José R. Ralat

2 weeks ago | texasmonthly.com | José R. Ralat

Alejandra Cavazos has a soft spot for strays. Growing up in McAllen’s Mexican sister city, Reynosa, she took in feral cats and loose dogs, a practice she stopped during her time at university in Monterrey. Cavazos received a PhD in international affairs there before moving to McAllen with her husband, Rafael Ramirez. Ramirez and his family own the Rio Grande Valley chain Tortillas Aries.

3 weeks ago | texasmonthly.com | José R. Ralat

In every part of the United States, you’re bound to come across a local version of the hot dog. The Midwest has its Coneys, the meat slathered with mustard and chili and topped with diced white onion. In the South, franks are bright red and crowned with slaw. Seattleites like theirs with a squirt of cream cheese. And in Texas, we enjoy Mexican hot dogs. Various sources claim hot dogs were introduced in Mexico in 1945, when an American couple began selling them outside a Mexico City bullring.

4 weeks ago | texasmonthly.com | José R. Ralat

When Mexican-Japanese restaurants open in Texas, my curiosity is immediately piqued. So, when news broke that Shōgun Taqueria was opening on Magnolia Avenue, in Fort Worth, the new business moved toward the top of my list of places to visit. Shōgun Taqueria, now approximately two months old, sits in the former Paco’s Mexican Cuisine space in the Near Southside neighborhood.

1 month ago | texasmonthly.com | José R. Ralat

There are so many great tacos in Texas—as evidenced in our 50 Best Tacos in Texas list—that Texas Monthly decided to celebrate them with two new festivals this year. The first will go down on Saturday, May 31, in Grand Prairie, while the other will be held the following Saturday, June 7, in downtown Houston. I have the honor of curating these events as the magazine’s taco editor, but this isn’t my first rodeo, er, taco festival. I’ve run similar events for several years.

1 month ago | texasmonthly.com | José R. Ralat

Late last year, when Gaby Hinojosa told me that her San Antonio restaurant San Taco was closing, she teased that there were other plans in the works. I expected another brick-and-mortar, but what happened next seemed to come out of nowhere. I was scrolling through Instagram while waiting for my flight to San Antonio to board when I saw a story from a new account called San Peter Taqueria.