Tamales, chili and smoked boudin at Uncle Henry's Tamales, Beaumont

Homemade beef link at Uncle Henry's Tamales, Beaumont

Like many food writers, I became interested in the subject because of where I grew up.

Except I often get puzzled looks when I tell people I was inspired by Beaumont, Texas.

For those who were raised in a small town, childhood memories are often confined to the borders of that world. You vaguely understood that there were other places – big places – somewhere else. Indeed, a trip to Houston to go to Astroworld or the Galleria was a big deal back in those days.

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Then you grow up and move away to some of those big places, and your small-town upbringing is put into perspective. What your town lacked in cosmopolitan flair, it compensated for with

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