25 Indigenous foods
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| George Gongora/Caller-Times |
| Fajitas, enchiladas and barbecue are a few of the foods that have become a part of South Texas culture. |
The melding of cultures, crops and catches in the Coastal
Bend have given us these culinary delights:
Mexican
112 taquerias and restaurants in Corpus Christi
including some chains, but mostly Corpus Christi's own. Six
Mexican bakeries that serve everything from conchas to empanadas.
When Robert Recio thought of opening a restaurant
more than two years ago, he chose Mexican food because "that's
our heritage; that's what we're most familiar with. And it's
good food."
Recio learned by watching his mother and grandmother
cook.
"What we serve here is a lot of what we were raised
on," he said.
Barbecue
The cattle drives that crisscrossed through South
Texas probably introduced it here. Cooking beef over oak, hickory
or mesquite gives Texas barbecue the flavor that distinguishes
it from barbecue of other southern states, Jerry Martinez, owner
of Mac's #Fore Barbecue and Catering.
"That's what puts that bright red ring all around
it," he said.
Texas barbecue also uses beef more often than pork,
and hunks of brisket can take as long as 14 hours to cook.
Chicken fried steak
Likely on the menu even if the sign on the door
says Mexican food, seafood or barbecue.
"It's a Texas tradition," said Noe Ayala, general
manager of K-Bob's Steakhouse. "A lot of people don't ever know
about our other great food because they always have the chicken
fried steak."
Kolaches
Elizabeth Gajdos of the Czech Heritage Society
recently helped make 3,000 kolaches filled with apple, pineapple,
prune, cream cheese or apricot to sell at the 20th annual Czechfest.
By 3 p.m. of the second day, all 3,000 were gone.
Kolaches started out as pies but evolved into treats
with a variety of fillings, including sausage.