Sylvia Casares (photo above) is the “Sylvia” in Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen. A former food scientist, she opened her first restaurant in Houston nearly 20 years ago. Among its many accolades, Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen was recently selected by USA Today as one of the Top 10 Great Mexican Restaurants in the USA and by Texas Monthly as one of the Top 50 Tex-Mex restaurants in Texas.

Now Casares has a new cookbook out next week. The Enchilada Queen Cookbook (St. Martin’s Griffin, $27.98) contains 80 recipes for enchiladas, fajitas and classic Tex-Mex side dishes. We recently caught up with Casares to ask a few nosy questions.

Tell us about your education. University or straight into work?

Let’s say that since I was born, I had an interest in food, and certainly the Tex-Mex food in Brownsville where I was born. But the older I got, the more I was interested in why things tasted like they did, what made different flavors, how different foods were made. As soon as I graduated from high school, I headed to the University of Texas where I earned a B.S. in home economics. My first job out of college was as a home economist with Uncle Ben’s Rice where I stayed for 10 years, learning about the science of food, working in laboratories developing new products, supervising taste panels and conducting “sensory evaluations.”

Worst dish you have ever created in your home kitchen?

I was making a sauce from a recipe, kind of a hollandaise, but I was also adapting it to the dish I wanted to serve. It totally collapsed. It looked and tasted awful. The sink ate it. I still blame the recipe.

How do you take your morning coffee?

On the run. It’s French press with real cream and real sugar in a to-go cup out the door.

“Every day I read …”

Texts. Hundreds of texts. Half the texts are telling me to check my emails. With three restaurants, classes to teach and things to do, I am always on the move. It’s the best way for me to communicate with everyone, other than calling. I can’t imagine life without texting.

What did you eat for breakfast today?

This will make me sound so boring. Almost every morning I have shredded wheat with low-fat organic milk with real sugar.

How do you explain enchiladas to someone who has never eaten one?

If they ask, I respond by asking if they want the short answer or the long answer. The long answer goes into the fact they are eating the symbol of a whole culture, a history of a people who made an incredible meal out of what was available in the harshest of circumstances. The short answer is that enchiladas are a soft wrap around some kind of savory filling that’s baked with an amazing sauce.

What is your personal favorite enchilada?

The immediate answer is my next one. Or the one I’m creating. On impulse, though, I go right back to a cheese enchilada with my gravy.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start his or her own restaurant?

I would tell them to look straight ahead and imagine what you want, then go after it with a passion. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be glamorous. It’s not got to happen overnight. It may not make you rich and famous, but if you know what you want and have the determination to get there, you’ll be happier than you ever thought possible. 

If your 20-year-old self could see you now, what would she think?

She’d say, “I’m going to take some time off and relax now, because I obviously won’t have time to do that for the next several decades.”

Please tell us a fun fact about yourself (something most people wouldn’t know).

When I can’t sleep, I always get up and have a bowl of cereal with milk. It puts me back to sleep right away. Also, I don’t care for margaritas – but I love to taste different kinds of tequilas and always on the rocks.

What is your favorite personal item?

Red lipstick.