Besides its vintage charm, abundant wine-tasting rooms and glittery extravagance that comes with being the “Christmas Capital of Texas,” Grapevine takes pride in preserving Texas heritage.

Tolbert’s Restaurant and Chili Parlor, nestled in downtown Grapevine, revels in the area’s many festivals and events that celebrate the great West and its rugged history and traditions, but as its name suggests, the restaurant is more than an occasional participant, providing authentic Texas food and culture year-round. 

The parlor carries the legacy of Frank X. Tolbert, a celebrated newspaperman, historian, book author and chili aficionado. Before founding his namesake restaurant in Dallas, Tolbert’s primary vocation was as a columnist for The Dallas Morning News. In that position, he traveled the state, getting to know its people and experiencing the rich culture to share with his readers until his death in 1984. Tolbert’s column circulated for nearly 40 years and continues to entertain today, immortalized on the internet.

The restaurant settled in a building from 1911, a former donut shop, consignment store, car dealership, roller rink and laundry mat.

Tolbert appreciated all of Texas’ offerings when he traveled, but especially chili, and he was drawn to other devotees of the dish. Despite having no experience in the restaurant business, Tolbert and his son, Frank X. Tolbert II, founded a restaurant off Main Street in downtown Dallas in 1976. A year later, his daughter, Kathleen Tolbert Ryan, joined them.

It didn’t take long for the restaurant to become a popular local hangout, known for stellar musical performances and serving up hearty Texas staples such as chicken-fried steak, burgers and the “Original Texas Bowl of Red,” a house chili and labor of love that combines Tolbert’s years of research and experiences throughout the state.

“We had musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan, his brother Jimmie Vaughan and Lou Ann Barton playing there,” Ryan says. “A lot of bands got their start there.”

After Tolbert’s death, daily operations mainly fell on his daughter while Tolbert Junior pursued a career as an artist, appearing in many major museums.

Determined to preserve the family legacy, Ryan and her husband, Paul, opened the Grapevine Tolbert’s in 2006 after moving to the area with their two sons to live closer to Paul’s parents.

The restaurant settled in a building from 1911, a former donut shop, consignment store, car dealership, roller rink and laundry mat. Ryan adorned the walls with pictures from the Dallas restaurant and its original chalkboard menu.

She wants patrons to remember where Tolbert’s came from and what it stands for, serving authentic Texas food amid live local music. Ryan’s son, Stephen, is a manager of this consummate family business, catering to their legion of loyal customers, including those who followed them from Dallas.

“I’ve been going there for years, in Dallas and Grapevine,” says Dallas-native C.B. Kloppe, now of Grapevine. “I got engaged at the Grapevine restaurant and married at the chili cook-off.”

Kloppe means the Terlingua Championship Chili Cook-off, a competition Tolbert and his buddy, Wick Fowler, cooked up in 1967 to settle a dispute with a New York writer over what constitutes real chili. Today, the competition is a nonprofit whose proceeds support ALS research, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Throngs of spectators meet in the ghost town near Big Bend to cheer on skilled chili cooks, enjoy fabulous music and celebrate Texas culture. And while debates over chili contents and ingredients continue, Tolbert immortalized his stance in 1953, publishing the recipe for his famous “red” in a cookbook, “A Bowl of Red,” that he filled with other such family secrets. In case you were wondering, it doesn’t include beans.

Original Texas Bowl of Red 

Tolbert’s “Original Texas Bowl of Red” chili is a once secret family recipe he released in his cookbook, “A Bowl of Red,” in 1953. The recipe is the product of Tolbert’s research and findings from a lifetime of appreciating chili. Texas A&M University Press updated the book in 1994.

• 2 to 4 ancho chili peppers or 2 to 4 tablespoons chili powder (use less for milder chili)
  
  

  Tolbert’s “Original Texas Bowl of Red”

• Water
• Vegetable oil
• 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 or more cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of crushed cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon of ground oregano
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cayenne powder
• 1 tablespoon of Tabasco sauce
• 3 tablespoons of chili powder for a redder color (optional)

Note: reduce spices for a milder result.

Preparation:

1. Wash the pepper and remove the stems and seeds if using chilies. Place peppers in a small saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes until the skins can be easily removed. Grind or chop the skinless peppers. Reserve the cooking water.
2. Brown the meat in a large skillet with a small amount of vegetable oil. Transfer the beef and juices to a heavy pot and add the puréed peppers or chili powder. Add some of the reserved pepper water (or just water) and add more water to reach about two inches above the beef. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Remove the pot from the stove and add garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, cayenne pepper and Tabasco. Return the pot to the stove and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add more pepper water (or just water) to prevent the meat from burning.
4. When the chili is ready, skim any fat from the surface, if preferred.

Optional: add Masa Harina, cornmeal or flour to thicken the chili.