Can't Get Enough of the Tex-Mex

Texas, sweet Texas. If the food ain't good, the establishment doesn't last long. Consequently, almost everything you choose to eat from the diner to the dinner divine is fabulous. I knew this about Houston having lived there for nearly twenty years. The same seems true of Dallas and Austin too.

Yesterday Laura and I flew in to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport and had about an hour before our connecting flight to Austin. We were starving and saw a sit-down Pappasito's Restaurant near the gate for our connection. Unfortunately, sit-down didn't seem feasible as we had already burned our time down getting from concourse D to concourse C on the air train. But....just past the restaurant was a Pappasito's Take Out window. Perfect. We decided to split an order of chicken enchiladas that came with rice and refried beans (of course). The line wasn't too long but unfortunately was moving slowly so with less than 10 minutes to spare before our flight boarded, we got the meal. There we were, sitting at the gate, plastic forks in hand and container balanced on Laura's lap, inhaling that meal. Absolutely delicious (airport fare has come a long way)! Like piranhas attacking their prey, so we did with that Tex-Mex plate with barely a minute to spare before our group was called to board.

Last night we dined at Maudie's, another Tex Mex joint, with friends. Beyond fabulous, of a different world, down to the bone delicious, we stumbled out high on fajitas, chalupas, and chips with salsa and queso. Add to that frozen margaritas.

Never quite getting enough, we had brunch at The Old Pecan Street Cafe today and what did we order? Tex Mex breakfast; migas for me and breakfast tacos for Laura. Oh, and coffee. The kind that makes you wake up and take notice, served in heavy ceramic mugs.

Lest you think that all we've done is eat and sleep since we arrived in Texas, we have done (a few) other things. We toured the Texas State Capitol Building today, checked out the original Whole Foods (born in Austin, Texas in 1981), and walked around the several block stretch of funky stores, including Allens Boots on South Congress.

I'm still quite energetic this afternoon but Miss Laura has faded and is napping as I write this. We'll probably stay in tonight and watch the Academy Awards on TV although a quick trip out for another meal isn't totally out of the question. This time, it might be diner fare. Everything in moderation; even Tex Mex.