The New York Times included four Texas restaurants on its list of “41 of the Greatest Mexican Restaurants Across the United States.” Published Thursday, August 13, the Texas restaurants on the list are:

• Burnt Bean Co., a barbecue restaurant in Seguin
• Garcia’s Mexican Food, a Tex-Mex diner in San Antonio
• Hugo’s, an interior Mexican restaurant in Houston
• Nixta Taqueria, a creative taco concept in Austin

Mostly written by James Beard Award-winning food writers Brett Anderson and Bill Esparza, the duo “visited dozens of Mexicans restaurants across the country over the course of a year” to compile the list, the Times explains.

“This list is not an attempt to rank the best Mexican restaurants,” the duo write. “It is, rather, a mosaic of great places to eat, from food trucks to corner restaurants to tasting-menu counters. We hope it tells an expansive story about Mexican cooking in America today — a dynamic cuisine all its own, and as American as any food.”

As Texas Monthly’s No. 1 ranked barbecue joint, Burnt Bean Co. is already well known for its smoked meats, but the Times also hails its Mexican cuisine, which includes its signature Sunday morning menu with menudo, barbacoa tacos, and brisket huevos rancheros.

“You could call it Tex-Mex barbecue, but it’s just how barbecue is eaten in a state whose Mexican border is more than 1,200 miles long,” Anderson writes

Founded in 1962, Anderson hails Garcia’s for its consistency, affordability, and pioneering combination of smoked brisket tacos. “Garcia’s is what an idealized American diner looks like in this part of the country: housemade salsas, tortillas instead of toast and plates of nourishing food at prices that explain why some customers visit multiple times a day,” he writes.

The article credits Hugo’s for introducing the city’s diners to a deeper understanding of the breadth of Mexican cuisine. “Aged into a fine-dining lion in the cradle of Tex-Mex, Hugo’s still features longtime staples like banana leaf-wrapped cabrito, grilled octopus and sautéed chapulines, not to mention mezcals and Mexican wine,” Anderson writes.

“I’m so glad I took a risk taking that train to Houston and, eventually, opening Hugo’s,” Ortega said in response to CultureMap’s request for comment about being included on the list. “I had no idea how it would turn out, I just knew was it was the food that I grew up eating and it was different than what I was seeing in Houston at the time. It was – and is – the food of my heart, my family, my ancestors. The foundation of Mexican cuisine is making everything from scratch which is what we continue to do every day at Hugo’s, and at our other concepts, too. I am humbled and thankful.”

Operated by Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi, Nixta has drawn lines of Austinites eager for its creative spin on tacos, which includes Asian ingredients such as fish sauce and furikake, as well as a dessert that nods to Mardanbigi’s Persian heritage.

“The reservations-only tasting menu, served Thursday through Saturday, further showcases the couple’s stunning creativity and ambition,” writer Priya Krishna notes. “But most of the time Nixta remains what it always has been: a counter taquería of the utmost excellence.”

Of course, knowing that the list isn’t a ranking makes it easier to understand the decision to pick Hugo’s as Houston’s representative — both for its historical significance and continued excellence. If Anderson and Esparza had decided to seek out a newer option, they could have considered restaurants such as, Michelin-starred Mexican tasting menu concept Tatemó; Modern Mexican-American restaurant Belly of the Beast, which is led by James Beard Award-winning chef Thomas Bille; Maximo, which is led by James Beard Award-winning chef Adrian Torres; or Casaema, the breakfast and lunch concept that earned a spot on the Times’ list of its favorite dishes of 2024.