What a year it was at the hot sauce contest–the temperature was 111°F at 5 pm, just 1 degree short of Austin’s all time record high of 112! And still somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 people showed up. “If you want to beat the heat, you’ve got to eat the heat!” is [...]]]>

What a year it was at the hot sauce contest–the temperature was 111°F at 5 pm, just 1 degree short of Austin’s all time record high of 112! And still somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 people showed up.

“If you want to beat the heat, you’ve got to eat the heat!” is a slogan coined by Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival MC-for-life Bryan Beck. Eating the heat is exactly what the preliminary judges do. Each of the 300 to 400 salsas submitted each year is tasted by several judges–if 3 of the judges give an entry the thumbs up, then it passes on to the finals where it is thoughtfully critiqued by the final judges–a panel of chefs and food professionals.

The three guys at the head of the table, Henry Alvarado (left) Carlos Conteras (right) and Fred Alvarado (seated next to Carlos) are the wily veterans of the preliminary judging. In the 21 year history of the contest, Henry has only missed once. At least one of the trio, known collectively as “The El Paso Boys,” has been at every single competition.

A list of winners for this year’s contest will be posted on the Austin Chronicle’s Hot Sauce page later today or early tomorrow.

Photo by Laurie Smith

The Tex-Mex Cookbook challenged those food writers who have characterized Tex-Mex as bastardized Mexican food and made the case that Tex-Mex is actually an American Regional Cuisine. What a thrill for me to get involved in El Real Tex-Mex Cafe, a restaurant based on that premise and on my [...]]]>

Photo by Laurie Smith

The Tex-Mex Cookbook challenged those food writers who have characterized Tex-Mex as bastardized Mexican food and made the case that Tex-Mex is actually an American Regional Cuisine. What a thrill for me to get involved in El Real Tex-Mex Cafe, a restaurant based on that premise and on my collection of traditional Tex-Mex recipes. I am very proud of the vintage Tex-Mex menu we offer.

I am also blown away by the 1936 “Houston Deco” Tower Theater location. The neon at the old Tower Theater was pretty magnificent. (As you can see, there used to be a much taller neon spike on top.) The neon was restored in 2010, just before we took over. We kept the original design, but we put up the words Tex-Mex where “Tower” used to be.

I wonder if the newly lit neon is the largest Tex-Mex sign on the planet?

UNITED TASTES Rapping About Tamales and Deportation Photo by Axel Koester for The New York Times Chingo Bling enjoys a taco dinner before performing at the Key Club in West Hollywood. By JOHN T. EDGE Published: May 24, 2011 Chingo Bling talks tamales with John T. [...]]]> UNITED TASTES
Rapping About Tamales and Deportation Photo by Axel Koester for The New York Times
Chingo Bling enjoys a taco dinner before performing at the Key Club in West Hollywood.
By JOHN T. EDGE
Published: May 24, 2011
Chingo Bling talks tamales with John T. Edge.

Monday June 20 is the date of my next Tex-Mex Cooking Class. We’ll be making chalupas, nachos, crispy tacos and of course puffy tacos and puffy chips. We’ll also take a shot at some Taco Truck Tacos. Class size is limited to 12. The ticket price is $100 and includes dinner catered by [...]]]>

Monday June 20 is the date of my next Tex-Mex Cooking Class. We’ll be making chalupas, nachos, crispy tacos and of course puffy tacos and puffy chips. We’ll also take a shot at some Taco Truck Tacos. Class size is limited to 12. The ticket price is $100 and includes dinner catered by a surprise taquero.

You can buy a ticket at Eventbrite.

Chicken Puffy Tacos at El Real

Back in August of last year I posted an item about the Tex-Mex puffy taco. We were building the menu of El Real Tex-Mex Cafe at the time. In the process we sampled a great many puffy tacos in hopes of perfecting our own. It took a [...]]]>

Chicken Puffy Tacos at El Real

Back in August of last year I posted an item about the Tex-Mex puffy taco. We were building the menu of El Real Tex-Mex Cafe at the time. In the process we sampled a great many puffy tacos in hopes of perfecting our own. It took a whole lot of trial and error, but when we opened we had our puffy taco ready. If you haven’t tried it yet, I invite you to check it out and tell me how it rates compared to the greats.

The puffy tacos at Sammy’s Mexican Restaurant in La Vernia are among the best I’ve had. They were a lot sturdier than most. As you are probably aware, the biggest problem with puffy tacos is the lack of structural integrity.

Puffy tacos have been on my mind a lot lately. A couple of days ago, I tried the incredibly fragile puffy tacos at Loma Linda on Telephone Road in Houston. They are quite tasty, but the stewed chicken version falls apart within minutes of hitting the table. The ground beef taco meat version offers a slightly longer window of dining opportunity, but both of these puffy tacos are very delicate. I am thinking these are made by frying a regular, fully-cooked corn tortilla in hot oil–just like the queso puffs.

The puffy tacos at Los Barrios in San Antonio are much more substantial. They are made from fresh masa which puffs up when it fries. I love the puffy tacos at Los Barrios, but the stewed chicken version has the same problem that every stewed chicken puffy taco has–the juicy chicken makes the fried masa soggy and the taco falls apart when you pick it up.

Los Barrios puffy tacos have lately acquired legendary status. In June, the owner of Los Barrios, Diana Barrios Trevino, prepared them on the White House lawn at the invitation of President Obama. The event was called “Taste of the States” and it was a picnic for members of congress and their families. The country was split into five regions, and Diana’s puffy tacos were chosen to represent the Southwest.

At $2, I couldn’t resist this basket of red serranos I found in the stalls behind Canino’s on Airline. My usual recipe for pickling jalapeños calls for 15, but since the serranos were around half the size, I used 30 of them. The escabeche came out very hot with a little of that [...]]]>

At $2, I couldn’t resist this basket of red serranos I found in the stalls behind Canino’s on Airline. My usual recipe for pickling jalapeños calls for 15, but since the serranos were around half the size, I used 30 of them. The escabeche came out very hot with a little of that ripe red chile sweetness.

Just the thing with an Easter ham and Easter egg salad sandwich.

Recipe after the jump:

Red Serrano Escabeche

Makes about 1 1/2 pounds (drained)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, 7 ounces, sliced thick
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered
30 red serrano chiles, approximately one pound, rinsed
1 pound carrots, peeled, rinsed, and sliced 1/2 inch thick (approximately 2 cups)
1 1/4 cup white vinegar, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon pickling salt, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, or more, if stronger oregano flavor is desired
4 bay leaves

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue cooking another minute or two until the onions are soft. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Make a small slit in each chile pepper to allow the brine to penetrate. Add the peppers and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly softened.

Add 1 1/4 cups white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of salt, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves and simmer for another minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove the jalapenos, carrots, and onions with a slotted spoon or tongs and place in several glass pickle jars. When the cooking liquid has cooled, cover the vegetables with liquid until the jars are 3/4 full. Add a tablespoon of pickling salt to each jar and fill to the top with white vinegar. Keep in the refrigerator.

Anthony Bourdain made some snarky comments about the cheesiness of Tex-Mex while speaking in Houston last year. Strange that Bourdain is comfortable condemning our home food while he flies around the world preaching tolerance for all manner of foreign fare. (I’ve tried Laotian food too, Tony. Hard to swallow, huh?) The thing is, [...]]]>

Anthony Bourdain made some snarky comments about the cheesiness of Tex-Mex while speaking in Houston last year. Strange that Bourdain is comfortable condemning our home food while he flies around the world preaching tolerance for all manner of foreign fare. (I’ve tried Laotian food too, Tony. Hard to swallow, huh?)

The thing is, most American food lovers have been taught to hate Tex-Mex. Diana Kennedy and Craig Claiborne convinced foodies in the 1970s that Tex-Mex is Mexican food that’s been bastardized by a bunch of dumb gringos. The average American has never heard of a Tejano. They have no idea that this is Tejano cooking and they are putting down a very old Hispanic culture when they trash Texan-Mexican food.

I think it’s all about the Velveeta. Nobody seems to mind the Cheez Whiz on a Philly Cheese Steak. But Tex-Mex chile con queso or enchiladas made with Velveeta are considered loathsome. The last time I attempted to defend the use of Velveeta in chili con queso, one Portland blogger suggested that “Walsh has been drinking his own Tex-Mex apologist Kool-Aid again.” He thought we should make chile con queso with fine imported cheese.

That reminded me of a famous Dave Hickey quote. Art critic Dave Hickey is from Fort Worth. While reviewing a rock opera for the Village Voice in the 1970s, he opined that rock n’ roll is like Tex-Mex–as it improves in quality it ceases to be what it is.

It’s probably a good thing if the East and West coast food snobs keep insulting Tex-Mex. That way we can keep playing the outlaws. And anyway, they love Tex-Mex in Paris.

We couldn’t figure out what to put on the bathroom doors instead of Men and Women. Hombres and Mujeres sounds a little formal. So we called our buddy Chingo Bling. He suggested Tejanos and Tejanitas.

The place looks like a restaurant now. We are testing recipes, burning in equipment and training waiters. I’ll [...]]]>

We couldn’t figure out what to put on the bathroom doors instead of Men and Women. Hombres and Mujeres sounds a little formal. So we called our buddy Chingo Bling. He suggested Tejanos and Tejanitas.

The place looks like a restaurant now. We are testing recipes, burning in equipment and training waiters. I’ll save you a table.

When Felix Mexican Restaurant moved out of their home on Westheimer, El Real bought some of the fixtures and furnishings from owner Felix Jr. to preserve the memory of the beloved Tex-Mex institution. Along with a lot of old photos and menus, we ended up with about 70 of the restaurant’s old chairs.

D Magazine took exception to these comments about Tex-Mex from the Dallas Morning News restaurant critic.

If you’re looking for a place with another kind of serious Texas flavor, charge right past the Tex-Mex spots you’ll see all over town; Tex-Mex is not Dallas’ strong suit.” -Leslie Brenner, Dallas Morning News

Makes [...]]]>

D Magazine took exception to these comments about Tex-Mex from the Dallas Morning News restaurant critic.

If you’re looking for a place with another kind of serious Texas flavor, charge right past the Tex-Mex spots you’ll see all over town; Tex-Mex is not Dallas’ strong suit.” -Leslie Brenner, Dallas Morning News

Makes me want to cry…

.