Walking Taco (Taco-in-a-Bag; Petro’s)
"Walking Taco" or "Taco-in-a-Bag" are not really tacos, but are Midwest names for the Texas dish called "Frito pie." A bag of Frito's corn chips is opened and…
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Sope (appetizer)
"Sopes" are appetizers that are served in many Tex-Mex restaurants; it is believed that "sope" originated in Guadalajara, Mexico. Sopes have been described as little tortilla…
Fried Ice Cream (Mexican Fried Ice Cream or Fried Mexican Ice Cream)
"Fried ice cream" is a popular dessert at Tex-Mex restaurants. It's often called "Mexican Fried Ice Cream" or "Fried Mexican Ice Cream." Fried ice cream is…
Fajitadilla (Fajita + Quesadilla)
A "fajitadilla" is a combination of a "fajita" and a "quesadilla." A large flour tortilla is filled with fajita chicken (or beef) and melted cheese. The term…
Al Pastor (Cabrito Al Pastor; Carne Al Pastor; Tacos Al Pastor)
"Al pastor" means "shepherd style," a term originating in northern Mexico. "Al pastor" is meat carved from a vertical spit, often seaoned with pineapple, onions,…
Redneck Rock (Progressive Country)
The music produced in Austin in the 1970s (mostly at the famed Armadillo World Headquarters, or at Willie Nelson's concerts) was a mixture of many styles, including country and rock. Jan…
“Guns Up” (Texas Tech)
"Guns Up" is the Texas Tech response to Hook 'em, Horns," the University of Texas hand gesture. Glenn Dippel (Texas Tech class of 1961) is credited with inventing and…
“Life in Lubbock, Texas taught me two things…” (Butch Hancock)
Butch Hancock is a musician who was born in the largely Christian fundamentalist city of Lubbock in 1945. Hancock's long quote about the town's Christian values has made t-shirts!…
“Texas is a blend of valor and swagger” (Carl Sandburg)
Historian/poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) is sometimes given credit for saying: "Texas is a blend of valor and swagger." Texas author Boyce House (1896-1961) is best known for his short,…
“Chile is one of the few foods that has its own goddess” (Diana Kennedy)
Chile con carne is the official dish of the state of Texas. Famed Mexican cookbook author Diana Kennedy provided one of the best chili quotes when she said that chile "is one of the few foods…
Mexican Pizza
Italian pizza became a popular American dish following World War II. By the 1950s, several restaurants began to serve "Mexican pizza." Matt's El Rancho (established 1952 in Austin)…
“No more bullshit!” (Norman Mailer 1969 mayoral slogan)
In 1969, novelist Norman Mailer ran for mayor of New York City and newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin ran for city council president. (John Lindsay was re-elected mayor.) The Mailer-Breslin campaign…
“Once you are in Texas it seems to take forever to get out, and some people never make it”
John Steinbeck traveled across America in 1960 with his dog Charley; he wrote about it in his book, Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962). Steinbeck didn't much care for Texas, but…
Sing Sing on the Brazos (Texas A&M nickname)
Sing Sing is a famous prison in upstate New York. Life at Texas A&M University (near the Brazos River) was compared to this prison by at least 1937. The "Sing Sing on the Brazos"…
“Between a rock and a weird place” (Pflugerville, near Round Rock and Austin)
The city of Pflugerville is near the cities of Austin (whose famous slogan is "Keep Austin Weird") and Round Rock. In 2007, t-shirts were printed in Pflugerville with the slogan…
Good Food Movement (Farm Aid)
The "Good Food Movement" means eating local, fresh, usually organic food. Farm Aid was started in 1985 by recording artists Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp to help family…
Mess Box
The "mess box" is a pantry that old-time cooks had attached to the rear or their "mess wagons." A "mess wagon" was also called a "chuck wagon," and its…
Mess Wagon
The "mess wagon" is an earlier name for the "chuck wagon" (designated the official Texas state vehicle by the legislature). The term "mess wagon" was current in the…
Chuck Line (Chuckline)
In the old west, a "chuck line" (or "chuckline") formed at the chuck wagon (the official Texas state vehicle) so cowboys could get their fill of grub. Some people were said to…
Chuck Box
The chuck wagon was declared by the Texas legislature to the the official state vehicle of Texas. Attached to the back of the chuck wagon was usually the "chuck box," a cook's pantry…