Starting June 11, out-of-towners and even out-of-country(ers?) will descend upon the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and Houston for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Both AT&T Stadium and NRG Stadium will host several matches and probably a dozen or so international teams vying for the iconic trophy and the multimillion-dollar payout. It all will be a very big deal until it ends on July 19.
Home bases for international fans have already begun announcing themselves in the weeks before the World Cup. What hasn’t been revealed is what people are going to eat when they get to Texas. And maybe that’s where you come in.
There is a lot of food in Texas. Much of it comes from the many immigrants who’ve settled in the state over the past 200 years. While some have managed to keep their imported traditions and methods intact, others have let them intermingle and develop into something new. If you’re a visitor to our great state: Welcome. Here’s what you absolutely must try before you leave:
Queso
Almost every Tex-Mex restaurant will have free chips and salsa. Pay a little extra, and you can upgrade to a cup or bowl of hot, yellow or white gooey cheese. There’s no precise history of queso, but it’s most likely a derivative of queso flameado. Instead of Chihuahua or Oaxacan cheese, Tex-Mex queso opts for American processed cheese. So instead of the pull-y and chewy texture, this queso forms into a thick, viscous sauce that’s easily dippable…