Texas is first and foremost about all things Texas. GO TEXAN, a program from the Texas Department of Agriculture, organizes homegrown food events, including the Restaurant Round-Up and Chocolate Festival of Texas & Texas Wine. The organization also sponsors the GO TEXAN sampling event in the Food and Fiber Pavilion at the State Fair of Texas. Attendees can munch on Lone Star State freebies among rustic booths and kiosks decorated with Texan tchotchke.
While they are difficult to find, the samples include pecans -- the official health nut of Texas -- and delicious honeys. Check out the infomercial-ready presentations of cookware for a laugh or a purchase. At the Borden booth, this blogger greeted Elsie the Cow, who soothed his chili-ignited mouth with some milk.
Deep frying improves all. But at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, fried really hurts. On Opening Day, Slashfood set out to eat all eight of the Big Tex Choice Awards finalists, including the nationally heralded, light and not greasy Deep Fried Butter by Abel Gonzales Jr. (voted Most Creative) and Fernie's Deep Fried Peaches & Cream by Christi Erpillo (voted Best Tasting).
Both fried-food creators have State Fair pedigrees. For several years, each has placed as a finalist or won top prizes. These include Fernie's All-American Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwich in 2008 and Gonzalez's Fried Coke in 2006.
"I go on these kicks where I have to eat the same food, prepared in the same way for weeks," Gonzalez said. "Toast was one of them. I thought, 'What's so great about toast? Not the bread; it's the butter.' "
"What the hell is that?" is the first question many non-Texans ask when they see the goopy Southwestern cheese dip chile con queso (queso for short and pronounced "kay-so"). The prevalent and heralded form of queso is a mixture of Velveeta and Ro*Tel canned tomatoes and chiles. It's usually orange, flecked with red and green chiles, and a crust forms when the dip begins to cool. At the risk of being run out of town: What's so good about that?
When queried, this writer's wife, a Texas native, her relatives and friends answer along the lines of "it's just so good!" Queso is good; so is cow's brains. Queso is creamy and spicy and won't run off a tortilla chip like other salsas. Crucial to understanding the dip is the facility with which it is prepared. Ready in five minutes, it's a fiesta favorite. Are there Texans at a party you're hosting? Whip out the queso and welcome the adulation. "It's just so good!"
Another reason is Lone Star pride. "Texans have a special place in their hearts for queso and Ro*Tel. Both originated in the state," says Mike Locascio, vice president and general manager at ConAgra Foods, Ro*Tel's manufacturer.
If Texans weren't too tough to cry, the latest news out of the International Chili Society might set them to sobbing.
The cookoff-sanctioning organization has announced that the World's Championship Chili Cookoff will be held east of the Mississippi River for the first time in its 42-year history. The October event in Charleston, W. Va., represents the final slippage of the Southwest's grip on what was once a thoroughly regional foodstuff: A "bowl of red" has officially become an all-American dish.
"People have really latched on to it," ICS Executive Director Carol Hancock says of chili's pervasive popularity. "They just enjoy something they can do that's relatively inexpensive."
While there are nearly as many origin stories for chili as there are top-secret recipes for it, most agree it got its start in Texas (where, according to "The Food Lovers Companion," it is considered "a crime" to add beans to the meaty dish). The Lone Star State creation, whether pioneered by hungry vaqueros or indiscriminating jailhouse cooks, found its way to Southern California, where more than a dozen devotees gathered for a chili throwdown in 1967.
A weekly look at the draft selections in beer-friendly establishments across the country.
The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium has one aim: to be the place to go for great draft beer, especially in Texas, which boasts a neat half-dozen outposts of the watering hole. Residents of Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee also sip suds at Flying Saucers. The newest landed in the suburbs outside Dallas.
Just over three weeks ago, the new Saucer on the Lake opened in a scenic spot overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard in Garland, Texas. "There's all these little communities out there," says Diane Willingham, director of sales and special events. "People working in Dallas drive 30 minutes to an hour to get home ... They want to go to the lake and hang out on a patio." Workers also want to drink beer, and Saucer on the Lake delivers, with more than 80 on draft and a diverse selection focused almost entirely on craft brews and imports.
But as the Saucer continues to expand, couldn't the company risk losing that independent spirit craft drinkers relish? Willingham doesn't think so: "We expand very slowly and don't franchise. Owner Shannon Wynne researches each location himself."
How to pack nutrition and flavor into kids' school lunches and home meals.
Cookie jars might be cute but they don't keep cookies fresh, so slip a zipper-lock bag inside.
Corn fiends who hate the cob can pick up a "Corn Zipper," which works just like a veggie peeler.
Wine deets: Messina Hoff's 2006 Gewürztraminer is a top 10 BBQ wine, Texan wines get play at the DrinkLocalWine.com event, and wine courses and tastings will be held at the Texas Sommelier Conference.
If you find it hard to figure out how much a sauce has reduced, a clean metal ruler can come in handy.
Max's Wine Dive's best-selling Kobe Beef Burger has been named one of the 50 best burgers in Texas.
Chorizo tacos at Austin's Arandas #3. Photo: Jessica S. Ralat
A whopping 69 percent of poll respondents told this recent Brooklyn-to-Austin transplant that the Lone Star State's tacos were the best in the nation and relayed some excellent suggestions. We were able to sample some 40 tacos around Austin, setting them against the closest Sunset Park, Brooklyn, counterparts we could find. Here's one taster's subjective opinion. (Austin is growing on him.)
6. Austin's Arandinas (suggested by Slashfoodies Lacey and LP) pork taco vs. Brooklyn's Matamoros cabeza taco: Arandinas' juicy, eminently scarfable pork taco went head-to-head with Matamoros', uh, cow head -- and triumphed. Winner: Arandinas, Austin.
5. Austin's Mi Madre's Restaurant (suggested by Jodi and others) Pork Adobado vs. Brooklyn's Matamoros Enchilada taco: Anticipating a chili steam engine from this red-sauced breakfast taco, we instead found spiceless goop in a flour shell ill-matched to its flurry of onions and avocado slices. The slightly spicy red enchilada taco at Matamoros is still the one we hold dear. Winner: Matamoros, Brooklyn
The taco may be the perfect food. Portable and unassuming, not to mention affordable, it proffers fuss-free enjoyment for most everyone. This Slashfoodie's recent move to Austin, Texas, after residing in the taco mecca of Sunset Park, Brooklyn for three years has led him to sample Lone Star State tacos whenever possible. Naturally, a mano a mano Austin versus Sunset Park contest was inevitable.
Austin's taco scene skews toward what some might call "gringo fancy," characterized by the prominence of flour tortillas and nontraditional ingredients like bison and basil -- and fish, which is found infrequently in Sunset Park.
Brooklyn tacos, on the other hand, pay homage to one of the neighborhood's main demographics, Mexican immigrants, with tacos wrapped in two corn tortillas. They typically contain nothing more than a meat filling -- goat, lengua (tongue) and cabeza (brains) are among commonly selected options -- minced raw onion, cilantro, a spritz of lime and an optional flurry of queso fresco (white cheese).
Southern-style fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a honey butter biscuit and cold, hard cash -- now that's a value meal.
According to Nation's Restaurant News, quick-service chain Church's Chicken is sending CEO Harsha V. Agadi to stores on its home turf in Texas (the chain started in San Antonio in 1952) today to give away thousands of dollars in cash to randomly selected customers.
As part of the chain's "Random Acts of Goodness" campaign, Agadi will surprise the unsuspecting Church's patrons with $1,000 each -- not exactly chicken feed.
A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.
The Ginger Man began as a Houston legend. Opening in 1985, some consider it to be the first true multi-tap bar in America. By 1994, locations had opened in Dallas and Austin making it a Texas-wide phenomenon (a fourth establishment opened in Fort Worth in 2007). And in 1996, The Ginger Man moved up to the big city (though, yes, Houston is quite a big city) when a "cousin" location, inspired by that original Ginger Man spirit, opened in New York City where people pronounce the word Houston a little bit differently. (Since that time, the NYC pub has even expanded with two locations in Connecticut, Greenwich and Norwalk. Phew.)
But let's get back to that original Ginger Man. Still going strong well over 20 years later, The Ginger Man has taken up the power of the internet to keep their current draft list online. As they say on their site: "We're making a new effort to keep [our draught beer list] page updated, since it is arguably the most important page on the whole web site." Here, here.
After the jump, let's take a look at what The Ginger Man is currently serving up on tap...
I was in Texas in November for the San Antonio Food & Wine Festival, and while there hopped up to Becker Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country, an hour or so northwest of San Antonio, for a lunch and tasting.
Becker Vineyards is probably the best-known winery both within and without Texas. Even if you don't know a lot about Texas wine, you may have heard of Becker. The winery was founded by Dr. Richard and Bunny Becker in 1992, and they've been pioneers in Texas wine ever since, helping pave the way to credibility for Texas wine as a whole.
I only brought back one bottle of Texas wine from my trip: the Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie, a Rhone-style blend of Carignan, Mourvedre, Syrah, and Grenache. The name "Prairie Rotie" is something of a joke. Cote Rotie, a Syrah made in the northern Rhone in France, translates to "roasted slope," because most of the vineyards are located on sun-drenched hills. So "Prairie Rote" means "roasted prairie," because Becker's vines are on the prairie, not steep, terraced hills.
Tito's Vodka is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is made in Austin, Texas from 100% corn distilled six times in pot stills. The aroma is very light and clean with the barest hint of sweetness and corn. If I hadn't tried several corn vodkas and liquors recently I might not have been able to pick that up, but once I did it was recognizable and added greatly to the aroma. Balancing and smoothing out the light, clean scent.
The taste is also very light and clean, almost all the flavor has been distilled out, maybe too much for my personal taste. What is left is clean and very smooth, with just a vague hint of sweetness and a very slight peppery finish. I like vodka's with a bit more flavor to them, but if you want a very nice, clean, light tasting, smooth vodka to have on the rocks, or in a highball or cocktail, then Tito's is for you. It's exceptionally well made and the low to mid price range makes it a good buy as well.
It all started so innocently, didn't it? Some guy speared a hotdog with a stick, dipped it in corn batter, and deep-fried it into a corndog. Now at stat fairs across the country, a corndog is just so...boring. We've got everything from deep-fried cheesecake to Coca-Cola. Remember the winning food in the Texas State Fair food competition last year? A Coke flavored batter deep-fried and served with cola syrup! Dip anything in batter, throw it into hot oil, and you could have a prize-winning food.
And it seems that every year, it gets crazier. At the Texas State Fair, which doesn't even start until the end of September, there are seven entries into the food competition, some of which are reasonable given history, like the Fried Cookie Dough (one step before deep frying an actual cookie, like an Oreo), and others that are just weird, like Fried Guacamole Bites:
Deep Fried Latte
Fried Cookie Dough
Fried Guacamole Bites
Country Pride Peach Cobbler on a Stick
Fernie's Fried Chili Frito Burrito
B.W.'s Original Fried Banana Pudding
Mama's Fried Sweet Potato Pie
Chili and Fritos wrapped inside a tortilla, fried, and served with cheese sauce? It's like people are trying their darnedest to make the most heart-stopping foods they can. Literally.
Now, I like interesting food products, and I'm even interested in those Kool-Aid Pickles Joanne talked about a couple of months ago, but popsicles made out of pickle juice? Yeah, that's refreshment: the ice cold feel of a popsicle for those hot summer days, only with the taste of pickles! Check out the site though. The ordering page is blank right now, but there's a "Pickle Sickle Song" to keep you entertained.
If anyone tries these, please let us know how they are.
I was in Texas in November for the San Antonio Food & Wine Festival, and while there hopped up to Becker Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country, an hour or so northwest of San Antonio, for a lunch and tasting. 
Tito's Vodka is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is made in Austin, Texas from 100% corn distilled six times in pot stills. The aroma is very light and clean with the barest hint of sweetness and corn. If I hadn't tried several corn vodkas and liquors recently I might not have been able to pick that up, but once I did it was recognizable and added greatly to the aroma. Balancing and smoothing out the light, clean scent.
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