Sad to See Old Traditions Die: The Austin Hot Sauce Contest
30 years ago, I founded the Austin Hot Sauce Contest. I served as head judge for 26 years. Covid cancelled this year’s party, ending a tradition. Here’s an intro I …
Eire-Mex: Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is a minor holiday in Mexico, dwarfed in importance by Mexican …
Texas Joe’s London Tex-Mex Fiesta
It’s great to be back in London! Texas Joe invited me to sign books and give a Tex-Mex talk for a big Cinco de Mayo fiesta at his BBQ joint. …
Cinco de Mayo in London!
ROBB WALSH’S TEX MEX CINCO DE MAYO LUNCH We are pleased to welcome fellow Texan Robb Walsh to Texas Joe’s on Cinco De Mayo this year for a proper Tex …
Dear Audrey: Texans Deserve Better?
Katie Walsh comments on a recent article in the Daily Texan: The chile relleno at Matt’s El Rancho in Austin—which was Lyndon B. Johnson’s favorite dish here—came covered in queso …
Manx-Mex Chronicles: Moving On!
Tortilla chips and salsa, chili con carne, and fajitas are now typical European bar food. Rare is the English pub that doesn’t serve “nachos.” The influence of Tex-Mex on world cuisine …
Manx-Mex Chronicles: Chapter Four: Chimichanga Cha-Cha
Tortilla chips and salsa, chili con carne, and fajitas are now typical European bar food. Rare is the English pub that doesn’t serve “nachos.” The influence of Tex-Mex on world cuisine …
Taco Art: Gauguin or Cezanne?
The artists who paint still lifes of tacos and other dishes on the exterior walls of restaurants and food trucks never cease to amaze me. I suspect there are few …
Chile con Queso vs. Cheese Dip
A Wall Street Journal reporter who grew up in Arkansas wrote an article titled: Don’t tell Texas, but Arkansas is laying claim to queso. I am quoted in the article …
Day of the Dead, Oaxaca 1997
Bread of the Dead (Natural History Magazine, November 1998) Francisco Marquez and I are sitting at the farmhouse table, drinking hot chocolate and eating sweet pan de muerto, the bread …