Austin taqueria makes 2026 New York Times list of favorite restaurants

Austin and El Paso are representing the Lone Star State on a prestigious new dining list. The New York Times has published "The Restaurant List 2026," which enumerates the staff's favorite restaurants of the year. Taco spot Paprika made the list in Austin, and Elemi Taqueria made it in El Paso. In choosing "favorite" restaurants, NYT is doing ensuring that the restaurants aren't compared to each other in quality. It emphasizes that its picks aren't ranked — they're just all one group of well-loved options. Each pick is explained in a short paragraph. Food reporter Priya Krishna wrote both Texas entries. Krishna remembers the days that Paprika was a food truck and a "not-so-well-kept secret for some of the best suadero in town." She praises married owners Margarito and Hayden Pérez for continuing to improve the food over the years, including after the buzzy opening of their brick-and-mortar location on North Lamar Boulevard. She finally nods to the unpretentious community feel, insinuating that hasn't bowed to the corporate personality of the local tech boom. "The Pérezes approach the menu like the high-achieving students of Mexican food that they are, using more than seven kinds of chiles in their tenacious, garlicky salsa macha and repurposing the previous day’s tallow to confit the next batch of suadero — their secret to packing so much complexity into a small taco." Paprika was a nominee for Best New Restaurant at the 2026 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards, which considers notable shifts to brick-and-mortar as well as truly new restaurant concepts. It was also a contender in this publication's Top Taco Tournament in 2025. NYT itself also featured Paprika in "The 26 Best Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2024." Krishna also wrote those entries, certifying her as a lasting Paprika fan. Krishna recognized her El Paso pick, Elemi Taqueria , for excellence in every of its taco styles. It has an interesting amount in common with Paprika, including an low-key locale (this time in a strip mall) and a married couple, Emiliano and Kristal Marentes, at the helm. "The standout is the al pastor, the pork for which is sliced while partially frozen to give it an even thickness, then arranged on the trompo so the tips get crunchy and caramelized, but the meat stays juicy and slicked with fat," Krishna writes. "The tortillas, elastic and supple, are never more than a few hours off the comal, and the bracing salsas taste like they’re made with the same exacting attention to detail. El Paso has long been one of the country’s great taco towns. Elemi Taqueria shows there’s always room for more excitement."