining options, that it stands plainly as a region unto itself.

I lived in Dallas a decade agone and converted and so to a disciple of Lonely Star foodways; since becoming Eater'southward national critic four years ago, I've made a point of returning to the state for several weeks each twelvemonth. Just I recently dedicated an entire calendar month to wandering and devouring, and the standouts among my scores of meals made it obvious that eating in Texas has never been more infrequent. (For more on that, read my instance for Texas's culinary superstardom.) Sure, this collection includes singular steakhouses, barbecue standard-bearers, Tex-Mex strongholds, and cafes serving outstanding burgers, breakfast tacos, and kolaches: the foods that make Texas defy trendiness.

Simply many of the state's defining restaurants also reflect the rich multiculturalism of its metropolises. New staples now include Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish boils, duck breast over mole coloradito, Italian staff of life dumplings with braised mustard greens, and Indian thalis (trays) filled with dishes like vinegar-tinged Goa pork and turmeric soup.

Running my hands along the turquoise Formica counter at H&H Car Wash and Coffee Store in El Paso, watching the women spoon caldillo (green chile beefiness stew) into bowls and folding tortillas to make egg and chorizo breakfast burritos, felt like an archetypal Texas moment. Only and so, and then did dinner at Kemuri Tatsu-ya in Austin, slurping ramen enriched with smoked brisket and banana pudding topped with kokuto (crackly Japanese brownish sugar) and miso caramel.

My appetite certainly qualifies every bit Texas-sized, only no one person tin pull off an authoritative survey of a place so far-reaching. Ten writers with deep local roots joined me in whittling downward a small-scale nation's worth of restaurants to the crucial 38. Texans have a famous breed of zeal and loyalty for their homeland; in that location volition exist vehement disagreements over our choices. Permit'due south hash it out while standing in line for brisket and spud salad at Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas, or mayhap over a Palatial Mexican Plate at Garcia's in San Antonio. — Nib Addison, national critic

The 38 essential restaurants in Texas, mapped >>>

Sign upwardly for Bill Addison'southward newsletter for extras and outtakes from his travels across the country >>>

AUSTIN

Contigo

WHAT: A thoroughly Austin outdoor haven with ranch-inspired eats. WHY: Austin is brimming with al fresco spaces — information technology's got the ideal weather condition for 'em — but in that location is something special about chef Andrew Wiseheart's restaurant. Contigo is both timeless and sturdily Texan, with a bill of fare total of modernistic bar food that begs to be consumed outdoors: ox natural language sliders, oh-so-crispy green beans, hearty bandage-iron pans of rabbit and dumplings, and the stellar firm-made charcuterie, all rounded out with Texas fruits and vegetables. Idle below the strung lights on the expansive patio, mezcal cocktail in hand, and soak upward the Austin vibes. — Nadia Chaudhury

2027 Anchor Lane
Austin, TX
(512) 614-2260 | contigotexas.com

Emmer & Rye

WHAT: A light-filled, modern American bistro that builds polished menus around a zeal for heirloom grains. WHY: Owner and executive chef Kevin Fink has made a calling card out of milling his own wheat for pastas like White Sonora agnolotti filled with smoked potato and the gratifyingly chewy Blueish Beard Durum spaghetti for his signature cacio e pepe. It'southward a jumping-off point for the eating place's overall greatness: Service is amazingly engaged. Vegetable-centric dishes — ribbons of minted kohlrabi hiding blueish crab meat, charred broccoli with burnt tangerine glaze and benne seed — hearken to the season and to national dining trends. The wine listing leans obscure and funky. Ace pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph brings the repast home with sweets like strawberry sorbet covered in salted cream and a caramelized apple tart with smoked juniper ice cream. In an expanse of downtown Austin brimming-o-block with dining options, Emmer & Rye easily distinguishes itself from the oversupply. — B.A.

51 Rainey Street
Austin, TX
(512) 366-5530 | emmerandrye.com

Franklin Charcoal-broil

WHAT: The best brisket in Texas. WHY: It's been less than a decade since Aaron and Stacy Franklin started slinging brisket from a trailer along the interstate. In that curt time, they upgraded to a brick-and-mortar, they served our last president, and Aaron Franklin took habitation a James Beard award. They've non only created the country'due south most popular barbecue joint, but they've also influenced pitmasters around the world. Through videos and a best-selling book, "Franklin-fashion" barbecue can now be constitute on most every continent. Even final twelvemonth'south pit-room burn down couldn't go along them downwardly for long, as the famous lines have re-emerged outside their Austin restaurant. It's however worth the wait. — Daniel Vaughn

900 East 11th Street
Austin, TX
(512) 653-1187 | franklinbbq.com

Kemuri Tatsu-Ya

WHAT: An unholy yet wholly triumphant mashup of Japanese and Texan food cultures. WHY: Chefs (and hip-hop DJs) Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya "Tako" Matsumoto run an izakaya in a sometime barbecue restaurant, and they take their culinary cues from their surroundings. Amid smoke-stained walls lined with old Japanese beer ads and beat-up Texas license plates, they serve delicious aberrations like "guaca-poke" and viscid rice tamales with beefiness tongue and chorizo. Their take on takoyaki combines octopus fritters with beefy chili, molten cheese, and smoked jalapeno — a Frito pie from an alternate, aquatic universe. It all sounds so baroque, and it all comes together so seamlessly and pleasurably. This place is adored and waits tin be long; a Matcha Hurting Killer laced with buckwheat shochu and tequila volition tranquilize you into serenity. — B.A.

2713 East second Street
Austin, TX
(512) 893-5561 | kemuri-tatsuya.com

Odd Duck

WHAT: Austin coincidental with sophisticated execution. WHY: The restaurant from James Beard Award-nominated chef Bryce Gilmore epitomizes contemporary Austin cuisine. He and his team have Texas-forever ingredients (think seasonal carrots and tomatoes, grass-fed cattle, and chickens raised nearby) and deploys them in a slate of fun, flavorful pocket-sized plates, where influences range from Indian to German to, yep, Tex-Mex. Where else can you lot find pretzels stuffed with chorizo-spiced mushrooms that taste compact despite existence vegetarian, whole chicken-fried fish heads, and breakfast pizzas topped with quail? The eatery (which, in true Austin fashion, began as a food truck) is also a major booster for the local farming community — going so far as to emblazon farm names on the dining room walls. — North.C.

1201 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX
(512) 433-6521 | oddduckaustin.com

Tamale Firm East

WHAT: Tex-Mex classics and community, from 3rd-generation Austin taco royalty. WHY: In a town changing so fast it'due south perpetually in danger of losing its roots, Tamale House E is a welcome oasis of both continuity and evolution. Carmen Valera, i of the five siblings who own the eating place, says a tertiary of their menu is identical to what her grandparents served at their at present-shuttered restaurant in the '60s, a third is directly from her female parent's at present-shuttered restaurant from the '80s and '90s, and a 3rd is all-new. The eatery's migas, enchiladas, tacos, and tamales are made with the aforementioned care the Vasquez-Valera family has employed for three generations, served in a homey E Sixth space with an admittedly killer patio. — Meghan McCarron

1707 Eastward 6th Street
Austin, TX
(512) 495-9504 | no website

Veracruz All Natural

WHAT: Austin'southward deserving crowd favorite for righteous breakfast tacos. WHY: With scores of options in Austin and San Antonio (for starters), and plenty of controversial and passionate words written about origins and ownership, it'southward safe to say there is no i accented best place for breakfast tacos in Texas. But Veracruz sisters and co-owners Reyna and Maritza Vazquez did create a modern institution when they began serving breakfast tacos out of an Austin trailer in 2008. Their migas taco — cradling scrambled eggs, Monterey Jack, onions, cilantro, a piece or two of avocado, and crumbled tortilla chips — became a morning ritual for locals and visitors alike. I nonetheless dear the trailer. Notwithstanding, the Vazquez's brick-and-mortar in Austin'south North Burnet neighborhood cranks out food with even more precision and besides offers picadas, masa creations that split the divide in texture between tortillas and thicker sopes. — B.A.

1704 E Cesar Chavez (and other locations)
Austin, TX
(512) 981-1760 | veracruzallnatural.com

DALLAS

Cattleack BBQ

WHAT: Whole-sus scrofa barbecue done the quondam-fashioned mode. WHY: Todd David at Cattleack is the simply pitmaster in Texas serving whole-sus scrofa charcoal-broil on a regular schedule, and that'due south notwithstanding only on the first Sat of every calendar month. Every other day it's open, you'll have to settle for some of Texas's all-time brisket, firm-made sausages (get the green chile and cheese), and perchance the best spare ribs in the land. More than impressive is how consistently David produces it. Between the weather, wood, and meat, there are plenty of variables to deal with when cooking in an offset smoker, but Cattleack's barbecue never seems to endure. — D.Five.

13628 Gamma Road
Dallas, TX
(972) 805-0999 | cattleackbbq.com

Fearing's

WHAT: Southern comfort food in ane of Dallas'due south swankiest dining rooms from one of the metropolis'south stalwart chefs. WHY: Wearing his unmistakable toothy grinning and custom-fabricated Lucchese boots, Dean Fearing has played a huge role in shaping the metropolis's culinary identity for decades. Start a meal in this vivid, luxe-casual dining room with Fearing'southward iconic, smoky, and creamy tortilla soup, then banquet on Granny'due south fried craven, shaken with flour and spices before beingness fried to perfection in cast iron. Or take the Texas theme over the acme with a plate of fork-tender beef curt ribs that are braised in Dr Pepper (the land's unofficial beverage) and served over a pile of jalapeno grits. — Amy McCarthy

2121 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX, 75201
(214) 922-4848 | fearingsrestaurant.com

Lucia

WHAT: A handmade-pasta shop whose impeccable noodles are second only to the salumi. WHY: Amid an ever-irresolute menu that might characteristic gnocchi with cabbage and crispy yeast or a salad of ripe pears and chicory with cheese, one thing remains constant at Lucia: the salumi plate. David Uygur's homage to the pig is a stunning assortment of standard favorites like salami, coppa, and thinly sliced lardo that wilts to translucence under the rut of the warm bread it sits upon. Uygur has more fun with unfamiliar varieties like fiocco, blood salami, and two spreadable salamis, neither of which are 'nduja. It'southward like a graduate-level class for cured meats where spectacular pasta is just for actress credit. — D.5.

408 Westward. eighth Street
Dallas, TX
(214) 948-4998 | luciadallas.com

Revolver Taco Lounge/Pur é pecha

WHAT: The taqueria with the little dorsum room that'south a Mexican nutrient game changer for Texas. WHY: This Dallas taqueria is no mere taco spot. Carnitas-style octopus capped with shredded and fried leeks shares bill of fare real manor with wagyu carne asada. Kermit in Bangkok (frog legs in a firm-made yellow curry garnished with almonds) hangs with the Degenerado (aged chorizo and carne asada topped with frijoles de olla and a quail egg). The dishes are served on seconds-old tortillas and casually devoured at communal tables or bar tops. So there's the dorsum room — the Purépecha Room — a reservation-only, eight-class tasting-menu space appointed to resemble the Michoacán kitchen of chef-possessor Regino Rojas's female parent. And it's Doña Juanita herself who — with the aid of her family — prepares Purépecha'south menu, an ever-changing carousel of traditional Mexican ingredients presented in untraditional means. Little wonder Rojas was long-listed for a 2018 Best Chef: Southwest James Bristles Foundation Accolade. — José R. Ralat

2701 Principal Street #120
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 272-7163 | facebook.com/revolvertacolounge or purepecharoom.com

Tei - An

WHAT: A sanctuary of a restaurant in Dallas's congested downtown, where one of the country's outstanding Japanese chefs practices the art of soba. WHY: Tei-An's menu winds through wide territory: tempura, udon, ramen, sashimi, curry rice, and dishes like braised beef tongue and okonomiyaki. But the richest terrain is the soba — fresh buckwheat noodles, notoriously difficult to grade and cutting, that Teiichi Sakurai crafts daily. Relish them but, mounded on a woven bamboo mat alongside a dashi dipping sauce simmered with duck meat. To experience the complete measure out of Sakurai'due south skills, phone call ahead to asking the seven-course omakase: Information technology often weaves in blockbuster Japanese ingredients similar A5 wagyu beef and ultra-seasonal fish merely ever concludes with a meditative plate of soba. — B.A.

1722 Routh Street (One Arts Plaza)
Dallas, TX
(214) 220-2828 | tei-an.com

FORT WORTH

Fred'southward Texas Buffet

WHAT: Proof that a passion for chuck-carriage vittles supersedes that for finer fare. WHY: Fifty-fifty in the shadow of West 7th district'south flashy new developments, the original Fred'southward Texas Café still shines vivid as a beacon for down-home Texas cuisine. Terry Chandler — known as the Outlaw Chef for his early West Texas chuck-wagon days — took the reins of his family's restaurant in 2005. He has has since opened two boosted locations, but the expansion hasn't changed his simple mission: Serve "cold-ass" beer to wash downwardly the finest chicken-fried steak in town, smothered in a sourdough batter and cooked only till the golden crust delivers the perfect crunch. Served forth with paw-cutting fries fabricated to order — and a beautiful green salad to help you experience virtuous — this giant plate is deeply satisfying. Yes, everyone knows Fred'due south for killer burgers, just as any cattle drover can tell yous, the CFS is the true prize. — June Naylor

915 Currie Street
Fort Worth, TX
(817) 332-0083 | fredstexascafe.com

Swiss Pastry Store

WHAT: Extraordinary burgers in an old-world sweets shop, borne from the heed of a classically trained pastry chef. WHY: While Hans Peter Muller continues to produce the European baked goods made pop here by his late Swiss-born male parent (you won't find annihilation as ethereal as this distinctive version of Black Forest cake), this second-generation pastry chef has also become Cowtown'southward finest burger meister. Muller wows his loyal cafe clientele with inventive Texas-raised Akaushi wagyu burgers — towering, sizzling-hot creations that thrill the palate. All-time is the seasonal special Cloudcroft Christmas Burger, combining New Mexican cerise and green chiles with pepper jack cheese and grilled onions atop the supple patty, all crowned with a fried egg and framed past a house-baked brioche bun. — J.Northward.

3936 Due west. Vickery Boulevard
Fort Worth, TX
(817) 732-5661 | swisspastryonline.com

HOUSTON

BCN Taste & Tradition

WHAT: An infrequent and luxurious foray into Catalan cuisine. WHY: Is that actual artwork by Picasso and Miró gilding the eatery'due south minimalist space? Yes, aye it is. In 2014 Houston entrepreneur Ignacio Torras coaxed Luis Roger, an accomplished chef and fellow Barcelona native, to move to Texas and partner on a venture that glorifies their abode country's cuisine. Superb tapas (shaved jamón ibérico, lush pan con tomate, crisp-creamy patatas bravas) and strong gin-and-tonic variations bobbing with whole spices set the meal's foundation. Roger builds upon these standards with more than outre dishes, like sauteed ocean cucumber with lobster rice and an improbable simply smashing entree of duck breast with quince, Idiazábal cheese sauce, pine basics, and balsamic reduction. Service is uniformly dashing. Book well ahead, or be prepared to dine at the well-trafficked merely comfortable bar near the archway. — B.A.

4210 Roseland Street
Houston, TX
(832) 834-3411 | bcnhouston.com

Crawfish & Noodles

WHAT: A James Bristles-nominated strip-mall sensation that beautifully showcases the uniquely Houston fusion of Cajun crawfish boils with Vietnamese flavors. WHY: Don't be alarmed at the tarp-similar tablecloths and rolls of paper towels at the table. Tucked into a strip mall in Houston's sprawling Asiatown, the Viet-Cajun crawfish at Crawfish & Noodles are truly transcendent — boiled then tossed in a buttery, spicy, garlicky, lemongrass-infused sauce that coats each private mudbug. At that place are likewise whole fried crabs to devour by the pound and bowls of noodles simmered with shrimp and barbecued pork, topped with a runny quail egg. — Amy McCarthy

11360 Bellaire Boulevard #990
Houston, TX
(281) 988-8098 | (no website)

Himalaya

WHAT: A celebration of Pakistani cooking from the skilled hands and elastic mind of chef-owner Kaiser Lashkari. WHY: Lashkari and his wife, Azra Babar Lashkari, are ever-present in their indigestible strip-mall restaurant in the city'due south Mahatma Gandhi District. Their kitchen turns out nearly 100 distinct dishes, many with regional Indian origins, but the key is to order gems inspired by Kaiser Lashkari's native Islamic republic of pakistan. He excels in a rarity known as hunter beef, a preparation similar to pastrami, best served cold, in thick slices, with sinus-buzzing mustard. Resha gosht, hailing from the southwestern province of Balochistan, pairs steamed and shredded beef with a brightly herbed tomato sauce. The Pakistani affinity for beefiness plays so well in Texas that Lashkari dreamed up on-point "friendly fusion" weekend specials, such every bit smoked brisket masala, to bridge the cultures. — B.A.

6652 Southwest State highway
Houston, TX
(713) 532-2837 | himalayarestauranthouston.com

Hugo's

WHAT: Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught's gracious, sixteen-year-old lodestar of hospitality, whose success presaged this moment of upscale Mexican dining in the United States. WHY: The couple'due south other standout Houston restaurants, Xochi and Caracol, specialize, respectively, in Oaxacan and Mexican littoral cuisines. Hugo'southward menu, on the other manus, is a national survey of the country's almost legendary dishes; Ortega'south genius for employing spice and intensifying meaty flavors creates the through-line betwixt them. Zoom in on cabrito with roasted cactus, lechón with a piercing habanero salsa, and lamb barbacoa. Saturday brunch is Hugo'southward calmer service shift, just that'south when the kitchen turns out sublime, sculptural chilaquiles with craven and tomatillo salsa. — B.A.

1600 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX
(713) 524-7744 | hugosrestaurant.net

Killen's Steakhouse

WHAT: A rambling, glitzy, big-hearted chophouse that couldn't — and wouldn't — exist anywhere but Texas. WHY: Ronnie Killen'due south steakhouse and barbecue restaurant singlehandedly put Pearland, a small town south of Houston, on the national meat map. His newest venture, a steakhouse-barbecue hybrid chosen Killen'due south STQ, opened in Houston proper in 2016. I'1000 fondest of Killen'south firstborn. Serving Texas beef is rarer in Lone Star steakhouses than you might wait, which makes the gorgeously marbled wagyu ribeye raised by local farmstead Marble Ranch a double treat. Encircle the steak with all the traditional creamy and carb-powered side dishes. For pure Texan condolement, order the upscale rendering of chicken-fried steak, aureate and crisp and covered in fiery white gravy. — B.A.

6425 Broadway Street
Pearland, TX
(281) 485-0844 | killenssteakhouse.com

Kitchen 713

[Note: This restaurant airtight in Oct, 2018 ]

WHAT: A culinary listen meld of two veteran chefs whose menus express the sprawling, global, ever-dynamic mosaic of cuisines that define Houston dining. WHY: Ross Coleman and James Haywood prove exceptionally adept at distilling tastes and textures into dishes that go out you lot invigorated. A winning spread here might include chicken, shrimp, and andouille-sausage gumbo depth-charged with smoked fish (an homage to thi é boudienne, the national dish of Senegal, where gumbo'southward predecessor originated); crisp shreds of turkey-neck meat cradled in bibb lettuce leaves with Vietnamese nuoc mam cham for dipping; and catfish tikka masala. Weekend brunch crowds make full every seat in the restaurant's clangorous dining room, clamoring for the straight-upwardly goodness of dishes that veer closer to home: peppery fried craven with biscuits. — B.A.

4601 Washington Avenue
Houston, TX
(713) 842-7114 | kitchen713.com

Pho Dien

WHAT: Authentic Vietnamese pho house in Houston's Chinatown surface area . WHY: Thanks to Houston's large Vietnamese immigrant community, pho shops specializing in Vietnam's heady, fragrant noodle soup have become as piece of cake to detect as McDonald'south. Still, there are only a handful of restaurants that deserve elevation honors, and Pho Dien, which gained acclamation by serving sides of raw, marinated filet mignon called tai uop, is the finest example of Houston'southward nascent pho revolution. The emphasis hither is on quality ingredients. Owner Tony Dien Pham simmers his all-beef bone broth for a minimum of 12 hours to create a silky, delicately spiced, soul-warming bowl that is easily one of the best in the country. — Mai Pham

11830 Bellaire Boulevard
Houston, TX
(281) 495-9600 | phodienhouston.webs.com

The Original Ninfa'due south on Navigation

WHAT: A Tex-Mex landmark whose timeless signature — skirt steak fajitas — defies and transcends chain-eatery bastardization. WHY: Ninfa Laurenzo, known as Mama Ninfa, opened her eatery in 1973 in front end of her family'due south tortilla mill. She took special pride in her version of tacos al carbon, skirt steak served on a hot comal with caramelized onions and a stack of fresh flour tortillas. The restaurant, and Laurenzo's fajitas, became an often-imitated (and, for a time, franchised) sensation. Today the kitchen meanders into modern whimsies similar roasted oysters topped with spiced crab meat in the restaurant'southward wood-burning oven. But the fajita steak — smoky and tender-chewy, the ideal star ingredient to bundle into fragrant handmade tortillas — is the stuff of bucket lists and special detours. — B.A.

2704 Navigation Boulevard
Houston, TX
(713) 228-1175 | ninfas.com

Pondicheri

WHAT: A mod Indian buffet and bakery serving Indian street food with a Gulf Coast spin. WHY: From colorful breakfast and dinner thalis to a phenomenal Indian-spiced, gluten-free, chickpea-crusted fried craven, three-time James Bristles award nominee Anita Jaisinghani takes the stuff of traditional Indian street nutrient — chaat, dosas, pani poori — and turns out cute, artistically plated food that vibrates with authenticity while notwithstanding showing contemporary Gulf Declension flair. Spices are deftly applied to only about everything: desi chips dusted with chaat masala; barley salad with beets, toasted walnuts, and turmeric-almond dressing; and finger-licking ribs swathed, barbecue-style, with vindaloo. — G.P.

2800 Kirby Drive, Suite b132
Houston, TX
(713) 522-2022 | pondichericafe.com

Theodore Rex

Snapper with spinach pistou and Meyer lemon

WHAT: A tiny, only-in-Houston bistro where diners savor the wondrous, eclectic cooking of Justin Yu, the city's all-time chef. WHY: Terminal year Yu reinvented his tasting-menu innovator Oxheart into Theodore Male monarch, a more laid-back restaurant with an a la carte menu. The food still bears the chef's indelible stamps — featured roles for vegetables, the twists and turns in flavor that come from fermentation, and masterful toggling betwixt restrained subtlety and umami thunderbolts — only is now less controlled and ofttimes wonderfully weirder. A recent dinner began with a serotonin-boosting plate of tangelos, snow peas, and thyme earlier veering funky (and superlative Yu) with a stew of brisket warmed in pickle juice, crumbled white cheddar, and preserved vegetables. — B.A.

1302 Nance Street
Houston, TX
(832) 830-8592 | trexhouston.com

SAN ANTONIO

Cured

WHAT: The crown precious stone of San Antonio'due south restaurant-rich Pearl Commune. WHY: Cured's proper noun refers both to chef-possessor Steve McHugh'due south victory as a survivor of lymphoma, and besides to the restaurant'southward extraordinary charcuterie plan. A glassed-in locker at the eatery's entrance displays beauties like culatello (ham made from the loin of a pig'southward hind leg) aged for one year, and the kitchen assembles smart novelties such as hot goat sausage and catfish mortadella. Mexican flavors also murmur through McHugh'south modern American card — masa-fried oysters over sopes with black beans and avocado mousse, bison tartare with huitl a coche puree, braised lamb neck with hominy stew. Await for the po' boy specials at lunch: They hearken impressively to McHugh's years of cooking in New Orleans. — B.A.

306 Pearl Parkway
San Antonio, TX
(210) 314-3929 | curedatpearl.com

Garcia's Mexican Nutrient

WHAT: The apotheosis of a great Tex-Mex restaurant and its irresistible comforts. WHY: I acknowledge the lunacy of distinguishing one Tex-Mex combo plate above all others in a state total of citizens weaned on its specific delights (or at least happily sustained by them). But a contempo re-visit to Garcia's, run by the same family unit since 1962, confirmed my devotion to its Deluxe Mexican Dinner plate: The oversize platter includes two cheesy enchiladas and a pork tamale covered in chili con carne and boosted cloud banks of yellow cheese (say yeah to the option of chopped onions); a freshly fried crispy taco stuffed with ground beef, shredded iceberg lettuce, and diced love apple; sides of rice and refried beans creamy with lard and bacon fat; and, brought first as a starter, a chalupa smeared with guacamole. Two wonderfully odd tacos on homemade flour tortillas consummate my ideal Garcia's repast: one filled with a supple slice of smoked brisket, also killer with a splotch of guac, and the other wrapped around a bone-in pork chop. — B.A.

842 Fredericksburg Road
San Antonio, TX
(210) 735-5686 | no website

Mixtli

WHAT: A 12-seat think tank of a eatery, from 2 chef-scholars meditating on the cuisines of Mexico through tasting menus. WHY: Every 45 dinners, Diego Galicia and Rico Torres introduce a new theme — peradventure a state of Mexico, or a period of the country's history — around which they build multicourse dinners. Currently, for example, their discipline is "Rediscovering the Mayan Gastronomy"; i dish, as stunning in gustatory modality and appearance, expresses the lost empire'southward trade routes by combining quinoa, fish roes, and avocado. The repast, ticketed at $97 per person, typically careens through 7 or eight courses and lasts a concise 90 minutes or and so. It is arguably the most avant-garde restaurant experience in Texas, but the modernistic, academic cooking also delivers ample poignancy and pleasure. — B.A.

5251 McCullough Artery
San Antonio, TX
(210) 338-0746 | restaurantmixtli.com

Ray'due south Bulldoze Inn

WHAT: The dwelling house of the puffy taco. WHY: Arturo Lopez gave San Antonio something to brag about in the 1960s when he invented what became known as the "puffy taco" — a chubby tortilla that'south fried until puffed, no longer than 45 seconds. Though there are others that can replicate that magic — Los Barrios, Teka Molino, Henry's Puffy Tacos — Ray'southward Bulldoze Inn, with its throwback Spurs signage, virgen shrine, and "Budweiser y Tacos" neon, is a living time capsule of old-school San Antonio. Even after Lopez's passing in 2015, the pillowy bites even so satiate that puro San Antonio craving to the melody of 500 puffy tacos a solar day. — Jessica Elizarraras

822 Southwest 19th Street
San Antonio, T X
(210) 432-7171 | raysdriveinn.cyberspace

2M Smokehouse

WHAT: Barbecue con ganas, fabricated past a former La Barbecue employee and his loftier school best friend. WHY: From its inception as a popular-up inside Grace Bible Church to its eventual launch within a one-time Tex-Mex dive in December 2016, 2M Smokehouse has quietly gear up the tone for what San Antonio locals want out of their charcoal-broil experience. The Lower Southeast shop entices barbecue zealots with buttery brisket, sausage links blimp with Oaxaca cheese and spicy serranos, and, on the first Sunday of every month, barbacoa — a south Texas staple. Loaded potato salads, pickled cactus, and "chicharoni" (macaroni with a topper of crumbled, fried pork skins) are all original musts. — J.Due east.

2731 South WW White Road
San Antonio, TX
(210) 885-9352 | 2msmokehouse.com

OTHER CITIES

H&H Car Wash and Java House

WHAT: A border boondocks legend, serving breakfast and lunch dishes that embody its unique corner of America — all while detailing your ride. WHY: Lovably grouchy Maynard Haddad runs the combination business started by his father — Najib Haddad, a Syrian immigrant —in 1958. Along the turquoise Formica counter, regulars and visitors gather for diner food with a dynamic sense of place. Wait past the burgers, grilled cheese, and eggs with salary for the specialties that reflect El Paso's locus at the edge of Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico: slim breakfast burritos filled with picadillo or eggs and chorizo, enchiladas smothered in ruby republic of chile Colorado or chile verde, and huevos rancheros. Dubious at how many split up items I was ordering, the server stopped me and said, "If you want to know our nutrient, club the deluxe plate." A gushing chile relleno anchored the banquet. She was correct, of grade. — B.A.

701 East Yandell Drive
El Paso, TX
(915) 533-1144 | no website

Patillo'south Bar-B-Q

WHAT: Southeast Texas's finest beef links for more than a century. WHY: If links and rice dressing don't come to heed when y'all think of Texas barbecue, you've been spending too much fourth dimension in Austin. In southeast Texas, garlic- and chile-laced beef links bursting with juice (don't call it fat in SETX) are the barbecue gold standard, and the Patillo family has been serving them since 1912. The juice will run like a faucet once yous've cut a link open, so accept a piece of white bread, or better even so, a pile of rice dressing — similar to dingy rice — set up to capture information technology all. Y'all might as well mix in some sauce, fabricated from owner Robert Patillo'due south grandmother's recipe. — D.V.

2775 Washington Boulevard
Beaumont, TX
(409) 833-3156 | no website

Perini Ranch Steakhouse

WHAT: The country's best (and near apprehensive) land steakhouse with a pretty fancy pedigree. WHY: Lifelong cattle rancher and chuck-wagon melt Tom Perini turned an old barn into Texas'due south about popular steak destination 35 years agone. He's since claimed the James Beard Foundation'south America's Classics laurels and is the Bristles House's nigh oft featured Texan. This is partly because his pepper-crusted, mesquite-grilled strip; bone-in cowboy ribeye; his spicy-fried quail legs; hominy laced with greenish chiles and bacon; and sourdough bread pudding with pecans and whiskey sauce can't be beaten. It's helped along past sommelier Lisa — also his wife — who hones a smart vino listing with intriguing choices from the West Declension likewise as Europe and Due south America. But the fame — and a guest list that often includes presidents, governors, musicians, and picture stars — is more often than not due to Tom himself, who treats every customer like a welcome friend at his kitchen table. — J.N.

3002 FM 89
Buffalo Gap, TX
(325) 572-3339 | periniranch.com

Rancho Loma

WHAT: A tasting-menu restaurant in middle-of-nowhere West Texas that actually lives up to the romantic fantasy of such diversions. WHY: Chef Laurie Williamson and her husband Robert left behind successful careers in commercial filmmaking and opened their restaurant in a restored 1870s-era limestone farmhouse in 2003. They serve dinner but on Friday and Saturday nights. Laurie'south weekly irresolute menus — built around handsomely rustic dishes like mustardy, coarsely chopped beef tartare and smoky grilled quail over polenta — drew such a following from admirers effectually the state that in 2012 the couple built v invitee rooms on the property. Overnight stays include breakfasts (maybe grits and eggs scattered with bacon lardons) made with the aforementioned city-meets-country finesse. — B.A.

2969 CR 422
Talpa, TX
(325) 636-4556 | rancholoma.com

Rudy & Paco

WHAT: The all-time eatery on Galveston Isle — and arguably the unabridged Texas Gulf Declension. WHY: The line-fishing boats are docked a few blocks abroad and the specialty is Gulf red snapper — called "pargo" here, every bit it is in Nicaragua, homeland of Francisco "Paco" Vargas (there are also baskets of plantain chips on every table). The pargo elegante, topped with avocado and crabmeat, is stunning. Try the raw seafood belfry, decked with seasonal shellfish, ceviches, and crab claws. Service is old-school elegant — the waitstaff lifts the silver domes over your entrees in unison. Voila! — Robb Walsh

2028 Postoffice Street
Galveston, TX
(409) 762-3696| rudyandpaco.com

Snow's BBQ

WHAT: The pinnacle of Texas barbecue from 82-year-onetime pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. WHY: Yep, it's only open one time a calendar week, and it usually sells out before the dejeuner hr, only Snowfall's BBQ is exceptional. The salty brisket is superb, especially from the fat end. The smoked chicken is and so pop, it's unremarkably the kickoff to vanish. Pork steaks and spare ribs volition accept you questioning why anyone would say Texans can only barbecue beefiness. If the barbecue weren't reason enough to come, existence able to watch veteran pitmaster Tomanetz shovel dress-down, flip half chickens, and mop the pork steaks with her special mop sauce is alone worth an early wake-upwards call. — D.V.

516 Main Street
Lexington, TX
(979) 773-4640 | snowsbbq.com

Taco Palenque

WHAT: A taco concatenation to rule them all, rooted in regional tradition. WHY: Texas is an endless font of mega-successful Tex-Mex fast nutrient, from statewide standard Taco Cabana to hipster hegemon Torchy'southward, but a regional chain slinging freshly cooked tortillas and menudo, with a fresh salsa bar at every location? That's next level. Founded in 1987 past Juan Francisco Ochoa, Taco Palenque's 20-plus locations serve a quality, affordable version of the state's border cuisine — including its iconic pirata taco, fabricated with beans, cheese, and fajita meat, that's beloved in Laredo and beyond. —M.M.

Multiple locations
Laredo, TX
tacopalenque.com

Vera's Lawn Bar-B-Que

WHAT: The last standard-bearer of a Texas culinary tradition forth the Rio Grande. WHY: In that location was a time when shops specializing in barbacoa de cabeza en pozo a la leña (whole beef head cooked slowly in an underground, mesquite-fueled barbecue pit) dotted South Texas. Today, there remains only 63-year-old Vera'due south Lawn Bar-B-Que in the Spanish-is-as-good-equally-English language border boondocks of Brownsville. Owner Armando Vera runs what is likely the final restaurant cooking barbacoa de cabeza with wood in the Solitary Star State, opening only weekends to dole out shimmering cuts of cheek, tongue, lips, and other head cuts served with warm corn or flour tortillas. It's non unusual for Vera'southward to exist sold out of meat before it closes at two p.yard., merely the first to go is what Vera calls "Mexican caviar." That would be cow eyes. — J.R.R.

2404 Southmost Road
Brownsville, TX
(956) 546-4159 | no website

The Hamlet Bakery

WHAT: The oldest Czech bakery in Texas, opened in 1952. WHY: Czechs began immigrating to Texas in the 1850s, and many settled in the fertile, blackland strip down the eye of the state, including in the small town of West. Their culinary traditions — too as their language and polka music — take endured and fused with local culture to yield pastries and plates that are distinctly Texas. The folksy Hamlet Bakery ofttimes gets overshadowed by shinier establishments right off Interstate 35, just drive over the tracks into downtown west for quintessential Texas Czech treats. There are no fad flavors served here. Instead, buttery, yeasty kolaches with authentic fillings similar apricot, poppyseed, and cream cheese are displayed side by side with more obscure offerings, like sugariness buchta rolls and, at Christmas, the braided breadstuff known as vanocka. The Village Bakery is the cocky-proclaimed inventor of the now-ubiquitous sausage kolaches. Ask for them by the baker's trademarked name, klobasniki. — Dawn Orsak

113 East Oak Street
W, TX
(254) 826-5151 | no website

The Southward'southward 38 Essential Restaurants | New England's 38 Essential Restaurants | The Midwest's 38 Essential Restaurants | The Best New Restaurants 2017 | The Best Restaurants in America 2017

Nib Addison is Eater's national critic , roving the country uncovering America's essential restaurants. Read all his columns in the archive . All photos past Beak Addison unless otherwise noted.

mcmilliancaravered44.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.eater.com/2018/3/7/17065442/best-restaurants-texas-bill-addison