Texas

This Persevering Taquera’s West Texas Restaurant Feels Like Your Abuelita’s Kitchen

Published

1 year ago

June 25, 2024

This Persevering Taquera’s West Texas Restaurant Feels Like Your Abuelita’s Kitchen

Silvia Hernandez, with her hair pulled back into a long ponytail, is visible from the kitchen only when she comes to the metal-framed pass, where the server grabs plated dishes to run to customers. Her glasses are precariously balanced on the lower bridge of her nose, but she snaps them back into place as she turns to attend to the cooking at her restaurant, Taqueria Gael, in Andrews.

Crossing north five years ago was the easy part of her life’s journey, Hernandez says. Growing up in El Salto, a small, quiet town in the northern Mexican state of Durango, she worked long hours hawking street food and cooking in her parents’ restaurant. She opened her own business, a hot dog cart, as a teenager, and got married at sixteen to a husband who eventually became abusive, she says. Moving to Texas was, Hernandez believed, her way out. Once she arrived in the Permian Basin town of Andrews, she began to work at local food trucks and would feed fellow food truck employees home-cooked meals of sopa de fideo, chicken, and caldo.

One Christmas, she brought the workers a holiday meal of lengua, fries, and soup. It wasn’t much, but the six young men who had no family to spend Christmas with were delighted and thankful. “It’s one of my favorite memories,” Hernandez says. So it’s no surprise that when Hernandez visited Mexico for fifteen days, the workers in Andrews messaged and called her, pleading with her to return. To their relief, she did. Then, a year ago, she opened Taqueria Gael.

Until my recent trip, my experience with tacos in West Texas had been disappointing at best. Tex-Mex in general, and the burrito in particular, was where restaurants in the area shone—that is, until my visit to Taqueria Gael, a bastion of Mexican home cooking that stands alongside the best of Texas’s Mexican restaurants.

The same goes for the previous business that was located inside the yellow building that houses now Taqueria Gael, near the Andrews Highway. It was called La Morena and was owned by famed curmudgeon Greg Revelez. Back in 2020, the Tex-Mex joint was more of a community hub than a good restaurant. Not that it was bad—the Kitchen Sink Burrito, a smothered package of carnitas, refried beans, fries, and pearls of yellow rice topped with melted cheese and smothered in spicy brown gravy, was one of my favorite dishes of that year. Otherwise, the food was, with all due respect, forgettable. In other words, I didn’t expect such exciting and soothing comida casera (home cooking) in the oil patch town about 45 minutes north of Odessa, much less the matron behind the taqueria.

Taqueria Gael is a symbol of Hernandez’s resilience. Through her food, Hernandez shares with customers the traditions and craft passed down through the generations of women before her as well as through a life of extreme hardships.

Taqueria Gael Exterior — Exterior of Taqueria Gael in Andrews.Photograph by José R. Ralat

Hernandez’s grandmother, Teresa, was a single mother of twelve children. To support her family, the matriarch, who could neither read nor write, sold menudo and other dishes she learned from her elders and passed on to her children and grandchildren. At twelve years old, Hernandez’s mother, Modesta, moved from Durango to Mexico City to work in a hospital. About a decade later, she returned to El Salto to work in Restaurante Anita. It was at the restaurant that she met her future husband. The two were immediately inseparable and married in eight days. To help provide for the growing household, Modesta opened a small restaurant, Comedor Valeria, in the family’s living room. She sold carnitas, chicharrones, gorditas, and, of course, the clan’s specialty, menudo.

Hernandez joined the family business as a teenager when she opened a hot dog cart, which she later expanded to sell carnitas. Soon after, her troubles with her husband started. Hernandez hadn’t known the kind of man he would become: a womanizing and abusive drug addict and alcoholic, as she describes him. She dealt with it as best she could, through work. “I promised myself that my children would never know cold or poverty,” Hernandez says.

Their first child, daughter Valeria, was diagnosed with epilepsy at three months old. To pay for Valeria’s treatment, Hernandez added tamales and buñelos to her street cart’s menu. Her daughter’s epilepsy disappeared at the age of four. Four years after that, Hernandez says her husband raped and impregnated her. She gave birth to a boy, Adrian. “My son is the product of abuse, but he is a blessing. He’s my baby,” Hernandez says with joy and pride in her voice. The young man is now studying information engineering, a field that blends computer science with math. “He is a man in every sense of the word. He is responsible. He is a man of his word. He isn’t lazy, nor does he drink or smoke,” Hernandez says.

In April 1998, Hernandez’s father passed away. At this time, violence was at a disastrously high level in Mexico. Her brother was kidnapped and eventually released. On another day, her husband said he was going to work and never returned. “I was left alone to raise my kids and work harder,” she says. Hernandez continued to add dishes to her cart’s menu. She did whatever she needed to do to provide for her family. She was also once more pregnant. To her anguish, the baby was stillborn.

As soon as she could, Hernandez began the paperwork for a visa to come to the United States. She knew however hard she worked in Mexico, it wouldn’t be enough to give her children the educations and futures she dreamed they deserved. The only option was to find work north of the Rio Grande. Finally, five years ago, she was able to settle in Andrews, where she eventually opened Taqueria Gael, named after her supportive, caring partner, whom she met while working at various food trucks in Andrews. Love and the gratitude for a better life are evident in every dish.

The tacos she serves are all tacos de guisado wrapped in soft, nixtamalized-corn tortillas that are made in-house. The green picadillo, stewed with tiny potato cubes, translucent chopped onion, and invisible but fiery chiles, was a delight. The asado verde—rough-chopped chicken blanketed in a dark green salsa—was even better and hotter. The asado rojo, plump with pork obscured by an inky red sauce, left me silent. My eyes closed, and I smiled. The barbacoa was a dark bramble peeking out from below freshly grated queso blanco. For the quesadilla, queso blanco is enveloped in a corn tortilla and cooked on the flattop until the cheese melts into a milky, stretchy consistency. It only took one bite for me to feel at home.

The pozole—deep red, almost clay-colored—was a bowl of guajillo chile–punctuated stew bobbing with tender, juicy bits of pork chop. It was a hot day when I visited Taqueria Gael, but as I recalled the voices of many women in my life, I remembered hot days are made for hot food. The small, round, Nutella-filled doughnuts, glazed and shiny in the midday sun coming through one of the restaurant’s windows, were so good. I wanted to eat them all lest I offend Hernandez, who brought them to the table herself. Alas, the stop at Taqueria Gael was one of several I had planned en route to the Panhandle. Otherwise, I would’ve lingered, asked for coffee to wash down the dessert, and likely consumed the whole plate of doughnuts.

The worst of Hernandez’s life is behind her. She has made peace with the past and how it has formed her, thanks to her children and her partner. She welcomes every customer like she’s welcoming her own children to eat. As trite as that sounds, the proof is in the amazing pozole. Eating it, I felt like I belonged in Taqueria Gael, like Hernandez was happy to see me enjoy her food. Hernandez expresses it better: “I have been able to overcome obstacles with food. Everything I cook, everything I do, I do with all my heart and with love.”

Taqueria Gael
500 SW Avenue D, Andrews
Phone: 432-223-8827
Hours: Monday–Saturday 7–2, 5–8

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Related Topics:feature Featured Pozole quesadilla tacos tacos de guisados west texas

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Texas

All is calm at the Texas Capitol, at least at holiday ornament time

Published

17 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

All is calm at the Texas Capitol, at least at holiday ornament time

AUSTIN — In a state where political fights rarely take a holiday, one small tradition offers a respite, wrapped in gold, glitter and goodwill.

Hanging from the boughs of Christmas trees across Texas, annual ornaments featuring the Texas State Capitol capture the beauty of the season and the history of the state, without the bluster and bile that typically characterize life under the pink dome.

Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, has one on his tree for each year he’s served in the Legislature, where he was first sworn in a few weeks after Christmas in January 2005. Each season, he buys roughly 30 more to give away, a tradition he says transcends party labels.

“They are amazing. It’s the ideal Christmas gift,” he said, making his best holiday sales pitch. “A surefire way to please constituents and mothers-in-laws across the political spectrum.”

Nelda Laney, wife of then-House Speaker Pete Laney, launched the ornament tradition in 1996 with designs created by the Texas State Preservation Board, the steward of the Capitol and other historic state buildings.

Now, the board’s retail team spends at least two-thirds of the year overseeing the annual design, according to the Texas Capitol Gift Shop website. The board runs three shops: one in the underground Capitol extension, one in the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History and one in the Capitol Visitors’ Center on the south side of the grounds.

The 2025 Texas State Capitol Christmas ornament features a design that’s a throwback to the original design from 1996.

Texas State Capitol Gift Shop

Over the years, the team has produced dozens of iconic ornaments, made of metal or granite, in flat relief or 3D, some lit up, some mobile. The final designs range from shiny metal locomotives to intricately designed granite miniatures of the entire building.

The 2025 design — a view of the Capitol as seen from Congress Avenue in downtown Austin — is a throwback to the inaugural “First Edition” design in 1996, if modernized a bit.

The ornament shows the Capitol’s entire south face, decorated with holiday wreaths and Yaupon Holly swags wrapped around its columns, the board’s description says. The six flags that have flown over Texas appear on the south pediment, with both the Texas and U.S. flags flying above the entrance. The 1889 Great Walk, paved in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, is flanked by a grand allée of trees, leading visitors inside.

Texas Capitol ornaments through the years

It’s one of dozens of designs that, over the years, have turned the Capitol ornament into a recognizable Lone Star collectible.

A wee statue of the Goddess of Liberty spinning inside golden rings covered in stars debuted in 2006. Three years later, it was black and gold, rectangular — the shape and feel of a tapestry — regarded as one of the more unique designs in the collection. Another from that era used a colorful disc depicting the six flags over Texas. The ornaments start at $25. The current design is fairly typical: Finished in 24-karat gold and 3.5 inches by 3.4 inches.

Older ornaments can be purchased in sets of miniatures. They are available online through the board. The money goes to the preservation board, a taxpayer-funded state agency that releases a new specialty Texas-themed ornament every year.

The ornament release has become a ritual for many, from Capitol employees to repeat customers who buy the ornament every year as gifts.

“A lot of people will come in and buy six because they give one to each family member every year,” said Lisa Gentry, shop manager. “Sometimes they buy the year of their child’s birth. There’s a lot who have a Texas tree, which is only the Texas ornaments that they’ve shopped for in our stores.”

Lawmakers as designers

Rep. Jessica González, D-Dallas, has the entire miniature collection and several annual ornaments from her four terms in office. Her favorite ornaments, she said, are the ones lawmakers design each Christmas to reflect their home districts. Those hang on the Texas House Christmas tree each season and aren’t for sale.

This year, she had two designed by Jesse Acosta and Alejandra Zendejas, co-founders of Pasos for Oak Cliff, a Dallas nonprofit that provides sneakers and other support services to underserved students.

“It’s a small but meaningful way to showcase the flavor of our community… a reminder that every district has its own voice,” González said.

On the consumer side, on a random Thursday two weeks before Christmas, the Capitol gift shop — next door to the building’s popular Capitol Grill — sold more than 300 of the shiny 2025 Texas Capitol keepsakes.

That one design. In one day. In just that one shop.

“People really love them,” Gentry said the following day, as more than 100 flew off her shelves before noon. “Today it’s been nonstop.”

All the trimmings of the 2025 Texas Capitol ornament

Design: South-facing view of the Capitol from Congress Avenue
Finish: 24-karat gold
Size: About 3.5 inches by 3.4 inches
Price: Starts at $25

Where they’re sold

Capitol gift shop (underground extension)
Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History
Capitol Visitors’ Center
Online through the Preservation Board

Where the money goes

Proceeds support the Texas State Preservation Board, a taxpayer-funded agency that maintains the Capitol and other historic buildings.

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Texas

Texas A&M is reportedly close to hiring its new defensive staffer

Published

12 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Texas A&M is reportedly close to hiring its new defensive staffer

The staff shake-up continues amid CFP preparation, as Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko is reportedly adding another to his staff.

Soon after the news that the Aggies were expecting to hire former Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams, Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that former Rutgers co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Zach Sparber would be added to the staff in some capacity. Sparber is very familiar with new Texas A&M DC Lyle Hemphill, having worked with him at JMU and Duke.

It is an interesting hire, as similar to Travis Williams, Sparber is also coming off a defensive staff that was let go after bottom-of-the-conference defensive performances. However, before joining the staff at Rutgers, he helped James Madison’s team rank 21st nationally in scoring defense as the linebackers coach. While his official role has not yet been announced, his experience with Hemphill should help with continuity heading into next season.

No. 7-seed Texas A&M hosts the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes (10-2) in a CFP first-round game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, at Kyle Field. The game can be viewed on ABC/ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.

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Texas

How to get tickets for #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Miami in College Playoff 1st round

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

How to get tickets for #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Miami in College Playoff 1st round

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The 10th-ranked Miami Hurricanes hit the road for College Station for a Saturday afternoon matchup against the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The game is scheduled for noon ET (11 a.m. CT) with tickets still available to watch live.

How to get Texas A&M vs. Miami tickets for the best prices: Tickets for the Texas A&M vs. Miami playoff game are available on secondary markets Vivid Seats, StubHub, SeatGeek and Viagogo.

The lowest prices are as follows (as of Dec. 15):

Vivid Seats starting at $375
StubHub starting at $388
SeatGeek starting at $315
Viagogo starting at $345

The Aggies own the homefield advantage and are listed as 3.5-point betting favorites to play their way into the second round. Texas A&M won its first 11 straight games of the 2025 season before falling to rival No. 16 Texas (27-17) in its regular-season finale. The Aggies were battle-tested in going 7-1 in a Southeastern Conference that put five teams into the College Football Playoff field. They also join Miami as teams to beat Notre Dame this season, winning a 41-40 shootout back in Week 3.

#10 Miami (10-2) at #7 Texas A&M (11-1)

College Football Playoff 1st round

When: Saturday, Dec. 20 at noon ET (11 a.m. CT)
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
Tickets: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | Viagogo
TV channel: ABC/ESPN
Streaming on: FuboTV (free trial) | DirecTV (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate)

The Hurricanes’ 27-24 win over then-No. 6 Notre Dame was the best line entry on the team’s résumé as the third-place finisher in the messy Atlantic Coast Conference. Miami rattled off four straight wins to close the season and showed the kind of explosive scoring offense required to stack up with Texas A&M, scoring 34-plus points in each of those four wins. The Canes closed the season with a 38-7 blowout win over then-No. 23 Pitt to strengthen their CFP case.

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