7 things Texans do at restaurants that servers in other states find completely foreign

Ever since I moved from Boston to Austin, I've witnessed some fascinating cultural collisions in the restaurant world. Last week, I was grabbing dinner with a friend who'd just relocated here from Portland. When our server brought out a basket of chips and salsa before we'd even ordered, she looked genuinely confused. "Did we order this?" she whispered. That's when it hit me – after years in the Texas food scene, I'd forgotten how different dining here can be.

Having spent over a decade in luxury hospitality across Boston and New York before settling in Austin, I've seen my share of regional dining quirks. But Texas? Texas takes the cake. Or should I say, the complimentary chips?

Here are seven things that Texans do at restaurants that leave servers from other states scratching their heads.

1. Expect free chips and salsa everywhere

Let's start with the obvious one. In Texas, if you're sitting down at any restaurant that even remotely serves Mexican-influenced food (which is basically everywhere), you expect chips and salsa. For free. Before you order. Sometimes before you even ask for water.

When I worked in fine dining in New York, charging $12 for an artisanal bread basket was standard. Here? Even the fanciest Tex-Mex spots wouldn't dare charge for chips. It's like an unspoken social contract.

A server friend who moved here from Chicago told me she spent her first month confused about why customers kept asking "Where are the chips?" at an Italian restaurant. The cultural expectation runs that deep.

2. Order queso with everything

Speaking of expectations, Texans will find a way to add queso to literally anything. Burger? Add queso. Tacos? Queso on the side. Salad? You know there's queso involved somehow.

During my early days exploring Austin's food scene, I watched someone ask for queso at a sushi restaurant. The server, fresh from California, looked like she'd been asked to explain quantum physics. "You mean... cheese sauce? For your sushi?"

The thing is, Texas queso isn't just melted cheese. It's a whole cultural phenomenon. It's the social lubricant of business meetings, first dates, and family gatherings. Servers from other states often don't grasp that when a table orders queso, they're not just ordering an appetizer – they're ordering an experience.

3. Ask for ranch with absolutely everything

If queso is king in Texas, ranch is the crown prince. Pizza? Ranch. Wings? Ranch. Salad? Obviously ranch, but like, extra ranch.

I once watched a server from Massachusetts nearly have an existential crisis when a customer asked for ranch to go with their steak. "But... it's a ribeye," she said, as if this explained everything. The customer just stared back, waiting for their ranch.

The ranch phenomenon goes beyond preference. It's almost like Texans view ranch as a fundamental food group. Servers who move here quickly learn to just bring extra ranch preemptively. It saves everyone time.

4. Treat 'sweet tea' as the default tea

Here's something that blew my mind when I first arrived: In Texas, if you order "tea," you're getting sweet tea. Not hot tea. Not unsweetened iced tea. Sweet tea. And we're talking properly sweet – like, diabetes-inducing levels of sugar.

Servers from the Northeast or West Coast often make the mistake of asking "Hot or iced?" when someone orders tea. The look of confusion they get in return is priceless. In Texas, tea means sweet iced tea unless explicitly stated otherwise.

One server I know from Seattle said she spent weeks wondering why everyone kept sending their tea back. Turns out, she'd been bringing them unsweetened iced tea, thinking that was the default. She learned quickly that in Texas, you have to specifically request "unsweet tea" if you don't want the sugary version.

5. Linger at tables for hours

In New York's restaurant scene, table turnover is everything. You eat, you leave. It's almost transactional. Texas? Completely different story.

Texans will sit at a restaurant table for three hours, ordering drinks long after the plates are cleared, treating the restaurant like their living room. They're not being rude – this is just the culture. Meals are social events, not just refueling stops.

Servers from faster-paced cities often struggle with this. They're used to the subtle (or not so subtle) hints that it's time to go. Here, trying to rush a table is considered poor hospitality. A friend who served in Boston before moving to Austin told me she had to completely recalibrate her internal clock. "I kept wanting to drop the check after an hour. Here, that's when they're just getting started."

6. Modify menu items beyond recognition

Texans don't just order off the menu – they treat it as a starting point for negotiation. "I'll have the chicken sandwich, but can you make it with beef instead? And add bacon? And queso? And can you put it on a different bun? Actually, no bun, make it a salad. But still with the queso."

Coming from fine dining where the chef's vision was sacred, this drove me crazy at first. But Texas restaurants actually accommodate these requests. It's expected.

A server who relocated from San Francisco told me about her first week here: "This guy basically invented his own entrée using components from five different menu items. I was sure the kitchen would refuse. They made it without question. I realized I wasn't in California anymore."

7. Tip like they're trying to adopt you

Finally, and this one actually makes servers from other states pretty happy once they adjust: Texans tip big. Really big. We're talking 25-30% for standard service, sometimes more.

Part of it is the lower cost of living compared to coastal cities – that extra money goes further here. But it's also cultural. Texans take pride in being generous, especially to service workers.

A bartender friend who moved here from Denver thought her first few customers were hitting on her because of the tips they left. "Nope," she laughed, "that's just Tuesday in Texas."

Final thoughts

After years of working in restaurants from Boston to New York and now calling Austin home, I've learned that regional dining cultures run deeper than just food preferences. They reflect values, social norms, and unwritten rules that can bewilder outsiders.

For servers moving to Texas, the adjustment period can be jarring. The pace is slower, the expectations are different, and yes, you'll need to stock a lot more ranch dressing than you ever thought possible.

But there's something beautiful about Texas restaurant culture. It's unapologetically itself. Meals aren't rushed. Hospitality isn't performative. And if you want queso on your pasta, nobody's going to judge you.

Well, they might judge you a little. But they'll still bring you the queso.