We can’t spend all our time contemplating the miracles of modern living, but one that we should give some appreciative thought to is our ability to experience such a wealth of good food. A century ago, kings and queens would not have dined on the variety of cuisines, prepared with ingredients from across the world, that we’re able to DoorDash on any given weeknight. Along with all the options has come an amplification of the central quest of the discerning food enthusiast—finding food that’s “legit.”
What Houston area restaurant is most authentic to your native country’s cuisine? was a popular query on Reddit in 2024 that received hundreds of responses. There was broad consensus that the Houston area is home to a rich tapestry of amazing cuisines, from Sichuan to Jamaican to Peruvian to Bosnian. More difficult to agree upon were the characteristics of “authentic.” What does the word mean to the people who make the food we love to eat?
Staying True
To bring the real flavors of Spain to his new restaurant, Mesón Sommelier in Old Town Spring, Thomas Perez imports everything from seafood to charcuterie, down to the very bread served each day. He sources items from Spain that even restaurants there have trouble finding, like angulas (baby eels fried in olive oil), a Spanish delicacy that’s notoriously hard to come by.
“Imagine caviar or foie gras—these are ten times more difficult to find. People from Spain walk in here, and they’re shocked.”
It's no wonder that Mesón Sommelier has already earned the Restaurants from Spain certification, an official designation awarded to only a handful of restaurants worldwide based on rigorous standards for carrying on Spanish culinary traditions.
“For us,” says Perez, “this is our Michelin star right here.”
Perez says his menu draws primarily from the Basque provinces of northern Spain—croquetas de bacalao, gambas al pil pil, pan con tomate, and patatas bravas are some of the offerings. His deep list of Spanish wines (most of which can’t be found anywhere else in Texas) and a hunky leg of acorn-fed jamón Ibérico de bellota perched on the bar round out the restaurant’s bona fides.
“We go back to the ingredients,” says Perez, “that way we don’t lose the deeply-rooted history of the cuisine.”
Welcoming Newcomers
Paolo Nucum, general manager of Phat Eatery in The Woodlands, says the restaurant’s mission is to share the traditions that inspired the late Chef Alex Au-Yeung to create the restaurant’s award-winning dishes. A priority is making the menu accessible to those who’ve never had Malaysian food. He says it’s a cuisine of many influences—flavors of Indonesia, Singapore, China and India.
“I tell people all the time, if you’re willing to try something different, we have a big menu.”
Dishes like the mee goreng—stir-fried egg noodles with veggies and sambal chili paste (“the national condiment of Malaysia,” says Nucum) served with your choice of protein and topped with toasted peanuts; the highly praised curried beef rendang; and Kerabu prawns with pickled green papaya, mango and peanuts are inviting offerings.
The restaurant’s other aim is to satisfy people who already know Malaysian food well. Nucum says he’s been surprised at the number of Malaysian expats in The Woodlands, people who grew up or worked in the region. He says the restaurant takes seriously the feedback of its guests: a new Sunday dim sum menu was rolled out in August, and a dessert version of their popular roti canai flatbread was offered during Houston Restaurant Weeks and received rave reviews.
“We keep working to bring guests the flavors they love along with some they may not have experienced before,” says Nucum.
Keeping the Old Ways Vibrant
“My grandmother had a Mexican fonda,” says Chef Beatriz Martines of Xalisko in The Woodlands.
The James Beard-nominated chef grew up in the Mexican state of Jalisco, cooking with her grandmother, mother and aunts.
Some dishes should stay in their classic form, says Martines, whose menu is filled with the traditional dishes of the Pacific side of Mexico. But some of the old recipes get her creativity flowing.
“I let my imagination go, but I keep the flavors true.”
One of these is sopes—corn masa cakes traditionally topped with beans, meat or cheese.
“My own family said, ‘Why are you putting octopus on the sopes?’”
Now the sopes de pulpo, made with marinated octopus, is a signature dish on Xalisko’s menu.
Another is her tamal de elote. Shaped like an ear of corn, the tamale is stuffed with fresh corn, cream and Cotija. Martines used her grandmother’s recipe as the basis for the dish but couldn’t get the tamale to maintain its whimsical shape. She called her grandmother, who figured out the correct ingredient ratio in a couple of minutes.
Martines laughs, “You have all this training, and your grandmother figures it out! She has the experience of life.”
The resulting dish has a different look, says Martines, but the flavors passed down for generations remain the same.
Exploring New Frontiers
Adam Gorelick, co-owner with his wife Wanalee of Charm Thai Kitchen & Bar in The Woodlands says one of the most-ordered items on the menu of their modern Thai eatery is the Tex-Thai fried rice with house-smoked brisket. Its popularity sparked the idea for the couple’s newest eatery, Charm Taphouse & BBQ, which opened in June on FM 1488 in Conroe.
The concept blends traditional Thai cuisine with Central Texas barbecue. While the style known as Tex-Asian barbecue keeps the meats front and center, the Gorelicks give the Thai dishes equal billing. The menu pairs brisket, pork belly, house-made Thai sausages and other meats smoked in-house over post oak with curries, stir-fries, fried rice and pad dishes for a contrast of flavors that elevates each dish. Another highlight is the Thai yum ribs—seasoned with Thai spices, smoked, then flash fried to order. They’re tossed with jim jaew sauce and can be ordered as an appetizer.
“Adam has a passion for creating new dishes,” says Wanalee.
The couple spent time living in her home country of Thailand before settling in The Woodlands. They return when they can to visit family and gather inspiration.
“Barbecue is patience,” says Gorelick, while Thai street food is quick and adaptable on the fly.
“We make it work without either of them losing their identity,” says Wanalee. “It has to be approachable for everyone.”
Is Authenticity in the Eye of the Beholder?
Taking culinary traditions, treating them with respect, and using imagination and skill to create dishes that click with the way we eat today is as real as it gets.
Making food for others is a challenging business. Who would do it for long except those who want to continue the story, pouring their lives into every dish in the hopes of transporting people when they take a bite?
Dig in, everybody.
“Imagine caviar or foie gras—these are ten times more difficult to find. People from Spain walk in here, and they’re shocked.” - Thomas Perez of Mesón Sommelier
“I let my imagination go, but I keep the flavors true.” - Chef Beatriz Martines of Xalisko