San Antonio bean burger
The first time I had a San Antonio bean burger was on a hot summer day. I was wandering in my car outside…
Queso with black beans, Austin style
When I was in my early 20s living in Austin, after a night on the town my friends and I would find ourselves…
Frijoles de puerco
When it comes to comfort food, refried beans are at the top of my list. Ever since I could remember, they were my…
Fritoque, bean and corn chip casserole
My first encounter with fritoque was in Robb Walsh’s “The Tex-Mex Cookbook.” He described it as a bean and corn chip casserole that…
West Texas black beans with green chiles
When I first moved to Austin in my early 20s, one thing that struck me about the Tex-Mex on offer there was the…
Tex-Mex chalupas
For a Texan, one of the finest things in life is gathering at a Tex-Mex table with friends and family, sharing stories as…
Tex-Mex beef and bean stew, aka Lakemont chili
My family has a dear friend who moved from Houston to Georgia when she and her husband retired. She’s an excellent cook and…
Borracho black-eyed peas
Every December, I begin to think of new ways to prepare my pot of black-eyed peas. For the past few years, the phrase…
Smoky chili beans
A few months ago, I was looking at grocer ads from the late 1800s and early 1900s. As expected, the offerings were provisions…
Crazy nachos
Whenever I fly into Dallas, my first stop is Herrera’s on Sylvan. It’s a family-owned Tex-Mex restaurant that I’ve been eating at almost…