These 6 Texas Restaurants Are Worthy of Michelin Stars

Texas is renowned for its stars, after all, the stars at night are big and bright, as lyricists Don Swander and June Hershey once wrote in the song, “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” While you might be able to find stars in the night sky, one place you won't find them in is Texas restaurants. This is because the Lone Star State is one of many states that the famous Michelin Guide does not cover.

While there are no Michelin Star restaurants in the state of Texas, there are still six Texas restaurants that are worthy of Michelin stars. This also doesn't mean they aren't recognized for their outstanding dining. Other programs and awards, like the James Beard Award, sponsored by the James Beard Foundation, have been bestowed on these establishments.

The James Beard Award, named for the culinary icon James Beard, serves many of the same areas as the Michelin guide but also covers regions that it does not. The state of Texas has had over 60+ nominees in the last two years alone for James Beard Award categories, not to mention the winners.

Street To Kitchen

6501 Harrisburg Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77011

This Thai eatery offers dine-in, take-out, and drive-through options. Street To Kitchen‘s Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter was the winner in the “best chef” category for the state of Texas at the 2023 James Beard Awards. There's a lunch menu with delightful bites like green curry, Tom Yum soup, Pad Se Yew, and garlic veggies.

The dinner menu includes larger mains like laarb, drunken noodles, curried chicken, and stir-fried Thai-basil beef. Texas Monthly recommends the dine-in kanom jeeb pork dumplings, with chicken wings and rice, and the green curry with a creamy coconut broth. Order a side of roti to soak up the savory leftovers, and enjoy your Street To Kitchen experience.

The Jerk Shack

10234 TX-151 Suite 103, San Antonio, Texas 78251

The Jerk Shack is an artisanal Caribbean cuisine spot located in San Antonio, Texas. The great mind behind this Caribbean mastery, Nicola Blaque, was also a semi-finalist for the regional “best chef” award in the 2023 James Beard categories.

Launched in 2018, Blaque opened The Jerk Shack following a stint in the Army and schooling at the Culinary Institute of America. The popular menu items include 3 piece fried or jerk chicken and savory beef patty pastries. You may find braised oxtails on Fridays and weekends. Enjoy their weekly shrimp and grits, jerk egg rolls, and curry chicken. There are also lots of combos for purchase. And don't miss out on the coco honey butter rolls. You simply can't go wrong at The Jerk Shack.

Nixta Taqueria

2512 East 12th Street, Austin, Texas 78702

Nixta Taqueria‘s Chef Edgar Rico was the recipient of the James Beard Emerging Chef Award in 2022. Nixta Taqueria aims to engage and educate its community through beautifully prepared food. They use both classic and modern recipes to form delicious corn tortillas, tacos, tostadas, and tasty treats all around.

Nixta Taqueria is in a small space, but has a big culinary presence. The crew works on one 8-inch flat-top grill and fills hundreds of taco orders throughout the day. Let's take a look at some of the food offered at Nixta Taqueria. Of course, you can't have a taqueria without chips and dip. You can also enjoy a salsa flight for a truly mouth-watering start to your meal.

Tacos include classic bean and cheese, cauliflower, duck carnitas, and a beef tartare tostada. If it's there, be sure to try the masa tempura summer squash, which comes with horseradish aioli, confit cherry tomatoes, pickled corn, and toasted sesame seeds. Nixta Taqueria also has some great breakfast and dessert options worth checking out when you stop at this restaurant in Texas.

Canje

1914 East 6th Street suite c, Austin, Texas 78702

Canje, owned by Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph, is a new-age Caribbean restaurant. Britsol-Joseph was also in the semi-finalists for best chef of Texas in the 2023 James Beard Awards season. Canje is the name of the Canje pheasant, the national bird of Guyana, which is where Britsol-Joseph hails from. Ingredients are locally sourced and utilized in traditional recipes inspired by the islands of Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Guyana.

The menu features starters like plantain chips with mango hot sauce and pink pineapple. Try the sea bass with tomato and squash, the curry wagyu beef, or the wild boar pepper pot. Sides include roti, Trinidadian pepper rice, Texas okra, and fried sweet plantains. Save room for desserts like pineapple upside down cake and rum punch sorbet.

Distant Relatives

3901 Promontory Point Drive, Austin, Texas 78744

Distant Relatives restaurant is a “modern African-American” barbeque joint led by Chef Damien Brockway. Brockway was up for the regional best chef category in the James Beard 2023 awards. Offering dine-in, take-out, and drive-through, Distant Relatives offers seasonal ingredients for their local recipes and classic barbeque goodies.

The menu is centered around meats, sandwiches, sides, and snacks. Enjoy their pork spare ribs with washed onion or tamarind molasses pulled pork. Brisket sandwiches come with pickled cucumber and red onion. Get a side of black-eyed-peas or collard greens, and snack on some berbere spiced pickled carrots or smoked, crunchy peanuts.

KG BBQ

3108 Manor Road, Austin, Texas 78723

KG BBQ was started by Chef Kareem El-Ghayesh after he left Cairo. He moved to Austin in 2016 with the goal to open a place that combined the flavors of his home country with the tradition of good ol' Texas BBQ. In 2023, Chef El-Ghayesh was included in the regional best chef semifinalists for the James Beard Awards. KG BBQ offers special event catering, a full menu for dine-in, and take-out options.

Pick between classic BBQ meats, wraps, and bowl options. Try their smoked brisket, pomegranate glazed pork ribs, lamb bacon ribs, or their sumac and cinnamon-rubbed lamb shoulder. There are also a few chicken dishes available.

Classic brisket gets combined with the Middle East in KG BBQ's rice bowls. These can come with tahini, cinnamon roasted nuts, or even pomegranate seeds. For dessert, get some cardamom and pistachio rice pudding with mascarpone whip. Or, try their Oum Ali, an Egyptian bread pudding with puff pastry, milk, spices, and nuts. This place definitely should be one of the Michelin Star restaurants in Texas- that is, if they had them. Good thing it was recognized by James Beard already.

Other James Beard nominees that deserve a place on this, already very long, list include Goldee's Barbecue, the Curry Boys BBQ, Gatlin’s BBQ, and Molino Olōyō. Check them out on the James Beard semifinalist list here.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©miroslav_1/iStock via Getty Images.