The 1970s were characterized by writer Tom Wolfe as the “Me Decade” and derided by cynics as the “Disco Era.” It was an era of contrasts: the national crisis of confidence described by President Jimmy Carter as a “malaise” and the ubiquitous yellow smiley face; the melodic, velvety stylings of the Carpenters and the edgy, funky beat of disco; an explosion of copycat fast food chain restaurants and the introduction of innovative fusion cuisine in many contemporary restaurants.
Fusion cuisine is the inventive combination of diverse, sometimes disparate culinary traditions, elements and ingredients to form an entirely new genre. In large metropolitan areas, particularly in California, the fusion of different cuisines became commonplace. Restaurants featuring the melding of French and Chinese cuisine were especially popular. Still other restaurants had their own ideas as to what constituted fusion cuisine. The now defunct Maverick Cafe in San Antonio, Texas, became famous for their “East Meets West” dining concept. It wasn’t so much a fusion of cuisines as it was the plating of different cuisines (Mexican and Chinese) on the same salver. The Maverick Cafe was my very favorite fusion restaurant.
The very best lemon chicken I’ve ever had, in fact, was at the Maverick Cafe in 1994, served in a combination plate with enchiladas. I fondly recall using my tortilla as a “New Mexican spoon” to scoop up both the tart lemony chicken and the piquant red chile though not at the same time. The Maverick Cafe’s closure hit me hard. While researching restaurants to visit during my weeklong stay in the Alamo City, I uncovered a fusion restaurant that made just as much sense to me as the Maverick Cafe did. It’s called Curry Boys and it marries Texas barbecue with Southeast Asian flavors. That’s a better taste combination than Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups where peanut butter and chocolate form “two great tastes that taste great together.”
As much sense as Texas barbeue and Southeast Asian flavors makes, this unusual marriage might not have happened were it not for the Cabrona virus. Restaurateurs Andrew Ho and Sean Wen of Pinch Boil House and Andrew Samia of South BBQ & Kitchen found their revenues drying up on account of the virus. Desperate to stay afloat, the entrepreneurs decided to collaborate, pairing smoked meats and Southeast Asian curries. A wildly successful pop-up confirmed what their own personal taste tests had told them–their innovative fusion worked. The next step was launching “Curry Boys.” Initially housed in what resembled a shocking pink 200 square-foot shoebox, the restaurant quickly expanded. Their new location, also pornographic pink is directly across the street from the original.
One thing you don’t often say about Texas barbecue is that it’s innovative. For the most part, it follows time-honored traditions (salt and pepper crust, post oak smoke) that make it the very best in the universe. The “Texas meets Thailand” fusion introduced by the Curry Boys didn’t meet with cries of “heresy,” but with cries of adulation. Critics and the dining public alike love the flavorful fare. Both in 2023 and 2024, Curry Boys was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundations “Best Chef – Texas” honor. Ranking restaurants using a number of factors including the total volume and ratings of reviews between January 1, 2021 and May 1, 2023, Yelp ranked Curry Boys fourth in a compilation of the top 100 places to eat in Texas. Eater named it one of San Antonio’s 14 best restaurants. Similar accolades continue to flow.
It was a given that I would love Curry Boys. Curry, after all, is one of my favorite indulgences. The question was would Melinda Martinez like it. My new friend Melinda has been my faithful dining companion during this sojourn to San Antonio (and we’re planning a blog of her own to be named “Melinda Martinez: Faith, Family and Food.”) Her only experience with curries was with Indian curry which she found too pungent and off-putting. Our server recommended she try the Good Luck Cluck (tender, peppery smoked chicken thigh paired with a velvety yellow, turmeric-heavy curry on a bed of jasmine rice). Like many Thai curry dishes, it included cilantro, potatoes and carrots. The verdict: Melinda liked it. The yellow curry was rich with a light kiss of coconut milk, a perfect foil for the peppery smoked chicken. The curry was quickly absorbed by the rice. The chicken was surprisingly tender with just the right amount of smoke.
My choice was the Brisket Slow Smoke (oak-smoked prime brisket paired with a delicious green curry). The brisket is among the very best I’ve had in Texas where brisket is king. With a proper brining, it would have made an outstanding reuben sandwich. That’s how flake-off tender it was. There wasn’t quite enough green curry for my liking, but it had a great kick and just a hint of tartness, perhaps courtesy of kaffir lime leaves. The jasmine rice, a long-grain variety has a softer and stickier consistency once cooked than other types of rice. It’s a perfect vehicle for the curry, absorbing it quickly.
For the third time in three meals, Melinda and I shared (or at least meant to share) a bowl of sweet corn. This time it was curry creamed corn (OG Creamed corn — BUT WITH CURRY POWDER sprinkled on top. It’s freaking good.) We got so caught up in planning Melinda’s blog and formulating approaches for fixing the world’s ills that we let the creamed corn get cold. I can attest to its deliciousness, having taken it to my hotel room and heating it up for dinner. Curried cream corn is an idea whose time has come.
Though it’s hard to conceive, it may be (maybe a long time in the future) possible to tire of the “sameness” of barbecue. Curry Boys is proof that barbecue doesn’t have to be the same, wonderful as it may be, everywhere you go in Texas (not that that’s a bad thing). It’s unique and wonderful.
Curry Boys BBQ
536 East Courtland Place
San Antonio, Texas
210-560-2763
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LATEST VISIT: 17 September 2024
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Curry Cream Corn, Good Luck Cluck, Brisket Smoke Show
REVIEW #1419