Tex-Mex News

Dallas Tex-Mex chain Uncle Julio's has a muy buena surprise for Frisco

Bacon-wrapped shrimp, or as we like to say, camarones envueltos en tocino.

Photo courtesy of Uncle Julio's

A famous Dallas Tex-Mex name is headed for where the action is: Uncle Julio's, the longtime Dallas chain, is opening a new location in Frisco, near Stonebriar Centre, at the intersection of Highway 121 and Preston Road.

According to a release, the restaurant is expected to open in the second half of 2022.

Like the food itself, the restaurant will be built from scratch, with more than 8,500 square feet plus a spacious 2,500-square-foot patio overlooking a pond. Outdoor spaces have become increasingly important, and the open area will accommodate outdoor celebrations, live music, game-watching parties, and more.

The first Uncle Julio’s opened in 1986. There are currently more than 30 locations, with seven around Dallas-Fort Worth including Lemmon Avenue, Keller Springs, Allen, Arlington, Grapevine, and Fort Worth.

Frisco's VP of operations John Johnson, a resident of Frisco, says in a statement that the city has been on their list.

"We have wanted to open in Frisco for years, and now with the perfect location, we have all the ingredients we need to create something truly special here," he says.

Menu favorites include made-to-order guacamole, margaritas muddled with fresh fruit, and mesquite-grilled meats.

Specials include Bacon Wrapped Camarones, which is a crafty mix of English and Spanish. "Camarones" being "shrimp." This dish has six shrimp stuffed with Monterey Jack and jalapeño, then wrapped in bacon. Did you know that bacon in Spanish is "tocineta"? The shrimp are served with guacamole, Mexican rice, and frijoles a la charra — there again! Another cunning English-Spanish mash-up, frijoles being Spanish for "beans."

CultureMap is muy bilingual, sí?

Other menu items include quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, tacos, salads, churros, sopapillas, and don't forget margaritas, which are well known in any language.

In more recent years, they've become known for their Chocolate Piñata, a handmade chocolate globe filled with churros and berries, with sauce and whipped cream, perfect not only for personal consumption but also for gatherings and Instagram moments.

openings tex-mex

MOVING ON UP

Texas rises through the ranks of most innovative states, says new report

Photo via Getty Images

Texas has seen year-over-year improvement on an annual list that ranks states based on their innovation economies.

The Lone Star State has again taken a step up on an annual report that ranks the most and least innovative states in the country — this time cracking the top 15.

Texas ranked No. 15 in personal finance site WalletHub's 2023’s Most and Least Innovative States ranking. It's a steady improvement for the state, which ranked No. 16 in 2022 and No. 17 in 2021.

The report analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia and how each performed across 22 key metrics, including population of STEM professionals, venture capital investment activity, number of technology companies, patents per capita, and more. The data was pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Science Foundation, National Center for Education Statistics, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and other records.

Here's how Texas performed at a glance:

No. 18 – for share of STEM professionals
No. 16 – for projected STEM job demand by 2030
No. 25 – for eighth grade math and science performance
No. 21 – for share of science and engineering graduates aged 25 or older
No. 13 – for share of technology companies
No. 31 – for R&D spending per capita
No. 18 – venture capital funding per capita

For the 11th year, Texas won Site Selection Magazine's Governor's Cup, the governor's office announced earlier this year. The award, which Texas has won 19 times since its inception in 1978, recognizes the nation’s top-performing state for job-creating business relocations and expansions.

"Texas truly is America’s economic engine, and we stand apart as a model for the nation. When choosing where to relocate or expand their businesses, more and more innovative industry leaders find themselves at home in our state," Governor Greg Abbott says in a news release about the award.

"I congratulate the exceptional economic development teams at the local, regional, and state level who have worked so diligently to attract and retain these growing businesses and the jobs they create in diverse communities across this great state," he continues.

The most innovative states included the District of Columbia, which ranked at No. 1, followed by Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, and California, respectively. The least innovative state was identified as Mississippi, followed by Louisiana, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Arkansas, respectively.

Source: WalletHub

Access to quality education is a significant contributor to each state's innovation economy, the experts say in the report.

"Investing in education, particularly K-12 but also at the University level, it is no accident that innovative ecosystems develop in states with strong education systems and research universities," says David L. Deeds, professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. "These institutions build strong capable modern workforces that attract capital, and jobs and create innovations. The benefits do not happen overnight, in fact, they take years if not decades, but consider what The UC’s or the University of Texas at Austin have meant for the development of premier innovative ecosystems."

Texas WalletHub innovation