Texas Beef Cattle Co. V. Green

The 38 Essential Restaurants of Texas

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

by Mar 7, 2018, 12:23pm EST

The time has come: We're messing with Texas. Eater'southward "Regional 38" series previously named the vital dining destinations beyond three fertile swaths of America: the South, New England, and the Cracking Lakes region of the Midwest. The projection builds on our urban center sites' 38 lists and our annual guide to the essential restaurants in America. Simply Texas is a state so immense, so full of mythology and appetite, and so populated with such compelling and culturally specific dining options, that it stands plainly every bit a region unto itself.

I lived in Dallas a decade ago and converted then to a disciple of Lonely Star foodways; since becoming Eater's national critic iv years ago, I've made a betoken of returning to the state for several weeks each year. Just I recently dedicated an entire month to wandering and devouring, and the standouts among my scores of meals made information technology obvious that eating in Texas has never been more exceptional. (For more on that, read my example 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.

Just many of the land's defining restaurants also reverberate 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 similar vinegar-tinged Goa pork and turmeric soup.

Running my hands forth 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 brand egg and chorizo breakfast burritos, felt like an archetypal Texas moment. But then, so did dinner at Kemuri Tatsu-ya in Austin, slurping ramen enriched with smoked brisket and banana pudding topped with kokuto (crackly Japanese brown carbohydrate) and miso caramel.

My appetite certainly qualifies as Texas-sized, but no one person can pull off an authoritative survey of a place so far-reaching. X writers with deep local roots joined me in whittling down a small nation's worth of restaurants to the crucial 38. Texans have a famous breed of zeal and loyalty for their homeland; there will be vehement disagreements over our choices. Let's hash it out while standing in line for brisket and murphy salad at Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas, or possibly over a Palatial Mexican Plate at Garcia'south in San Antonio. — Beak Addison, national critic

The 38 essential restaurants in Texas, mapped >>>

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AUSTIN

Contigo

WHAT: A thoroughly Austin outdoor haven with ranch-inspired eats. WHY: Austin is brimming with al fresco spaces — information technology'due south got the ideal weather for 'em — only there is something special about chef Andrew Wiseheart'southward restaurant. Contigo is both timeless and sturdily Texan, with a carte total of modernistic bar nutrient that begs to exist consumed outdoors: ox natural language sliders, oh-then-crispy green beans, hearty cast-fe pans of rabbit and dumplings, and the stellar business firm-made charcuterie, all rounded out with Texas fruits and vegetables. Idle beneath the strung lights on the expansive patio, mezcal cocktail in hand, and soak upward the Austin vibes. — Nadia Chaudhury

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

Emmer & Rye

WHAT: A low-cal-filled, modern American chophouse 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 Bluish Beard Durum spaghetti for his signature cacio e pepe. It'due south a jumping-off point for the restaurant's overall greatness: Service is amazingly engaged. Vegetable-axial dishes — ribbons of minted kohlrabi hiding blue crab meat, charred broccoli with burnt tangerine glaze and benne seed — hearken to the season and to national dining trends. The wine list leans obscure and funky. Ace pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph brings the meal home with sweets like strawberry sorbet covered in salted foam and a caramelized apple tart with smoked juniper ice cream. In an area of downtown Austin chock-o-block with dining options, Emmer & Rye easily distinguishes itself from the crowd. — B.A.

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

Franklin Barbecue

Barbecue platter at Franklin Charcoal-broil

WHAT: The best brisket in Texas. WHY: Information technology'due south been less than a decade since Aaron and Stacy Franklin started slinging brisket from a trailer forth the interstate. In that short time, they upgraded to a brick-and-mortar, they served our last president, and Aaron Franklin took home a James Beard award. They've not simply created the state'due south most popular charcoal-broil joint, only they've also influenced pitmasters around the globe. Through videos and a acknowledged book, "Franklin-style" barbecue can now be found on nigh every continent. Even terminal twelvemonth's pit-room fire couldn't go along them down for long, every bit the famous lines have re-emerged outside their Austin eating place. It's still worth the wait. — Daniel Vaughn

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

Kemuri Tatsu-Ya

WHAT: An unholy nonetheless 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 former charcoal-broil restaurant, and they have their culinary cues from their surroundings. Amid smoke-stained walls lined with former Japanese beer ads and mussed-up Texas license plates, they serve delicious aberrations like "guaca-poke" and sticky rice tamales with beef 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 and so bizarre, and it all comes together so seamlessly and pleasurably. This identify is adored and waits can be long; a Matcha Hurting Killer laced with buckwheat shochu and tequila volition tranquilize you into serenity. — B.A.

2713 East 2nd Street
Austin, TX
(512) 893-5561 | kemuri-tatsuya.com

Odd Duck

WHAT: Austin casual with sophisticated execution. WHY: The restaurant from James Beard Award-nominated chef Bryce Gilmore epitomizes contemporary Austin cuisine. He and his squad take Texas-forever ingredients (call back seasonal carrots and tomatoes, grass-fed cattle, and chickens raised nearby) and deploys them in a slate of fun, flavorful modest plates, where influences range from Indian to German to, yes, Tex-Mex. Where else tin can you lot notice pretzels stuffed with chorizo-spiced mushrooms that taste meaty despite being vegetarian, whole chicken-fried fish heads, and breakfast pizzas topped with quail? The restaurant (which, in truthful Austin way, began as a food truck) is also a major booster for the local farming customs — going so far as to emblazon farm names on the dining room walls. — N.C.

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

Tamale House East

WHAT: Tex-Mex classics and community, from 3rd-generation Austin taco royalty. WHY: In a boondocks changing so fast information technology's perpetually in danger of losing its roots, Tamale House East is a welcome haven of both continuity and evolution. Carmen Valera, one of the 5 siblings who ain the restaurant, says a 3rd of their carte is identical to what her grandparents served at their at present-shuttered eating house in the '60s, a third is direct from her mother'due south now-shuttered eating house from the '80s and '90s, and a tertiary is all-new. The restaurant's migas, enchiladas, tacos, and tamales are made with the same intendance the Vasquez-Valera family has employed for 3 generations, served in a homey East 6th space with an absolutely killer patio. — Meghan McCarron

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

Veracruz All Natural

WHAT: Austin'south 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, information technology'due south safe to say there is no ane absolute all-time place for breakfast tacos in Texas. Simply 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 slice or two of avocado, and crumbled tortilla fries — became a morning ritual for locals and visitors akin. I still love the trailer. Withal, the Vazquez'due south brick-and-mortar in Austin's N Burnet neighborhood cranks out food with even more precision and also offers picadas, masa creations that split the divide in texture between tortillas and thicker sopes. — B.A.

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

DALLAS

Cattleack BBQ

WHAT: Whole-sus scrofa barbecue washed the old-fashioned way. WHY: Todd David at Cattleack is the just pitmaster in Texas serving whole-hog barbecue on a regular schedule, and that's still simply on the first Saturday of every calendar month. Every other day it'south open, you'll have to settle for some of Texas'southward best brisket, house-made sausages (get the green chile and cheese), and maybe the best spare ribs in the land. More impressive is how consistently David produces information technology. Betwixt the weather condition, woods, and meat, there are enough of variables to bargain with when cooking in an first smoker, only Cattleack's barbecue never seems to suffer. — D.5.

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

Fearing's

WHAT: Southern comfort nutrient in one of Dallas's swankiest dining rooms from i of the urban center's stalwart chefs. WHY: Wearing his unmistakable toothy smiling and custom-made Lucchese boots, Dean Fearing has played a huge function in shaping the city's culinary identity for decades. Get-go a meal in this bright, luxe-casual dining room with Fearing'south iconic, smoky, and flossy tortilla soup, then feast on Granny's fried craven, shaken with flour and spices before being fried to perfection in cast atomic number 26. Or accept the Texas theme over the height with a plate of fork-tender beef short ribs that are braised in Dr Pepper (the land'southward unofficial drink) 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 store whose impeccable noodles are 2nd only to the salumi. WHY: Amid an ever-changing card that might characteristic gnocchi with cabbage and crispy yeast or a salad of ripe pears and chicory with cheese, one affair remains constant at Lucia: the salumi plate. David Uygur'southward homage to the pig is a stunning array 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 than fun with unfamiliar varieties like fiocco, blood salami, and 2 spreadable salamis, neither of which are 'nduja. It's like a graduate-level grade for cured meats where spectacular pasta is just for extra credit. — D.V.

408 W. 8th Street
Dallas, TX
(214) 948-4998 | luciadallas.com

Revolver Taco Lounge/Pur é pecha

WHAT: The taqueria with the petty back room that'southward 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 card existent manor with wagyu carne asada. Kermit in Bangkok (frog legs in a house-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-quondam tortillas and casually devoured at communal tables or bar tops. So there's the back room — the Purépecha Room — a reservation-only, eight-form tasting-bill of fare space appointed to resemble the Michoacán kitchen of chef-owner Regino Rojas'southward mother. And it's Doña Juanita herself who — with the help of her family — prepares Purépecha'south carte, an ever-irresolute carousel of traditional Mexican ingredients presented in untraditional ways. Little wonder Rojas was long-listed for a 2018 Best Chef: Southwest James Beard Foundation Award. — José R. Ralat

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

Tei - An

WHAT: A sanctuary of a eating house in Dallas'due south 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 beefiness tongue and okonomiyaki. Just the richest terrain is the soba — fresh buckwheat noodles, notoriously difficult to class and cut, that Teiichi Sakurai crafts daily. Relish them simply, mounded on a woven bamboo mat alongside a dashi dipping sauce simmered with duck meat. To experience the complete measure out of Sakurai'south skills, call ahead to asking the seven-course omakase: It ofttimes weaves in blockbuster Japanese ingredients like A5 wagyu beef and ultra-seasonal fish simply 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's Texas Cafe

WHAT: Proof that a passion for chuck-carriage vittles supersedes that for finer fare. WHY: Even in the shadow of West 7th district's flashy new developments, the original Fred's Texas Café nevertheless shines bright as a buoy for down-home Texas cuisine. Terry Chandler — known every bit the Outlaw Chef for his early on West Texas chuck-carriage days — took the reins of his family's eatery in 2005. He has has since opened two boosted locations, just the expansion hasn't changed his elementary mission: Serve "cold-ass" beer to wash down the finest chicken-fried steak in boondocks, smothered in a sourdough concoction and cooked simply till the gold chaff delivers the perfect crunch. Served along with hand-cutting fries made to order — and a cute green salad to help you feel virtuous — this giant plate is deeply satisfying. Yeah, everyone knows Fred'south for killer burgers, simply every bit whatsoever cattle drover can tell you lot, the CFS is the true prize. — June Naylor

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

Swiss Pastry Shop

WHAT: Extraordinary burgers in an old-globe sweets shop, borne from the heed of a classically trained pastry chef. WHY: While Hans Peter Muller continues to produce the European baked appurtenances made pop hither past his late Swiss-built-in father (you lot won't find anything every bit ethereal equally this distinctive version of Black Forest cake), this second-generation pastry chef has also become Cowtown'south 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 red and dark-green chiles with pepper jack cheese and grilled onions atop the supple patty, all crowned with a fried egg and framed by a business firm-baked brioche bun. — J.Due north.

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

HOUSTON

BCN Sense of taste & Tradition

WHAT: An exceptional and luxurious foray into Catalan cuisine. WHY: Is that actual artwork past Picasso and Miró gilding the eatery's minimalist space? Yep, yeah it is. In 2014 Houston entrepreneur Ignacio Torras coaxed Luis Roger, an achieved chef and fellow Barcelona native, to motility to Texas and partner on a venture that glorifies their habitation country's cuisine. Superb tapas (shaved jamón ibérico, lush pan con tomate, crisp-creamy patatas bravas) and potent gin-and-tonic variations bobbing with whole spices set the meal'south foundation. Roger builds upon these standards with more outre dishes, like sauteed ocean cucumber with lobster rice and an improbable just great entree of duck breast with quince, Idiazábal cheese sauce, pine basics, and balsamic reduction. Service is uniformly dashing. Book well ahead, or exist prepared to dine at the well-trafficked just comfy bar most the entrance. — B.A.

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

Crawfish & Noodles

WHAT: A James Beard-nominated strip-mall awareness that beautifully showcases the uniquely Houston fusion of Cajun crawfish boils with Vietnamese flavors. WHY: Don't be alarmed at the tarp-like tablecloths and rolls of paper towels at the table. Tucked into a strip mall in Houston'due south sprawling Asiatown, the Viet-Cajun crawfish at Crawfish & Noodles are truly transcendent — boiled and so tossed in a buttery, spicy, garlicky, lemongrass-infused sauce that coats each private mudbug. There are also whole fried venereal 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 rubberband mind of chef-owner Kaiser Lashkari. WHY: Lashkari and his wife, Azra Babar Lashkari, are e'er-present in their boxy strip-mall eatery in the metropolis's Mahatma Gandhi Commune. Their kitchen turns out nearly 100 distinct dishes, many with regional Indian origins, just 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 grooming 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 analogousness for beef plays so well in Texas that Lashkari dreamed up on-point "friendly fusion" weekend specials, such as smoked brisket masala, to bridge the cultures. — B.A.

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

Hugo's

WHAT: Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught'due south gracious, 16-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 coastal cuisines. Hugo's menu, on the other hand, is a national survey of the land'due south about legendary dishes; Ortega's genius for employing spice and intensifying meaty flavors creates the through-line between them. Zoom in on cabrito with roasted cactus, lechón with a piercing habanero salsa, and lamb barbacoa. Sat brunch is Hugo's calmer service shift, but that's when the kitchen turns out sublime, sculptural chilaquiles with chicken and tomatillo salsa. — B.A.

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

Killen'due south Steakhouse

WHAT: A rambling, glitzy, big-hearted chophouse that couldn't — and wouldn't — exist anywhere but Texas. WHY: Ronnie Killen's steakhouse and barbecue restaurant singlehandedly put Pearland, a minor town south of Houston, on the national meat map. His newest venture, a steakhouse-barbecue hybrid called Killen's STQ, opened in Houston proper in 2016. I'thou fondest of Killen's firstborn. Serving Texas beef is rarer in Lone Star steakhouses than you might expect, which makes the gorgeously marbled wagyu ribeye raised past 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, gilded and crisp and covered in peppery white gravy. — B.A.

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

Kitchen 713

[Notation: This eating place closed in Oct, 2018 ]

WHAT: A culinary mind meld of two veteran chefs whose menus limited the sprawling, global, always-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 leave you 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's 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-up goodness of dishes that veer closer to home: peppery fried chicken with biscuits. — B.A.

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

Pho Dien

WHAT: Authentic Vietnamese pho house in Houston'due south Chinatown area . WHY: Thank you to Houston's large Vietnamese immigrant community, pho shops specializing in Vietnam'southward exciting, fragrant noodle soup have go as easy to detect as McDonald'south. Still, there are just a handful of restaurants that deserve top honors, and Pho Dien, which gained acclaim by serving sides of raw, marinated filet mignon called tai uop, is the finest example of Houston's nascent pho revolution. The emphasis here is on quality ingredients. Owner Tony Dien Pham simmers his all-beef os goop for a minimum of 12 hours to create a silky, delicately spiced, soul-warming bowl that is easily i of the best in the country. — Mai Pham

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

The Original Ninfa'south on Navigation

WHAT: A Tex-Mex landmark whose timeless signature — brim steak fajitas — defies and transcends chain-restaurant bastardization. WHY: Ninfa Laurenzo, known as Mama Ninfa, opened her eating house in 1973 in front of her family's tortilla factory. 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 like roasted oysters topped with spiced crab meat in the restaurant's 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 cafe 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 chicken, 3-time James Beard award nominee Anita Jaisinghani takes the stuff of traditional Indian street food — chaat, dosas, pani poori — and turns out beautiful, artistically plated food that vibrates with authenticity while still showing contemporary Gulf Coast 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. — M.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 relish the wondrous, eclectic cooking of Justin Yu, the city'southward all-time chef. WHY: Concluding year Yu reinvented his tasting-carte innovator Oxheart into Theodore Male monarch, a more laid-dorsum restaurant with an a la carte menu. The nutrient still bears the chef's enduring stamps — featured roles for vegetables, the twists and turns in flavor that come from fermentation, and masterful toggling between restrained subtlety and umami thunderbolts — but is at present less controlled and frequently wonderfully weirder. A recent dinner began with a serotonin-boosting plate of tangelos, snow peas, and thyme before veering funky (and summit 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 gem of San Antonio'south eating house-rich Pearl District. WHY: Cured's name refers both to chef-owner Steve McHugh's victory as a survivor of lymphoma, and too to the restaurant's boggling charcuterie programme. A glassed-in locker at the eatery'due south entrance displays beauties like culatello (ham made from the loin of a pig'due south hind leg) anile for one year, and the kitchen assembles smart novelties such every bit hot goat sausage and catfish mortadella. Mexican flavors too murmur through McHugh's modernistic American carte — masa-fried oysters over sopes with black beans and avocado mousse, bison tartare with huitl a coche puree, braised lamb neck with hominy stew. Look for the po' boy specials at lunch: They hearken impressively to McHugh'south years of cooking in New Orleans. — B.A.

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

Garcia'south Mexican Food

WHAT: The embodiment of a great Tex-Mex eatery and its irresistible comforts. WHY: I acknowledge the lunacy of distinguishing one Tex-Mex philharmonic plate to a higher place all others in a land full of citizens weaned on its specific delights (or at to the lowest degree happily sustained by them). But a recent re-visit to Garcia's, run by the same family 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 additional cloud banks of yellow cheese (say yes to the option of chopped onions); a freshly fried crispy taco blimp with footing beefiness, shredded iceberg lettuce, and diced tomato; sides of rice and refried beans creamy with lard and bacon fatty; and, brought first every bit a starter, a chalupa smeared with guacamole. 2 wonderfully odd tacos on bootleg flour tortillas consummate my platonic Garcia's repast: one filled with a supple slice of smoked brisket, also killer with a splotch of guac, and the other wrapped effectually a bone-in pork chop. — B.A.

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

Mixtli

WHAT: A 12-seat think tank of a restaurant, from two chef-scholars meditating on the cuisines of Mexico through tasting menus. WHY: Every 45 dinners, Diego Galicia and Rico Torres introduce a new theme — perhaps a state of Mexico, or a period of the country's history — around which they build multicourse dinners. Currently, for instance, their bailiwick is "Rediscovering the Mayan Gastronomy"; 1 dish, equally stunning in taste and advent, expresses the lost empire's trade routes by combining quinoa, fish roes, and avocado. The meal, ticketed at $97 per person, typically careens through seven or viii courses and lasts a concise 90 minutes or so. It is arguably the most advanced eating place feel in Texas, simply the modern, bookish cooking as well delivers ample poignancy and pleasure. — B.A.

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

Ray's Drive Inn

WHAT: The home of the puffy taco. WHY: Arturo Lopez gave San Antonio something to brag nigh in the 1960s when he invented what became known as the "puffy taco" — a chubby tortilla that'southward fried until puffed, no longer than 45 seconds. Though in that location are others that can replicate that magic — Los Barrios, Teka Molino, Henry's Puffy Tacos — Ray's Drive Inn, with its throwback Spurs signage, virgen shrine, and "Budweiser y Tacos" neon, is a living time capsule of former-school San Antonio. Even afterward Lopez's passing in 2015, the pillowy bites still satiate that puro San Antonio craving to the tune 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 by a former La Charcoal-broil employee and his high schoolhouse best friend. WHY: From its inception as a pop-up inside Grace Bible Church to its eventual launch inside a former Tex-Mex swoop in Dec 2016, 2M Smokehouse has quietly set the tone for what San Antonio locals want out of their barbecue experience. The Lower Southeast shop entices barbecue zealots with buttery brisket, sausage links stuffed with Oaxaca cheese and spicy serranos, and, on the offset Sunday of every month, barbacoa — a south Texas staple. Loaded white potato salads, pickled cactus, and "chicharoni" (macaroni with a topper of crumbled, fried pork skins) are all original musts. — J.E.

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

OTHER CITIES

H&H Car Wash and Java Business firm

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 past his father — Najib Haddad, a Syrian immigrant —in 1958. Forth the turquoise Formica counter, regulars and visitors gather for diner food with a dynamic sense of place. Expect by the burgers, grilled cheese, and eggs with bacon for the specialties that reflect El Paso's locus at the border of Texas, United mexican states, and New Mexico: slim breakfast burritos filled with picadillo or eggs and chorizo, enchiladas smothered in cherry 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 desire to know our food, gild the palatial plate." A gushing chile relleno anchored the banquet. She was right, of course. — B.A.

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

Patillo's Bar-B-Q

WHAT: Southeast Texas's finest beef links for more than than a century. WHY: If links and rice dressing don't come to listen when you think of Texas barbecue, you've been spending too much time in Austin. In southeast Texas, garlic- and chile-laced beefiness links bursting with juice (don't call information technology fatty in SETX) are the charcoal-broil gold standard, and the Patillo family unit has been serving them since 1912. The juice volition run like a faucet in one case you've cutting a link open, so have a slice of white staff of life, or ameliorate withal, a pile of rice dressing — similar to muddy rice — ready to capture it all. You might besides mix in some sauce, made from owner Robert Patillo'due south grandmother's recipe. — D.5.

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

Perini Ranch Steakhouse

WHAT: The land'due south best (and most humble) land steakhouse with a pretty fancy pedigree. WHY: Lifelong cattle rancher and chuck-wagon cook Tom Perini turned an old barn into Texas'due south virtually popular steak destination 35 years ago. He'south since claimed the James Beard Foundation'southward America's Classics award and is the Beard Firm's most frequently featured Texan. This is partly because his pepper-crusted, mesquite-grilled strip; bone-in cowboy ribeye; his spicy-fried quail legs; hominy laced with green chiles and bacon; and sourdough bread pudding with pecans and whiskey sauce tin can't be beaten. Information technology's helped forth by sommelier Lisa — too his wife — who hones a smart wine list with intriguing choices from the Due west Coast also as Europe and Southward America. Merely the fame — and a guest listing that often includes presidents, governors, musicians, and moving-picture show stars — is mostly 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-bill of fare restaurant in eye-of-nowhere West Texas that actually lives up to the romantic fantasy of such diversions. WHY: Chef Laurie Williamson and her married man Robert left backside successful careers in commercial filmmaking and opened their eating place in a restored 1870s-era limestone farmhouse in 2003. They serve dinner only on Friday and Saturday nights. Laurie's weekly changing menus — built around handsomely rustic dishes like mustardy, coarsely chopped beef tartare and smoky grilled quail over polenta — drew such a following from admirers around the state that in 2012 the couple built five guest rooms on the property. Overnight stays include breakfasts (perchance grits and eggs scattered with salary lardons) made with the same city-meets-country finesse. — B.A.

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

Rudy & Paco

WHAT: The best restaurant on Galveston Island — and arguably the entire Texas Gulf Declension. WHY: The fishing boats are docked a few blocks away and the specialty is Gulf red snapper — chosen "pargo" hither, as it is in Nicaragua, homeland of Francisco "Paco" Vargas (in that location 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 erstwhile-school elegant — the waitstaff lifts the silverish domes over your entrees in unison. Voila! — Robb Walsh

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

Snow'due south BBQ

WHAT: The pinnacle of Texas barbecue from 82-year-quondam pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. WHY: Yeah, it'due south just open one time a week, and information technology normally sells out before the lunch 60 minutes, merely Snowfall's BBQ is exceptional. The salty brisket is superb, specially from the fatty finish. The smoked chicken is and so popular, information technology's usually the kickoff to vanish. Pork steaks and spare ribs will take you questioning why anyone would say Texans can just barbecue beef. If the charcoal-broil weren't reason enough to come up, being able to sentry veteran pitmaster Tomanetz shovel coals, flip one-half chickens, and mop the pork steaks with her special mop sauce is lone worth an early wake-upwardly call. — D.V.

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

Taco Palenque

WHAT: A taco chain 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, just a regional chain slinging freshly cooked tortillas and menudo, with a fresh salsa bar at every location? That'south next level. Founded in 1987 by Juan Francisco Ochoa, Taco Palenque's 20-plus locations serve a quality, affordable version of the state'south border cuisine — including its iconic pirata taco, made with beans, cheese, and fajita meat, that's beloved in Laredo and across. —M.Yard.

Multiple locations
Laredo, TX
tacopalenque.com

Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que

WHAT: The terminal standard-bearer of a Texas culinary tradition along the Rio Grande. WHY: There 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 Due south Texas. Today, there remains only 63-year-old Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que in the Spanish-is-as-skilful-as-English edge town of Brownsville. Possessor Armando Vera runs what is likely the last restaurant cooking barbacoa de cabeza with wood in the Alone Star Land, opening only weekends to dole out shimmering cuts of cheek, natural language, lips, and other head cuts served with warm corn or flour tortillas. Information technology'south not unusual for Vera's to be sold out of meat before it closes at two p.m., but 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 Village Bakery

WHAT: The oldest Czech baker in Texas, opened in 1952. WHY: Czechs began immigrating to Texas in the 1850s, and many settled in the fertile, blackland strip downward the centre of the country, including in the small town of West. Their culinary traditions — as well as their language and polka music — have endured and fused with local culture to yield pastries and plates that are distinctly Texas. The folksy Village Bakery oft gets overshadowed past shinier establishments right off Interstate 35, but drive over the tracks into downtown west for quintessential Texas Czech treats. At that place are no fad flavors served here. Instead, buttery, yeasty kolaches with authentic fillings like apricot, poppyseed, and cream cheese are displayed adjacent with more obscure offerings, similar sweet buchta rolls and, at Christmas, the braided breadstuff known as vanocka. The Village Bakery is the self-proclaimed inventor of the at present-ubiquitous sausage kolaches. Inquire for them by the bakery's trademarked name, klobasniki. — Dawn Orsak

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

The South's 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

Pecker Addison is Eater'southward national critic , roving the state uncovering America's essential restaurants. Read all his columns in the archive . All photos past Bill Addison unless otherwise noted.

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