Texas Bucket List

Texas Bucket List

The Texas Bucket List – La Margarita in San Antonio

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San Antonio – Market Square is a hot spot in the Alamo City no matter what time of year it is. Here you can find all sorts of Mexican goods and Tex-Mex. Mi Tierra is the grandaddy of them all, sitting here since 1941. 40 years later, the same family behind this San Antonio staple opened up another eatery at the square; La Margarita. “The restaurant was like my playground when I was a kid,” said William Cortez. “Started working when I was 12.”

William is the great grandson of Pedro Cortez, the man who started this business all those years ago. He’s the oldest of the 4th generation of Corteze’s continuing this Alamo City institution. “I never got the chance to meet my great-grandfather, but a lot of his stories were passed through my grandfather and his brothers,” said William. “For me, it’s very important to keep that family legacy and tradition alive.”

La Margarita’s claim to fame is a big one. “La Margarita was the first restaurant in the United States to have the sizzling fajita,” said William.

Turns out William’s grandfather Jorge Cortez brought this idea back with him after a trip to Mexico. “He went traveling to Monterrey and Laredo,” said William. “And that’s where he discovered those fajitas. We’re definitely getting fajitas today.”

But it’s not all about the beef here. Unbeknownst to most patrons is the other part of the sign for La Margarita, which tells you that it’s also an oyster bar. “So it’s La Margarita restaurant and Oyster Bar,” said William. “The oysters are delicious. The most popular here is the fajitas and fresh oysters.”

Roberto Gonzalez is the head chef at La Margarita, and he wanted to get things cracking with a half dozen of their fresh gulf oysters. The pre-shucked oysters have to be served within an hour of opening and the presentation is garnished in greatness.

As for the fajitas, they’re marinated for days before hitting the grill. “The fajita is outside fajita, so it’s the best,” said Roberto. “The process is about two to three days, and it sits marinating and then on the third day is when they cook it for service. The secret of the fajita is hard fire and then put the slow fire.”

While the meat sizzles, Robert gets to work on the veggies. These veggies get sautéed in special sauce, as a coffee cup of tequila heats up on the grill to add some flames to the process down the line. As everything cooks, cast iron skillets are heating up to the side to get that classic sizzle when the fajitas are served. After Robert prepares the pound of protein it’s time to fiesta.

So here we have a little bit of surf and a little bit of turf, and we’re going to start with the surf because how often can you get oysters here in San Antonio, so they’re already shucked, ready to go. Pop it out, dive into that cocktail sauce. Oh yeah, Those are definitely some fresh Gulf oysters. “It’s kind of strange, but yeah, they’re great too,” said customer Carlos Tijerina. “They’re amazing. Just put that Tabasco sauce on them and they’re great. Little Lemon.”

From the sea to the land. After a few days of Fiesta, you’re going to want something with a little oomph to it, so fajitas might be the way to go. The pollo is first to hit the pallet, and it’s plump and juicy and cooked to perfection.

As for the fajita beef. That is just marinated marvelously, easy to chew, goes down nice, and it’s got that good bold Texas flavor that you like with your Tex-Mex. It’s awesome. “I like chicken, but beef is a specialty, I would say,” said Carlos’ son Carlos Jr. “Yeah, go for the beef fajitas.”

Now we get to put together a fajita taco, so I go with my usual accompaniment, a little bit of pico, some guac, throw in a couple of those onions, cooked in that tequila, and then put that salsa all over it because I’m definitely a salsa fanatic. “They’re outstanding,” said Carlos. “When they’re on point, they’re just amazing.”

An absolutely marvelous combination with a fresh tortilla and that perfectly marinated grilled up beef. That is an excellent fajita taco. “Taste and tenderness,” said Carlos Jr. “It’s really hard to get that consistently, and I’d say Margarita does a really good job of that.”

I just can’t get over the cooking of the beef and the chicken. The chicken is plump and juicy and has a great smoky flavor. The beef as well is cooked to perfection. The marination is fantastic, a great smoky flavor, and it just comes right apart. “San Antonio is known,” said Carlos. “South Texas is known for Tex-Mex food, and this is the place to come.”

Well, my whole life beef fajitas have been one of my favorite meals in the Lone star state and here at La Margarita, it holds true, making it well worth the top on The Texas Bucket List. “Drinks are flowing. The food is good, everything smells good,” said Carlos Jr. “You have your live music, so it is one of those places that you definitely want to go to and experience for sure.”

The Texas Bucket List – Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s in El Paso

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El Paso – If you’ve never been to the far west side of the Lone Star State, there’s a few things that may surprise you out here. Believe it or not, it takes just as long to get from El Paso to Las Vegas as it does to get from El Paso to Houston, but they are still big on Texas pride here! The other interesting tidbit is that they do Mexican food way different. “Everything that we make, it’s true to the Mexican culture and the cuisine of Mexico,” said Rosa Saenz.

Rosa owns Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s, and her family has been in El paso since the early 1900s. It was her father who first got into the restaurant business, and he established an eatery that most Texans have gone to at least once in the lifetime. “From the money that he made during World War II, he started a little company called Pancho’s on Alameda Street,” said Rosa. “And so we’ve been restaurateurs since 1944. Yes. That Pancho’s. That’s where we raise the flag”

Rosa followed in her father’s footsteps and in the 90’s she bought this old restaurant that had been on the block for some time and needed some serious TLC. “It was in really bad shape,” said Rosa. “We were selling $600 a day. There was no phones, no signage. The kitchen was a terrible mess. But I could see the beauty of this restaurant. I just brought my mom’s and my grandmother’s recipes here, and here I am 30 years later.”

“It’s like tradition,” said customer Edgar. “It’s something that’s a restaurant that’s been here for many, many years.”

Carlos and Mickey’s traditional flavors are what keep customers coming back. In other words, don’t ever say the phrase “Tex-Mex” in this place. “You don’t have to go to Juarez,” said Rosa. “You can come to El Paso and you can feel what a Mexican restaurant feels like, and you can taste it too. I really think that El Paso is the Mexican capital food of the United States.”

Rosa’s grandmother’s recipes are all unique and a lot of them will loosen up your sinuses. “Our food is spicy,” said Rosa. “And this is the way my grandmother cooked. And so you’ve got to be ready. When you do eat spicy, you know it’s good when your tears come out or your boogers come out. Then you know you’re eating.”

The other big hit at Carlos and Mickey’s is their big ol’ margaritas. “30 years, best margarita in El Paso,” said Rosa.

“Number one selling in El Paso,” said Tony Nassri. “There’s a lot of people coming out of town just to get those, man. You got to try one, Mr. Shane.”

Tony Nassri is a manager at Carlos and Mickey’s, and before we could pour a preposterously sized libation, we had to cook some food with him and since this is authentic Mexican, I decided to go with the carnitas. “Tender from the inside and crispy from the outside,” said Tony. “It’s really good. Number one selling carnitas. We marinate it for 24 to 48 hours in a special sauces. We also add some milk to it and some spices. It’s really tender, really juicy. What makes it is the tenderness of all the time that it being sauteed and marinated.”

After being cooked in the oven, the carnitas get some time in the fryer before making their way to the flat top. “Look at those pieces, man,” said Tony. “You see all that? They’re caramelized.

To go with those awesome carnitas, Tony whips up some special sauces. “We have a salsa borracha that’s really spicy,” said Tony. “You like spicy? This is awesome, dude. This one is our homemade guacamole sauce.” Okay. “And this is our borracha sauce. It’s really nice.”

Tony was also really nice and threw in some queso fundido. “This is a real queso for you,” said Tony.

Things got really fun when Tony added chorizo and hatch peppers to the mix. “And a hatch, all the way from New Mexico,” said Tony. Just don’t tell my wife that I know how to cook. Hey, make me some of that queso fundido tonight!”

With the carintas and queso ready to go, there was one thing left to do. Make a massive margarita! “This is the best part, man, of the trip,” said Tony. “44 ounces, brother. We’re going to use a local tequila. It’s called Perro Grande. It’s a chihuahua, but you know here, they’re grandes.”

Well, it’s safe to say you’ll feel like El Presidente here at Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s. While we wait for our plate to cool, we’re going to prep our pallet with this preposterous margarita. Those fresh juices mixed up in there are fantastic. “This is the best place for margaritas,” said Edgar. “That’s why we come here every week.”

All right. We’re going to take on these carnitas. We’re going to shred them up a little bit. One little piece of carnitas, it almost fills up a whole taco. Put a little bit of green onion on there, add the borracha sauce. We’re just going to put a little bit on there because Tony said ‘Just a little bit.’ That is awesome. “First bite,” said customer Nicolas. “I mean, you could tell there’s a difference into the meat, into the carnitas themselves.”

Rosa wasn’t lying about that borracha sauce either, it’s got some serious kick! “Nice and hot,” said customer Jessie.

Time to cool things off with the queso. The chorizo adds in that saltiness and that hatch gives it a little spice. That cheese, I mean, it’s melted cheese. It’s fantastic. “They love the queso fundido,” said Edgar. “I do too, but I try not to eat too much because you’llget big real quick.”

Well, if you’re looking for some excellent eats in El Paso, Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey’s is a perfect stop on the Texas bucket List thanks to this authentic Mexican meal. “I know that one day I’ll be gone and I just can only hope that it still stays and stands because it’s a beautiful restaurant,” said Rosa. “It has a lot of beauty in it.”

The Texas Bucket List – Café Texan in Huntsville

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Huntsville – Since 1936, Café Texan has been sitting on the corner of the square in Huntsville and it’s considered the oldest café in Texas. “When they approached me I said ‘A café in Huntsville. Tell me more,’” said Tom Mangos.

Tom isn’t from the Lone Star State, but his expertise was sought out by owner Vance Howard when he bought the building Café Texan calls home in 2020. The café was a victim of COVID and shut down for three years before being totally revamped by Howard, but some locals wanted the old Café Texan back. “We’ve thought about making T-shirts that say, ‘We love the Café Texan,’ and making equal as many that says, ‘You ruined the Café Texan,’” said Tom.

With a whole new look and new attitude towards taste buds, Tom got a chance to make the café his own with a few guidelines. “Vance asked me to keep a couple of things,” said Tom. “One, he said, ‘I always want to be proud of it.’ Two, he promised me that I’d always be having fun, which is unheard of in my business. And three was we would have chicken fried steak.”

More on chicken fry in a few. Before you get to the meal, you can’t help but notice the museum connected to the café. “This is actually a not-for-profit,” said Tom. “Vance has the museum next door, which is always open when the café is open, free to anyone who wants to come see it. And then all the proceeds from the café go to local, state, and regional charities.”

“We made sure that we didn’t overbuy anything because we knew it was going to be a small space,” said Savanah Davis. “So everything has a very specific space.”

Savanah is the museum curator and this free museum has some amazing artifacts like historical samurai suits, signed letters from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Davy Crocket. Gladiator Masks. And even Napoleon’s actual dueling pistols. “They did not want to sell us those because they didn’t believe that we were a real museum at first,” said Savanah. “But we went ahead and signed a contract with them that said if we ever decide to sell them again, that we’ll sell them back to them. Yeah, most of the stuff in here we get from Sotheby’s or Christie’s auctions.”

After appreciating the artifacts, your appetite is primed for a Texas-sized breakfast. Luckily you can order chicken fried steak to start your day at Café Texan. Tom gets things started with the beef. “So this is an eight-ounce cubed steak,” said Tom. “It’s already as tender as can be. It’s already been pounded out, passed through the knives. And then we bread it with our seasoned breader here, and then it goes in the buttermilk. And then we’re going to put it back in the breader, and then we’re going to put it in the fryer. This isn’t a frozen, chopped, formed product. It’s actual whole muscle beef. Best quality we can get, right, for sure. Nothing but stuff from scratch here at the Café Texan.”

When there’s chicken fried steak you know there’s got to be gravy to go with it. “So we use cream gravy, and our cream gravy does not have meat drippings in it because some guests may not eat pork or they might,” said Tom. “So we make it with clarified butter, all-purpose flour, fresh cracked pepper, kosher salt, and heavy cream.”

A few fried eggs and haystack potatoes complete the ensemble. And don’t forget the biscuit! “Big biscuit,” said Carson. “A biscuit’s a meal in itself.”

Oh, but we’re not done yet. Tom wanted to showcase the sweeter side of breakfast with their candy bar French toast. “We have a mascarpone and cream cheese mixture that we put Milky Way bars in,” said Tom. “So you get four pieces of bread made into two sandwiches. It’s almost like a Monte Cristo would be, right? With all the goodies inside. This is better.”

Once the toast is grilled up, it gets plated with spicy meat sticks. “So we’re going to do jalapeno bacon today with this,” said Tom. “So that’s our super spicy jalapeno bacon. It looks a little dark, but that’s because it’s cured. It just has that coloring to it. We fresh whip our cream every morning. A little bit of powdered sugar on top, just in case it wasn’t sweet enough already. And we’re going to put a nice sploosh of mint, and we sell that to our guests.”

Well, when it comes to breakfast in Texas, chicken fried steak is always acceptable. So we’re going to start with that, and just cut off a piece and go to town, because who doesn’t like chicken fried steak for the first meal of the day? The breading on that chicken fried steak is fantastic, crunchy, and delicious. That gravy is out of this world. And the tenderness of that steak? I think Elvis would sing about that one. “I’m not a big connoisseur of chicken fried steaks, I will say, but I do love it,” said Savanah.

We’ve had a lot of chicken fried steaks across the State of Texas, and this one is right up there. “There’s a lot of meat and not too much excess batter,” said customer Richard.

That’s enough of this chicken fried steak. We’re going to move on to breakfast dessert. Smells like French toast with a candy bar in it. Whether or not you’re a sweets for breakfast type of person, this is just straight up good. Well balanced, and that Milky Way comes through in a big way on French toast. Bringing even more balance to the force of the French toast, the jalapeno bacon. You mix it in with that jalapeno bacon, and it’s the perfect combination. It’s like a sweet, savory symphony. “It’s just the perfect amount of spicy, where it goes really well with eggs and hash browns and everything else,” said Savanah.

Well, whether it’s chicken fried steak for breakfast, lunch, or dinner or a sweet, savory breakfast, coming to the Café Texan in Huntsville is definitely well worth a stop on the Texas bucket list. “To come here and have not only the service in this beautiful building and see our museum, the food is lights out,” said Tom. “It’s delicious. You’re not going to be disappointed.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth

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Fort Worth – Fort Worth may be known as Cowtown thanks to its rich history in the cattle industry but just a stone’s throw from the western ways of the Fort Worth Stockyards, you’ll find a small sanctuary known for some terrific Tex-Mex at Joe T. Garcia’s. “We win best patio,” said Joe T. Lancarte. “I mean, nobody else has a patio like this in Dallas, Fort Worth. Everybody knows that.”

Joe T. is the grandson of this restaurant’s namesake Joe T. Garcia, but it was his grandmother Mamasuez and his mother Hope that turned this little restaurant into a well-known stop on lots of folks’ bucket lists. “It’s definitely different from the 60s and 70s,” said Joe T. “It’s changed a lot. When my grandfather passed away in the 50s, my mom was the only one really that stuck with her and stayed with her and helped her run the business and keeping going with my dad.”

When they started it wasn’t originally Tex-Mex. “It was barbecue,” said Joe T. “First, barbecue; then, the Mexican food. Right, correct.”

Back in 1935 Joe. T’s started with 6 tables. “My grandparents worked very hard, very hard to get this thing started back in the 30s,” said Joe T. “That was tough. Then when my grandfather passed away and left it with my mom and grandmother, you had two women running a business back in the … it was a man’s world back in the days and two women running a business, they tell them, ‘You have no chance. You need to go ahead and just sell.’ Well, my mom said, ‘No way. I’ll prove you wrong.’ And she did. That’s one thing our mother always taught is hard work. Don’t ever be afraid of it, and I’m not.”

Apparently the whole family took that work ethic to heart. “Every time you walk into this business, this restaurant, you always will see a family member,” said Joe T. “Always. You’ll either see me, Lanny, my sisters, one of us. You will see us here.”

The picturesque patio, with the family’s old pool converted into foundation, pulls in a ton of people. But the real reason this place is so renowned? “People go crazy over my enchiladas,” said Joe T. “This is the enchilada station here. Now, as you can see, we roll every enchilada by hand all day long.”

Joe T. took us to the back to get started on the enchilada plate which comes with way more than just enchiladas. “That is the number one for that is the enchilada dinner,” said Joe T. “We call it the family dinner.”

It all starts with their freshly made tortillas. “We do our tortillas here,” said Joe T. “As you can see, this is all part of one plate. Now you can see we make the tortillas as the order comes out.”

Then things get saucy. “We’ll pass it through the grease here, get the tortilla sauce, then she’ll pass it in through our sauce here,” said Joe T. “It’s a red chili sauce, a red chili ancho that we use, puts our onion. As you can see, put the cheese in here. We get it on a hot flame. Get it going, get it melted.”

The amount of cheese they gg through here is staggering. “They’re 55-pound boxes of cheese, and I go through 70 cases a week.”

That’s over 3,800 pounds of cheese a week and it all finishes off in the broiler while two tacos, a plate of guacamole and their famous nachos round things out.

So here we have it, the world-famous Joe T. Garcia’s enchilada dinner. Not wasting any time, we’re going to go straight into those enchiladas because that is what people come to Joe T’s for. With that special mixture of cheese, this thing is ridiculous. “The quality of the cheese is perfect,” said one customer.

Considering the word Tex-Mex was first printed in 1945, Joe T.’s might have had something to do with that. Without a doubt, some of the best cheese enchiladas in Texas. You can see why Kevin Fowler thinks having these enchiladas is synonymous with Texas, because Texas is forever. “I don’t think there’s anything like it.”

As awesome as these enchiladas are, there’s a lot more going on with this family dinner. “The star is that cheese tostada or cheese nacho,” said another guest. “It’s incredible. And you think, I don’t know, nacho, but they make it like no other. The cheese is really perfect.”

Well, you can definitely see why Joe t Garcia’s has been a pillar of Fort Worth for all these years. True to form Tex-Mex, that’s definitely well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List. “’We got to keep that name up and that’s putting the best thing we have on that table every day, seven days a week,” said Joe T.

The Texas Bucket List – Belle-Jim Hotel in Jasper

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Jasper – The tall trees and fresh air of Jasper County have been a part of the Lone Star State for a long time. One of Texas’ first 23 counties, the county seat of Jasper is Jasper, and the courthouse here has been standing tall since 1889.  Standing on the square of this sleepy town, you can’t help but notice that it is quiet here. “Just very relaxing and peaceful,” said Ed Guizar. “It feels good here.”

Ed is a transplant from Houston who headed this way for an opportunity; the Belle-Jim Hotel. This storied structure sits right across the street from the Jasper County courthouse. “We don’t deal with the commute, the traffic and all that kind of stuff,” said Ed. “No commute. We live here. No tolls.”

With his wife Sujey by his side and the help of his 5 kids, Ed brought life to this old hotel built in 1910 by totally remodeling it and making it the most decadent restaurant in all of town.  “This property was in the market for about five years already,” said Ed. “We knew it needed a lot of work to remodel and put it back the way we wanted it. That was the challenge, trying to get it ready to go and trying to open as soon as possible.”

After a career as a chef around Houston and a side gig flipping houses, the chance to own his own hotel and restaurant came at the perfect time for Ed and his family. “I always say God was getting us I was ready for it, for the Belle-Jim,” said Ed. “It was a big project, probably the biggest project that we tackled.”

The magnitude of restoring this old hotel ended up being just what Ed and his family needed to spend as much time with each other as they wanted. “The best part, I think it brought the family together here,” said Ed. “We spend more time with the family. We work together. Family-owned and operated, so I get to work with my wife every day and with my kids, and I get to see them every day, where before I was working these crazy hours at a corporate level, so we got to spend time together.”

Sujey has been Ed’s rock during the whole process. “Oh my God, she’s my backbone,” said Ed. “She’s the one that makes everything run here, efficient and everything.”

As if restoring a 12-room hotel wasn’t hard enough, Ed also has to provide incredible provisions to a part of the state where things don’t deviate too much.  Even in this old hotel where home cooking was about all you could find. “We got the best food in Jasper, Texas,” said Ed.”

“It was an anchor in the town, but it was East Texas Fair. And I’d use the term fried, but I won’t,” said customer Bill. “I’ve seen people come in and I’ve seen the look on their face when food was presented to them on something besides a paper plate.”

Things are a little fancier around here now and Chef Ed wanted to showcase three of their most popular dishes, so we headed to kitchen to get to cooking. On a cooktop that has as much history as the hotel, Ed got a French style pork chop grilled up. Once given some good grill marks, the pork chop heads to the oven along with Chef Ed’s signature white chocolate bread pudding.  More on that later, first we have to talk veggies. Asparagus and bell peppers get flame kissed on the grill, followed by a healthy amount of garlic. Once the pork chop is perfectly cooked, it stands tall on the plate. “And we’re just going to cut a little bit to make sure it stands up,” said Ed.

It’s then topped with a whiskey glaze and a side of applesauce before Ed moves on to the shrimp tacos. Ed takes shrimp, marinates them in buttermilk and hand batters them in 50/50 flour and tempura mix. After the shrimp is fried, they’re placed on fresh tortillas alongside chipotle aioli, pickle relish with cucumbers, and micro cilantro greens. Now it’s time to break out the bread pudding. “Chocolate chips, raisins, and croissants, and it’s going to get topped off with the bourbon sauce,” said Ed. “So, a lot of whiskey. We got to go heavy. They love it.”

Before having a hankering for Hank, I figured the shellfish would be the way to cast things off. Those shrimps are perfectly fried and that sauce gives a nice little tanginess to the taco, but then when you bite into those cilantro minis, man, that releases some flavor, and that is very good. “Everything from the sauce to the shrimp is cooked perfectly and it’s great,” said customer Debbie.

Now it’s time to take out the tacos and pull in the pork. As nice as the standing chop looks on the plate, it must fall in order to be cut. And once you cut into it, you see what all the fuss is about. The pork is cooked perfectly, not dry at all. And that bourbon glaze gives it a great flavor that fits in fantastically with the apple sauce. That’s fine dining right there. “Tender, juicy, like a pork chop should be,” said Bill. “It’s not just a regular old pan-fried pork chop. There’s something else going on there.”

Before filling all the way up on that giant porkchop, that bread pudding must make an appearance. A little dessert is always welcome on The Texas Bucket List, and this bread pudding is the star of the show. It comes out piping hot and gooey as all get out, and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s got just the right amount of sweetness, and that bourbon glaze fits right in. “The white chocolate on it is just creamy,” said customer Susie. “It’s got a great taste to it, great texture. Ed does a good job.”

Well, if you’re ever in deep East Texas looking for a place to lay your head and get a fantastic bite to eat, come into the Belle-Jim Hotel in Jasper, Texas. It’s well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “There are so many extraordinary places across the state, and if you watch The Bucket List, you’ll see a lot of them,” said Bill. “This one is one of those that needs to be added to that list.”

 

The Texas Bucket List – Tillie’s in Dripping Springs

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Dripping Springs – When it comes to visions of the Texas hill country, rustic places to stay, wineries, and even treehouses are usually the first things that comes to mind. But over in Dripping Springs you’ll find Camp Lucy, which has taken some flavors from around the world and planted them smack dab in the middle of the Lone Star State. “There’s no place that exists like this,” said visitor Stephaniee Lott.

“It’s just an otherworldly experience, I would say,” said Whit Hanks.

Whit’s family founded this place back in 1985 when his parents purchased the property as a weekend getaway. “My mother finally spent her time out here,” said Whit. “This was her favorite place, being out in the country.”

Whit went on to be an antiques dealer and real estate developer, but he wanted to turn his parent’s old place into something that Texans could enjoy. So in 2008 he created Camp Lucy, a property that started off as a wedding venue with several antique buildings from Vietnam that has turned into a tranquil place to find some relaxation.

“We have a total of seven Vietnamese buildings that have been incorporated into the infrastructure,” said Whit. One of the builings is “from about, I’d say 1880. From an area not too far from Da Nang, about the middle of Vietnam, south of Hanoi, about 100 miles.”

These old buildings sounded by green gardens provide the perfect setting for a picturesque wedding, but dealing with brides wasn’t something that Whit was willing to do. “Kim appeared on the scene and said she could run weddings out here,” said Whit. “And I’m like, ‘Well, I sure can’t so if you want to, then fine. You do it and you can pay me rent.’ And after a while, she was doing so well it was cheaper to marry her.”

Kim brings the pizzazz to the party. “I married well,” said Kim. “He’s a really interesting guy. And he had this great property and he had no idea what to do with it, so I did. I had a couple ideas.”

“It’s been a wild ride. Let me tell you,” Said Whit. “She’s got a lot of get up and go.”

As Camp Lucy grew, Whit wanted to put a place to eat on the property. “I wanted it to be a hamburger stand,” said Whit. “You’ll notice I have a pool over there. And I had in mind that it was like going to the country club. And you’d go up to the place where you got french fries and burgers and tater tots and then you’d take it back to the pool. And unfortunately, then I bought this building and the architects got a hold of it and it just got fancier and fancier and fancier.”

“We were going to have hamburgers and nachos,” said Kim. “And then, as we started building this beautiful structure, it just didn’t feel right.”

So the couple created Tillie’s, a top notch eatery with exquisite food pairings for any fancy night out with your plus one. “Okay,” said Whit. “It’s going to take more than hamburgers to pay for this place.”

Romantic dinners in a stunning setting surrounded by antique saints is a surefire way to impress a date. But if you’re looking for a more whimsical experience, Tillie’s also offers teatime. “We knew that we wanted to take some of the traditions from England and we wanted to marry them with some of the traditions from Texas so the flavors are going to be a little bit different,” said Kim.

Fine China from England along with a tiered tray of some of the finest finger foods we’ve ever found make this experience at Tillie’s a tough one to pass up. “You would start with your scones,” said Kim. “You see the crisp, the crisp on the outside? The crispiness of the bread and the consistency of the bread. That’s what I love about scones is they’re so just heavy and delicious.”

“I’ve never experienced teatime before,” said guest Jessie Henderson. “I haven’t made it across the pond as they say, so it was cool to be able to have that experience right here in Dripping.”

Back to the tower of food, up next is the savory tier. “This one right here is a deviled egg, little pâte à choux sandwich,” said Kim. “The pâte à choux is a bread. Like I said, it’s like croquembouche, so deviled egg. What’s fun about these is do you know that these eggs come from Camp Lucy?”

“It’s magical because it is situated in its own kind of ecosystem, little hill country forest,” said Stephaniee. “And it’s way more spectacular than people might imagine.”

“You need a couple hours whenever you’re eating this also because you need to let all the flavors blend and just enjoy yourself,” said Kim. “This is definitely an experience where you’re not trying to get in and out within an hour, including your drive time.”

And you have to close things out with some delicate desert. “Our Texas honey cake,” said Kim. “It’s really good. It reminds me of childhood and I think it’s that, almost that fluff on top.”

This teatime extravaganza will certainly leave you feeling satisfied, and it begs the question, when does one traditionally take part in this fine feast? “It takes place between two and four,” said Kim. “They would do a big breakfast with the beans, the toast. And then this would be their lunch, but it would be later. And then they would do a late dinner.”

Well here’s a toast to Texas with some tea on The Texas Bucket List. “A little bit of English culture brought right here to the hill country,” said Jessie.

 

The Texas Bucket List – Season 22 Bite of the Season

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As Season 22 of The Texas Bucket List comes to a close, it’s time to wrap up our top five favorite bites of the season! Season 22 of The Texas Bucket List was packed with all sorts of creative and flavorful dishes as well as classics that have been perfected across the Lone Star State, and it was no easy feat to narrow down the list to our favorites. But listed below are the top five spots to grab a bite on Season 22 of The Texas Bucket List!

#5 Livi’s Mexicue in Laredo

Down in the Gateway city, Livi’s Mexicue’s blend of traditional Texas barbeque techniques with Mexican spices and flavors proves to be a winning combo. Their beef rib pasta plate earned 5th place on this Bite of the Season ranking.

 

#4 Mia Marco’s Pizza in Selma

In a suburb of San Antonio, Mia Marco’s Pizza is offering world championship winning pies deep in the heart of Texas, proving the state can really do it all. Their classic margherita, pepperoni jam, and grandma style pizzas earned 4th place on Bite of the Season 22.

 

#3 Wagon Wheel in Eagle Pass

Back down to the border, the Wagon Wheel in Eagle Pass serves excellent Texas grub from beautiful smoked brisket to a preposterously sized chicken fried steak. This local fixture cemented it’s spot at #3 on the Season 22 Bite of the Season list.

 

#2 Tuscan Pig in Longview

Bet you didn’t expect East Texas Italian to make the list! The Tuscan Pig in Longview their cheesy handmade lasagna, and their pesto Tuscan pork gnocchi solidified their silver medal on Season 22’s Bite of the Season rankings.

#1 Roegels BBQ in Katy

When a BBQ joint stands out on The Texas Bucket List the way Roegels did this season, they have to take the cake. They gave us a trio of sandwiches to try out, and the brisket cheese steak, house made bologna and Cuban sandwiches all helped Roegels take the number one spot on  this season’s Bite of the Season!

 

The Texas Bucket List – Mia Marco’s Pizza in Selma

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Selma – In the San Antonio suburb of Selma, pizza is being slung in the air as sultry as Sinatra singing a song. Surprisingly, old blue eyes only had three of his songs top the Billboard Hot 100 charts, which happens to be the same number of times that Mia Marco’s has topped the charts in the pizza world. “We’re the only people in the world that have three world championships,” said Derek Sanchez.

Sanchez has some Italian roots thanks to his mom, and that lineage looms large when it comes to his pizza pies. “Pizza was something I wanted to do at home,” said Derek. “It was really fun. And then my college buddy said, ‘Hey, dude, we need to open up a pizzeria. Let’s try a food truck.’”

That buddy was Joey Hernandez and together with Lee Hunzinger they created Mia Marcos. “My whole goal from day one was truly to make the best pizza in the world,” said Derek.

Derek’s day job as a physical therapist has made his part time gig as a pizza man something people are passionate about. “I hear it all the time, dude,” said Derek. “I’m working, ‘How’s your pizza place?’ ‘It’s good.’ ‘Y’all’s pizza is so good. It’s so awesome.’ We talk about pizza. I’m working on their shoulder or their back or neck or whatever, and we’re sitting there talking about pizza. It’s pretty fun.”

“It’s light years beyond a chain pizza,” said customer Beau. “It’s unlike anything else.”

“I think it’s one of the best pizza places in San Antonio,” said another customer named Christina.

Now when Mia Marcos got started in 2016, winning a world championship wasn’t what they were aiming for. “I had no idea the pizza world was like that,” said Derek. “It’s crazy.”

But Derek and his team decided to enter for the fun of it. “So, I jump in this thing and I get fifth,” said Derek. “I’m like, ‘Oh, wow. I think we have something good here.’ I came home and I told my wife, ‘I think I can win that thing.’ I dug in and then we went back and we won it. A world pizza championship.”

Wondering what winning a world pizza championship feels like? “Five seconds of fun,” said Derek. “And then let’s go back home and get back to work.”

Making their own dough and their own mozzarella are just some of the steps that they take at Mia Marcos to make their pizza stand out. They don’t cut corners, they cut slices, and those two ingredients were key to their success. “First one I won was just a regular cheese pizza,” said Derek. “Just cheese pizza. Everybody put a bunch of toppings on there. I really wanted our dough to shine, so I popped in a cheese pizza, and boom. We snagged one.”

“I never knew pizza could be taken so seriously,” said customer Deborah.

Dereck wanted me to dive into a trio of their pizza so the guys got to work. “Let’s do a classic margherita,” said Derek. “Joey’s creating something called the Cornicione, or the crust. He’s creating the outside of the pizza. Soon, he’ll pick it up. He’ll start to stretch it open, and he’s kind of going to let the dough do its own work, right? Going to use gravity, let the dough, it’s going to pull it apart and stretch the pizza out.”

Joey sauces up the pizza and puts some of the house made mozzarella on top and throws it in the oven. “It’s like a work of art already,” said Derek. “It’s not even baked, right?”

Lee uses the same sauce, brushes on some egg wash and scatters sesame seeds to the crust. “So right now he’s going to bake that pizza with no toppings,” said Derek. “It’s just a classic red pizza. We’re going to top it with cheese after it comes out of the oven.”

Dereck finished off the margherita with basil and garlic oil. Lee’s pizza gets burrata cheese. “He’s worked many years on his hand work and manicuring his hand work,” said Derek. “So he practices nightly on how to put burrata on pizza.”

Then comes some pepperoni jam, a unique topping that Lee invented. It, too, gets basil and parmesan cheese. “It’s amazing how that red disc turned into that, huh?” said Derek.

For the final pizza, they put together a unique half and half. “It’s roasted red peppers, cup and char pepperoni on a cheese pizza,” said Derek. “And we’re doing it in the style of a grandma style, so a squared fried pizza in that pan.”

There is without a doubt three Texas sized pies brought to the table, and the first one up is going to be the Margherita, a good pizza to go with at any pizza parlor because it’s usually the original form. And right away you can tell that crust is light and it looks delicious. “This is pizza you don’t get tired of,” said Deborah.

The tomato sauce brings in the sweetness, but then the basil brings in the nice flavor of the garden, and it is amazing how good that Margherita pizza is. You can hear how awesome the crust is as soon as you bite in. “Crispy and fluffy and just delicious,” said Christina. “I think it’s amazing.”

What’s amazing is right off the bat that crust crunches, but then once you get it in your mouth, it just softens right up. Next up is the bar pizza with that pepperoni jam on top. “It’s got a little bit of this sweet and savory combined, and so it’s just a nice little garnish touch to the pepperoni pie,” said Deborah. “Yes, it’s also very savory, very tasty, flavorful.”

That pepperoni jam definitely has the sweetness in it, but it also has the saltiness of that pepperoni with a little kick, and it is fantastic. The last pie up is grandma’s square pan pizza, complete with little pepperonis, hot honey and some red peppers. This one, just like the others, is an absolute hit, and really shows off the versatility of Mia Marco’s and their arsenal of pizzas. “We really want people to enjoy this thing, man,” said Derek. “We really want to change the world in Texas and pizza.”

For Derek, this pizza isn’t about awards or accolades. It’s about family and providing support for the ones you love. “So, the truth of it is, I love God a lot, dude,” said Derek. “So I truly think that the Lord put this pizza in my heart for this one right here (Derek’s daughter). Just because I’m a PT, I got to be in the clinic to work. But this can grow and develop, and I think it’ll provide money for her the rest of her life. So I think this is why, dude, this one right here, this little fart. Right? All right. Get out of here. Love you.”

“Love you too,” his daughter replied.

 

 

The Texas Bucket List – PB&J with Tay in San Antonio

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San Antonio – On the edge of Olmos Park on the north side of the Alamo City, you’ll find a place that serves a particular type of meal.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “This was a staple in my household, man,” said Jeremiah Burns, owner of PB&J with Tay. “I grew up with this sandwich.”

Jeremiah is the man who spreads joy around San Antonio by spreading the peanut butter. “It reminds me of these old memories, old school after school snacks and soccer games,” said Jeremiah. “You know what I mean? After grandma makes your PB&J after school, and then into my twenties and thirties. It was just like, ‘I’m broke.’ It is a good sandwich to eat. Midnight snack. It was a staple.”

Only open for lunch Tuesday through Sunday, Jermiah named his sandwich shop dedicated to the old classic, PB&J with Tay, in honor his of daughter Taylyn and his wife Taylor.

“I named it that because I love peanut butter jelly, but I also love my daughter, so I named it,” said Jeremiah. “And then she grew up and she was like, ‘Daddy, I don’t like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.’ So she’ll do Nutella and peanut butter. But no, she’s not a fan. It’s pretty ironic.”

A message therapist by day, Jeremiah needed to work the kinks out of a side hustle but he couldn’t figure out what else he should do to make ends meet. “I prayed a lot. I hit my knees and I was like, ‘What is it? What is it?’” said Jeremiah. “And I came up with, I was just talking to my wife one day and I was like, ‘What about a peanut butter and jelly restaurant?’ And I have all these wild ideas anyway, and we laughed it off and then it just wouldn’t leave me.”

Like the tried-and-true combination of a PB&J, Jeremiah’s plan came together. “I created 12 signature sandwiches and we have bacon, bananas, walnuts, double-decker, Texas toast, and then we have five jalapeno flavored jellies, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, peach, and pineapple,” said Jeremiah. “Old Corelle plates, mason jar milk, and just making you feel like you’re at home, at grandma’s house. Get away from what’s going on in the world out there and just come and relax for a bit.”

Back in the shop behind the counter, Jeremiah is putting together one of his proudest creations. “Today we’re going to do the double-decker delight,” said Jeremiah. “It has almond butter, creamy peanut butter, walnuts, bananas, cream cheese, bacon and Nutella. It seems like a lot. It flows really well together, and it’s a big seller in our restaurant, so people like it.”

Like any sandwich, this sizable snack starts off with the bread. “We use the old school white bread,” said Jeremiah. “That’s what you get. Give too many options, it gets confusing. So it’ll be a double-decker. We have three pieces of bread.”

With the foundation of the sandwich in place, Jeremiah begins piling on the temptatious toppings. “We start with creamy on the bottom. And then we go with the almond butter,” said Jeremiah. “So we have walnuts and then we go with bananas. We have this nifty – Yeah. I get more comments on the slicer than I do the sandwiches. Then we’re going to use our strawberry jalapeno jelly on the bottom. Fresh jalapenos, cutups, fresh strawberries. We go crunchy on top. And then the last spread is going to be a whipped cream cheese, So it’s real light and fluffy. It’s like when you’re at those parties and people have the block of cream cheese and they put the jelly on top and eat it with crackers. It’s that kind of concept and it works really well together.”

The sandwich is grilled to perfection and oozes the various butters and jellies that make up the double-decker delight. Right off the bat, you pick it up and it’s till warm, soft, beautiful. Every corner you turn, there’s a new taste. The cream cheese definitely adds another layer of salty goodness that just comes out of left field, but it’s pillowy soft. Well, that bite was a ton of blackberry jalapeno jelly, which was fantastic. But then you get a little banana and then you get a little creamy peanut butter. Then you get a little crunchy peanut butter. It’s just a smorgasbord of peanut butter flavors. And then the bacon just kicks your tongue with some extra salt for the fun of it, and it’s fantastic.

Well, if you’re looking for an exquisite peanut butter and jelly experience, coming to San Antonio and visiting PB&J with Tay is definitely well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “If you do anything with passion and love and kindness, it’s going to thrive no matter what you go through,” said Jeremiah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Texas Bucket List – Roegels Barbeque in Katy

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Katy – Whenever you first see the sign for Roegels Barbecue, it usually takes a few tries before getting the pronunciation right. That didn’t deter Russel Roegels from naming his BBQ joint after himself. “A lot of people in barbecue have funny names,” said Russell. “You take Feges, Micklethwait, there’s quite a few of them and I told my mom we’re going to call it Roegels and she said, ‘Don’t do that. Nobody can pronounce it and it’ll confuse people.’”

That is unless you have delicious, sought after, and renowned BBQ like Russ has. “You’ve got to make sure that you’re doing good every time, and that’s what we strive for every day,” said Russell.

Roegels has been a fixture in H-Town since 2014 but before this BBQ joint bared his name, Russ was making smoked meat for most of his life. “I started doing barbecue full-time while I was going to college and, just something to get me through, pay the bills while I’m in college,” said Russell. “I had no plans on ever doing this for a living.”

After serving in the Air Force for five years he ended up at Bodacious BBQ back in ’95, and in 2001 he was hired on to manage the Baker’s Ribs in Houston. After a few years, he started to notice something. “At the Houston Barbecue Festival, I see how everybody else is doing it,” said Russell. “I’m like, ‘Man, our stuff’s not all that good.’”

So he set out to learn at the extremely popular Camp Brisket at Texas A&M. “Dr. Sable and Dr. Griffin and Ray Riley all came around and I met them and I said, ‘Hey, I want to get involved in this camp that y’all are doing.’” said Russell. “And he said, ‘Well, we’re full right now, but we will keep in touch.’ Well, I emailed him the next day and called him and I was like, ‘Dr. Sable,’ basically says, I told him, ‘Hey, I’m coming.’ And so I’ve been to every barbecue camp since then. Great deal, great program. I love going to College Station and being there and being able to help.”

In December of 2014 the switch to Roegels became official and people officially weren’t relishing in Russel’s dream. “Sometimes people don’t like a whole lot of change, and so we started seeing our sales just trickle on down,” said Russell. “We were struggling. When I say bad, we were about to close the doors and Misty said, ‘Do you think we messed up?’ And I said, ‘No. I believe in what we’re doing. I believe in our product. It’ll happen.’”

One good write up in a local newspaper changed everything. “We got just lucky getting some press and we just wanted to make sure that it lived up to what they were saying we were,” said Russell.

BBQ was booming and things were hustling and bustling, but 10 years later… “We were the cool kids once,” joked Russell. “We were the new guy on the block, and a lot of people are always looking for the new guy. They want to break that story. So I kid with people down like, yeah, We’re just called has been barbecue now. We’re the old guy that people, ‘oh, he used to be cool, but he’s over here now.'”

So Russel pivoted again and started making things like BBQ brisket pastrami and other amazing sandwiches. “It really is something that blew up in our face and we were like, ‘Wow,’” Said Russell.

“The sandwich I never thought I would enjoy and then I had it one time and I was hooked on it,” said one customer. “It’s just yummy.”

Then it’s settled, sandwiches it is. But which ones should we do? “The Cuban is more labor intensive, so I know my guys back there,” said Russell. “They’ll be like, ‘Don’t feature the Cuban.’”

Check. “We just call it a brisket cheese steak,” said Russell. We’re not going to call it a Philly cheese steak because the Yankees would get mad. ‘That’s not a real Philly.’ Or something like that. Yeah, I don’t know how they do it. I obviously don’t have a northern accent.”

Sure, let’s do that too. “Would bologna be too crazy? We make it,” said Russell. “It is crazy. You’ll try it and you’ll be like, ‘No way?’”

I think we have our three contenders. “All right, we’re going to start with our brisket cheese steaks,” said Russell. “So first thing we got to do is grab our roll. Got to get a couple pieces of this provolone right here and I’m going to throw it right on the grill.”

Things only got cheesier from there. “We’ve got some cheese sauce that we have that we’re about to pour over the top,” said Russell. “And there we go. We’ve got our brisket cheese steak. We call it a cheese steak because we’re not from Philly. We’re from Texas.”

Next up is that bologna sandwich that’s a clear cut above the one you’re probably used to pulling out of the lunch bag. “All right, next what we’re going to do is we’re going to do our in-house made bologna,” said Russell. “So this isn’t a regular bologna like you get in a grocery store. It’s a coarse grind and it’s made with brisket and pork butt. We smoke it, we throw it on the flat top, put a little scald on it. We put some lettuce, tomato, and mayo on it and make it just a old school bologna sandwich, but with new school bologna. That’s the Roegels bologna sandwich right there.”

There was one more spectacular sandwich to put together. “So next what we’re going to do is we’re going to do a barbecue and it’s our play on a Cuban sandwich, but it’s done with smoked meats,” said Russell.

With a French baguette buttered and pressed, Russ grills up sliced ham and Swiss cheese on flattop. The baguette gets cheese, homemade pickles and mustard sauce and is topped with the ham and chopped up. “Not a traditional Cuban,” said Russell. “It’s a Barbecuban. It’s our play on it.”

So here we have three fantastic sandwiches from Roegels and we’re going to go straight to the bologna and that’s no bologna, because when you hear about a bologna sandwich, you got to see what that’s all about. The coarseness of the bologna, the saltiness, and the savoriness along with that smoking makes it sensational. “It’s real thick so you can really taste the bologna and oh, that is yummy,” said one customer. “I love the bologna sandwich. I do. That’s one of my faves.”

That’s definitely not the kind of bologna sandwich my mom used to make. Onto the brisket cheese steak. That cheese is just all over that smoked brisket. Of course it’s stuck itself to the paper. Oh, go for the pepper side. Well, they might be a fan of their Phillys up in the northeast, but down here in Texas we do things different and this would definitely take the series. “You get that smoky sort of more flavor that you don’t necessarily get, let’s say, on a true Philly cheese steak,” said another customer.

Hey Philly, we got the trophy and your sandwich. Finally we’re on to the Barbecuban and I’m a huge fan of Cuban sandwiches, so I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. Oh yeah, that pulled pork, that mustard. It’s obvious that this is going to be good. Boy, that pulled pork is just full of flavor. You mix it in with that ham and those pickles and that honey sauce. Oh yeah.  “They do it right,” said a customer. “They do it consistently and they just do a heck of a job with their cue.” Hey Yordan, if you want to taste the home with little Texas twist, this is the place for you, buddy.

Well, whether you’re looking for some old school barbecue or some of the most sensational sandwiches I’ve ever had on the side of Interstate 10, coming to Katy to Roegels is definitely well worth the stop on the Texas bucket list. “My last name on it means my name’s on every plate that comes out of here, so I want it to be right every single time,” said Russell.