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Corn or flour tortillas? Red or green salsa? Brisket or barbacoa?
Ask Texans what belongs on the table, and you are likely to get plenty of opinions. But behind those familiar food debates is a much bigger story about the land, ingredients, cultures and generations of people.
Those stories are at the center of Gather ‘Round the Table: Texas Food Traditions, now open at the Witte Museum.
The dishes Texans know and love did not appear overnight. They developed over time as people worked with the resources available to them, brought culinary traditions into Texas, adapted recipes, exchanged ideas and created something new.
Art, historic artifacts, digital media and hands-on interactives illustrate stories from around the state. Explore the past, present and future of Texas food, from the native plants and animals that fed the first people of Texas to our amazing local food scene. Film clips provided by Texas Monthly bring additional voices and perspectives to the stories of Texas food traditions.
These histories may be as big and complex as Texas, but in the exhibit they are grounded in the stories of many of the iconic meals locals have come to love.
Weigh in on Texas ‘food fights’! Take the breakfast taco. Corn or flour may seem like a matter of personal preference, but the choice also reflects different crops, histories and culinary traditions. Throughout the exhibition, visitors can weigh in on Texas “food fights” like these while learning how familiar dishes developed.
Gather around an interactive table and make your own plate. Choose breakfast tacos, potluck favorites, barbecue and other Texas foods, then compare your selections with family and friends to see what your choices reveal about your Texas tastes. The experience invites generations to learn together, compare their Texas tastes and debate the age-old question: What really belongs on the perfect Texas plate?
Those regional differences can become traditions of their own. Across Texas, communities gather to celebrate the foods connected to where they live, from peaches in the Hill Country and citrus in the Rio Grande Valley to rice along the Gulf Coast and peanuts in South Texas.
“Food offers a unique way to understand Texas history because every meal reflects decisions people made about the resources available to them, the traditions they carried with them, and the communities they built,” said Nalleli Guillen, Curator of History and Vice President of Interpretation at the Witte Museum. “We examine those connections and iconic food stories that help explain why Texans love the many diverse and iconic foods beloved across the Lone Star State.”
The exhibition opens during the Witte Museum’s 100th Birthday Year, a fitting time to look at familiar Texas traditions with fresh curiosity. For nearly a century, the Witte has collected objects and evidence that help tell the stories of Texas and the people who have made their lives here.
Gather ‘Round the Table continues that work by asking to look closely at something they encounter every day: food, where our shared history is hidden in every bite.
Because whether your family reaches for corn or flour, red or green, or something entirely different, what ends up on the plate has a Texas story behind it.
Gather ‘Round the Table: Texas Food Traditions is on view through February 7, 2027, in the Kathleen and Curtis Gunn Gallery at the Witte Museum. The exhibition is included with Family Plus Memberships, the See It All Package or $4 plus Museum Admission.
