The Texas state legislature has a history of designating famous Texas food stuffs as official dishes of Texas, from chili to sopapillas and streudel. The 85th Texas State Legislature is looking to get into the game. State Rep. Stephanie Klick of the Fort Worth area recently proposed with H.C.R. 92 that the breakfast taco be named the official state breakfast item.
What historical precedent do they cite in the resolution?
… 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 …
The resolution notes the recent “Taco War” between San Antonio and Austin and refuses to take sides or admit to having knowledge of the precise origination of breakfast tacos, but admits that they are popular from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande.
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