by David Garrido and Robb Walsh (Chronicle Books, $19.95 paper)
The eagerly awaited book by up-and-coming regional chef David Garrido and award-winning food writer (and former Austin Chronicle food editor Robb Walsh) will be on the shelves of Austin bookstores this week. This has been a very good year for local cookbook authors, and these gentlemen should continue on the crest of that wave. Nuevo Tex-Mex has to be one of the most attractive cookbooks I’ve seen in recent memory, maintaining the standard for which San Francisco’s Chronicle Books is justifiably famous. The graphics are appealing, and it’s illustrated with an abundance of mouthwatering photographs to entice the salivating reader into the kitchen.
The stated purpose of this book is to update the one style of “Latin American fusion cooking that never got any respect. Until now.” Garrido and Walsh have taken traditional Tex-Mex standard dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, and refried beans, and given them a whole new spin, using an interesting array of fresh, new, and, in many cases, non-native ingredients in the process. I’ve spent the past few weeks reading and cooking from this new book, trying to identify what it is about it that bothers me. I don’t have a problem with the recipes themselves. In fact, there are many that I truly like, especially in the Fiesta Foods chapter. Cooking the onions and peppers before adding them to the Nuevo Guacamole (page 78) is a wonderful idea, imparting an even richer flavor to the buttery avocado concoction. The Shrimp Huatulco (page 77) is every bit as delicious as the picture would have you believe, and I’m sure that many readers will be as happy as I am finally to have the recipe for the famous Oyster Nachos from Jeffrey’s (page 66).
A portion of my discomfort stems from the author’s innovative use of expensive contemporary ingredients � many of which are not native to Texas or Mexico � in the preparation of traditional dishes for what has for centuries been more of a peasant cuisine. If they want to serve Steak Tacos With Endive and Bleu Cheese (page 52) or Lamb Chops in Banana Mint Mole (page 97), that’s okay with me. I’m somewhat of a mole purist, but their simplified, quicker mole methods are rather interesting, and even though I don’t think White Bean Refritos (page 90) will ever actually catch on in Texas, the sauce is pretty tasty. However, I will admit to laughing out loud at Truffled Egg Tacos (page 49) in blue corn crepes with the salmon roe variation. This is a chef’s recipe if ever there was one. Considering that truffles are so rare and expensive in this country ($90 per pound domestic, $400 per pound imported), I feel sure only a tiny fraction of readers would ever use it. There is a handy list of mail-order sources for hard-to-find Mexican ingredients in the back of the book, but no information on where to get the truffles.
It’s the title of this new cookbook that really gives me pause. I find myself in somewhat the same position as the child who couldn’t see the emperor’s new clothes. I see some interesting, innovative food here but certainly not the way the authors and their editors see it. Nuevo Southwestern, perhaps, or even David and Robb Cook Rich, Expensive Food would be more honest titles, in my estimation. Calling this book Nuevo Tex-Mex is a smart idea to mine a specific marketing niche and I’m sure it will be successful. I’m just as sure that truffles, prosciutto, caviar, portobello and shiitake mushrooms, shark and bacon tacos, or ribeye fajitas are not the true future of Tex-Mex food.
� Virginia B. Wood
This article appears in May 1 • 1998 and May 1 • 1998 (Cover).