Things to do / Travel Guide
It's hard to go anywhere in southeast Texas without bringing up the subject of food. Texans simply love to eat. Houston, in particular, has one of the best food scenes in the U.S., and is home to many good and unique eateries. Especially in the main cities of the region, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, people with special dietary needs, such as vegetarians, vegans, and those who keep kosher and halal, will have no difficulty finding a restaurant or grocery store to suit them. Houston being the largest city, it has the largest selection of these foods.
Houston's food scene boasts a large number of gourmet restaurants. The most widely acclaimed is Brennan's, owned by Alex Brennan-Martin, of the New Orleans restaurant family. This restaurant serves what it calls “Texas Creole,” which is gourmet New Orleans food with a Texas twist. The emphasis is Gulf seafood and steaks. It has been the darling of many food critics on the national and international level and is a “must visit” for lovers of gourmet food. Furthermore, Houston and Austin both have large vegetarian and vegan populations, and the restaurants run by these are greatly influenced by the region's cuisines such as Tex-Mex.
Notwithstanding the region's unique takes on gourmet and vegetarian, which deserve attention in their own right, the food culture in southeast Texas is all about Tex-Mex, barbecue, and Cajun food. You'll have no problem finding the fancy eateries just spoken about in the bigger cities, but the three cuisines Texas is best known for are actually inexpensive by nature. There are many who are tempted to say that most of the best foods you'll eat in Texas will never be seen in the company of a linen napkin.
Tex-Mex
A visit to southeast Texas will greatly challenge your perception of this cuisine. Even fast-food franchises offer better presentations than you would probably expect to eat in your local Mexican restaurants. Outside the region, homemade tortillas are considered a luxury in eating Mexican food. In southeast Texas, not even the fast food places buy factory-made.
Texans are fiercely proud of their Mexican food, and it is common to see Texans putting pico de gallo (a raw, hot condiment made from tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and serrano chilies) and salsa on almost everything. Don't leave Texas without having local fajitas. Remember, to native Texans, fajitas are never chicken, shrimp, or (shudder) vegetarian. Fajitas are fajitas, which is to say, beef. While there are plenty of places you could spend a pretty penny on food, the best-regarded places still serve food for less than $5 a plate.
Barbecue
The Mesquite-grilled meat you'll find here is imitated throughout the country, but nothing beats real slow-cooked Texas barbecue; So much so, that small, quaint, privately owned places find themselves written up in publications like the “New York Times.” You can find a decent barbecue joint nearly anywhere in Texas, even in smaller towns. True Texas barbecue is seasoned only with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, and cut in front of you and served on butcher paper. The best places don't serve sauce.Barbecuing is serious business. When “Texas Monthly”gives out their annual barbecue awards, it is almost as big a deal as the Oscars in Hollywood. Of course, everyone will have an opinion as to the best place to load up on meat. Don't be afraid to ask. No matter where you are, people will be very happy to point you in the right direction, and talk barbecue.
One place to try is the city of Lockhart, which was declared by the Texas State legislature as “The Barbecue Capital of Texas.” A mere 30 minutes from Austin, Lockhart is the buckle of the Barbecue Belt. In every review of top Texas barbecue places, tiny Lockhart usually has at least two places in the top 10. The city even has an official “Barbeque Trail.”
Cajun Food
The intersection between Southern cuisine, wild game, sea food, soul food, Caribbean, and French cuisine, is Cajun food. Spicy, saucy, and hearty, there is nothing in the world that tastes quite like it. Outside of southeast Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, most of what you'll find is poor imitation. Cajun has an old tradition that no other cuisine from the United States comes close to. While there are good places to eat throughout the region, Houston is the best place to go Cajun.
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