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Follow Your Nose and Taste Buds to Texas
County Line Barbecue, Austin, Texas
Photo courtesy Texas Tourism |
Everything is bigger in
Texas, including the flavors that emerge from kitchens
around the state. Texas’ many cuisines are as diverse as
the people. Whether visitors are craving barbecue,
Tex-Mex, Southwestern fare, seafood, Cajun, innovative
cuisine or good ol’ down-home Southern cooking, they
will find it at one of the state’s many restaurants and
food festivals. Instead of a progressive dinner, try
“progressive traveling.” Hit the road and follow your
nose and taste buds to Texas. |
Texas boasts a magnificent Barbecue Trail through the
central part of the state. To experience the trail
properly, begin the trek in Round Rock, just north of
Austin, and eat your way to Luling with hearty portions
of brisket, sausage, beans and potato salad. Texans will
barbecue anything from ribs to brisket and from sausage
to chicken. The International Barbecue Cook-off, held in
Taylor annually (mid-August each year), brings in cooks
from all over the world.
People have enjoyed steaming bowls of chili since its
introduction as “San Antonio Chili” at the 1893 Chicago
World’s Fair. San Antonio’s succulent stew is now the
official state dish. Heavy on the meat or tomatoes is a
personal preference. Either way, visitors cannot go
wrong. For the best chili around, visitors and natives
alike make their way to Terlingua for the International
Championship Chili Cook-Off, typically scheduled in
November. This Texas tradition was first held in 1967 as
a competition of wit as well as chili. Today, chili is a
favorite of Texans and people around the world.
Visitors know they are close to the border when they
taste the rich flavors of Tex-Mex. This Texas-original
cuisine combines the best of both worlds. Some Tex-Mex
favorites include enchiladas, marinated meat and cheese
wrapped in a corn tortilla and lathered in sauce;
fajitas, grilled meat wrapped in a tortilla and
supported with guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream;
and tamales, chopped meat or vegetables enclosed in a
soft corn flour dough, wrapped in corn husks and
steamed.
Enjoy the sea breeze and succulent seafood that the
beach towns such as South Padre Island, Port Aransas,
Corpus Christi and Galveston have to offer. The waters
of the Texas Gulf Coast are home to one of the world’s
most popular shellfish, the crab. Visitors will also
enjoy freshly caught shrimp, crawfish and many varieties
of fish, including snapper, redfish, and swordfish,
prepared any style.
In East Texas, closer to the border of Louisiana,
significant Cajun influence can be found in local
cuisine. Visitors will enjoy spicy creations in a number
of cities, specifically in the Houston area, Beaumont,
Port Arthur, and Orange.
There’s nothing Texans enjoy more than comforting
Southern foods, like hearty steaks, cheesy casseroles,
Texas Toast and fruit pies. Since the 1800s, purely out
of necessity and ingenuity, chuck wagon cooks have been
cooking mouth-watering steaks over an open fire after a
hard day in the saddle. But many Texans prefer their
steak chicken-fried, and with more than 800,000
chicken-fried steaks sold daily within state lines, this
dish is truly a Texas favorite.
Pass the cobbler, please. This deep dish fruit pie with
a top biscuit dough crust is a popular dessert choice
for many Texans. While peaches are the most common fruit
filling, any fresh Texas fruit will satisfy a sweet
tooth. Add a scoop of Texas’ own Blue Bell ice cream for
the most refreshing of summer treats.
But down home and traditional Tex-Mex cuisine aren’t the
only meals visitors will find in Texas. Texas’ largest
cities of Dallas and Houston are fast becoming meccas of
fine dining with renowned chefs showcasing their
creative, innovative and exciting culinary skills.
Houstonians spend more money per capita eating out than
any other Americans. The annual Savor Dallas festival –
typically scheduled in the spring – celebrates food,
wine and culture by bringing together chefs, vintners
and cultural institutions for a multi-day culinary
feast. And the annual Texas Hill Country Wine & Food
Festival welcomes visitors to Austin and surrounding
Hill Country locations to experience upwards of 30
events, 100 restaurants and 60 wineries during the
multi-day festival.
For a weekend getaway, visitors can follow The Texas
Wine Trail, stopping for a tour and a taste at any of
the trail’s 16 wineries. Texas boasts 85 wineries across
the state, as grapes have grown naturally along Texas’
rivers and streams for hundreds of years, producing a
wide variety of genetically unique grape species native
only to Texas. A new wine revolution was born in the
late 1960s and by 1975, Lubbock, Fredericksburg,
Grapevine and Fort Stockton became the popular wine
centers they still are today.
For more information about Texas food and wine, visit
www.TravelTex.com
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Greater Dallas Restaurant
Association
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