AlwaysInvestigating: Texas “Desserts”

Katie Reisert — August 06, 2009

Cowgirl’s Frito Pie, Fritos with beef brisket or veggie chili, cheddar, onions, sour cream & jalapeños (small $7.95, large $9.95).

Sundaes and pies are dessert menu fare, but some New York City restaurants are shaking things up with savory interpretations of these dessert words: Frito Pie and the Truck-Stop Sundae. Frito Pie is a Texan classic served at Cowgirl and the Truck-Stop Sundae is served at the East Village restaurant named for the Texan town, Marfa, so we’ve been calling them Texas “Desserts”.

Frito Pie is made with chili, cheese, onions and corn chips. Its origins are murky but point to the South and the Southwest, specifically Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. There are two common preparations: 1) a casserole and 2) a small bag of ingredient-topped, crunchy chips. Cowgirl’s Frito Pie is the latter— it nearly explodes out of the bag. The giant reddish lump of chili contains hefty pieces of brisket superior to the ground beef you would expect. It’s piled with sour cream, onions, jalapeños and cheddar.

The “pie” is good, but reminiscent of a bowl of chili that would have been more satisfying on a ski slope than in the West Village on a muggy July day. One flaw was the execution of the Fritos. It wasn’t until halfway through the dish that an actual Frito could be found— they had almost all completely disintegrated. If only Cowgirl’s generous toppings and flavor were combined with Fat Annie’s crunchy chip layer, you’d have the city’s best Frito Pie.

 

Marfa’s Truck-Stop Sundae features beans, pork and “slaw,” $6

The Truck-Stop Sundae at Marfa is less elaborately presented than Cowgirl’s Frito Pie, but its deep red chili undertones and the purple of the red cabbage make it visually appealing. And what it lacks presentation-wise it makes up for with taste. It’s served with beans, slaw and pork that settles to the bottom of the dish. The beans were in a sweet and tangy sauce and the red cabbage (not weighed down with mayo or seasoning) provided the crunch missing in the Frito Pie.