Mama Ninfa inspires a new generation of chefs
Tacos Over Texas honors Houston culinary maven as food-competition fundraiser
In the culinary realm, where foodies tend to chase the next house-fermented, gluten-free, unicorn-hued, plant-based cronut, there’s a reliable constant: the taco.
Tacos, especially in Texas, make a familiar meal of comforting permanence. In a perfect world, the taco will never change. In the real world, it changes constantly.
That duality — classic statesman versus hipster pioneer — is the heart of Tacos Over Texas, a new food-competition fundraiser Sunday at the Original Ninfa’s on Navigation. During the event more than a dozen local chefs will present their own take on the taco, inspired by the late “Mama” Ninfa Laurenzo.
In terms of how we eat, Mama Ninfa’s introduction of tacos al carbon was epic. “She changed the culinary scene of Houston,” said participating chef Michael Cordúa, founder of Cordúa Restaurants group.
“She’s still alive with us; she never left,” said Alex Padilla, executive chef at Ninfa’s on Navigation, which is now owned by Legacy Restaurants.
“Her picture is in my mind,” said Kiran Verma, owner of Kiran’s in Upper Kirby and a selfmade female restaurateur. “I feel her soul is in my soul. She’s a mentor to all of us.”
Those are the kind of words Mama Ninfa’s children hear often.
That’s why they helped create Tacos Over Texas to benefit the Ninfa Laurenzo Scholarship Fund. The inaugural event is co-chaired by Tony and Phyllis Mandola and Legacy Restaurants CEO Jonathan Horowitz and his wife, Quinn. Honorary chairs are President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, longtime Ninfa’s fans.
Phyllis Mandola, one of five children and the only daughter of Domenic and Maria Ninfa Laurenzo, said the local scholarships the fund will award are a fitting tribute to her parents, who she said “gave us the best education they could afford.” She said she and her four brothers — Roland, Jack, Tommy and Gino — all benefited from scholarships throughout their education. Phyllis, for example, rode two city buses from the East End to get to Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, where she attended school before entering the University of St. Thomas.
When she died from cancer in 2001, Mama Ninfa had long since been famous for the culinary empire she built. But she also was known as a Latina role model, businesswoman, innovator and community leader. A charismatic presence, she also was, as her son Jack said, someone who was always willing to lend a hand and preach the positive.
Those qualities made her a beloved figure in Houston — and they cemented her legacy as the first lady of Tex-Mex cuisine.
But, Phyllis said, that was never her intention. “She was just herself,” said Phyllis, whose husband, Tony Mandola, is himself a member of a dynastic family of restaurateurs. “Her intention was to put food on the table for her kids and lead a good life.”
Providing for her family is what kickstarted the Ninfa legend. Ninfa Laurenzo opened her tiny restaurant in the summer of 1973 in part of the tortilla factory she ran with her husband, who died suddenly in 1969 at age 49. A single mother with five children, Mama Ninfa needed money to provide for her family.
She found that money, and fame, thanks to her tacos al carbon, char-grilled beef folded into soft, handmade flour tortillas. In a landscape dotted by combo plate Tex-Mex joints, tacos al carbon were a novelty. To Mama Ninfa, it was simply a familiar, rustic food of the Rio Grande Valley where she was born and raised. On day one she also introduced the nowfamous green sauce, served alongside red salsa, which is now a Tex-Mex staple.
The Ninfa’s brand grew quickly and eventually was a restaurant force for years before the debts of expansion consumed the empire, which was sold in 1998 after filing for bankruptcy protection. The family’s culinary contribution continues, though, in the El Tiempo Cantina brand that is owned and operated by Mama Ninfa’s son Roland Laurenzo and his son, Domenic.
But history was made on Navigation in 1973. On Sunday during Tacos Over Texas, it’s in the spotlight again.