Los Barrios Family Cookbook: Tex-Mex Recipes from the Heart of San Antonio

by Diana Barrios Trevino, Emeril Lagasse (Foreword by)

More than 140 recipes from San Antonio’s favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, featuring dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert (plus cocktails!).

Since 1979, Los Barrios restaurant in San Antonio, Texas—the heart of Tex-Mex cuisine—has been serving up casero, or home-style, cooking that has charmed food critics and earned an impressive following. Founded with a small investment and a lot of spirit, Los Barrios built its reputation on the authenticity of its cuisine. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook offers these reputation-making recipes—from simple but impressive traditional Mexican dishes, many of which have been handed down and perfected through the generations, to modern Tex-Mex favorites—to fans of Southwest cuisine across the country.

Included are recipes for Mexican Homemade Flour Tortillas, Tamales, and Pico de Gallo; Barrios family specialties, such as Mama Viola’s Chicken Rice Soup and Acapulco-Style Ceviche; and the classics—Chiles Rellenos, Chalupas, and Enchiladas Verdes. All the recipes contain easy-to-find ingredients, and special cooking tips will help you prepare dishes at home that will be as delicious as those served in the restaurant. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for food that explodes with flavor. ¡Buen provecho!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2002

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to find an authentic tamale recipe, but the book only suggested using purchased tamales. There are some great recipes, though. The author attended the same high school I attended.

[Liquidlasagna]

a fair number of people complain that a lot of the recipes have been watered down and certain ingredients are left out in the recipes

[Stiobhard · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the time I read this I was writing a blog and was reading everything on Mexican food published in Texas I could get my hands on. This one was recommended by my mother, who had bought it after visiting the popular restaurant in San Antonio. I cannot speak about the restaurant, but its absolutely the worst Mexican cookbook I ever read. (Well after Diana Kennedy's completely racist diatribe "The Cuisines of Mexico", anyway...) Possibly the worst cookbook period. It is so full of errors that if you follow the recipes, you will just end up destroying your dish. I do not know if this was done out of spite or negligence but it seems the book was written to protect family recipes rather than to share them. If you are looking on how to make Tex-Mex classics, better to look elsewhere.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yum! The enchilada gravy recipe has changed the way I sauce my burritos and maybe taken 3 years off my life. But who cares, if the time I have left tastes this good? I could bathe in this stuff. Lots of good recipes here.

[LA]

The Sangria rocks my socks off.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only do we love the restaurant, but the book gives you a ton of great dishes that are easy to prepare at home.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review

I’m always looking for new tastes and cuisines in different regions of the country, especially those that involve local culture. We went in search of big Tex-Mex cooking, which San Antonio is known for. I chose Los Barrios from the many Tex-Mex restaurants in the city because I fell in love with Diana Barrios Treviño and the entire Barrios family. . . . The dishes they have created contain amazing combinations and flavors that many people don’t get to experience. I wanted the rest of the country to sample what I was tasting. I wanted people to realize that true Tex-Mex cooking isn’t just fajitas and burritos. Now, with the Los Barrios Family Cookbook, I am excited to know that people across the country can easily prepare and taste all of the delicious dishes I experienced on my visit. Whether you like your food hot, medium, or mild—and these recipes have it all—you’ll love the food in this book.

—from the Foreword by Emeril Lagasse

Product Description

Since 1979, Los Barrios restaurant in San Antonio, Texas—the heart of Tex-Mex cuisine—has been serving up casero, or home-style, cooking that has charmed food critics and earned an impressive following. Founded with a small investment and a lot of spirit, Los Barrios built its reputation on the authenticity of its cuisine. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook offers these reputation-making recipes—from simple but impressive traditional Mex-ican dishes, many of which have been handed down and perfected through the generations, to modern Tex-Mex favorites—to fans of Southwest cuisine across the country.

Included are recipes for Mexican essentials: Homemade Flour Tortillas, Tamales, and Pico de Gallo; Barrios family specialties, such as Mama Viola’s Chicken Rice Soup and Acapulco-Style Ceviche; and the classics—Chiles Rellenos, Chalu-pas, and Enchiladas Verdes. All the recipes contain easy-to-find ingredients, and special cooking tips will help you prepare dishes at home that will be as delicious as those served in the restaurant. The Los Barrios Family Cookbook is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for food that explodes with flavor. ¡Buen provecho!