Texas Wontons (Tex-Mex Wontons)
Fusion between Chinese and Tex-Mex cuisines is somewhat new. The Cantonese cuisine that brought America egg rolls and wontons led to the popular 1990s dish of "Southwestern eggrolls."…
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Fortune Cookie or Fortune Cake (“Help, I’m prisoner in a Chinese bakery!”)
Fortune cookies (crisp flour cookies with a paper fortune inside) are ubiquitous at Chinese restaurants, both inside and out of Chinatown. Fortune cookies are largely unknown in China, however, and…
Cuernos (Mexican horn-shaped pastries)
Cuernos are Mexican horn-shaped pastries that are sold in Mexican bakeries (panaderias) all throughout Texas and in many supermarkets as well. Cuernos have been compared to French…
Conchas (Mexican shell-shaped pastries)
Conchas are Mexican shell-shaped pastries that are sold in Mexican bakeries (panaderias) all throughout Texas and in many supermarkets as well. The lightly sweet bread has a sugar-shell pattern on…
Casuey (South Texas term for “bucking”)
"Casuey" is a South Texas term for the "bucking" or "pitching" of a horse. The term (origin unknown) is rarely used today, even in South Texas. Cowboy Poetry at the…
New Year’s Foods (rice for riches, peas for pennies, collards for dollars, greens for greenbacks)
Black-eyed peas ("Texas caviar") are popularly served on New Year's Day in Texas and throughout the South. Served with rice, the dish is called "Hoppin' John."…
Hoppin’ John or Hopping John (Limping Kate; Limping Susan)
"Hoppin' John" (or "Hopping John") is a popular dish in Charleston, South Carolina, but it's also served throughout the South. The dish consists of black-eyed peas…
Mexican Straw Hat (similar to Frito pie)
"Mexican straw hat” is a recipe that’s similar to Frito pie. It contains corn chips (Fritos), plus beef, cheese, and more. The recipe dates from the 1960s. "Mexican straw hat" is…
South Texas Crossroads (Victoria city, county nickname)
The city of Victoria, Texas (county seat of Victoria County) is centrally located from Austin, Houston, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio. The city/county has been called the "South Texas…
Texas Rice Salad (Texmati Rice Salad)
Texas barbecues usually have potato salad as a side dish, but many barbecues also have rice salad. Rice salad can also be served with shrimp, salmon, and just about any other main dish. Texmati…
Taco Tech
Various universities with large Hispanic populations have been called "Taco Tech." The University of Texas-El Paso and the University of Texas-Pan American (Edinburg, TX) have most often…
Borderplex
"Borderplex" is a term for the Texas and Mexican cities on that border. It is similar to the term "metroplex" (for Dallas-Fort Worth) from the early 1970s.…
Cala (rice fritter)
Calas (seldom written in the singular "cala") are rice fritters that were popular in Creole New Orleans in the 19th century and early 20th century. These rice fritters or rice doughnuts…
“Drop edge of yonder”
In 2007, author Donis Casey published a book titled The Drop Edge of Yonder. In 2008, author Rudolph Wurlitzer published a book titled Drop Edge of Yonder. Both books have western settings. Casey…
“Play west of the Hudson (River)”
"(Can't/Won't) play west of the Hudson (River)" means that something is too "New York" to succeed in the rest of the country. The comedian Alan King was often told…
Comeback Sauce (Come Back Sauce; Cumback Sauce; Kumback Sauce; Kumbak Sauce)
Comeback sauce (also spelled as "come back sauce," "cumback sauce," "kumback auce," and "kumbak sauce") is sauce that supposedly so good, you'll…
Walled City (Brooklyn)
Brooklyn became a city of warehouses by at least the Civil War (1860s). In Henry Reed Stiles's important three-volume work, A History of the City of Brooklyn (1867-1870), Brooklyn's…
Big Guava (summary)
After the 1970s popularity of "the Big Apple," everybody started getting into the act. "Big Guava" (for Tampa, Florida) is from the 1970s, but it remains popular. Tampa…
Mr. Brown (“Mr. Brown Goes to Town”) & Miss White (BBQ terms for light/inside and dark/outside meat)
"Mr. Brown" means the dark, smoky outside of pork barbecue, and "Miss White" (sometimes "Mrs. White" or "Ms White") means the light, moist inside of pork…
Texas Crutch (using aluminum foil in BBQ)
Kansas City "Baron of BBQ" Paul Kirk posed with a crutch covered with aluminum foil, titled "Texas Crutch," in 1999 or January 2000. Kirk coined or certainly popularized the…