All-beef chili with no beans and no tomatoes, built on chunks of chuck and a dark chile paste of ancho, guajillo and pasilla chiles, beef stock, cumin and Mexican oregano. Texas state dish since 1977.
Where to eat it: 6 restaurants across 2 cities.
Chili con carne traces to the San Antonio chili queens of the 1880s, who set up open-air braziers in Military Plaza serving meaty stew to railroad workers. Texas codified the no-beans rule in 1977 when chili was named the state dish. Austin's chili cook-offs and the Original Terlingua International Championship 4 hours west established the modern competition recipe.
Tip from the editors. No beans, no tomatoes; that is the Texas law. Use dried chiles, not chili powder; the paste is what makes a real Texas red.
Matt's El Rancho in Austin is the Martinez family's South Lamar Tex-Mex room since 1952, home of the Bob Armstrong queso dip and a citywide birthday-dinner.
Signature: Bob Armstrong dip, Enchiladas with chili gravy, Frozen margarita
Order: Bob Armstrong dip, beef enchiladas with chili gravy, plus a frozen margarita on the side.
Tip: The patio under the oaks holds 200; arrive 5:30pm to dodge the 7-to-9 family wait.
Dai Due is jesse griffiths's wild-game and butchery school plus restaurant on manor road is a bib gourmand kitchen most visitors miss for the bigger names.
Why locals love it: Jesse Griffiths's wild-game and butchery school plus restaurant on Manor Road is a Bib Gourmand kitchen most visitors miss for the bigger names.
Tip: Sit at the supper-club nights for the most experimental menu; the New School of Traditional Cookery runs hunting and butchery classes too.
Cisco's in Austin is Rudy Cisneros's East 6th Tex-Mex breakfast counter since 1948, the room that ran the city's politician breakfasts and helped make huevos.
Signature: Huevos rancheros, Migas, Chorizo and eggs
Order: Huevos rancheros plate with refried beans and a side flour tortilla.
Tip: The morning rush peaks at 8:30am; smoother before 7:30 or after 10. Cash and card both work fine.
Mi Tierra at Market Square never closes, so a 3am plate of enchiladas with strolling mariachis and a stop at the panaderia counter is a San Antonio rite.
Try: Enchiladas, pan dulce, mariachi at any hour
Tip: The 24-hour dining room makes it the default after-midnight Tex-Mex stop. Buy pan dulce from the bakery on your way out.
La Fonda on Main is the oldest continuously operating Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, opened by sisters Virginia Berry and Nannie Randall in 1932.
Order: Cheese enchiladas, mole poblano and a margarita on the hacienda patio.
Tip: Ask for a table on the covered patio. The mole poblano is the dish to order if you want something beyond Tex-Mex.
Rosario's two-storey Southtown room keeps its rooftop bar and Tex-Mex kitchen going late on weekends, especially on First Friday when the area fills up.
Try: Tex-Mex and frozen margaritas on the rooftop
Tip: The rooftop bar runs late on weekends. First Friday in Southtown is the night to come for the full scene.
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