Texas' Best

Here are two of the best things to eat in Texas:

Matt's El Rancho restaurant in Austin features these incredible chicken enchiladas. The chicken is smoked over pecan wood and you can get them with various sauces. I couldn't decide between the chipotle sauce or the salsa verde, so I got one with each.

The pecan smoked chicken is to die for. This is the best Tex-Mex I've ever had.

Ever.

Next is Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Blue Bell began as a small dairy in Brenham, Texas, and began making their ice cream back in the late 70s for the locals. Gradually, they expanded out, county by county, and now you can get it state-wide.

They have flavors like chocolate chip cookie dough, blackberry cobbler, and white chocolate almond. But their signature flavor is Homemade Vanilla. I swear, it tastes just like the hand-cranked stuff you'd find at a church ice cream social.

Here is a freezer full of it at Central Market in Austin.

Folks, this is the holy grail of ice cream.

Screaming for Ice Cream

While in Texas, I forgot to mention one of my favorite food items there:

Blue Bell Ice Cream

Their best flavor is the Homemade Vanilla which really does taste like the real thing. No kidding. It really does. The thing is, ALL of their flavors are incredibly good and each month they feature a new flavor that’s available for a short time. This month, it’s Southern Blackberry Cobbler. Here's a list of all their flavors

Blue Bell Creamery began as a small dairy farm in Central Texas and soon began making ice cream. When I lived in Texas, one could only find Blue Bell ice cream in a few counties surrounding the creamery. I remember driving to the next-county-over to procure this wonderful ice cream. Now it's available state-wide.

So, whenever I go home, my mom always has a gallon of Homemade Vanilla waiting for me. My dad always has some on hand. It’s usually eaten by the time I leave.

Oh, and Blue Bell is still sold only in Texas. But if you want some you can order it here. They’ll ship four gallons of your choice for 89 bucks.

Believe me, it might be worth it.