Patricia Sharpe stepped into the world of food journalism by accident. Struck by the provocative cover of a new magazine, she purchased a copy and bought a subscription for $10. Six months later, she began bombarding editors with her resume.

In the fall of 1974, Sharpe got her wish, snagging work as an editorial assistant at Texas Monthly. She proofread restaurant reviews and cultural event calendars for $650 a month.

“What I knew about food in 1975 could have been put in a demitasse spoon,” she once wrote, “but I did love to eat.”

Fifty years later, Sharpe retired from Texas Monthly as a food journalism master, a renowned restaurant critic with a James Beard Award for magazine writing (2006) and as an inductee in the Wine & Food Week Hall of Fame (2023).

Sharpe has traveled more miles than she can count to review more restaurants than she can remember. On one assignment, she visited 125 restaurants in 13 cities to write “The Joy of Mex,” a cover story in November 1999. Her list of the “75 Best Mexican Restaurants” included 12 from San Antonio. 

Soon after the piece was published, Sharpe began nearly two decades of work with the James Beard Foundation. She initially served as a non-voting member, making recommendations for top restaurants, bars and chefs to receive what’s considered to be a food industry Oscar. 

Later, from 2012 through 2018, she served as chair of the Texas delegation, receiving James Beard nominations from food journalists, and was a member of the national committee that voted on the awards.

In Sharpe’s day, the Beard process was straightforward: 18 to 20 regional chairs met once a year for three or four days to discuss nominations and vote. Nominees with the most votes won. There were national winners, such as “Outstanding Restaurateur” and “Best New Restaurant,” and regional winners, such as “Best Chef: Southwest” and “Best Chef: Northeast.”  

(A different panel voted on media awards for books and journalism categories.)

A diversity and behavior scandal in 2020 led to the cancellation of the Beards that year — not one Black chef would win in 23 categories — and the nominating and voting processes were overhauled. 

A new system emerged, Sharpe wrote for Texas Monthly in 2022, with 25 judges divided into groups: scouts who sought out new or lesser-known dining spots and tasters who focused on the most promising restaurants.

While technical skill in the kitchen remained a primary criteria, there was an emphasis on diversity, finding places run by immigrants, women, people of color and restaurateurs who cannot afford public relations campaigns. 

Has the new system succeeded in recognizing overlooked talent? “I think it’s made a big difference,” Sharpe said. As an example, she cites Rio Grande Valley chef Ana Liz Pulido, who was named Best Chef: Texas in 2024. Her taqueria in Mission had five tables. 

For more insight into the Beards and the local culinary scene, the San Antonio Report conducted a Q&A with Sharpe.

The interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

How is life as a retired restaurant critic? Do you eat out less often? 

I eat out a lot less often. Because, for one thing, I’ve gotta pay for it myself. I have adjusted quite well to being retired. I eat at the new places that I think are going to be really fun and interesting and don’t have to drive across the state. I thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna miss it so much.’ But I’m actually liking it. I don’t miss the deadlines. I don’t miss waking up in the middle of the night obsessing about what I wrote when I went to bed and rewriting it in my head at 3 in the morning. 

What are your thoughts on San Antonio’s culinary scene?

I think San Antonio is on the move. San Antonio has always had bright spots. But I think that it’s getting a little more consistent. Pearl was already a huge tourist attraction for food and drink. Pullman Market ups the appeal considerably.

What were some of your most memorable restaurant experiences in San Antonio?

I adore Mixtli. I think it is national quality. They’ve got a Michelin star. I started going back when it was in the railroad car. I think the amount of change that they introduce on a regular basis is astonishing. They’re interesting and they don’t just follow whatever is a hot trend. They make it from scratch. I’m a huge, huge fan.

Cullum’s Attaboy is located in Tobin Hill and is focused on brunch; its handful of classic French dishes includes an omelet that can be ordered with both truffle and caviar. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report

Which other restaurants have impressed you?

Cullum’s Attaboy. Mezquite and Isidore at the Pullman Market. I like Cured at Pearl. I’m crazy about Leche de Tigre. I like Brasserie Mon Chou Chou and Clementine. And Curry Boys BBQ, I think, it’s just great. 

Has any chef in San Antonio surprised you?

I think probably the best chef the city has ever had — and the one who has been the most ignored — is Andrew Weissman (a four-time James Beard finalist). Do you remember eating at Le Reve? It should have won a James Beard Award, certainly for the best restaurant in the Southwest, as the James Beard Award used to be divided into regions before Texas got its own designation. Andrew Weissman was robbed. The way it was set up at the time — and is still set up — they don’t have enough people going to the second-tier cities.

There would be plenty of people who would go to restaurants in Dallas and Houston, and, to a lesser extent, in Austin. But they didn’t get down to San Antonio because they didn’t know, nationally, at that time, that San Antonio had one of the best chefs in the country. I think Le Reve is the best restaurant San Antonio has ever had and one of the best in the state. Can I think of a better meal I’ve had at other restaurants in Texas? No. Not really. 

Tell me about your experience as a James Beard judge

The way it was set up then, there were about 20 or 25 people on the committee from all over the country. They were the leading food writers at the major newspapers and other publications. People like Phil Vettel at the Chicago Tribune and Tom Sietsema at the Washington Post. We would go to a different city — not as a group — and spend three days there, eating at the restaurants that were contenders. We would then be able to vote intelligently on them at the end of the year.

How did a restaurant become a contender?

We had about 10 to 12 regions around the country. I was chair of the Southwest Region. I had people under me — other food writers — and they would nominate restaurants that they had liked. They had their spotters. And then, as much as they could, they would go and visit those places and see how they measured up and see if they were as good as the spotters said they were. That was my job. 

How did the judging work

We’d be in a committee in a three- or four-day meeting to go through the whole list and we would vote in person. It was just a numbers thing. Whoever got the most votes.

Now there are scouts and tasters with an emphasis on overlooked groups. How has this impacted the awards?

They have accomplished exactly what they set out to do, which was to introduce diversity and cultural mix and a lesser price point. In the olden days, almost exclusively, the restaurants were expensive because they were aiming at the top tier of customers and they could afford the big chefs, the fine ingredients and the nice venues. I think that (the new system) has changed the character of the Beard awards radically.

San Antonio has never won a Beard in any category. Is this a case of bad luck, less than stellar food and service or something else.

It’s something else. Not enough of the voting people get to San Antonio. Because they go to Dallas and Houston and Austin and then they just run out of steam and don’t get to San Antonio. They don’t understand that San Antonio, occasionally, has a Beard quality restaurant. They think it’s a secondary market. I think it is ignorance.

Mixtli, located in Southtown, has a menu of bar bites, which includes salmon mousse and smoked olives. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report

What does Houston, Dallas and Austin have that San Antonio does not have?

They are a little more in touch with trends. To use a really old word, they can be “hipper.” Not that the upscale restaurants always win, but there’s just more money in those three cities than there is in San Antonio. If you look at these restaurants that I like in San Antonio, there’s not a fancy restaurant among them, except, I guess you could say Mon Chou Chou. Kind of. Sorta. 

Which San Antonio restaurant or chef is most likely to win?

Isidore is very ambitious. It might be one. I think Mixtli has a shot. Mixtli is like the perfect James Beard restaurant.