I don’t really have a lot of home state allegiance. I’m much more of a hometown kind of guy — and even home neighborhood, especially a ’hood with a much-loved assortment of home teams. But that’s me.
For a lot of others, it’s the state that defines their sense of sense. Texas is one heck of a big place; when it comes to U.S. states, only Alaska is larger. Yet, in my experience, before Texans say they’re from Dallas or Houston or Austin, they’ll tell you they’re from Texas.
And HomeState, an affable chain of taco houses with six branches around Southern California, loves to remind you of its roots. The subtitle of the restaurant is “A Texas kitchen.” The menu informs that the restaurant was established in 2013 by Texas native Briana Valdez. One of the beers is Shiner Bock, an iconic Texas brew. (The exceptional brisket is slow-cooked in Shiner as well!) The eggs come from Vital Farms in Austin. The Loaded Queso is described as “The national party dip of Texas.” One of the tequila drinks is called “Ranchwater.” One of the snacks is “Frito Pie in a Bag.” Pure Texas!
But still, this is a restaurant in Southern California — in the case of the San Fernando Valley branch, on a busy section of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. And so, the chicken is Rosie’s Organic from Sonoma County. The coffee beans, from Nicaragua, are roasted here in Los Angeles. The corn tortillas are from Kernel of Truth Organics in Boyle Heights. The iced tea is made from organic peach green tea, mixed with mint lemonade — which does not seem like something you’d drink wearing a pair of hand-tooled Tony Lama’s.
Our local branch has the look of a sun-bleached structure in a Texas plains town. Except in this case, there’s a spacious patio with a cooling fan, and a basket of bright yellow umbrellas over a sign that reads: “Help yourself to some shade.” There’s another basket of blankets, which seem a bit optimistic in the dog days of summer. A sign…
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