86R5647 KSM-D
By: Klick H.C.R. No. 123
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Texas is renowned for its distinctive and delicious foods, and our state has put its brand on breakfast with a versatile item that is beloved from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande: the breakfast taco; and
WHEREAS, The taco has been one of the fundamental building blocks of Mexican cuisine for well over a century and possibly much longer; using savory breakfast foods such as eggs and potatoes as taco fillings was a natural idea, and an account of pairing bacon with a tortilla dates to the 1850s in a chronicle of a Texas to California cattle drive; references in the press to tacos eaten for breakfast are found beginning in the mid-20th century: in May 1959, the San Antonio Express and News reported on a taco shop on the West Side that featured egg tacos, and the El Paso Herald-Post reported in May 1962 that gubernatorial candidate Don Yarborough had tacos for breakfast while on the campaign trail; one of the earliest uses of the term "breakfast taco" comes from a 1975 newspaper article about a food tour of San Antonio; and
WHEREAS, More recently, a spirited debate has arisen over which part of the state originated the breakfast taco; many Texans of a certain age have fond memories, dating back decades, of being served tacos for breakfast by their mothers and grandmothers in San Antonio, South Texas, and the Rio Grande Valley, and by the 1960s, the "taco for breakfast" could be found farther north in the Lone Star State, on school menus in Kerrville and Seguin; some food writers and restaurateurs have claimed that Austin originated the term "breakfast taco," if not the food itself, which has led to an energetic dissent from residents of San Antonio and other regions and municipalities around the Lone Star State; and
WHEREAS, No matter where or when it got its start, the breakfast taco has quickly become popular with both native Texans and delighted visitors from across the nation; as long as it includes a tortilla and is eaten for breakfast, the breakfast taco can range from the simplest (tortilla and egg) to the traditional (tortilla and machacado con huevo) to the innovative (tortilla, eggs, and hot dogs) to the most extravagant (tortilla plus whatever else is on the menu), and it can be enjoyed in every corner of the state; and
WHEREAS, Whether purchased at a drive-through in Fort Worth, ordered at a restaurant in Corpus Christi, or served by a loving grandmother in Del Rio, the breakfast taco has become a signature Texas food on a par with barbecue and chicken-fried steak, and it is enjoyed by countless residents of the Lone Star State each morning as the perfect way to start their day; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby designate the breakfast taco as the official state breakfast item of Texas.
