When it comes to claiming the crown for Houston’s enchilada kingdom,
the Enchilada Queen is without question Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen owner Sylvia Casares. Her restaurants
serve a whopping 19 varieties of enchiladas along with a variety of other border and Tex-Mex dishes.
Sylvia was born on the Texas-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, and grew up with an acute interest in
food, flavors and taste. She started with a degree in Home Economics from the University of Texas which
eventually led to her working with restaurateurs all over the state until 1998 when she opened her own.
She now has two, one of which is where this Enchilada Queen regularly holds court in the form of ongoing
cooking classes. Another of her long-time dreams came true in 2016 when a debut cookbook, “The Enchilada
Queen Cookbook” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $27.98), by her went on sale nationwide. Over the years she has received international attention for her skills in the kitchen and was named a semi finalist for Best Chef Texas by the distinguished James Beard Foundation.
