James Beard Foundation "Best Chef - Texas" Semifinalist - 2024 Archives - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Curry Boys BBQ – San Antonio, Texas

Gil Garduno — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 06:01:24 +0000

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…

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Burnt Bean – Seguin, Texas

Gil Garduno — Sun, 15 Sep 2024 06:01:29 +0000

Legend has it that shortly after the horrendous mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Burnt Bean pitmaster and co-owner Ernest Servantes was asked to serve barbecue to law enforcement officials in Uvalde. According to sources, Servantes, himself an Uvalde native, refused to serve anything to the milksops whose cowardly inaction resulted in the fatal shooting of 19 students and 2 teachers, and the injuring of 17 others. Servantes wasn’t around when my new friend and dining companion Melinda Martinez and I finally completed our time in the purgatory of a queue that snaked to the end of the block. We asked one of the restaurant’s servers, but he was unable to either confirm or refute the story. At any regard, it’s…

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El Charlatan – Socorro, Texas (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 06:01:14 +0000

Everyone should have a friend like Steve Coleman, the erudite owner of Steve’s Food Page. Not only is he a great guy and a lot of fun to spend time with, he’s a superb host and tour guide. During a two-day sojourn to “El Chuco,” Steve not only showed us the sights, he gave me a much-needed lesson about history New Mexico and Texas share. He explained that during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, members of the Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico were displaced to El Paso along with Oñate and the Spaniards. Today, descendants of those Native Americans reside in a Native American Pueblo in the Ysleta section of El Paso just about three miles from El Charlatan, our…

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