Food writer & historian

Robb Walsh

A Houston-based food writer and longtime restaurant critic whose reporting and cookbooks trace the history of Tex-Mex cuisine, including the ranch and border origins of dishes like fajitas.

Focus:
Tex-Mex and Gulf Coast culinary history
Region:
Houston, Texas
Robb Walsh

A career spent documenting Tex-Mex

Robb Walsh spent years as a restaurant critic for Houston-area publications and has written extensively about the history of Gulf Coast and Tex-Mex food. His book "The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos" is frequently cited as a serious attempt to document Tex-Mex as a cuisine with its own lineage, rather than dismissing it as inauthentic.

Why his reporting matters for the fajita story

Walsh's writing digs into exactly the kind of contested, orally-transmitted history that surrounds fajitas — who served them first, how skirt steak moved from ranch pay to restaurant menus, and how Tex-Mex earned its identity as a distinct regional cuisine. His work is a frequently cited reference point for food writers researching Tex-Mex history.

Follow their work

  • The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos
  • Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook
  • longtime Houston-area restaurant criticism

FajitaRecipe.com is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Robb Walsh. This is an independent editorial spotlight.

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Sources & further reading

  1. The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and PhotosBroadway Books
  2. Food writing and restaurant criticismHouston Press