Category: Texas

2024 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Outstanding Restaurant Finalist2024 James Beard Foundation (JBF) Outstanding Restaurant Semifinalist2025 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Hospitality FinalistJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexicanMichelin: One StarRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

Mixtli – San Antonio, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

A quote attributed to Marcel Marceau, the French mime famous for his sad-faced clown, aptly describes my attempts at describing a meal at Mixtli: “Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words”  (not that being without words has ever stopped me). Life’s events often include moments which move you deeply and stir your very soul. My inaugural dining experience at Mixtli was not so profound and cathartic as to move me to drastically change my life, but it certainly prompted a stirring awakening as I experienced what was conceivably the best restaurant meal I’ve ever had. Several of the other effusive reviews I’ve written are mere hyperbole in comparison to what I’d like to say about Mixtli if I was skilled enough to do so. Mixtli is simply the best restaurant in which I’ve dined (yes, even better than Topolobampo).  It’s so far superior to other restaurants I previously thought were outstanding that I scaled down my ratings for many of them.  Mixtli is so much more than  a restaurant that serves a great meal.  It’s a restaurant that will give you a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable dining experience.  From start to finish, you’ll be…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasThaiUnited States

Curry Boys BBQ – San Antonio, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The 1970s were characterized by writer Tom Wolfe as the “Me Decade” and derided by cynics as the “Disco Era.” It was an era of contrasts: the national crisis of confidence described by President Jimmy Carter as a “malaise” and the ubiquitous yellow smiley face; the melodic, velvety stylings of the Carpenters and the edgy, funky beat of disco; an explosion of copycat fast food chain restaurants and the introduction of innovative fusion cuisine in many contemporary restaurants. Fusion cuisine is the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, elements and ingredients to form an entirely new genre. In large metropolitan areas, particularly in California, the fusion of different cuisines became commonplace. Restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine were especially popular.  Still other restaurants had their own ideas as to what constituted fusion cuisine. The now defunct Maverick Cafe in San Antonio, Texas, became famous for their “East Meets West” dining concept. It wasn’t so much a fusion of cuisines as it was the plating of different cuisines (Mexican and Chinese) on the same salver.  The Maverick Cafe was my very favorite fusion restaurant. The very best lemon chicken I’ve ever had, in fact, was at…

BarbecueRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Terry Black’s BBQ – Lockhart, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

My Kim won’t be jealous that I was in the company of two winsome women during my inaugural visit to Terry Black’s BBQ.  She might, however, be unhappy if I were to come home perfumed by post oak, a sure sign I had been enjoying Texas barbecue without her.  Post oak is the wood many of the Lone Star State’s best barbecue restaurants smoke to give their meats inimitable flavors and aromas.  Okay, she might also be jealous that I polished off a monsterous beef rib, the type of which tipped over Fred Flintstone’s granite automobile.  It would have been more than enough for her and The Dude to share with me, but hey, how often do you get to visit Lockhart, Texas, the legislature decreed “Capital of Texas Barbecue.” My trip to the San Antonio area was meant to be a solitary adventure, an opportunity for me to visit some of my old haunts.  I would have been perfectly happy to spend time alone.   Then Melinda Martinez came into my life.  We met while standing in a long queue in front of Burnt Bean, a  2024 finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef – Texas” honor.  We shared…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef-Texas" Finalist2026James Beard Foundation - "Outstanding Chef" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: N/R (Not Rated)Restaurants Which Have Earned Michelin HonorsTexasUnited States

Burnt Bean – Seguin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Legend has it that shortly after the horrendous mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas,  Burnt Bean pitmaster and co-owner Ernest Servantes was asked to serve barbecue to law enforcement officials in Uvalde.  According to sources, Servantes, himself an Uvalde native, refused to serve anything to the milksops whose cowardly inaction resulted in the fatal shooting of 19 students and 2 teachers, and the injuring of 17 others.  Servantes wasn’t around when my new friend and dining companion Melinda Martinez and I finally completed our time in the purgatory of a queue that snaked to the end of the block.  We asked one of the restaurant’s servers, but he was unable to either confirm or refute the story.  At any regard, it’s a good story that endeared me to a pitmaster whose reputation places him in a heroic pantheon. There are several certifiable, irrefutable truths about Servantes and his partner Dave Kirkland that transcend legend.  In 2022, less than two years after its launch (during the Cabrona Virus), Burnt Bean garnered the number four spot in Texas Monthly’s 50 Best Barbecue joints.  Cognoscenti consider “best in Texas” synonymous with best in the universe.  Fourth best means it’s on the Mount Rushmore of…

2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistAsianClosed in 2023Dog FriendlyFusionGone But Not ForgottenJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersJapaneseMariscosMexicanRamenTacosTexasUnited States

El Charlatan – Socorro, Texas (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Everyone should have a friend like Steve Coleman, the erudite owner of Steve’s Food Page. Not only is he a great guy and a lot of fun to spend time with, he’s a superb host and tour guide.  During a two-day sojourn to “El Chuco,” Steve not only showed us the sights, he gave me a much-needed lesson about history New Mexico and Texas share.  He explained that during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, members of the Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico were displaced to El Paso along with Oñate and the Spaniards.  Today, descendants of those Native Americans reside in a Native American Pueblo in the Ysleta section of El Paso just about three miles from El Charlatan, our dining destination.  We were looking forward to Steve ferreting us through the historic El Paso Mission Trail, a nine-mile route representing a segment of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road of the Interior), the historic trail that ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe.  Alas, unseasonably fierce winds (another commonality New Mexico and Texas share) obfuscated our view of the churches as we drove past (at least one of) them.  On the Fujita Scale, a measure of wind speed,…

Rating: N/R (Not Rated)Soul FoodSouthernTexasUnited States

Delvin’s Restaurant & Catering – Amarillo, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Throughout its storied history, Amarillo’s culinary reputation has been based primarily on one kind of food: beef.  That’s no surprise considering Amarillo-area ranches produce thirty-percent of the nation’s beef and ninety-percent of the beef in Texas.  So when the city on the High Plains is described as a “cow town,” it’s not solely because of the odoriferous emanations from thousands of cattle in the feed yards along I-40.  While researching restaurants to explore during our extended weekend stay in Amarillo, it quickly became apparent that while beef may still be king, cows alone no longer define Amarillo menus.     Among the surprises that emerged from my research is the sheer number of Cajun and Soul food restaurants in the Amarillo area. It’s almost a full day’s ride from West Texas to “Lapland” (what the southeastern corner of Texas is called because of the overlapping of Cajun and Texas cultures).  The popularity of soul food is probably easier to explain.  As LaMyiah Harvel of the ABC affiliate in Amarillo explains: “The roots of Soul Food are tangled into each and every one of us. What was once meals simply made to survive, is now one of the most popular types of…

Dog FriendlyIndianRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

It’s A Punjabi Affair – Amarillo, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

During our last full year at Intel, my friend Bill Resnik and I had the distinct honor and privilege of working on a project with a team from Microsoft comprised mostly of information technology professionals with roots in the exotic subcontinent of India.  We had expected impeccable technical expertise, but their dedication and focus was far beyond what any of us would have anticipated.  As an example, Kannan, a technical solutions analyst once took a well-deserved vacation in Hawaii and still called in to daily project meetings.  Tropical birds sang in the background as Kannan provided his updates while lounging on the lanai. Never one to miss out on an opportunity, Bill downloaded an application for his iPhone which played everything from beautiful bird songs to simple tweets and chirps.  The second Kannan began to speak during a meeting–either from his San Francisco home base or somewhere Microsoft had dispatched him–Bill would play bird sounds that weren’t necessarily indigenous to Kannan’s location at the time.  We heard everything from turkeys gobbling and chickens cackling to a pterodactyl screeching.  It was driving Kannan batty trying to figure out where all these strange and exotic bird sounds were emanating.  It brought to…

Bar & GrillBurgersRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

The Golden Light Cafe & Cantina – Amarillo, Texas

Gil Garduno12:02 AM

Published in 1938, John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novels ever written. Replete with timeless themes of struggle, destitution, injustice, and the pursuit of a delusive “Promised Land,” the novel centers around the trevails of the Joad family.  Along with thousands of other tenant farmers from Oklahoma who lost their livelihood and property because of the Dust Bowl, the Joads travel the relatively nascent Route 66 toward California and the pursuit of a piece of land to call their own. Every night on their journey, the Joads and their fellow migrants witnessed man’s inclinations toward desperation, violence, and murderous anger as well as generousity and respect.   We couldn’t help but think about the Joads when we made reservations for three nights at Amarillo’s Hubbel Duplex.  We couldn’t help but reflect on all the “Okies” who passed in front of the Duplex en route to California.  Situated on the western end of West Sixth Street, the brick dwelling remains virtually unchanged since its construction in 1925.  West Sixth Street was the first paved highway through Amarillo and a vibrant part of Route 66. Today the U.S. Route 66-Sixth Street Historic District runs for…

AmericanChickenRating: OutstandingTexasUnited States

GUS’S WORLD-FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno11:18 PM

When I told my friend Carlos my Kim and I would be enjoying Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken during our trip to Austin, he quipped “when did Los Pollos Hermanos open a restaurant in Texas?”.  Wrong Gus.  Obviously Carlos was joking about Gus Fring, the stoic Argentinian entrepreneur on the Albuquerque-based Breaking Bad television series.  Gus Fring, as you might recall, used his fried chicken franchise Los Pollos Hermanos as a front for methamphetamine distribution throughout the American Southwest.  The Colonel may have had eleven herbs and spices, but Gus had blue-hued crystal meth. The Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken of which I spoke is a burgeoning franchise which got its start in Memphis, Tennessee.  While Nashville’s incendiary, cayenne-heavy, finger-dying hot chicken may be all the rage, Music City’s piquant poultry seems to be about testing your mettle and demonstrating pain is a flavor.  Gus’s fried chicken, on the other hand, is all about flavors that titillate your taste buds and linger on your lips.  Sure, it’s got heat, but just enough to give you a buzz, not to scald your mouth…and it doesn’t leave your fingers oily and orange.  Moreover, it’s absolutely delicious, easily the best spicy fried chicken…

Dog FriendlyPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Via 313 – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno10:15 AM

It’s oft been said that among males (we’re such children), insults are a form of intimacy.  Perhaps because of societal expectations, many men aren’t comfortable expressing affection toward other males in physically demonstrative ways (even in the Age of Oprah).  In his book A Slap in the Face: Why Insults Hurt – and Why They Shouldn’t, philosophy professor William Irvine contends “the closer the friend, the more teasing there is.”  If the sheer volume of insults is equal to how highly we esteem other men, Jim, my former boss at Intel was esteemed highly indeed. Because Jim was a pretty good guy (and because he was the boss), it was hard (and maybe career-limiting) to attack him on a personal level.  Instead, we teased him mercilessly about his resolute loyalty toward his hometown football team–the hapless, hopeless and helpless Detroit Lions, one of only four NFL teams (the Browns, Jaguars, Lions and Texans are the others) never to reach the Superbowl.  Unlike the bandwagon jumpers who support a team only when it’s winning, Jim never gave up on his beloved Lions.  Privately we all thought it exhibited a masochistic tendency. By extension, we also insulted all things Detroit–its decline from industrial…

BarbecueDog FriendlyRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Black’s Barbecue – Lockhart, Texas

Gil Garduno12:54 PM

Yabba-dabba-doo!  After finishing another day of toiling at the quarry, Fred Flintsone rushes home to pick up his modern stone-age family for a drive-in movie, an exclusive one-night only viewing of The Monster.  Courtesy of Fred’s two feet, the family then proceeds to Bronto Burgers & Ribs Drive-In for an order of ribs.  Somehow a slim waitress manages to heft the behemoth ribs over to Fred’s car, but when she deposits them onto the carhop window service tray, the vehicle and all its occupants tip over.  Until our visit to Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas, we believed ribs that big were to be found solely in animated television cartoons. Now we know better! If the mention of Lockhart, Texas triggered involuntary salivation and an acute longing for smoked meats, you’re an inveterate barbecue aficionado.  Lockhart is a meat lover’s mecca, a town so synonymous with barbecue that it was officially proclaimed “The Barbecue Capital of Texas” (Resolution No. 1024) by the Texas state legislature.   Generations of barbecue lovers don’t just visit Lockhart.  They make pilgrimages to Lockhart–purposeful, inspired, meat-seeking missions to the town of some 15,000 souls that four of the most famous purveyors of low and slow smoked meats…