New in Amarillo: Chefs use passion for food, heritage to offer unique dishes

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Three chefs are bringing their own culture and twists to Amarillo cuisine, and they say the driving force behind their food is the love and passion they put into their dishes.

Chef Ron at Sunday’s Kitchen gets his passion for food from the meals his parents used to make in his home state of Louisiana.

The chef not only wanted to bring the Cajun and creole food culture to Amarillo, but be a part of the city as well. After operating as mostly a carryout food venue, Sunday’s Kitchen will open a larger location in the heart of downtown Amarillo this week.

The restaurant hopes this new location will allow them to become a community space as well.

“Everything about our restaurant is a family restaurant, everything - including the way we cook...the way my family cooks,” said Ronnie Granger, executive chef of Sunday’s Kitchen. “We wanted people to feel like ‘I could just go sit and dine with a complete stranger’ and at this restaurant it’s that comfortable of a feeling. It’s that comfortable of a place.”

Sunday’s Kitchen’s menu is inspired by the gulf coast and includes unique dishes such as gumbo.

Chef Ron believes what really makes this Louisiana style kitchen special is that they never cut corners with their ingredients or preparation.

“Quality ingredients [is the] trick of the trade,” said Granger. “Could always do some cheaper stuff, could always cut some corners, but [our dishes are] scratch made. We don’t buy anything out of the pack. We don’t just use the cheapest parmesan cheese we can find."

Sapito’s, a new Mexican restaurant on the north side of downtown, is also ran by a chef passionate about the food they ate growing up.

The owner opened the restaurant recently, after spending over 20 years in the restaurant business.

“We [cook] like they used to cook. Our grandmas in mexico, our parents, that’s how we do it in the kitchen.” sad Bruno Tiburcio, owner of Sapitos. “They teach us to do everything we like with love and passion, so that’s how we work.”

Tiburcio’s parents were Mexican cooks, and he plans to bring their authentic Mexican flavor and spice to Amarillo.

The Mexican joint offers a wide variety of dishes and believes their food speaks for itself.

The Discada Plate is their most popular dish, offering a mix of chorizo, ham bacon, tomatoes, onions and grilled jalapenos.

Customers have also been raving about their curly taters.

“We have the curly taters with the carne asada, queso blanco, and pico de gallo," continued Tiburcio. “A lot of people are getting it as a meal too.”

Sapito’s also makes customer service a top priority.

The staff said they treat each guest as if they are their friend and focuses on providing a family friendly atmosphere.

Pizzeria Nomad has switched from plastic fold out tables to permanent ones.

Previously a long-standing Amarillo food truck, Pizzeria Nomad has now opened their first brick & mortar shop.

This has allowed them to expand their menu beyond just pizza.

Now, the restaurant offers creative sandwiches and burgers.

“We have more sandwiches than we ever had before,” said Liberty Powers, owner of Pizza Nomad. “We have a burger that has blue cheese and pickled pablanos and ceviche on it. We have a fried chicken sandwich that has an Indian twist. It has the butter chicken gravy that would would be in butter chicken, just on a friend chicken patty.”

The new shop now allows Pizzeria Nomad to create larger, 18-inch pizzas in their wood-fired oven.

Their most popular pizza is the Trashy Mac, which has mac and cheese on top.

They also offer a Pickle Pie, a pizza with pickles as the topping.

This creativity comes from the owner’s passion and love for creating exotic pizza combinations.

“Well, you know, we’re artisan," said Powers. “We put our heart and soul in it. It’s a craft for us. It’s not just a business, it’s what were passionate about.”

Pizzeria Nomad is also available for carryout and delivery.

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