LOCAL Houston | The City Guide April 2017 | Page 20

DINE WRITE
HAIL TO THE QUEEN
Sylvia Casares Reigns Over Enchiladas
By Janice Schindeler | Photography by Sarah Miller
3.11.2017
12:15pm
Enchilada Flight
FOR THOSE AMONG US FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE SOUTH TEXAS BORN, THE FOOD AT SYLVIA’S
ENCHILADA KITCHEN TASTES OF HOME. THE BROWN GRAVY, CREAMY, DREAMY CHEESE ENCHILADAS
– ONE WHOPPING PLATE OF NOSTALGIA.
For us transplants, Sylvia’s Tex Mex menu is a geography lesson and an
introduction to the culinary richness rooted in the cultural diversity of this
regional cooking style. Tex Mex – a cooking style that emerged from the
glory days of our republic, when borders were open, populations fluid
and all tortillas were handmade. Dare we say 19th-century fusion food?
Owner, enthusiastic powerhouse and Enchilada Queen, SYLVIA CASARES ,
Brownsville born, learned from her abuela and her madre but she took
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cooking one step further – studying food science and home economics
at university and working for a decade at Uncle Ben’s research and
new product development kitchens. She honors the techniques of her
family mentors (the brown gravy is made old school style with the
toasting of chilies and long simmering times) and uses the food science
knowledge to make the home flavors work on the large scale production
her restaurants demand. A massive challenge as neither mom nor
grandmother cooked from recipes.