Classic restaurants stand as timeless reminders of culinary excellence, having weathered the test of time to become more than just eateries.
These establishments, steeped in tradition and laden with stories, are a testament to the enduring allure of exceptional dining experiences. With a history that stretches across decades, the top classic restaurants transcend ordinary food service, evolving into local cultural landmarks that have witnessed the ebb and flow of changing times.
In every state, these esteemed restaurants blend both a hint of nostalgia and a nod toward the future.
Food & Wine has recognized the standout classic restaurant in each state:
“There were FOMO-provoking dishes long before social media had them traveling around the world, people planned vacations just to eat (do you even New Orleans?), and America had celebrity chefs and must-see cooking shows, back when it was mostly PBS doing the heavy lifting. And we are still so fortunate, truly, to have so many of those restaurants, and even some of the chefs, with us still, from that long-ago era. We're talking about the classic restaurants, which, let us say, for the sake of drawing a line, are the ones opened right around the millennium and earlier (ideally, way earlier.)
This nearly 17,000-word survey features nearly 250 restaurants, from furthest Alaska to sunny South Florida. It represents an attempt at examining each state's unique fingerprint on this vast, remarkably diverse thing that we call American food. It draws on years of experience traveling around the country on assignment, as well as the deep back catalog of Food & Wine's annual Best New Chefs and Best New Restaurants franchises, alongside countless feature articles.”
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Classic restaurants stand as timeless reminders of culinary excellence, having weathered the test of time to become more than just eateries.
These establishments, steeped in tradition and laden with stories, are a testament to the enduring allure of exceptional dining experiences. With a history that stretches across decades, the top classic restaurants transcend ordinary food service, evolving into local cultural landmarks that have witnessed the ebb and flow of changing times.
In every state, these esteemed restaurants blend both a hint of nostalgia and a nod toward the future.
Food & Wine has recognized the standout classic restaurant in each state:
“There were FOMO-provoking dishes long before social media had them traveling around the world, people planned vacations just to eat (do you even New Orleans?), and America had celebrity chefs and must-see cooking shows, back when it was mostly PBS doing the heavy lifting. And we are still so fortunate, truly, to have so many of those restaurants, and even some of the chefs, with us still, from that long-ago era. We're talking about the classic restaurants, which, let us say, for the sake of drawing a line, are the ones opened right around the millennium and earlier (ideally, way earlier.)
This nearly 17,000-word survey features nearly 250 restaurants, from furthest Alaska to sunny South Florida. It represents an attempt at examining each state's unique fingerprint on this vast, remarkably diverse thing that we call American food. It draws on years of experience traveling around the country on assignment, as well as the deep back catalog of Food & Wine's annual Best New Chefs and Best New Restaurants franchises, alongside countless feature articles.”
In Texas, the noteworthy title goes to the following:
“The long drive to nowhere to eat a plate full of meat is a time-honored tradition in the Lone Star State, one typically reserved for world-class barbecue. Since 1983, however, those in the know have been making an exception for the ribeye steaks, grilled over mesquite coals, up at Tom Perini's ranch, on a rural road about a half hour from Abilene. The energy at Perini Ranch Steakhouse is backyard barbecue. For crying out loud, you can eat that honking cowboy ribeye at a picnic table, though they did get air-conditioning this past decade, finally. The meat (and the atmosphere) puts plenty of big ticket city steakhouses to shame, and Perini's got all of the awards to prove it. Eating light? The burgers are legendary.
You won't have to drive forever, provided you're already in Austin, to get to some of the state's most exemplary barbecue. Recent years have been exceptionally kind to the craft, with bright young things getting into the pits and pushing the genre forward in all sorts of exciting ways, but few can match the extraordinary, pepper-crusted brisket at Louie Mueller BBQ, occupying a decommissioned gymnasium in downtown Taylor since 1959 (they've been in business since the '40s). Steak, barbecue, what else is there? Tex-Mex, of course. Austin's Matt's El Rancho has been a standard-bearer since 1952, famously home to the Bob Armstrong dip, which is queso, with a dollop of guacamole and a generous scoop of taco meat, named for the late Texas Land Commissioner who walked in one day and asked the owner for something other than his usual order.
You'll get a little bit of everything Texas, and it will all be very good, at Garcia's Mexican Food in San Antonio. This family-owned institution has been at it for more than half a century; it's an eggs and bacon at the counter diner, it's a Tex-Mex restaurant, it's a barbecue joint, their brisket tacos are sought after by pretty much anyone who's ever tried one, and it manages to do pretty much all of it exceptionally well, expect to wait. Chances are, you'll show up to Patillo's BBQ in austere Beaumont and not find any lines at all, which means more of those incredible wood-smoked beef links, squeezed from their skin, boudin style, and dipped in their considerable juices, for you; this is the region's delicious (and under-appreciated) contribution to Texas barbecue, and Patillo's remains at the front of the pack after more than a century in business—it also happens to be the oldest black-owned barbecue joint in the state.”