Not long ago, we celebrated something special. The 2026 James Beard semifinalists were announced, and El Paso showed up in a big way. Chef Andrés Pablos of Accá, Taconeta, and Gabe and Melissa Padilla of Café Piro in Socorro all represented the Sun City on a national stage, proving what locals have known for years: the Borderland’s culinary scene is no longer flying under the radar.

Every single one of those semifinalist nods mattered. Each one was earned. And we celebrated all of them.

READ MORE: THESE EL PASOANS ARE JAMES BEARD AWARD SEMIFINALISTS

Now the finalists are in, and El Paso is still in the room. Gabe and Melissa Padilla of Café Piro in Socorro have officially advanced to the finals for Best Chef: Texas, one of the most competitive categories in the entire awards program.

This is El Paso at the table with Houston, Dallas, and every other major culinary city in the Lone Star State. And we belong there.

What makes the Padillas’ story so perfectly El Paso is that neither of them went to culinary school. Not a single semester. Everything Gabe and Melissa know, they learned the way this city has always learned things: through passion, through family, through sheer refusal to quit. Melissa has said it herself. When that first semifinalist nomination came in, they were in shock. Self-taught chefs. A small restaurant in Socorro. And somehow the most prestigious food organization in the country was calling their name.

Somehow? No. Not somehow. Because the food is that good and the intention behind it is that real.

Café Piro opened in 2023 on Socorro Road, and from day one it has been more than a restaurant. The name itself is a tribute to Gabe’s ancestral Piro tribe, and that reverence for heritage runs through everything on the menu. The tres hermanas pozole, made with bean, corn, and squash, carries centuries of Indigenous meaning in every bowl. The handmade ceramic plates the food is served on? Made by hand. The seasonal ingredients? Sourced with purpose. This is food with a soul, and El Paso has felt that from the beginning.

And it has never just been about the food. Café Piro is a real community space where art lives alongside the menu, where workshops happen, where people gather and feel something. Gabe and Melissa built something that feeds people in more ways than one, and this community has shown up for them because of it.

Now it’s our turn to show up even louder.

The James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony is set for June 15, 2026 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. We’ll be watching, we’ll be loud, and we’ll be proud.

Go bring it home, Gabe and Melissa. El Paso is riding with you.

PHOTOS: A Look Inside The Pizza Joints New East El Paso Location

Pizza Joint opened their doors to their 4th El Paso location located in Horizon and the new spot is not like the other locations!

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Iris Lopez

Flix Brewhouse Pints & Bites Food Menu

Media outlets were invited to a special 5-Course Meal tasting of all the delicious food theyre bringing to the table. Including things no one is doing in theaters, like Beef Bulgogi or Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese!!

Gallery Credit: Grizz