Category: United States

2025 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" SemifinalistAsianJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersKoreanOklahomaRating: N/R (Not Rated)SteakUnited States

Birdies by Chef Kevin Lee – Edmond, Oklahoma

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

My Kim and I regard ourselves as ambassadors for the great state of New Mexico, especially when we travel.  We’re often asked where we’re from.  Invariably we run into people whose perceptions about the Land of Enchantment are far from kind.  Some actually believe Breaking Bad is a documentary about the condition of life in New Mexico where wild west lawlessness is rampant.  If only perceptions of New Mexico were as gracious and kind as those of Oklahoma.  Throughout our week-long sojourn in the Sooner State, state pride was palpable.   You would expect that from locals, but some of the…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Southwest" Finalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Southwest" FinalistAsianJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersLaoOklahomaRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Ma Der Lao Kitchen – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In Italian, the term “mangia, mangia,” is an encouragement to enjoy food abundantly.  In Spanish, the polite phrase “Buen Provecho” translates to “enjoy your meal.”  The French term for “enjoy your meal” is “bon appétit” while the Cajun equivalent is “Allons manger.”   You’re probably acquainted with most of these terms, but here’s one you may not know.  In Lao, “Ma Der!”(ma-derr) is a phrase that basically means “come eat! or “come through!”  Throngs of Oklahoma City’s savvy diners have been coming to eat at Ma Der Lao Kitchen since 2022.  It’s a good bet not all of them realize the…

OklahomaRating: N/R (Not Rated)United StatesVietnamese

Pho Lien Hoa – Oklahoma City

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“Oklahoma, Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain And the wavin’ wheat Can sure smell sweet When the wind comes right behind the rain.” ~Oklahoma by Rodgers & Hammerstein The setting for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s revolutionary 1943 Broadway hit Oklahoma showcased wide-open plains and rugged landscapes that painted both a literal and metaphorical canvas.  The vastness of the territory mirrored the boundless dreams and limitless energy of its inhabitants.  This award-winning musical depicted the ushering in of organized statehood, a challenging transition from mostly unsettled agrarian land.  That transition parallels the characters’ personal journeys toward growth and self-discovery.  Oklahoma…

Dog FriendlyRating: Very GoodSteakTexasUnited States

The Big Texan Steak Ranch – Amarillo, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If you’ve ever wondered about the meaning of the line “I’ll be lookin’ for eight when they pull that gate” in George Strait’s classic hit Amarillo By Morning, here’s a theory you probably haven’t heard.  The country crooner was actually looking for eight brawny guys to help him finish the 72-ounce steak at Amarillo’s The Big Texan Steak Ranch.  Seriously it might just take a few of your most hungry friends to tackle that behemoth slab of beef–four and a half pounds of well-marbled meat with a deep, rich flavor and mahogany color. Since its launch in 1960, The Big…

2023 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2024 James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist2025 James Beard Foundation - "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMexicanRating: OutstandingTacosTexasUnited States

ELEMI – El Paso, Texas

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

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…

2025 - James Beard Foundation Seminfinalist in the "Outstanding Wine and Beverage ProgramMexicanRating: N/R (Not Rated)TacosTexasUnited States

Taconeta – El Paso, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

The meme below purports to show where the highest quality of tacos in Texas can be found.    Study the map and you’ll get the impression the meme’s creator believes tacos are “nonexistent” throughout about half of the Lone Star State.  That includes the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex as well as all of West Texas.   Most of what the meme’s creator believes are the Lone Star State’s “best tacos” can be found only in San Antonio and the South Texas Plains as well as in portions of the Texas Hill Country.  A “best tacos” designation is also accorded to the El…

AsianBarbecueFusionRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

An average person spends 52 days of their life standing in line (queueing) and that not just at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The most notorious offenders are, of course, supermarket lines, public transportation, the post office, airports and barbecue joints in the great state of Texas.  Okay, that last one may not be true though it certainly feels that way.  Franklin BBQ in Austin has nothing short of a cult following–and probably the longest lines of any barbecue joint in Texas.  Standing in line is part of the Franklin BBQ experience.  Online sites advise that “wait times during…

PizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)SandwichTexasUnited States

Little Deli & Pizzeria – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the 1973 Woody Allen movie”Sleeper,” the neurotic comedian, writer, actor, and film director declaimed, “I believe there’s an intelligence to the universe, with the exception of certain parts of New Jersey.”  Comedian George Carlin pounced on New Jersey’s license plate, deriding the “Garden State” sobriquet, expressing that it should be “The Tollbooth State.”   In response to his son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic’s “I hate Jersey” comment, Archie Bunker declared “Everybody hates Jersey! But somebody’s gotta live there.” New Jersey is the Rodney Dangerfield among the fifty states.  It gets no respect, especially when compared with its nextdoor neighbor New York. …

2026 James Beard Foundation: "Best Chef - Texas" SemifinalistBarbecueJames Beard Foundation (JBF) Award Nominees & WinnersMichelin Recognized RestaurantsMichelin: One StarTexasUnited States

La Barbecue – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Every summer, a predictable ritual takes place. After hibernating comfortably since the previous autumn, men attired in aprons emblazoned with the slogan “kiss the cook” will selflessly volunteer to “cook” a meal. This, of course, means grilling, a decidedly masculine affectation and the only type of cooking most men can be entrusted to do. When this ritual is completed and guests are sated, lavish praise and thanks are heaped upon the “chef.” In truth, the only aspects of this ritual for which men are typically responsible is getting the grill lit, placing the meats on the grill and turning them…

BurgersRating: N/R (Not Rated)TexasUnited States

JewBoy Burgers – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

With hordes of eager eaters forming lines around select restaurants–if not the block–you’d think those diners were gum-snapping Swifties clamoring to enter the venue of a Taylor Swift concert  That’s the case not only in barbecue joints anointed with Michelin star and James Beard Foundation honors, not to mention restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Queues for ‘cue, lines for lasagna, cavalcades for calamari…that’s pretty much the way it is at all the time in Austin.  It is a foodie city after my own heart.  I loathe lines so much, I’d rather arrive half an hour early than to…

2022 James Beard Foundation Award for "Emerging Chef"MexicanMichelin Recognized RestaurantsMichelin: Bib GourmandRating: N/R (Not Rated)TacosTexasUnited States

Nixta Taqueria – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Man cannot live on barbecue alone–not even in Austin, Texas where the world’s very best barbecue is to be found.  To limit one’s self to barbecue–as transformative as it may be–is to deprive yourself of some of the best Mexican food and best fried chicken in the known world.  Though the primary purpose of my week-long visit to the City of the Violet Crown was to visit Michelin starred barbecue restaurants, to have done so have been “going deep,”  exploring just one segment of the Central Texas culinary Utopia.  “Going wide” meant exploring options beyond barbecue–options such as some of…