Sometimes great things come from little places. Texas has many small towns which have made major contributions to food and drink pop culture. Blue Bell's ice cream in Brenham; Dr. Pepper and Big Red in Waco; Wolf Brand chili in Corsicana. The list goes on and on. Let's face is, this is a big state with a lot of hungry people to feed. For me, one of the best things to come out of a small Texas town in the last decade or so is Julio's corn tortilla chips from the little border town of Del Rio. Julio's chips were used in a restaurant along the border and were made by a regional chef named Julio Garcia who worked at the establishment. After losing his job Garcia struggled to pay bills and was faced with huge debts when a woman came to his house one day and asked for the chips he used to serve at the restaurant. He fried up a batch for her, seasoning them with his own mix of spices, and she took them to a party she was hosting. The chips were so good that more and more people started showing up at the Garcia house and eventually the garage was converted into a tortilla chip factory. By mere word of mouth, a cottage industry was born and Mr. Garcia's prayers were answered. His son Jose saw the potential for incresed sales and quickly modernized poroduction. I was sold on Julio's chips from the very first one I ever tried and couldn't believe how much better they tasted than every other chip I'd ever eaten. Fried in cholesterol free-corn oil, they should not have tasted so good so I kept reading the ingredients on the bag to see what the special spice was. There was nothing out of the ordinary there. Just garlic, paprika and salt. I've since discovered that Julio's also sells its home-recipe seasoning for use on meats and vegetables and I will definitely buy some the next time I'm at the grocer's. I've never felt one way or another about a particular brand of chips but this one is different. They're great alone or with salsas and dips. Julio's chips have expanded a great deal since the business began and they continue to grow their distribution network across Texas. Production has been moved to a number of strategically located factories. It does not appear Julio's products are available outside of Texas yet but I have a feeling that it's only a matter of time before they cross state lines. This product is good enough to compete for shelf space in any grocer in the country. After finding them I will never buy another brand of chips again. If you're in Texas and you're not very satisfied with your corn tortilla chips, visit a Wal Mart or a local grocer and try a bag of Julio's. They'll knock your sombreo off.

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Houston, TX