ELEMI – El Paso, Texas
My friend Steve Coleman, owner of the well-written and impeccably researched Steve’s Food Blog has become quite a culinary anthropologist. Not only does he provide his readers with comprehensive reviews of restaurants throughout the fruited plain, he explores the genesis of the foods he writes about. One of his passions is to define what constitutes El Paso style Mexican cuisine–its provenance and the cultural role that cuisine has played over the generations. As he’s discovered, El Paso style Mexican style is still evolving and redefining itself. Some of that has occurred organically as other cultures have influenced dynamic changes. Evolution has also been forged by the rediscovery of ancient ingredients and cooking techniques, some of which may once have been traditional. To Steve’s dismay, El Paso’s restaurant scene doesn’t seem to garner the type of adulation and respect accorded to more voguish and dynamic Texas cities such as Austin, Dallas and Houston. It’s disconcerting to him that even when El Paso restaurants and chefs are nominated for James Beard awards, those restaurants make it no further than the semi-finals. Steve has traveled extensively throughout Texas and is familiar with the culinary offerings at the chic, anointed cities. In his estimation,…
