Nana's
Weslaco
Nana's Taqueria
StorY
Roxanna and Alfredo Treviño were born south of Weslaco in Nuevo Progresso. They used to run a pottery business, and much of their customers came as tourists from the United States. Over the years, as violence increased in Nuevo Progresso, the tourist travel declined and they decided to move to the states. There were times when they almost didn’t have enough to eat, but they always found a way to provide for themselves, their daughters, and their neighbors. Now, Nana’s is a pillar of the community--a great place to eat, fraternize, and dance to mariachi music.
Sabor
Roxanna and Alfredo serve an expansive variety of Mexican dishes, but they’ve become most known for their lonches. This popular street food, originating in Nuevo Progresso, right across the border from Weslaco, has become a hit with Nana’s customers and to folks all across the Valley. Some call it a taco de pan, as this taco opts for bolillo style bread instead of a tortilla. At Nana’s, they take the small roll, fry it in hot oil, and then cut it open before filling it with lightly seasoned ground beef, crumbly mexican cheese, guacamole, tomato, cilantro, cabbage, and a homemade salsa.
Lucy's
El Paso
Lucy's Restaurant
StorY
Back in the 1970s, Lucy Lepe started a restaurant near downtown El Paso. Lucy was a single mom, and she was dedicated to working hard to provide for her family. She served homestyle food and provided kind service. Fifty years later, her family continues the legacy Lucy began all those years ago, now with four locations across El Paso. Her son Albert and his son Josh are among the family members keeping her vision for kind, caring customer service alive with delicious food after all these years. Now, generations of El Pasoans have grown up enjoying Lucy’s style of comfort food.
Sabor
Lucy’s is famous in El Paso and beyond for two signature dishes: Lucy’s Famous Machaca and Tacos Antonia. The machaca is dish made from shredded beef prepared on a flattop, seasoned with onions, tomato, and egg. Then, the whole mix is smothered with Lucy’s chile con queso and served up with fresh flour tortillas. Lucy’s signature taco is named for Lucy’s sister Antonia—they were her favorite type of taco. Tortillas are fried up crispy on the grill, seasoned with a secret house spice blend, then filled with brisket beef, a dressed cabbage mix, avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheese. Both dishes are served all day—breakfast, lunch and dinner.
El Hidalguense
Houston
El Hidalguense
StorY
When Carlos Gonzales was younger, he didn’t always tell his friends that his family ran a restaurant called El Hidalguense. He felt it was too personal to share, and worried that the food would be unfamiliar to his friends who were more used to Tex-Mex. At El Hidalguense, the Gonzales family serves the cuisine from Hidaldo, Mexico, where Carlos’s parents are originally from. As Carlos got older, he would spend summers in Mexico and began to understand how rich the cuisine and culture of Hidalgo is. Now, he proudly shares his family’s cuisine with the Houston community.
Sabor
The specialty at El Hidalguense is Barbacoa Borrego (lamb barbacoa). Traditionally, this dish is roasted in a pit in the ground—at El Hidalguense they use large above-ground brick ovens to slow roast the penca leave wrapped meat to tender perfection. Platters of the meat come to the table and patrons construct their own tacos with fresh made corn tortillas, nopalitos, and a spicy salsa rojo. Another can’t miss item is the cabrito asado (roasted goat). Pair it with a nice bowl of soupy charro beans and you’ll understand why the rustic food of Hidalgo has become so beloved.
Con Todo
Austin
Con Todo
StorY
Chef Joseph Gomez at Con Todo was a little wary of starting up a food truck business in Austin, particular a food truck specializing in tacos, as he felt the market was already overly saturated. His family suggested that if he brought the food from his native Rio Grande Valley to Austin it would make his tacos stand out. The community has embraced Joseph’s take on RGV style tacos, and he’s made it his mission to represent the roots of the migrant workers in his family.
Sabor
The signature taco at Con Todo is the taco estilo Matamoros. These get their name from the city right across the border in Brownsville, near where Chef Gomez grew up. Matamoros style tacos feature oil dipped corn tortillas usually with bistec, queso fresco, onions, cilantros, and a slice of avocado. The tacos come with salsa rojo and salsa verde. Gomez puts his own twist on the matamoros taco by replacing the avocado with a handmade guacamole. All his tortillas are made from nixtamalized corn he grinds himself.
Henry's
San Antonio
Henry's Puffy Taco
StorY
Henry’s has been a family business from the very beginning. In the 1950’s, when Henry Lopez was only fourteen years old, he began working for his brother Ray at San Antonio’s famous Ray’s Drive Inn. The brothers experimented with various recipes and started frying up masa dough. They found that it puffed up to a delightful consistency, perfect for stuffiing with taco filling. At first they called them crispy tacos, but over the years, Henry decided to call them puffy tacos. He eventually started his own restaurant, that at first had only a few seats. Now, it’s a full service restaurant his children run in San Antonio.
Sabor
Henry’s Puffy Tacos serves an entire menu of various Tex-Mex fare, but the star is the puffy taco. Now a beloved San Antonio specialty, a puffy taco is delightfully crispy on the outside, while pillowy soft on the inside. Masa dough balls are deep fried and crimped into a taco shape as they puff up. Then, they are filled with whatever taco fillings patrons prefer. Their standard fare is similar to a picadillo beef, but they can be filled with shredded chicken, carne guisada, beans and cheese, and more.
