MISSION, Texas — The Rio Grande Valley is home to the best chef in Texas.
Ana Liz Pulido represented South Texas at the James Beard Awards on June 10, besting chefs including Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin and Christopher Cullum of Cullum's Attaboy in San Antonio to take home the award for Best Chef: Texas. Pulido was the only chef from the Valley nominated for the prestigious award.
Pulido owns Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, Texas.
The restaurant specializes in Mexican cuisine with a small menu that features staples like tostadas served with an array of salsas, vampiros de nopal and costillas de elote served with red chile oil. The corn for the tortillas is nixtamalized in-house, a process that increases the nutritional value of the corn and makes it easier to digest.
Las Ramblas in Brownsville also represented the Valley at the awards with a nomination for Best Bar. Jewel of the South in New Orleans ended up taking home the win in that category.
Here is the full list of nominees for Best Chef: Texas:
Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston
Christopher Cullum, Cullum's Attaboy, San Antonio
Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, Birdie's, Austin
Misti Norris, Petra & the Beast, Dallas
Ana Liz Pulido, Ana Liz Taqueria, Mission