On Sundays, come in and drink cheap Lone Stars, eat free hot dogs and play chicken bingo. Pecans grow freely all over Texas and have been used for food long before we declared our independence from Mexico. Ten writers with deep local roots joined me in whittling down a small nation’s worth of restaurants to the crucial 38. — B.A. There’s plenty of room to get a little crazy, though: toppings include self-pressed garlic, grated Parmesan, and fried Brussels sprouts. 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’s fried until puffed, no longer than 45 seconds. Maple & Motor has been known to serve its signature attraction with a side of attitude, although it certainly isn’t the first casual spot with a following to develop a little arrogance. Named one of the best steakhouses in the United States and recognized by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association for selling top quality Texas beef, Bohanan's Prime Steaks and Seafood is a must-stop destination for any steak-lover traveling through San Antonio. 2713 East 2nd StreetAustin, TX(512) 893-5561 | kemuri-tatsuya.com. The end result at Home Slice Pizza has been a South Austin smash hit: New York-style Neapolitan thin-crust slices and pies (try the pepperoni and mushroom) that just might inspire a South Congress strut, Tony Manero-style. Go for lunch — all Tacodeli locations are only open until 3 p.m. For more states, check out our ultimate guide to the best food and drink in every state for 2019. Lucy’s Fried Chicken knows when to stick with the classics and when to experiment. Start with the bread. Its made-from-scratch sauces are works of art, and its most popular taco, El Conquistador, is a perfect showcase for the house chile pasilla sauce. Barbecue is a Texas staple, which is why both the Austin and Dallas/Forth Worth airports offer the option of dining at The Salt Lick BBQ, widely regarded as among the best barbecue purveyors in the state, providing authentic Texas barbecue for a fantastic layover or if you’re simply hoping to get in on the Texas goodness one last time. WHAT: A rambling, glitzy, big-hearted chophouse that couldn’t — and wouldn’t — exist anywhere but Texas. Amy McCarthy is the editor of Eater Dallas and Eater Houston. This sandwich is a beauty, one of the country’s finest homages to, well, the noble pig. Fan favorites include their signature beef brisket and pork ribs, but desserts aren’t to be overlooked either, with delicious options like peach cobbler, pecan pie, and blackberry. Roger builds upon these standards with more outre dishes, like sauteed sea cucumber with lobster rice and an improbable but smashing entree of duck breast with quince, Idiazábal cheese sauce, pine nuts, and balsamic reduction. — Robb Walsh, 2028 Postoffice StreetGalveston, TX(409) 762-3696| rudyandpaco.com. Chef Hugo Ortega, a finalist for the 2013 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest, cooks food that’s elegant, inventive, and inspiring. Austin without Tacodeli, which has ten locations, just wouldn’t be the same. WHAT: A 12-seat think tank of a restaurant, from two chef-scholars meditating on the cuisines of Mexico through tasting menus. You might as well mix in some sauce, made from owner Robert Patillo’s grandmother’s recipe. The restaurant (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. “Everybody knows, everybody goes” is the tagline of Austin’s king of late-night dining, which has two locations in the city. The 2021 Best College Food ranking is based on meal plan costs and student reviews. Resha gosht, hailing from the southwestern province of Balochistan, pairs steamed and shredded beef with a brightly herbed tomato sauce. Hugo’s menu, on the other hand, is a national survey of the country’s most legendary dishes; Ortega’s genius for employing spice and intensifying meaty flavors creates the through-line between them. The Absolute Best Thing to Eat in Every State. 6652 Southwest FreewayHouston, TX(713) 532-2837 | himalayarestauranthouston.com. A winning spread here might include chicken, shrimp, and andouille-sausage gumbo depth-charged with smoked fish (an homage to thiéboudienne, 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. WHY: The fishing boats are docked a few blocks away and the specialty is Gulf red snapper — called “pargo” here, as 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. Six- or nine-ounce bacon-wrapped fillets go for just $13.95 and $17.95, respectively; an eight-ounce rib-eye costs $18.95, and an eight-ounce New York strip costs just $17.95. Complete with the old-school red gingham tablecloths, this wonderful home-style Italian spot makes you feel right at home when you dine there. The Best Airport Restaurant in Every State. The chili here is made with big chunks of venison, served in a thick and spicy cumin-kicked chili sauce and topped with a handful of shredded cheese. It may not be a massive breakfast menu, but everything on it is just about perfect. Yes, yes it is. The dishes are served on seconds-old tortillas and casually devoured at communal tables or bar tops. Get there early, though; they sell out fast. Yes, you can find these comfort foods in Mexican restaurants across the nation, but they originated right here in the Lonestar state. Where else can you find pretzels stuffed with chorizo-spiced mushrooms that taste meaty despite being vegetarian, whole chicken-fried fish heads, and breakfast pizzas topped with quail? WHY: Lovably grouchy Maynard Haddad runs the combination business started by his father — Najib Haddad, a Syrian immigrant —in 1958. By 10 a.m. on a Friday there will be more than 90 people in line at this modest establishment, which traces its roots back to 2009 and a turquoise trailer. He excels in a rarity known as hunter beef, a preparation similar to pastrami, best served cold, in thick slices, with sinus-buzzing mustard. If you’re dining chef-side in Dean’s Kitchen, or at the Chef’s Table, look for the ebullient chef; he’s almost always present. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and 100 percent bottle-conditioned, Jester King’s Atrial Rubicite is a sour brew that won’t make you pucker your lips despite having literally hundreds of pounds of fresh raspberries in its mix. WHY: Czechs began immigrating to Texas in the 1850s, and many settled in the fertile, blackland strip down the center of the state, including in the small town of West. WHY: Ross Coleman and James Haywood prove exceptionally adept at distilling tastes and textures into dishes that leave you invigorated. Served on a toasted, grill-shined bun. Reasonable observers unanimously agree that H-E-B is wildly better. —M.M. 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). Idle beneath the strung lights on the expansive patio, mezcal cocktail in hand, and soak up the Austin vibes. But the richest terrain is the soba — fresh buckwheat noodles, notoriously difficult to form and cut, that Teiichi Sakurai crafts daily. The Most Expensive Restaurant in Every State. And if you want to try one of the city’s finest chicken fried steaks, that will set you back just $8.95. ), To reinforce this H-E-B love, another reviewer said of the store, “HEB is the best grocery store in town, bar none. In addition to the businesses listed above, Matt’s El Rancho is a wonderful place to indulge a little. Walmart. WHY: Lifelong cattle rancher and chuck-wagon cook Tom Perini turned an old barn into Texas’s most popular steak destination 35 years ago. This Austin restaurant is so good, their food … — B.A. WHAT: The last standard-bearer of a Texas culinary tradition along the Rio Grande. So it goes at Franklin, where Aaron Franklin serves some of the best of Texas's greatest culinary claim to fame (a devastating fire in August 2017 destroyed the smokehouse and caused $350,000 in damages, but it reopened four months later without skipping a beat). The turkey is what presidentially pardoned birds aspire to be. The classy and upscale Houston fine dining destination Chateau, a formal dining room located upstairs from more casual eateries at the multi-part concept La Table, is gleaming, fancy, and undoubtedly romantic. It really is that good. In a Thrillist article about popular grocery stores, author Dan Gentile said he was “severely disappointed that H-E-B isn't the most popular chain in Texas.” (Texas’ choice? — Daniel Vaughn, 900 East 11th StreetAustin, TX(512) 653-1187 | franklinbbq.com. Which is probably why it's always so busy. Best Dining in Houston, Texas Gulf Coast: See 177,952 Tripadvisor traveler reviews of 8,792 Houston restaurants and search by cuisine, price, location, and more. WHY: Cured’s name refers both to chef-owner Steve McHugh’s victory as a survivor of lymphoma, and also to the restaurant’s extraordinary charcuterie program. 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 Pakistan. WHY: Wearing his unmistakable toothy smile and custom-made Lucchese boots, Dean Fearing has played a huge role in shaping the city’s culinary identity for decades. Their biscuits and Southern “Sweet Cream” waffles and pancakes are made with proprietary mixes that you can buy online. Some bacon, cured in house for five days (sensing a trend? His newest venture, a steakhouse-barbecue hybrid called Killen’s STQ, opened in Houston proper in 2016. Ace pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph brings the meal home with sweets like strawberry sorbet covered in salted cream and a caramelized apple tart with smoked juniper ice cream. 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 South Texas. That’s next level. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and the waffles, biscuits, and pancakes here are renowned (as you’d expect from a restaurant run by a flour company) and delicious. Voila! It all sounds so bizarre, and it all comes together so seamlessly and pleasurably. — B.A. Ratcliffe BBQ News Roundup: … Barbecue and Beyond Like most of Texas, Dallas has earned a national reputation as a go-to location for barbecue and Tex-Mex. It’s your choice of white or wheat, made fresh in house. — B.A. Don’t forget the house-made doughnut holes for dessert. Mexican flavors also murmur through McHugh’s modern American menu — masa-fried oysters over sopes with black beans and avocado mousse, bison tartare with huitlacoche puree, braised lamb neck with hominy stew. Let’s hash it out while standing in line for brisket and potato salad at Cattleack Barbeque in Dallas, or maybe over a Deluxe Mexican Plate at Garcia’s in San Antonio. 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. 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 suffer. From rare to well-done, T-bone to sirloin, from the tip of West Texas to the Louisiana border, we take pride in our expertise in preparing thick, juicy cuts of beef. The sausage snaps loudly when you slice it, juice splashing out and up... You’ve heard the buzz. WHAT: A taco chain to rule them all, rooted in regional tradition. — June Naylor, 915 Currie StreetFort Worth, TX (817) 332-0083 | fredstexascafe.com. Along the turquoise Formica counter, regulars and visitors gather for diner food with a dynamic sense of place. These foods are the cornerstones of Tex-Mex cuisine, and the best Tex-Mex restaurants are right here in Texas. The Most Romantic Restaurant in Every State. Though there 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 old-school San Antonio. The best Tex-Mex in Texas could be right in your neighborhood! — J.R.R. Yum!" Meghan McCarron is Eater’s special correspondent and the former editor of Easter Austin. There are no fad flavors served here. Owner Armando Vera runs what is likely the last restaurant cooking barbacoa de cabeza with wood in the Lone 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 a jumping-off point for the restaurant’s overall greatness: Service is amazingly engaged. This funky gastropub puts a lot of care into the fries, which are hand-cut and fried in duck fat not once, not twice, but three times. The challenge is said to go back to the restaurant's early days in the 1960s when its owner held contests among local cowboys to see who could eat the most. — B.A. The time has come: We’re messing with Texas. and they all have cool names like All Thai’d Up, After Dinner Mint, and Dementor’s Cloud, just to name a few. ... My mom’s apple crisp is the best in all of Texas, honest! — B.A. The brainchild of two former DJs, the 38-seat restaurant is fun, energetic, and soulful, serving bowls of ramen that people line up out the door for. Teiichi is a master of soba noodles, which he makes by hand and serves both cold and hot, and it’s best enjoyed at the end of a seven-course omakase, which you need to call ahead to request. What’s an unassuming Downtown Fort Worth restaurant and beer bar during the week becomes a showstopping brunch destination on the weekends. Caroline Stanko Updated: Apr. Sure, a fancy atmosphere is nice, but it’s the quality of food that really determines an eatery’s appeal. The Best Chinese Restaurant in Every State. Barbecued shrimp taco with mango and pickled red onion; barbecued short rib enchilada with queso fundido; mesquite-grilled wagyu ribeye with West Texas mop sauce; and “Texas carpaccio” — wagyu beef with Texas olive oil, grana padano, crispy capers, and pickled golden beets. All photos by Bill Addison unless otherwise noted. A recent dinner began with a serotonin-boosting plate of tangelos, snow peas, and thyme before veering funky (and peak Yu) with a stew of brisket warmed in pickle juice, crumbled white cheddar, and preserved vegetables. WHAT: Whole-hog barbecue done the old-fashioned way. Her bonbons (which come in inventive flavors such as lavender apricot, yuzu, and buttery popcorn) are bright and colorful. It’s a warm and inviting restaurant with a large outdoor patio for al fresco dining, and there’s a wide variety of burritos available in some creative styles (including one with corn). WHAT: A light-filled, modern American bistro that builds polished menus around a zeal for heirloom grains. Don’t Miss: Paris Texas Platter, (migas with French toast and queso on the side) 3704 Kerbey Lane; kerbeylanecafe.com or 512/451-1436 — D.V. The emphasis here is on quality ingredients. One of Bon Appétit’s 50 best new restaurants of 2012, Tatsu-Ya also happened to be the first brick-and-mortar ramen shop to open in the city. Best food and prices are reasonable for such delicious food and wonderful service!!! It gets a light layer of whole-grain mustard and aïoli, both also made in house. WHY: Yes, it’s only open once a week, and it usually sells out before the lunch hour, but Snow’s BBQ is exceptional. 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. The wine list leans obscure and funky. And regulars will tell you that the true star of the breakfast menu is the pancakes. This humble, unassuming restaurant located in small-town Sweetwater (located about 40 minutes down I-20 from Abilene) has been in business since 1952, when Lizzie Allen began cooking fried chicken for locals, and today it’s run by two of Lizzie’s grandchildren, Billy and Suzan, and has become a must-visit for those in the know. Best is the seasonal special Cloudcroft Christmas Burger, combining New Mexican red and green chiles with pepper jack cheese and grilled onions atop the supple patty, all crowned with a fried egg and framed by a house-baked brioche bun. Saturday brunch is Hugo’s calmer service shift, but that’s when the kitchen turns out sublime, sculptural chilaquiles with chicken and tomatillo salsa. 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 between restrained subtlety and umami thunderbolts — but is now less controlled and often wonderfully weirder. The Lower Southeast shop entices barbecue zealots with buttery brisket, sausage links stuffed with Oaxaca cheese and spicy serranos, and, on the first Sunday of every month, barbacoa — a south Texas staple. The home base of Pioneer Flour Mills, originally built in 1859, this restaurant ison the National Register of Historic Places. 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 home country’s cuisine. Open “24/8,” the diner is renowned for its queso, gingerbread pancakes, and burgers, but is perhaps best known for its Tex-Mex breakfasts, especially the Love Migas — eggs scrambled in garlic-serrano butter with tomato, onion, bell pepper, tortilla chips, and Jack cheese. WHAT: Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught’s gracious, 16-year-old lodestar of hospitality, whose success presaged this moment of upscale Mexican dining in the United States. 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 can’t be beaten. 10, 2018. — Nadia Chaudhury, 2027 Anchor LaneAustin, TX(512) 614-2260 | contigotexas.com. 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 sugar) and miso caramel. More impressive is how consistently David produces it. One day, a contestant ate five steaks, a salad, a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, and a bread roll; the steak came out to four and a half pounds, and so the 72-Ounce Steak Challenge was born. Texas, “The Lone Star State” is the second biggest state in the USA.Texas is also famous for its wide variety of Texan food and tex-mex cuisine.From barbecue and tacos to drinks and pies, you will find every food in Texas to be top-notch. If perfect ain’t enough, add a slunk of American, Cheddar, or Pepper Jack.”. But Big D’s burgerphiles will tell you it’s worth braving the fray, and hey, you don’t mess with Texas, right? WHAT: Barbecue con ganas, made by a former La Barbecue employee and his high school best friend. WHY: While Hans Peter Muller continues to produce the European baked goods made popular here by his late Swiss-born father (you won’t find anything as ethereal as this distinctive version of Black Forest cake), this second-generation pastry chef has also become Cowtown’s finest burger meister. This neighborhood spot has worked its way into the hearts of locals thanks to its consistently astounding lunch specials, combination plates, and, of course, burritos. Located in The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, Fearing’s features modern Southwestern-American cuisine with a farm-to-table approach. 1704 East Cesar Chavez (and other locations)Austin, TX(512) 981-1760 | veracruzallnatural.com. Their wine list covers many regions — Chile, France, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Australia, and the U.S. — complimenting the varied food selections. The Lemon Lusty cupcake — made with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon curd, topped with lemon buttercream — is the perfect way to celebrate spring. — B.A. THE DAILY MEAL ® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF TRIBUNE PUBLISHING. The color comes from the high-quality eggs that are used in the dough, and the “rustic” appearance is a result of using the same recipe since the 1920s. The Village Bakery is the self-proclaimed inventor of the now-ubiquitous sausage kolaches. Featured on The Food Network, Cooking Channel, and Zagat, The Waffle Bus earned its spot by turning out some over-the-top waffle-inspired sandwiches. Serving Texas beef is rarer in Lone Star steakhouses than you might expect, which makes the gorgeously marbled wagyu ribeye raised by local farmstead Marble Ranch a double treat. Opt for the classic plain glazed for the most wonderfully simple doughnut. Look past the burgers, grilled cheese, and eggs with bacon 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 ruddy chile Colorado or chile verde, and huevos rancheros. Daniel Vaughn is the Barbecue Editor at Texas Monthly. Amid smoke-stained walls lined with old Japanese beer ads and beat-up Texas license plates, they serve delicious aberrations like “guaca-poke” and sticky rice tamales with beef tongue and chorizo. Best Dining in Dallas, Texas: See 124,970 Tripadvisor traveler reviews of 4,041 Dallas restaurants and search by cuisine, price, location, and more. Located just off of the River Walk in downtown, owner and Executive Chef, Mark Bohanan, will delight even the most discerning … Even last year’s pit-room fire couldn’t keep them down for long, as the famous lines have re-emerged outside their Austin restaurant. Indeed, along with Stephen Pyles and Daily Meal Council member Robert Del Grande, chef Dean Fearing (also a member of The Daily Meal Council) kind of wrote the book on modern Texan cooking (one of his cookbooks is literally called The Texas Food Bible). WHAT: The apotheosis of a great Tex-Mex restaurant and its irresistible comforts. The 90 people who show in the next half-hour wait in vain; a waitress will tell them that there's just no barbecue left. (For more on that, read my case for Texas’s culinary superstardom.) Hugo’s opened in 2002 in a restored Latin-inspired building designed by Joseph Finger (also responsible for the art deco-style City Hall) and launched into a diverse regional approach to Mexican food. In an area of downtown Austin chock-o-block with dining options, Emmer & Rye easily distinguishes itself from the crowd.