The Ultimate Tex-Mex and BBQ Experience
James Beard Award Winning Author and Co-Founder of ‘Saveur’ Magazine, Colman Andrews.
“I’ve been doing food tours in Europe with Aborígens for four years, but this is the first time we’ve done one in the U.S. ‘Aborígens’ is a small but well-known enterprise that mostly concentrates on Spain. These tours are always lots of fun with plenty of great food but also behind-the-scenes looks at producers, artisans and more” — Colman Andrews
“Tex-Mex is America’s oldest regional cuisine.”
— Robb Walsh, author
“Barbecue comes from Texas, and it’s beef.”
— Dan Rather, TV journalist
TOUR DETAILS
- Program dates: September 21-28, 2026
- Group size: 12 guests + 2 hosts
- Tour starts in Austin, TX (Monday, September 21 in the evening)
- Tour ends in Austin, TX (Monday, September 28, in the morning)
ITINERARY
DAY 1. Monday, September 21 (Austin)
We’ll get things started with welcome drinks and dinner at Austin’s favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Matt’s El Rancho, a family-run institution that dates back to 1952. Here we’ll enjoy Tex-Mex-style tacos end enchiladas, real-deal nachos, perfect guacamole, and Matt’s trademark Bob Armstrong Dip -not to mention some of the best Margaritas (regular and frozen) in town.
DAY 2. Tuesday, September 22 (Austin)
The town of Lockhart, on the edge of the Hill Country, is considered the barbecue capital of Texas, the place where the state’s definitive ‘cue style was born. Setting off in the morning, we’ll have an early lunch at the town’s two most legendary BBQ joints, sampling their brisket, beef ribs, and homemade sausages (a legacy of Czech and German immigration). Then it’s off to the 1906-vintage K. Spoetzl Brewery & Distillery -producers of Shiner, one of the state’s emblematic beers. We’ll get a personalized tour of the brewery and the recently opened distillery and taste their wares. That night, after our initial immersion in Tex-Mex and barbecue, we’ll take a break from bothand have a modern American dinner in the oak-shaded Wine Garden Tent at Lenoir, one of Austin’s top restaurants, opening exclusively for us.
DAY 3. Wednesday, September 23 (Austin)
Breakfast tacos are an Austin tradition, and we’ll sample them at the Webberville Road food truck park (where there’s alsogood coffee and other breakfast fare). You’ll be on your own for lunch, but we’ll reconvene at 6:30 at the celebrated Central Market cooking school for a hands-on Tex-Mex class in their demonstration kitchen.
DAY 4. Thursday, September 24 (Austin > San Antonio)
In the morning, we’ll head to San Antonio, where chili con carne was first introduced to America. Along the way, though, we’ll stop for lunch at Harmon’s BBQ in the prairie town of Cibolo, one of the increasingly rare Black-owned barbecue places in the region, to sample their ribs, chicken, and other delights. You’ll have the afternoon at leisure, and then we’ll board a barge to take us along the San Antonio River, through the heart of the city, while we enjoy an on-board Tex-Mex dinner (including chili-topped enchiladas) from the popular Acenar restaurant.
DAY 5. Friday, September 25 (San Antonio)
Two specialties of San Antonio Tex-Mex food are puffy tacos (with light, puffed-up shells) and sizzling fajitas, and we’ll sample both at Henry’s Puffy Tacos. Then we head to the Fredericksburg area for a tasting of reserve bottlings at William Chris Vineyards -the only Texas winery on The World’s 50 Best Vineyards list. From there, we’ll swing by the legendary country music town of Luckenbach, just for a look around and maybe a Shiner (or some other good Texas beer). Dinner will be up to you, but there are plenty of good options in San Antonio.
DAY 6. Saturday, September 26 (San Antonio > Austin)
San Antonio is famous for “barbacoa and a Big Red” (there’s even an annual festival with that theme). Barbacoa is not barbecue: It’s slow-roasted spice-seasoned beef, shredded andeaten with tortillas. Big Red is a soft drink from Waco, created by the company behind Dr. Pepper, and is considered the ideal accompaniment to barbacoa. We’ll have that meat-and-soda combination for an early lunch before heading back to Austin. That night, we have a special evening planned: a dinner of barbecue specialties, side dishes, desserts, and Texas beer and wine at Leroy & Lewis (1* Michelin), the hottest BBQ place in Austin. Dinner will include signed copies of pitmaster Evan Leroy’s acclaimed book “New School Barbecue” -and Evan himself will give us a pit tour.
DAY 7. Sunday, September 27 (Austin)
The day is yours to relax, explore Austin, and have lunch at one of the city’s many great restaurants. At 6:00 p.m., though, we’ll board our motor coach and travel northwest of the city to Spicewood, home of Willie Nelson, for our farewell dinner. Here, we’ll dig into a home-cooked “Texas-French” meal in a laid-back atmosphere, prepared by noted singer-songwriter (and Willie Nelson collaborator) Kimmie Rhodes, who cooks and writesabout food when she’s not making music. Good wines will be served, and don’t be surprised if the evening ends with an informal music session featuring Rhodes and her family of musicians.
COSTS
7D-7N program – September 21-28, 2026
Rate/person – double occupancy room: 5,750EUR (6,705USD* )
Single occupancy rate: +1100EUR (1,282USD*)
All prices include VAT.
*USD conversion shown is based on the exchange rate as of
May 31, 2026. All prices are published and payable in EUR, as the licensed tour operator (La Catalana d’Aborígens, S.L.) organizing this tour is a business registered in Barcelona, Spain.
TOUR INCLUSIONS:
- 7 nights of accommodation in Austin and San Antonio, TX.
- Type of accommodation: Stylish four-star properties in central locations, in double room or single occupancy (additional fee).
- Road transfers by air-conditioned luxury coaches.
- All tours and activities where indicated.
- Meals as per itinerary (wine, beer and soft drinks included, hard liquor or cocktails are not -an occasional Margaritaexcepted).
- All local and tourist taxes.
- Trip hosted by Colman Andrews.
- Expert tour manager from Aborígens.
TOUR EXCLUSIONS:
- Airfares.
- Drinks, lunch and dinner except where indicated.
- Travel Insurance.
- Items of a personal nature, e.g. laundry, room service, etc.
- Tipping and personal shopping.
BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
- Initial deposit to secure a spot: 3000€/person
- August 21, 2026: total balance due.
- Participants must be in Austin, TX on Monday, September 21, 2026.
- Cancellation policy: If a notification of cancellation is received before June 30, 2026, client will be refunded the deposit minus bank expenses for transaction. For notifications received within 90 days of departure, cancellation charges are as follows:
- 90 to 60 Days: 30% of program price;
- 60 to 45 Days: 50% of program price;
- 44 to 30 Days: 75% of program price;
- 29 to the Day of Departure 100% of program price.
- Aborígens (the promoters) reserve the right to change the itinerary, including hotels, locations, and activities at any time as a result of unforeseen circumstances or weather conditions. I (the participant) hereby release the promoters from all responsibility for damages, injury, losses, or delays suffered by me due to any reason whatsoever and understand that all expenses for the above will be borne by me.
- This tour is based on the minimum number of people travelling. In the event of minimum numbers not being reached, we have the right to withdraw the tour. You will be entitled to a full refund on the funds already paid.
- A party is not liable to perform the party’s obligations if such failure is a result of Acts of God (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disasters), war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, hostilities (regardless of whether war is declared), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power or confiscation, terrorist activities, nationalization, government sanction, blockage, labor dispute, strike, lockout or interruption or failure of electricity or telephone service. No party is entitled to terminate this Agreement under Clause 17 (Termination) in such circumstances. If a party asserts Force Majeure as an excuse for failure to perform the party’s obligation, then the performing party must prove that the party took reasonable steps to minimize delay or damages caused by foreseeable events, that the party substantially fulfilled all non-excused obligations, and that the other party was timely notified of the likelihood or actual occurrence of an event described in Clause 19 (Force Majeure).
ABOUT ABORÍGENS
Aborígens – Local Food Insiders is the source for those looking for food culture in Barcelona and Catalonia. Founded in 2011 by Catalan journalists who sold their souls to Bacchus, Aborígens designs, offers and operates extreme food tours, bespoke trips, research and consulting services and all kind of unexpected culinary adventures for food professionals and hardcore foodies. If you are looking for regular tapas tours, cooking classes and traditional mass tourism experiences, we are afraid that Aborígens can’t help you. Salut!
- Aborígens (La Catalana d’Aborígens, S.L.) is a fully licensed Tour operator.
- Travel agency GC-003726.
- Business registered in Barcelona (Spain) nº B65759003.
- HISCOX Liability Insurance no TAEDS000199.
Salut!
To book your spot on this and get more information hit the link here!