{"id":184357,"date":"2025-08-29T10:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/184357\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T10:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:48:12","slug":"cullums-attaboy-mixtli-leche-de-tigre-compete-in-fajita-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/184357\/","title":{"rendered":"Cullum\u2019s Attaboy, Mixtli, Leche de Tigre compete in fajita showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alysha Brooke returns to the scene of her taco triumph on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She brings tortillas, meat, rub and salsa to Southtown\u2019s Gimme Gimme<\/a> to defend a title she did not expect to win against competing chefs she considers friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m only in competition with myself,\u201d said Brooke, chef de cuisine at Cullum\u2019s Attaboy<\/a> and winner of last year\u2019s Fajita Lounge Showdown. \u201cI\u2019m there to cook next to friends and be with them. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re trying to compete. We\u2019re trying to hang out and talk and just be together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third annual Fajita Lounge Showdown<\/a>, at 803 S. St. Mary\u2019s St., will feature Brooke and a powerhouse lineup of friendly chefs slinging skirt steaks for a chance to win $500.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Competitors include chefs from Mixtli<\/a>, Leche de Tigre<\/a>, Bar Loretta<\/a>, Buc\u00e1n Rodeo, Rosa\u2019s Kitchen<\/a>, Buddy\u2019s Big Trouble and The Friendly Spot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Doors open at 5 p.m. The showdown begins at 6 p.m. Admission and tacos are free. Yes, free until the last taco is gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plan to arrive early. Gimme Gimme owner Aaron Pe\u00f1a<\/a> expects a crowd of at least 1,000, which would more than double last year\u2019s turnout.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"About 500 people attended the 2024 Fajita Lounge Showdown at Gimme Gimme lining up for free fajita tacos. Credit: Courtesy \/ Christopher Perez<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be our biggest one yet,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cWith this lineup, it\u2019s shaping up to be a big culinary event.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

How big?<\/p>\n

James Beard finalist Emil Oliva will work the grill for Leche de Tigre. Chef de cuisine Alex Cabrera will cook for Michelin-starred Mixtli. James Beard nominee Paul Peterson will represent Bar Loretta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talk about star power.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, it was super easy to get them,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cThey are our friends and peers. We gave an invite and they accepted.\u00a0 We\u2019re really excited to have them and not just because of their names \u2013 but because we\u2019re fans of what they do in their restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first showdown featured lesser known chefs and drew a few hundred people. Brooke was asked to compete but declined. She\u2019d only been cooking for eight years and didn\u2019t feel ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She agreed to compete in the second showdown but arrived with little confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not expect to win at all,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brooke spotted family and friends in the crowd and fired up the grill. She had a vision, a plan she intended to execute. At one point, she deviated from the plan, improvised and finished by feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got to the garnishes, I was at a loss,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure exactly what I was doing or how I wanted it to look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooking by instinct and feel was not the plan. But then she tasted her creation and smiled. \u201cI thought it was pretty solid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The judges agreed. They complimented Brooke on her taco\u2019s balance, flavor coordination and execution and awarded her first place.<\/p>\n

The winning taco featured Peeler Farm skirt steak, a salt \u2018n pepper coriander rub, a Nepal and tomatillo salsa, charred nopalito and corn.<\/p>\n

Excitement builds for this year\u2019s event. Brooke is eager to grill alongside her friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Chef Rory Torres prepares food for an attendee at the 2024 Fajita Lounge Showdown. Torres isn\u2019t competing this year. Credit: Courtesy \/ Christopher Perez<\/p>\n

\u201cI full-on respect all of these cooks,\u201d she said. \u201cWe eat at each other\u2019s restaurants all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a organized the fajita showdown to bring chefs and foodies together. To build community and have a good time. In time, he wants to elevate the showdown into a massive, must-attend event.<\/p>\n

He imagines a crowd of thousands gathering at a large venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it gets so big we have to move it to a park,\u201d he said. \u201cLike Rosedale Park, where they hold the Tejano Conjunto Festival. I could see it going there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alysha Brooke returns to the scene of her taco triumph on Sunday.\u00a0 She brings tortillas, meat, rub and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":184358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[103604,103605,103606,5229,103607,103608,103609,103610,103611,103612,103613,55643,103614,7202,7203,358,7453,3187,7815,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7819],"class_list":{"0":"post-184357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-aaron-pena","9":"tag-alex-cabrera","10":"tag-alysha-brooke","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-bar-loretta","13":"tag-cullums-attaboy","14":"tag-emil-oliva","15":"tag-fajita-lounge","16":"tag-fajita-lounge-showdown","17":"tag-gimme-gimme","18":"tag-leche-de-tigre","19":"tag-mixtli","20":"tag-paul-peterson","21":"tag-san-antonio","22":"tag-sanantonio","23":"tag-texas","24":"tag-top-story","25":"tag-tx","26":"tag-typedaily","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-united-states-of-america","29":"tag-unitedstates","30":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","31":"tag-us","32":"tag-usa","33":"tag-wc-500-750"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115111664481112079","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}