Mesquite, Memories, and a Good Ride with Tom Perini
Tucked away in a hay barn outside Buffalo Gap, Tom Perini built a steakhouse that became a legend. Not by chasing trends, but by staying true to cowboy cooking and Texas tradition. For more than forty years, Perini Ranch has been where mesquite smoke carries stories of the trail, where green chile hominy rivals the ribeye, and where hospitality feels as natural as a handshake at the front gate. In this Storyteller Series interview, Tom reflects on his journey from chuckwagon cook to culture keeper of Texas food.
Tom Perini: From Cowboy Cook to Culture Keeper
This installment of our Storyteller Series features Tom Perini of Perini Ranch Steakhouse in Buffalo Gap. Known far beyond Texas for his mesquite-grilled steaks and chuckwagon spirit, Tom has spent more than four decades serving up food that tells the story of the land and the people who work it. In this conversation, he reflects on the journey from cowboy cook to culture keeper, and what it means to stay true to tradition in a changing Texas.
Cowboy Roots and the Chuckwagon Life
Q: You spent nearly two decades as a cowboy before opening the steakhouse. What memories from your chuckwagon days shaped your cooking and character?
A: After my father passed away, my mother called me home from Dallas. And so I said, "yes ma'am" and came home. She told me, “This ranch is small and you can’t make a living on it, but it’s your job to keep it together for the family.” That’s how I found myself in ranching. I really didn't know much about it, even though I had been around cattle. So I had to start out fresh and try to learn to be a cowboy. But the truth is, to be a cowboy takes years and generations to learn how to do it.
I always loved chuckwagons, so in the middle of working cattle, I’d quit, go to the wagon, and cook lunch for all the cowboys. Pretty soon, big ranches like the Swinson's, the Matthews Ranch and the Four Sixes started calling me to cook for horse and cattle sales. Some of those events were for 1,000 people. It was a great learning experience, and a way to generate cash flow to keep the ranch going.
Eventually, the cash flow wasn't enough to make the cattle business work even though I loved the lifestyle. But it's a very hard business, and you can do everything right and still lose. My friend Watt Matthews told me, “Tom, you know how to cook beef. You can do more for the cattle industry by cooking it than you can by raising it.” That was the turning point.
A Hidden Steakhouse in Buffalo Gap
Q: What was it like opening a steakhouse in a hidden barn in Buffalo Gap?
A: I had no idea what I was doing. I picked a hay barn off the highway that you couldn’t even see from the road! Why I picked that spot, I don’t know, but I did. Money was tight, and my kind mother kept helping me make payroll. She believed in me and helped me on many occasions. Now, I will tell you - at her death, in her will, she had written down everything she'd given me over the years!
What kept me going were opportunities that came along. I got invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York City. Think about that—a boy from Buffalo Gap, Texas with a chuckwagon, cooking at the James Beard House. Chefs would give anything to be asked to go there. That gave me a sense that maybe this little barn steakhouse could become something bigger.
From Beard House to the New York Times
Q: How did the New York Times “Mail-Order Gift of the Year” change things for you?
A: Before going to the Beard House, a friend in the advertising business suggested we send tenderloins to the New York media. He thought we might get some response from the media, and that it might be just what I needed to make this work. We sent twenty, which nearly broke me. A few days later, I got a call from a fact-checker who asked me all kinds of questions. I hate to say this, but I thought he was a fax machine checker and I didn't know what that was! And the next morning someone called and said, “Tom, have you seen today's New York Times? You’ve become the mail-order gift of the year!”
At that moment, I had no mail-order business. But instead of saying thank you and walking away, we decided to start one. That’s how it all began.
Cooking with Mesquite and Family Recipes
Q: What does mesquite cooking mean to you and to Texas food?
A: Real Texans cooked with mesquite. It burns hot, and when it’s dry it gives a flavor like nothing else. That’s just what I grew up with, and I never thought about using anything different.
Q: Some of your sides, like green chile hominy and Zucchini Perini, have become signatures. What’s their story?
A: The hominy dish came about when I was catering for Louise Matthews. She said, “Tom, I’m tired of beans. Let’s come up with something else.” We worked on that recipe together until it became the dish it is today. It's a wonderful dish and we serve an awful lot of it. The zucchini recipe came from kinfolk in Italy - one of whom was actually an opera singer. She called me up and gave me the recipe, and it’s been part of our menu ever since.
Hospitality, Presidents, and a Day to Remember
Q: You’ve hosted presidents, chefs, and fans from around the world. What memory stands out?
A: Hospitality is king. We’ve done a lot over the years, but one moment I’ll never forget is 9/11. We were in Washington to cook for President Bush and 1,200 people. When the attacks happened, the White House called to cancel. We had all this food prepped, and I offered to fire up the chuckwagon in the backyard of the White House. They said, “Mr. Perini, you cannot start a fire behind the White House.” Instead, the White House staff cooked everything, and it went to first responders and Secret Service at the Pentagon. All the food had a good purpose - it was just a different purpose. But being in Washington when all of that happened is one of those things that you never, never forget.
Q: You've had some international experiences too, haven't you?
A: Yes! At one point we were sent to Japan to help promote U.S. beef. We took the chuck wagons, mesquite wood, everything we'd need, and we were there a couple of weeks. And I didn't know what to do there - I mean it's a completely different culture with different likes in food. Well, we were cooking BBQ and tenderloins. But all of a sudden the Japanese started coming in and they liked it!
After going back to Japan several times, we had a Japanese couple visit us at the steakhouse. They flew in from Tokyo, landed in Dallas, and drove to Buffalo Gap. They had a hamburger as an appetizer and a steak for their main course. Then they turned around and flew back to Japan! It made me very nervous at the time, and I said, "boy, that steak better be really good!"
Cowboy Cooking as Texas Heritage
Q: What does it mean to be a culture keeper of cowboy cooking?
A: They call me a chef, but I’m a cowboy cook. That’s what I am. Cowboy cooking is a tradition I’m proud to keep alive. It’s about food, yes, but also about history, heritage, and how Texans lived. Cowboy cooking is a really wonderful way of life, and it's how they used to do it. It's been my life. I didn't realize how important this was going to be, but its been very important.
Q: Do you worry that this kind of Texas is disappearing?
A: In small towns, you can still find family-run restaurants like ours. In the big cities, it’s mostly chains. They can have good food, but we’re the real Texas—and people know it.
Q: What makes Texas food culture distinct and worth preserving?
A: Texas food is influenced by Mexican and Spanish traditions—cowboys eating beans, for example—but the heart of it is fire and beef. Brisket over mesquite is Texas. You go to other states and they think brisket is corned beef. We cook it over mesquite, and that makes all the difference.
Q: What does the chuckwagon say about Texas history and identity?
A: The word “chuck” means food. That wagon was the mobile kitchen that kept cowboys alive on the trail. But they weren’t eating steaks. They were eating biscuits and beans. But it kept them going, and it’s part of our Texas story.
Family, Legacy, and the Real Texas
Q: How has your partnership with Lisa shaped Perini Ranch?
A: I started the business, but Lisa is finishing it. She’s done things I never thought about - promotion, menus, everything. Honestly, she’s taken it over. She lets me have my say every now and then, but not often. And that’s been great.
Q: What do you hope heritage travelers take away when visiting Perini Ranch?
A: First, they come out to Buffalo Gap. How can you beat that name? The steakhouse is still hidden off the road, in the middle of a pasture. The building is just an old barn we added on to, but it has the same feeling it did when we started. We also have an outdoor patio. I want to tell you about one memory has stayed with me since before the restaurant days. I once watched a grandfather dancing with his grandchildren - the kids standing on his shoes, at a rough little riverside joint. He'd dance with one child, then go back to the table and get another one to dance with. I think he was having more fun than the children were! I thought, “That’s what family looks like.” When we built the steakhouse, I wanted kids to have that same freedom. That’s why we have concrete floors and a stage, and kids love it. Now families come out, kids chalk on the floor, run, dance. It’s authentic, and it’s Texas.
A Good Ride
Q: What message do you have for heritage travelers today?
A: Be true to yourself and to your tradition. I’m proud to be a Texan, proud to cook Texas food, and proud to keep these traditions alive—even as they disappear in other places.
I had no idea I’d ever be sitting here talking about this. But it’s been a good ride.
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