Texans love food. Sure, there’s chili and barbecue, but innovations in food go far beyond the expected Texas fare. Each year we throw a Texas Independence Day party, we discover another Texas native food. Here’s the running list and when they were born.

Food

• Blue Bell Ice Cream :: Brenham, 1907
• Wolf Brand Chili :: Corsicana, 1895
• Fritos :: San Antonio, 1932
• Owens Sausage :: Richardson, 1928
• Imperial Sugar :: Sugar Land, 1843
• Pace Picante Sauce :: San Antonio, 1947
• Fletcher’s Corny Dogs :: Dallas, 1942
• RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes :: Elsa, 1940s
• Albert’s Famous Hot Sauce :: Kilgore, 1940
• Talk O’Texas Pickled Okra :: San Angelo, 1950
• Ranch Style Beans :: Denison, 1872

Beer

• Shiner Bock Beer :: Shiner, 1909
• Lone Star Beer :: San Antonio, 1940
• Saint Arnold Brewing :: 1994
• Tex Mex Beer :: Austin, 2010

Wine

• Fall Creek Vineyards :: Tow, 1975
• Llano Estacado Winery :: Lubbock, 1976
• Cap•Rock Winery :: Lubbock, 1992
• Spicewood Vineyards :: Spicewood, 1992
• Becker Vineyards :: Stonewall, 1992
• Ste. Genevieve Wines :: Fort Stockton
• Peregrine Hill Vineyards :: Fort Stockton

Spirits

• Tito’s Handmade Vodka :: Austin, 1997
• Dripping Springs Vodka :: Dripping Springs
• Balcones Distilling :: Waco 2008
• Deep Eddy Vodka :: Austin, 2010

Soft Drinks

• Dr Pepper :: Waco, 1904
• Big Red Soda :: Waco, 1937

Restaurants

• El Chico :: Dallas, 1940
• Luby’s Cafeteria :: San Antonio, 1947
• Spring Creek Barbeque :: Dallas, 1980
• Chili’s :: Dallas, 1975
• Whataburger :: Corpus Christi, 1950
• James Coney Island :: Houston, 1923
• Grandy’s :: Dallas, 1973
• La Madeleine French Bakery :: Dallas, 1983
• Dickey’s Barbecue Pit :: Dallas, 1941
• Chicken Express :: Benbrook, 1990
• Taco Cabana :: San Antonio, 1978
• Taco Bueno :: Abilene, 1967
• Church’s Chicken :: San Antonio, 1952
• Joe T. Garcia’s :: Fort Worth, 1935

Texas Wine Events

• Texas Wine Trail – Wander through the Hill Country of Texas and tour wineries
• Texas Fall Fest – Wines and Food of Texas