Foods

It’s the best of both worlds: Texan barbecue techniques meet Mexican flavors. Whether it’s pit-smoked barbacoa at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ in Austin, or smoked chicken covered in a spicy citrus marinade at Pollos Asados Los Norteños on the southeast side of San Antonio, the genre now includes some serious talent in Central and South Texas. Defining Mexican-American barbecue varies by pitmaster, but the results are smoky, spicy, meaty, and more important, charged with the flavors of a chef’s upbringing. Here are four spots we visited this summer that blend local flavors, Tex-Mex heritage, and pitmaster ingenuity.street food Asia

Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, Austin The lines are at least 50 deep on Saturday mornings at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, opened by pitmaster Miguel Vidal in 2013 on the south side of Austin. Barbecue devotees line up to order at the humble trailer, then find a seat at the tent-covered picnic tables or in the huge covered barn. Valentina’s is Vidal’s ode to the food he grew up eating during family backyard barbecues in San Antonio’s south side, where his tios and tias ate their brisket with tortillas, not the sliced white bread found at so many barbecue joints around Texas.