What鈥檚 the first food item that jumps into your head when you think of Texas? BBQ? Queso? Breakfast tacos?
All reasonable choices. But you鈥檇 be missing the obvious, a food item that bears the name of the state: Texas toast.
This simple-to-make giant slab of bread is on menus across the state and around the country. It accompanies breakfast, lunch and dinner. But how did it come to be? That鈥檚 the question Calvin Watson asked our .
He says the genesis for it came when his daughter told him that one night when she was craving fast-food chicken, she drove halfway across Austin to get to a Raising Cane鈥檚 Chicken Fingers restaurant 鈥� passing several Chick-fil-A鈥檚 along the way.
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鈥淲ell, how are they better than Chick-fil-A?鈥� Watson asked his daughter. 鈥淎nd she said, 鈥榃ell it comes with Texas toast.鈥� She said that鈥檚 why she goes to Cane鈥檚.鈥�
So Watson asked KUT: How did Texas become the only state with its own toast?
The story begins simply enough, with a restaurant and a thick slice of bread.
The Pig Stand was a small chain of restaurants in Texas that served pig, of course, pork sandwiches, along with burgers and chicken fried steak.
In 1941, a manager at the asked a local bakery for bread with a thicker slice. The bread arrived, but it would no longer fit in the restaurant鈥檚 toasters. Just before it was tossed out, a line cook suggested it be buttered on both sides and thrown on the fry grill. The result was historic: Texas toast was invented.
Unfortunately, the Pig Stand chain later filed for bankruptcy protection and closed its restaurants. The one in Beaumont was .
But there is left in the world 鈥� in San Antonio. I took Austin chef Brian Baldonado down there to check it out.
Baldonado has worked at top-of-the-line places, so I wanted to get his expert take on the toast and help answer Watson鈥檚 question.
鈥淚t fits right in with this idea that we鈥檙e better. We have our own toast. It鈥檚 named after us,鈥� Baldonado says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 bigger than your toast and it鈥檚 got butter on both sides and it鈥檚 grilled. And it鈥檚 white bread and it鈥檚 not good for you. So, you know, all you gluten-free vegan hippies can just stick it.鈥�
(Apologies to the gluten-free vegans hippies reading this story.)
Baldonado says the toast is significant for more than just its name. There鈥檚 the preparation: The bread is buttered on both sides and grilled, not toasted. The grilling gives it a more uniform cook and, with the butter, you get a crispier crunch that feels better when you eat it.
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And yes, there鈥檚 the size.
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 this huge honking big piece of toast, you know, if you鈥檙e eating something that has gravy in it 鈥� which most often if you鈥檙e getting something with Texas toast there鈥檚 a sauce component 鈥� it鈥檚 like this huge mop later on to mop up your plate,鈥� Baldonado says.
He says his own kitchen serves Texas toast, especially if he鈥檚 making something with a gravy or sauce that begs to be sopped up. But, there鈥檚 another reason he likes to serve it.
鈥淲e want something that is recognizable and creates a feeling 鈥� a strong memory association and comfort,鈥� Baldonado says. 鈥淭exas toast is so tied into Texas comfort food, that for our clients, serving something with Texas toast on it 鈥� especially if they grew up in or around Austin or in or around Texas 鈥� we鈥檙e ideally tapping into something that is a positive memory for them.鈥�
The toast provides comfort.
The people Baldonado cooks for are not Austin鈥檚 elites; they aren鈥檛 millennials searching for that next hot restaurant. Baldonado is the head chef at the . He feeds Austin鈥檚 homeless.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice heady narcissistic trip to work at a high-end restaurant and, you know, have clients pay exorbitant prices and get to say who you did or didn鈥檛 serve that day,鈥� Baldonado says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 鈥� not fulfilling for me.鈥�
Baldonado left the world of high-end restaurants and landed at the ARCH in 2014. The move doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檚 not still cooking at a high level, though. He doesn鈥檛 run a soup kitchen; the people who come don鈥檛 get cold sandwiches.
鈥淲e have Texas toast with fresh cracked pepper truffle mayo on it,鈥� he tells me on a visit to his kitchen last fall. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put an over-easy egg with Monterey jack on this, with two pieces of bacon that we slow cooked in maple syrup, brown sugar and mustard. Then on the other slab of Texas toast, there鈥檚 going to be slices of avocado. So it鈥檚 basically just going to be a fancy-pants breakfast sandwich.鈥�
How does a kitchen feeding the homeless afford this meal? Here鈥檚 the thing: It doesn鈥檛 cost more. Every meal in the kitchen is made from scratch, because it鈥檚 cheaper than serving something pre-made and frozen.
That savings lets Baldonado have some fun. He鈥檒l pinch pennies for a few meals in a row and then do something more exotic, like making fresh noodles for pad Thai or preparing tikka masala or even seared duck breast 鈥� meals he says push his clients鈥� food palates a little and maybe even expand their horizons.
鈥淵ou know, we have an opportunity to very gently expose them to new things in, ideally, a safe environment and create new experiences,鈥� Baldonado says.
Volunteer Kelvin Campbell, who is helping slice avocados, quickly jumps into the conversation about pushing people鈥檚 palates at the ARCH.
鈥淔or some people, it just reminds them that there is more than what they鈥檙e experiencing. They chose not to forget that there鈥檚 something better. Hell, it does that for me,鈥� says Campbell, who was a client at the time. 鈥淜eeps me striving to do better. I even ask him for his recipes cause I say when I go home I鈥檓 going to cook some of this stuff.鈥�
Baldonado wants as many meals as possible to provide that comfort and a glimpse into a better life.
鈥淚 make it sound so spiritual 鈥� it鈥檚 not that. We want our guys to enjoy it. And we want to take pride in what we鈥檙e doing, and we have the skillset to do it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the paycheck you鈥檙e chasing, it鈥檚 the, 鈥榃hen I get in my car at the end of the day, have I left the world a better place or have I left it a little bit worse?鈥欌��
Baldonado hopes the meals he serves the men at the ARCH are making their lives just a little bit better.
Got a tip? Email Ben at bphilpott@kut.org. Follow him
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